7:5 At the celebration 1 of their king, 2
his princes become inflamed 3 with wine;
they conspire 4 with evildoers.
6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 5
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 6
Yet they are not concerned over 7 the ruin 8 of Joseph.
1 tn Heb “the day of” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “On the day of the festival of our king”; NLT “On royal holidays.”
2 tc The MT preserves the awkward 1st person common plural suffix reading מַלְכֵּנוּ (malakenu, “our king”). The BHS editors suggest reading the 3rd person masculine plural suffix מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”; so CEV), as reflected in the Aramaic Targum.
3 tc The MT vocalizes the consonants החלו as הֶחֱלוּ a Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from I חָלָה (“to become sick”). However, this is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest revocalizing it as Hiphil infinitive construct + 3rd person masculine singular suffix from חָלַל (khalal, “to begin”) or Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from חָלַל. For a discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:240.
4 tn Heb “he joined hands”; NCV “make agreements.”
5 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
6 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
7 tn Or “not sickened by.”
8 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
9 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
10 tn Or “wail,” “cry.”
11 tn Or “lament.”
12 tn Or “sorrowful.”
13 tn Grk “will become.”