1 Kings 4:21

4:21 (5:1) ¹  Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River ²  to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. ³ 

Jeremiah 2:18

2:18 What good will it do you ⁴  then ⁵  to go down to Egypt

to seek help from the Egyptians? ⁶ 

What good will it do you ⁷  to go over to Assyria

to seek help from the Assyrians? ⁸ 

¹ sn Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.

² tn Heb “the River” (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.

³ tn Heb “[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.”

⁴ tn Heb “What to you to the way.”

⁵ tn The introductory particle וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah, “and now”) carries a logical, not temporal, connotation here (cf. BDB 274 s.v. עַתָּה 2.b).

⁶ tn Heb “to drink water from the Shihor [a branch of the Nile].” The reference is to seeking help through political alliance with Egypt as opposed to trusting in God for help. This is an extension of the figure in 2:13.

⁷ tn Heb “What to you to the way.”

⁸ tn Heb “to drink water from the River [a common designation in biblical Hebrew for the Euphrates River].” This refers to seeking help through political alliance. See the preceding note.