1 Kings 9:7-9

9:7 then I will remove Israel from the land ¹  I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, ²  and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed ³  among all the nations. 9:8 This temple will become a heap of ruins; ⁴  everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, ⁵  saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’ 9:9 Others will then answer, ⁶  ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors ⁷  out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. ⁸  That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”

¹ tn Heb “I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land.”

² tn Heb “and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face.”

³ tn Heb “will become a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.

⁴ tn Heb “and this house will be high [or elevated].” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”

⁵ tn Heb “hiss,” or perhaps “whistle.” This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.

⁶ tn Heb “and they will say.”

⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

⁸ tn Heb “and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them.”