13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment 4 is near;
it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. 5
17:18 May those who persecute me be disgraced.
Do not let me be disgraced.
May they be dismayed.
Do not let me be dismayed.
Bring days of disaster on them.
Bring on them the destruction they deserve.” 6
1:15 How awful that day will be! 7
For the day of the Lord is near;
it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer. 8
1:2 Listen to this, you elders; 9
pay attention, 10 all inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life 11
or in the lifetime 12 of your ancestors? 13
1:9 No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the temple 14 of the Lord anymore. 15
So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.
1 tn Heb “from the middle of.” Although many recent English versions leave this expression untranslated, the point seems to be that these soldiers did not die in battle but “within the camp.”
2 tn Heb “so you will perish.”
3 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the
4 tn Heb “the day of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).
5 tn Heb “like destruction from the sovereign judge it comes.” The comparative preposition (כְּ, kÿ) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the destruction unleashed will have all the earmarks of divine judgment. One could paraphrase, “it comes as only destructive divine judgment can.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x.
6 tn Or “complete destruction.” See the translator’s note on 16:18.
7 tn Heb “Alas for the day!”
8 tn There is a wordplay in Hebrew here with the word used for “destruction” (שׁוֹד, shod) and the term used for God (שַׁדַּי, shadday). The exact meaning of “Shaddai” in the OT is somewhat uncertain, although the ancient versions and many modern English versions tend to translate it as “Almighty” (e.g., Greek παντοκράτωρ [pantokratwr], Latin omnipotens). Here it might be rendered “Destroyer,” with the thought being that “destruction will come from the Divine Destroyer,” which should not be misunderstood as a reference to the destroying angel. The name “Shaddai” (outside Genesis and without the element “El” [“God”]) is normally used when God is viewed as the sovereign king who blesses/protects or curses/brings judgment. The name appears in the introduction to two of Balaam’s oracles (Num 24:4, 16) of blessing upon Israel. Naomi employs the name when accusing the Lord of treating her bitterly by taking the lives of her husband and sons (Ruth 1:20-21). In Ps 68:14, Isa 13:6, and the present passage, Shaddai judges his enemies through warfare, while Ps 91:1 depicts him as the protector of his people. In Ezek 1:24 and 10:5 the sound of the cherubs’ wings is compared to Shaddai’s powerful voice. The reference may be to the mighty divine warrior’s battle cry which accompanies his angry judgment.
9 sn Elders here refers not necessarily to men advanced in years, but to leaders within the community.
10 tn Heb “give ear.”
11 tn Heb “days.” The term “days” functions here as a synecdoche for one’s lifespan.
12 tn Heb “days.”
13 tn Heb “fathers.”
14 tn Heb “house.” So also in vv. 13, 14, 16.
15 tn Heb “grain offering and drink offering are cut off from the house of the