28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 2 a stone in Zion,
an approved 3 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 4
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 5
1 tn The Hebrew text adds “so that” here, formally connecting this clause with the next.
2 tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.
3 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
4 sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).
5 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
8 sn Careful comparison of the use of this term throughout this passage and comparison with 7:31-33 which is parallel to several verses in this passage will show that the reference is to the Valley of Ben Hinnom which will become a Valley of Slaughter (see v. 6 and 7:32).
9 tn Heb “which everyone who hears it [or about it] his ears will ring.” This is proverbial for a tremendous disaster. See 1 Sam 3:11; 2 Kgs 21:12 for similar prophecies.
10 tn Heb “You only have I known.” The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’) is used here in its covenantal sense of “recognize in a special way.”
11 tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”
12 sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in
13 sn The title Daughters of Jerusalem portrays these women mourning as representatives of the nation.
14 sn Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves. Judgment now comes on the nation (see Luke 19:41-44) for this judgment of Jesus. Ironically, they mourn the wrong person – they should be mourning for themselves.
15 tn Grk “For behold.”
16 tn Grk “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have not nursed!”
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated; nor is it translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
19 tn Grk “chiliarchs.” A chiliarch was normally a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).
20 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
21 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
22 tn It is difficult to say where this quotation ends. The translation ends it after “withstand it” at the end of v. 17, but it is possible that it should end here, after “Lamb” at the end of v. 16. If it ends after “Lamb,” v. 17 is a parenthetical explanation by the author.
23 tc Most
24 tn The translation “to withstand (it)” for ἵστημι (Jisthmi) is based on the imagery of holding one’s ground in a military campaign or an attack (BDAG 482 s.v. B.4).