Mazmur 44:20

44:20 If we had rejected our God, ¹ 

and spread out our hands in prayer to another god, ² 

Yesaya 34:13

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ³  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ⁴ 

Yeremia 9:11

9:11 The Lord said, ⁵ 

“I will make Jerusalem ⁶  a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ⁷ 

I will destroy the towns of Judah

so that no one will be able to live in them.”

[44:20]  ¹ tn Heb “If we had forgotten the name of our God.” To “forget the name” here refers to rejecting the Lord’s authority (see Jer 23:27) and abandoning him as an object of prayer and worship (see the next line).

[44:20]  ² tn Heb “and spread out your hands to another god.” Spreading out the hands was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). In its most fundamental sense זר (“another; foreign; strange”) refers to something that is outside one’s circle, often making association with it inappropriate. A “strange” god is an alien deity, an “outside god” (see L. A. Snijders, TDOT 4:54-55).

[34:13]  ³ tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ⁴ tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)

[9:11]  ⁵ tn The words “the Lord said” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:11]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.”