Ratapan 3:37

מ (Mem)

3:37 Whose command was ever fulfilled ¹ 

unless the Lord ²  decreed it?

Ratapan 4:15

ס (Samek)

4:15 People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean!

Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!”

So they have fled and wander about;

but the nations say, ³  “They may not stay here any longer.”

Ratapan 2:16

פ (Pe)

2:16 All your enemies

gloated over you. ⁴ 

They sneered and gnashed their teeth;

they said, “We have destroyed ⁵  her!

Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.

We have lived to see it!” ⁶ 

Ratapan 2:12

ל (Lamed)

2:12 Children ⁷  say to their mothers, ⁸ 

“Where are food and drink?” ⁹ 

They faint ¹⁰  like a wounded warrior

in the city squares.

They die slowly ¹¹ 

in their mothers’ arms. ¹² 

Ratapan 3:24

3:24 “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself, ¹³ 

so I will put my hope in him.

Ratapan 3:18

3:18 So I said, “My endurance has expired;

I have lost all hope of deliverance ¹⁴  from the Lord.”

Ratapan 3:54

3:54 The waters closed over my head;

I thought ¹⁵  I was about to die. ¹⁶ 

Ratapan 2:15

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ¹⁷ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ¹⁸ 

‘The perfection of beauty, ¹⁹ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ²⁰ 

Ratapan 3:62

3:62 My assailants revile and conspire ²¹ 

against me all day long.

Ratapan 4:20

ר (Resh)

4:20 Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king ²²  –

was caught in their traps, ²³ 

of whom we thought, ²⁴ 

“Under his protection ²⁵  we will survive among the nations.”

Ratapan 3:56

3:56 You heard ²⁶  my plea: ²⁷ 

“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!” ²⁸ 

Ratapan 2:13-14

מ (Mem)

2:13 With what can I equate ²⁹  you?

To what can I compare you, O Daughter Jerusalem?

To what can I liken you ³⁰ 

so that ³¹  I might comfort you, O Virgin Daughter Zion?

Your wound is as deep ³²  as the sea. ³³ 

Who can heal you? ³⁴ 

נ (Nun)

2:14 Your prophets saw visions for you

that were worthless lies. ³⁵ 

They failed to expose your sin

so as to restore your fortunes. ³⁶ 

They saw oracles for you

that were worthless ³⁷  lies.

[3:37]  ¹ tn Heb “Who is this, he spoke and it came to pass?” The general sense is to ask whose commands are fulfilled. The phrase “he spoke and it came to pass” is taken as an allusion to the creation account (see Gen 1:3).

[3:37]  ² tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[4:15]  ³ tn Heb “They say among the nations.”

[2:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “they have opened wide their mouth against you.”

[2:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “We have swallowed!”

[2:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “We have attained, we have seen!” The verbs מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ (matsa’nu ra’inu) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its full verbal sense and the second functions as an object complement. It forms a Hebrew idiom that means something like, “We have lived to see it!” The three asyndetic 1st person common plural statements in 2:16 (“We waited, we destroyed, we saw!”) are spoken in an impassioned, staccato style reflecting the delight of the conquerors.

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “to their mother,” understood as a collective singular.

[2:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Where is bread and wine?” The terms “bread” and “wine” are synecdoches of specific (= bread, wine) for general (= food, drink).

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “as they faint” or “when they faint.”

[2:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “as their life is poured out.” The term בְּהִשְׁתַּפֵּךְ (bÿhishtappekh), Hitpael infinitive construct + the preposition בּ (bet), from שָׁפַךְ (shafakh, “to pour out”) may be rendered “as they expire” (BDB 1050 s.v. שָׁפַךְ), referring to the process of dying. Note the repetition of the word “pour out” with various direct objects in this poem at 2:4, 11, 12, and 19.

[2:12]  ¹² tn Heb “chest, lap.”

[3:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “My soul said…” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= I ).

[3:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and my hope from the Lord.” The hope is for deliverance. The words, “I have lost all…” have been supplied in the translation in order to clarify the Hebrew idiom for the English reader.

[3:54]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”

[3:54]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I was about to be cut off.” The verb נִגְזָרְתִּי (nigzarti), Niphal perfect 1st person common singular from גָּזַר (gazar, “to be cut off”), functions in an ingressive sense: “about to be cut off.” It is used in reference to the threat of death (e.g., Ezek 37:11). To be “cut off” from the hand of the living means to experience death (Ps 88:6).

[2:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.

[3:62]  ²¹ tn Heb “the lips of my assailants and their thoughts.”

[4:20]  ²² tn Heb “the anointed one of the Lord.” The term “king” is added in the translation to clarify the referent of the phrase “the Lord’s anointed.”

[4:20]  ²³ tn Heb “was captured in their pits.”

[4:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “of whom we had said.”

[4:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “under his shadow.” The term צֵל (tsel, “shadow”) is used figuratively here to refer the source of protection from military enemies. In the same way that the shade of a tree gives physical relief and protection from the heat of the sun (e.g., Judg 9:15; Job 40:22; Ps 80:11; Song 2:3; Ezek 17:23; 31:6, 12, 17; Hos 4:13; 14:8; Jon 4:5, 6), a faithful and powerful king can provide “shade” (= protection) from enemies and military attack (Num 14:19; Ps 91:1; Isa 30:2, 3; 49:2; 51:16; Jer 48:45; Lam 4:20).

[3:56]  ²⁶ tn The verb could be understood as a precative, “hear my plea,” parallel to the following volitive verb, “do not close.”

[3:56]  ²⁷ tn Heb “my voice.”

[3:56]  ²⁸ tn The preposition ל (lamed) continues syntactically from “my plea” in the previous line (e.g. Ex 5:2; Josh 22:2; 1 Sam 8:7; 12:1; Jer 43:4).

[2:13]  ²⁹ tc The MT reads אֲעִידֵךְ (’a’idekh), Hiphil imperfect 1st person common singular + 2fs suffix from עָדָה (’adah, “to testify”): “[How] can I testify for you?” However, Latin Vulgate comparabo te reflects the reading אֶעֱרָךְ (’e’erakh), Qal imperfect 1st person common singular from עָרַךְ (’arakh, “to liken”): “[To what] can I liken [you]?” The verb עָרַךְ (’arakh) normally means “to lay out, set in rows; to get ready, set in order; to line up for battle, set battle formation,” but it also may denote “to compare (as a result of arranging in order), to make equal” (e.g., Pss 40:6; 89:6 [HT 7]; Job 28:17, 19; Isa 40:18; 44:7). The BHS editors suggest the emendation which involves simple orthographic confusion between ר (resh) and ד (dalet), and deletion of י (yod) that the MT added to make sense of the form. The variant is favored based on internal evidence: (1) it is the more difficult reading because the meaning “to compare” for עָרַךְ (’arakh) is less common than עָדָה (’adah, “to testify”), (2) it recovers a tight parallelism between עָרַךְ (’arakh, “to liken”) and דָּמָה (damah, “to compare”) (e.g., Ps 89:6 [HT 7]; Isa 40:18), and (3) the MT reading: “How can I testify for you?” makes little sense in the context. Nevertheless, most English versions hold to the MT reading: KJV, RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, TEV, CEV. This textual emendation was first proposed by J. Meinhold, “Threni 2,13,” ZAW 15 (1895): 286.

[2:13]  ³⁰ tc The MT reads מָה אַשְׁוֶה־לָּךְ וַאֲנַחֲמֵךְ (mah ’ashveh-lakh va’anakhamekh, “To what can I compare you so that I might comfort you?”). The LXX reflects a Vorlage of מִי יוֹשִׁיעַ לָךְ וְנִחַמְךָ (mi yoshia’ lakh vÿnikhamÿkha, “Who will save you so that he might comfort you?”). This textual variant reflects several cases of orthographic confusion between similarly spelled words. The MT best explains the origin of the LXX textual variants. Internal evidence of contextual congruence favors the MT as the original reading.

[2:13]  ³¹ tn The ו (vav) prefixed to וַאֲנַחֲמֵךְ (va’anakhamekh, “I might comfort you”) denotes purpose: “so that….”

[2:13]  ³² tn Heb “as great as the sea.”

[2:13]  ³³ tc The MT reads כָּיָּם (kayyam, “as the sea”), while the LXX reflects a Vorlage of כּוֹס (kos, “a cup”). The textual variant is probably due to simple orthographic confusion between letters of similar appearance. The idiomatic expression favors the MT.

[2:13]  ³⁴ sn The rhetorical question implies a denial: “No one can heal you!” The following verses, 14-17, present four potential healers – prophets, passersby, enemies, and God.

[2:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “emptiness and whitewash.” The nouns שָׁוְא וְתָפֵל (shv’ vÿtafel) form a nominal hendiadys. The first noun functions adjectivally, modifying the second noun that retains its full nominal sense: “empty whitewash” or “empty deceptions” (see following translation note on meaning of תָּפֵל [tafel]). The noun תָּפֵל (tafel, “whitewash”) is used literally in reference to a white-washed wall (Ezek 13:10, 11, 14, 15) and figuratively in reference to false prophets (Ezek 22:28).

[2:14]  ³⁶ tc The Kethib שְׁבִיתֵךְ (shÿvitekh) and Qere שְׁבוּתֵךְ (shÿvutekh), which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew mss here and elsewhere (Ps 85:1 Heb 85:2; 126:4; Job 42:10), are struggling with the root. The ancient versions take it from ָָשׁבָה (shavah) meaning “captivity.” Such a meaning is not tenable for the Job passage, which along with a similar phrase in the Sefire inscription suggest that the proper meaning is “to restore someone’s fortunes.”

[2:14]  ³⁷ tn The nouns שָׁוְא וּמַדּוּחִים (shav’ umaddukhim, lit., “emptiness and enticements”) form a nominal hendiadys. The first functions adjectivally, modifying the second noun that retains its nominal sense: “empty enticements” or “false deceptions.” The noun מַדּוּחַ (madduakh), meaning “enticement” or “transgression” is a hapax legomenon (term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT). It is related to the verb נָדָח (nadakh, “to entice, lead astray”) which is often used in reference to idolatry.