12:1 So remember 1 your Creator in the days of your youth –
before 2 the difficult 3 days come,
and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
51:13 Why do you forget 4 the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky 5
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long 6
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor? 7
51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, 8
who seek the Lord!
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry 9 from which you were dug! 10
4:1 Seven women will grab hold of
one man at that time. 11
They will say, “We will provide 12 our own food,
we will provide 13 our own clothes;
but let us belong to you 14 –
take away our shame!” 15
1 tn The imperative זְכֹר (zekhor, “Remember!”) is a figurative expression (metonymy of association) for obeying God and acknowledging his lordship over one’s life (e.g., Num 15:40; Deut 8:18; Pss 42:6-7; 63:6-8; 78:42; 103:18; 106:7; 119:52, 55; Jer 51:50; Ezek 20:43; Jonah 2:7; Mal 4:4). The exhortation to fear God and obey his commands in 12:13-14 spells out what it means to “remember” God.
2 tn The temporal adjective עַד (’ad, “before”) appears three times in 12:1-7 (vv. 1b, 2a, 6a). Likewise, the temporal preposition בְּ (bet, “when”) is repeated (vv. 3a, 4b). These seven verses comprise one long sentence in Hebrew: The main clause is 12:1a (“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”), while 12:1b-7 consists of five subordinate temporal clauses (“before…before…when…when…before…”).
3 tn The adjective רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) does not refer here to ethical evil, but to physical difficulty, injury, pain, deprivation and suffering (e.g., Deut 31:17, 21; 32:23; 1 Sam 10:19; Neh 1:3; 2:17; Pss 34:20; 40:13; 88:4; 107:26; Eccl 11:10; Jer 2:27; Lam 3:38); see HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4.b; BDB 949 s.v. רָעָה 2.
4 tn Heb “and that you forget.”
5 tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
6 tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”
7 tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.
8 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
9 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
10 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.
11 tn Or “in that day” (ASV).
12 tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”
13 tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”
14 tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.
15 sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.