32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,
and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; 7
I will execute vengeance on my foes,
and repay those who hate me! 8
32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew, 9
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
65:6 Look, I have decreed: 10
I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;
I will pay them back exactly what they deserve, 11
9:7 The time of judgment 12 is about to arrive! 13
The time of retribution 14 is imminent! 15
Let Israel know! 16
The prophet is considered a fool 17 –
the inspired man 18 is viewed as a madman 19 –
because of the multitude of your sins
and your intense 20 animosity.
3:4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? 21
Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? 22
I will very quickly repay you for what you have done! 23
1 tn The expression “to pour out rage” also occurs in Ezek 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:31; 30:15; 36:18.
2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
3 tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”
4 tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.
5 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
6 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
7 tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.
8 tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).
9 tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.
10 tn Heb “Look, it is written before me.”
11 tn Heb “I will pay back into their lap.”
12 tn Heb “the days of the visitation”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “the days of punishment.”
13 tn Heb “has come” (בָּאוּ, ba’u). The two perfect tense (suffix-conjugation) verbs בָּאוּ (Qal perfect 3rd person common plural from בּוֹא, bo’, “to come”) repeated in this verse are both examples of the so-called “prophetic perfect”: the perfect, which connotes completed or factual action, is used in reference to future events to emphasize the certainty of the announced event taking place.
14 tn Heb “the days of the retribution”; NIV “of reckoning”; NRSV “of recompense.”
15 tn Heb “has come”; NIV “are at hand”; NLT “is almost here.”
16 tc The Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex (the MT
17 tn Or “is distraught”; cf. CEV, NLT “are crazy.”
18 tn Heb “the man of the Spirit”; NAB, NRSV “spirit.”
19 tn Or “is driven to despair.” The term מְשֻׁגָּע (mÿshugga’, Pual participle masculine singular from שָׁגַע, shaga’, “to be mad”) may be understood in two senses: (1) It could be a predicate adjective which is a figure of speech: “to be maddened,” to be driven to despair (Deut 28:34); or (2) it could be a substantive: “a madman,” referring to prophets who attempted to enter into a prophetic state through whipping themselves into a frenzy (1 Sam 21:16; 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26; see BDB 993 s.v. שָׁגַע). The prophetic context of 9:7 favors the latter option (which is followed by most English versions). Apparently, the general populace viewed these mantics with suspicion and questioned the legitimacy of their claim to be true prophets (e.g., 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26).
20 tn Heb “great.”
21 tn Heb “What [are] you [doing] to me, O Tyre and Sidon?”
22 tn Or “districts.”
23 tn Heb “quickly, speedily, I will return your recompense on your head.” This is an idiom for retributive justice and an equitable reversal of situation.
24 sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.
25 sn A quotation from Deut 32:36.