21:13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? 1 declares the sovereign Lord.’
1 tn Heb “For testing (will come) and what if also a scepter, it despises, will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult and any rendering is uncertain.