2 Kings 15:16

15:16 At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender. ¹  He even ripped open the pregnant women.

2 Kings 19:26

19:26 Their residents are powerless, ² 

they are terrified and ashamed.

They are as short-lived as plants in the field,

or green vegetation. ³ 

They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ⁴ 

when it is scorched by the east wind. ⁵ 

2 Kings 25:13

25:13 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the “The Sea.” ⁶  They took the bronze to Babylon.

¹ tn Heb “then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, for it would not open, and he attacked.”

² tn Heb “short of hand.”

³ tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.

⁴ tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.

⁵ tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isa^a in Isa 37:27).

³ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.