5:1 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites! 1
Listen closely, 2 O king! 3
For judgment is about to overtake you! 4
For you were like a trap 5 to Mizpah, 6
like a net 7 spread out to catch Tabor. 8
2:1 “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.
1 tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”
2 tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”
3 tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”
4 tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”
5 sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).
6 tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”
7 sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).
8 tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”
9 sn My covenant refers to the priestly covenant through Aaron and his grandson Phinehas (see Exod 6:16-20; Num 25:10-13; Jer 33:21-22). The point here is to contrast the priestly ideal with the disgraceful manner in which it was being carried out in postexilic times.