1 Kings 21:29

21:29 “Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse ¹  before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son.” ² 

Ezekiel 29:18-20

29:18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar ³  of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. ⁴  Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. 29:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre ⁵ , because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord.

Hosea 1:4

1:4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, ⁶  “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish ⁷  the dynasty ⁸  of Jehu on account of the bloodshed ⁹  in the valley of Jezreel, ¹⁰  and I will put an end to the kingdom ¹¹  of Israel. ¹² 

¹ tn Or “humbles himself.” The expression occurs a second time later in this verse.

² tn Heb “I will not bring the disaster during his days, [but] in the days of his son I will bring the disaster on his house.”

³ tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n” (so also in v. 19).

⁴ sn Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571 b.c.

⁵ tn Heb “for which he worked,” referring to the assault on Tyre (v. 18).

⁶ tn Heb “to him.” The referent (Hosea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “I will visit.” The verb פָּקַד (paqad, “to visit”) has a very broad range of meanings: (1) “to pay attention to; to look at” (a) favorably: to look after; to provide for; to care for; (b) unfavorably: to seek vengeance for; to punish for; (2) militarily: (a) “to muster; to enroll”; (b) “to inspect; to review”; (3) leadership: (a) “to rule over; to oversee”; (b) Hiphil: “to appoint an overseer” (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד; HALOT 955-58 s.v. פקד). In this context, the nuance “to punish” or “to take vengeance” (see 1b above) is most appropriate. Cf. KJV, ASV “I will avenge”; NAB, NASB, NRSV “I will punish.”

⁸ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV); NCV “family”; CEV “descendants.”

⁹ tn The plural form of דָּם (dam, “blood”) refers to “bloodshed” (BDB 196 s.v. דָּם 2.f). This is an example of a plural of abnormal condition (GKC 400 §124.n). The plural is used to represent natural objects which are found in an unnatural or abnormal condition. The plural is used because the natural object is normally found as a whole or in one unit, but in the abnormal condition the object is found in many parts. Normally, blood is contained as a whole within the body. However, when a brutal murder occurs, blood is shed and literally spilled all over the place. Cf. NIV “the massacre”; TEV, CEV, NLT “the murders.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “I will visit the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the kingdom of the house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹² sn The proper name יִזְרְעֶאל (yizré’e’l, “Jezreel”) sounds like יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”). This phonetic wordplay associates the sin at Jezreel with the judgment on Israel, stressing poetic justice.