6:14 “Look! I am about to bring 1 a nation against you, family 2 of Israel.”
The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.
“They will oppress 3 you all the way from Lebo-Hamath 4 to the Stream of the Arabah.” 5
1 tn Or “raise up” (KJV, NASB); NIV “stir up.”
2 tn Heb “house.”
3 sn Once again there is irony in the divine judgment. The oppressive nation itself will suffer oppression. The verb “oppress” (לָחַץ, lakhats) in this verse is not the same as that used in 4:1 (עָשַׁק, ’ashaq).
4 tn Or “from the entrance to Hamath.” The Hebrew term לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) can either be translated or considered a part of the place name.
5 sn Lebo-Hamath refers to the northern border of Israel, the Stream of the Arabah to its southern border. See 2 Kgs 14:25. Through this invader the Lord would reverse the victories and territorial expansion Israel experienced during the reign of Jeroboam II.