4:6 “But surely I gave 1 you no food to eat in any of your cities;
you lacked food everywhere you live. 2
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. 3
I gave rain to one city, but not to another.
One field 4 would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.
1 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic (pronoun + verb). It underscores the stark contrast between the judgments that the Lord had been sending with the God of blessing Israel was celebrating in its worship (4:4-5).
2 tn Heb “But I gave to you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of food in all your places.” The phrase “cleanness of teeth” is a vivid way of picturing the famine Israel experienced.
3 sn Rain…three months before the harvest refers to the rains of late March-early April.
4 tn Heb “portion”; KJV, ASV “piece”; NASB “part.” The same word occurs a second time later in this verse.