1:29 Indeed, they 1 will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you 2 find so desirable;
you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards 3
where you choose to worship.
2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, 4
for 5 all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;
2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan; 6
2:14 for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills, 7
2:15 for every high tower,
for every fortified wall,
2:16 for all the large ships, 8
for all the impressive 9 ships. 10
2:17 Proud men will be humiliated,
arrogant men will be brought low; 11
the Lord alone will be exalted 12
in that day.
2:18 The worthless idols will be completely eliminated. 13
2:19 They 14 will go into caves in the rocky cliffs
and into holes in the ground, 15
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord 16
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth. 17
2:20 At that time 18 men will throw
their silver and gold idols,
which they made for themselves to worship, 19
into the caves where rodents and bats live, 20
2:21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs
and the openings under the rocky overhangs, 21
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord 22
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth. 23
17:8 They will no longer trust in 24 the altars their hands made,
or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. 25
14:8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do 26 with idols anymore!
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like 27 a luxuriant cypress tree; 28
your fruitfulness comes from me! 29
5:13 I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst;
you will no longer worship what your own hands made.
5:14 I will uproot your images of Asherah 30 from your midst,
and destroy your idols. 31
1 tc The Hebrew text (and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa) has the third person here, though a few Hebrew
2 tn The second person pronouns in vv. 29-30 are masculine plural, indicating that the rebellious sinners (v. 28) are addressed.
3 tn Or “gardens” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “groves.”
4 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”
5 tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).
6 sn The cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan were well-known for their size and prominence. They make apt symbols here for powerful men who think of themselves as prominent and secure.
7 sn The high mountains and hills symbolize the apparent security of proud men, as do the high tower and fortified wall of v. 15.
8 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
9 tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”
10 tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.
11 tn Heb “and the pride of men will be brought down, and the arrogance of men will be brought low.” As in v. 11, the repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.
12 tn Or “elevated”; NCV “praised”; CEV “honored.”
13 tc The verb “pass away” is singular in the Hebrew text, despite the plural subject (“worthless idols”) that precedes. The verb should be emended to a plural; the final vav (ו) has been accidentally omitted by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the immediately following form).
14 tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.
15 tn Heb “dust”; ASV “into the holes of the earth.”
16 tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men.
18 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
19 tn Or “bow down to.”
20 tn Heb “to the shrews and to the bats.” On the meaning of חֲפַרְפָּרָה (khafarparah, “shrew”), see HALOT 341 s.v. חֲפַרְפָּרָה. The BHS text as it stands (לַחְפֹּר פֵּרוֹת, perot lakhpor), makes no sense. Based on Theodotion’s transliteration and a similar reading in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, most scholars suggest that the MT mistakenly divided a noun (a hapax legomenon) that should be translated “moles,” “shrews,” or “rodents.”
21 sn The precise point of vv. 20-21 is not entirely clear. Are they taking the idols into their hiding places with them, because they are so attached to their man-made images? Or are they discarding the idols along the way as they retreat into the darkest places they can find? In either case it is obvious that the gods are incapable of helping them.
22 tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
23 tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men. Almost all English versions translate “earth,” taking this to refer to universal judgment.
24 tn Heb “he will not gaze toward.”
25 tn Heb “and that which his fingers made he will not see, the Asherah poles and the incense altars.”
26 tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-li ’od) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” Cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.(c).
27 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).
28 tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree”; NIV, NCV “a green pine tree”; NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”
29 tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”
30 tn Or “Asherah poles.”
31 tn The MT reads “your cities,” but many emend the text to צִרֶיךָ (tsirekha, “your images”) or עֲצַבֶּיךָ (’atsbbekha, “your idols”).
32 tn Heb “cut off” (so NRSV); NAB “destroy”; NIV “banish.”