30:4 A sword will come against Egypt
and panic will overtake Ethiopia
when the slain fall in Egypt
and they carry away her wealth
and dismantle her foundations.
30:5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners, 3 Libya, and the people 4 of the covenant land 5 will die by the sword along with them.
2:12 “You 6 Ethiopians 7 will also die by my sword!” 8
3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 9
those who pray to me 10 will bring me tribute.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
3 tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.
4 tn Heb “sons.”
5 tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
6 sn Though there is no formal introduction, these words are apparently spoken by the
7 tn Heb “Cushites.” This is traditionally assumed to refer to people from the region south of Egypt, i.e., Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).
8 tn Heb “Also you Cushites, who lie dead by my sword.”
9 tn Or “Nubia”; Heb “Cush.” “Cush” is traditionally assumed to refer to the region south of Egypt, i.e. Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).
10 tn Heb “those who pray to me, the daughter of my dispersed ones.” The meaning of the phrase is unclear. Perhaps the text is corrupt at this point or a proper name should be understood. For a discussion of various options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 134-35.