13:4 Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy 4 and the Lord responded favorably, 5 for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria. 6 13:5 The Lord provided a deliverer 7 for Israel and they were freed from Syria’s power. 8 The Israelites once more lived in security. 9 13:6 But they did not repudiate 10 the sinful ways of the family 11 of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. 12 There was even an Asherah pole 13 standing in Samaria. 13:7 Jehoahaz had no army left 14 except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops 15 and trampled on them like dust. 16
1:5 When the messengers returned to the king, 20 he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied, 21 “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. 22 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king 23 asked them, “Describe the appearance 24 of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 1:8 They replied, 25 “He was a hairy man 26 and had a leather belt 27 tied around his waist.” The king 28 said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”
1:9 The king 29 sent a captain and his fifty soldiers 30 to retrieve Elijah. 31 The captain 32 went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. 33 He told him, “Prophet, 34 the king says, ‘Come down!’”
106:41 He handed them over to 35 the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority. 36
12:10 A righteous person cares for 37 the life of his animal,
but even the most compassionate acts 38 of the wicked are cruel.
47:6 I was angry at my people;
I defiled my special possession
and handed them over to you.
You showed them no mercy; 39
you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. 40
1 tn Heb “and the anger of the
2 tn Heb “he gave them into the hand of.”
3 tn Heb “all the days.”
4 tn Heb “appeased the face of the
5 tn Heb “and the
6 tn Heb “for he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Syria oppressed them.”
7 sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 143.
8 tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”
9 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”
10 tn Heb “they did not turn away from.”
11 tn Heb “house.”
12 tc Heb “in it he walked.” The singular verb (הָלַךְ, halakh) is probably due to an error of haplography and should be emended to the plural (הָלְכּוּ, halÿku). Note that a vav immediately follows (on the form וְגַם, vÿgam).
13 tn Or “an image of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “the Asherah”; NCV “the Asherah idol.”
14 tn Heb “Indeed he did not leave to Jehoahaz people.” The identity of the subject is uncertain, but the king of Syria, mentioned later in the verse, is a likely candidate.
15 tn Heb “them,” i.e., the remainder of this troops.
16 tn Heb “and made them like dust for trampling.”
17 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
18 tn Heb “walked after.”
19 tn Heb “he did not turn aside from it.”
20 tn Heb “to him.”
21 tn Heb “said to him.”
22 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).
23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn Heb “What was the manner…?”
25 tn Heb “said to him.”
26 tn Heb “an owner of hair.” This idiomatic expression indicates that Elijah was very hairy. For other examples where the idiom “owner of” is used to describe a characteristic of someone, see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל. For example, an “owner of dreams” is one who frequently has dreams (Gen 37:19) and an “owner of anger” is a hot-tempered individual (Prov 22:24).
27 tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).
28 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30 tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”
31 tn Heb “to him.”
32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.
34 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).
35 tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”
36 tn Heb “they were subdued under their hand.”
37 tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” The righteous take care of animals, not just people.
38 tn Heb “but the mercies.” The additional words appear in the translation for the sake of clarification. The line can be interpreted in two ways: (1) when the wicked exhibit a kind act, they do it in a cruel way, or (2) even the kindest of their acts is cruel by all assessments, e.g., stuffing animals with food to fatten them for market – their “kindness” is driven by ulterior motives (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 129).
39 tn Or “compassion.”
40 tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”
41 tn Or “the nations that are at ease” (so ASV, NRSV). The Hebrew word in question is שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan) which has the idea of a careless, even arrogant attitude (see BDB 983 s.v. שַׁאֲנָן); cf. NAB “the complacent nations.” Here it suggests that the nations take for granted that God will never punish them just because he hasn't already done so. Thus they presume on the grace and patience of the Lord. The translation attempts to bring out this nuance rather than the more neutral renderings of TEV “nations that enjoy quiet and peace” or NLT “enjoy peace and security.”