This royal edict read: 20 “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return 21 to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria. 22
33:14 After this Manasseh 26 built up the outer wall of the City of David 27 on the west side of the Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate and all around the terrace; he made it much higher. He placed army officers in all the fortified cities in Judah.
36:22 In the first year of the reign of 34 King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the promise he delivered through Jeremiah, 35 the Lord moved 36 King Cyrus of Persia to issue a written decree throughout his kingdom.
1 tn Or “soul.”
2 tn Heb “your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “your honor
3 tn Heb “them.” The switch from the second to the third person pronoun is rhetorically effective, for it mirrors God’s rejection of his people – he has stopped addressing them as “you” and begun addressing them as “them.” However, the switch is awkward and confusing in English, so the translation maintains the direct address style.
4 tn Heb “them.” See the note on “you” earlier in this verse.
5 tc Instead of “I will throw away,” the parallel text in 1 Kgs 9:7 has “I will send away.” The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.
6 tn Heb “him,” which appears in context to refer to Israel (i.e., “you” in direct address). Many translations understand the direct object of the verb “make” to be the temple (NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “it”).
7 tn Heb “and I will make him [i.e., Israel] a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
5 tn Or “for.”
6 tn Heb “the eyes of the
7 tn Heb “to strengthen himself with their heart, [the one] complete toward him.”
7 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 33).
8 tn Heb “are you not God in heaven?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “yes,” resulting in the positive statement “you are the God who lives in heaven” employed in the translation.
9 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
10 tn Heb “they said.”
11 tn Heb “and there was no one belonging to the house of Ahaziah to retain strength for kingship.”
11 tn Heb “and they caused to stand a word to cause a voice to pass through.”
12 tn The words “summoning the people” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
13 tn Heb “because not for abundance had they done as written.”
13 tn Heb “the runners.”
14 tn Heb “and according to the command of the king, saying.”
15 tn The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
16 tn Heb “to the survivors who are left to you from the palm of the kings of Assyria.”
15 tn Heb “the priests in the fields of the pastureland of their cities in every city and city.”
16 tn Heb “designated by names.”
17 tn Heb “hand.”
19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
21 tn Heb “Therefore, behold, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your tomb in peace.”
23 tc This assumes an emendation to עַמּוּדוֹ (’ammudo), see 23:13. The MT reads “at his place.”
24 tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made” or “agreed to.”
25 tn Heb “walk after.”
26 tn Or “soul.”
27 tn Heb “words.”
25 tn The words “the reign of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
26 tn Heb “to complete the word of the
27 tn Heb “stirred the spirit of.”