Ratapan 4:22

ת (Tav)

4:22 O people of Zion, ¹  your punishment ²  will come to an end; ³ 

he will not prolong your exile. ⁴ 

But, O people of Edom, ⁵  he will punish ⁶  your sin ⁷ 

and reveal ⁸  your offenses!

Yehezkiel 25:12-14

A Prophecy Against Edom

25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom ⁹  has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable ¹⁰  by taking vengeance ¹¹  on them. ¹²  25:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, ¹³  and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die ¹⁴  by the sword. 25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience ¹⁵  my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 26:14

26:14 I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place where fishing nets are spread. You will never be built again, ¹⁶  for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.

[4:22]  ¹ tn Heb “O Daughter Zion.”

[4:22]  ² tn Heb “your iniquity.” The noun עָוֹן (’avon) has a broad range of meanings, including: (1) iniquity, (2) guilt of iniquity, and (3) consequence or punishment for iniquity (cause-effect metonymical relation). The context suggests that “punishment for sin” is most appropriate here (e.g., Gen 4:13; 19:15; Exod 28:38, 43; Lev 5:1, 17; 7:18; 10:17; 16:22; 17:16; 19:8; 20:17, 19; 22:16; 26:39, 41, 43; Num 5:31; 14:34; 18:1, 23; 30:15; 1 Sam 25:24; 28:10; 2 Sam 14:9; 2 Kgs 7:9; Job 10:14; Pss 31:11; 69:28; 106:43; Prov 5:22; Isa 5:18; 30:13; 40:2; 53:6, 11; 64:5, 6; Jer 51:6; Lam 4:22; 5:7; Ezek 4:4-6, 17; 7:16; 14:10; 18:19-20; 21:30, 34; 24:23; 32:27; 35:5; 39:23; 44:10, 12).

[4:22]  ³ tn Heb “will be completed.” The perfect tense verb תַּם (tam), Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular from תָּמַם (tamam, “to be complete”), could be taken as a precative perfect expressing a request (“may your punishment be complete”). The translation understands it as an example of the so-called “prophetic perfect.” The perfect tense often describes actions that are viewed as complete (normally past- or present-time events). When the perfect tense describes a future event, it often depicts it as “complete,” that is, “as good as done” or certain to take place from the viewpoint of the prophet. Thus, by using the perfect tense, Jeremiah may be emphasizing the certainty that the exile will eventually come to an end. It has also been viewed as a simple perfect “your punishment is ended.”

[4:22]  ⁴ tn The verb לֹא יוֹסִיף (lo’ yosif) could be taken as a precative perfect, making a request to God. See the note at the beginning of the verse.

[4:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “O Daughter of Edom.”

[4:22]  ⁶ tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) could be taken as a precative perfect, making a request to God. See the note at the beginning of the verse.

[4:22]  ⁷ tn The noun עָוֹן (’avon) is repeated twice in this verse: its first occurrence means “punishment for iniquity” (v. 22a), and its second usage means “iniquity” (v. 22b). See preceding translator’s note on the broad range of meanings of this word. The repetition of the same root with different meanings creates an ironic polysemantic wordplay: Zion’s “punishment” for its sin is about to come to an end; however, the punishment for Edom’s “sin” is about to begin.

[4:22]  ⁸ tn The verb גִּלָּה (gillah) could be taken as a precative perfect, making a request to God. See the note at the beginning of the verse.

[25:12]  ⁹ sn Edom was located south of Moab.

[25:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.

[25:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”

[25:12]  ¹² sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 5:21, 23; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).

[25:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”

[25:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “fall.”

[25:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “know.”

[26:14]  ¹⁶ sn This prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great in 332 b.c.