1:16 for they 2 are eager 3 to inflict harm, 4
and they hasten 5 to shed blood. 6
9:3 This is the unfortunate fact 7 about everything that happens on earth: 8
the same fate awaits 9 everyone.
In addition to this, the hearts of all people 10 are full of evil,
and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die. 11
2:24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.
In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. 12
No one can hold her back when she is in heat.
None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.
At mating time she is easy to find. 13
2:25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out
and your throats become dry. 14
But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me
because I love those foreign gods 15 and want to pursue them!’
1 sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.
2 tn Heb “their feet.” The term “feet” is a synecdoche of the part (= their feet) for the whole person (= they), stressing the eagerness of the robbers.
3 tn Heb “run.” The verb רוּץ (ruts, “run”) functions here as a metonymy of association, meaning “to be eager” to do something (BDB 930 s.v.).
4 tn Heb “to harm.” The noun רַע (ra’) has a four-fold range of meanings: (1) “pain, harm” (Prov 3:30), (2) “calamity, disaster” (13:21), (3) “distress, misery” (14:32) and (4) “moral evil” (8:13; see BDB 948-49 s.v.). The parallelism with “swift to shed blood” suggests it means “to inflict harm, injury.”
5 tn The imperfect tense verbs may be classified as habitual or progressive imperfects describing their ongoing continual activity.
6 tc The BHS editors suggest deleting this entire verse from MT because it does not appear in several versions (Codex B of the LXX, Coptic, Arabic) and is similar to Isa 59:7a. It is possible that it was a scribal gloss (intentional addition) copied into the margin from Isaiah. But this does not adequately explain the differences. It does fit the context well enough to be original.
7 tn Heb “evil.”
8 tn Heb “under the sun.”
9 tn The term “awaits” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “also the heart of the sons of man.” Here “heart” is a collective singular.
11 tn Heb “and after that [they go] to [the place of] the dead.”
12 tn The words “to get the scent of a male” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
13 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s irrepressible desire to worship other gods.
14 tn Heb “Refrain your feet from being bare and your throat from being dry/thirsty.”
15 tn Heb “It is useless! No!” For this idiom, see Jer 18:12; NEB “No; I am desperate.”
16 tn The Aramaic word מְהַחְצְפָה (mÿhakhtsÿfah) may refer to the severity of the king’s decree (i.e., “harsh”; so HALOT 1879 s.v. חצף; BDB 1093 s.v. חֲצַף), although it would seem that in a delicate situation such as this Daniel would avoid this kind of criticism of the king’s actions. The translation above understands the word to refer to the immediacy, not harshness, of the decree. See further, F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 50, §116; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 67.
17 tn Grk “she asked, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant and has not been translated.
18 tn Or “God must not be tested by evil people.”