73:8 They mock 6 and say evil things; 7
they proudly threaten violence. 8
1 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
2 tn Heb “Asshur.”
3 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
4 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
5 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
6 tn The verb מוּק (muq, “mock”) occurs only here in the OT.
7 tn Heb “and speak with evil.”
8 tn Heb “oppression from an elevated place they speak.” The traditional accentuation of the MT places “oppression” with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate, “they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an elevated place [i.e., “proudly”] they speak.” By placing “oppression” with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in the parallelism.
9 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”