10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,
and mighty Lebanon will fall. 1
9:18 For 2 evil burned like a fire, 3
it consumed thorns and briers;
it burned up the thickets of the forest,
and they went up in smoke. 4
1 tn The Hebrew text has, “and Lebanon, by/as [?] a mighty one, will fall.” The translation above takes the preposition בְּ (bet) prefixed to “mighty one” as indicating identity, “Lebanon, as a mighty one, will fall.” In this case “mighty one” describes Lebanon. (In Ezek 17:23 and Zech 11:2 the adjective is used of Lebanon’s cedars.) Another option is to take the preposition as indicating agency and interpret “mighty one” as a divine title (see Isa 33:21). One could then translate, “and Lebanon will fall by [the agency of] the Mighty One.”
2 tn Or “Indeed” (cf. NIV “Surely”). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
3 sn Evil was uncontrollable and destructive, and so can be compared to a forest fire.
4 tn Heb “and they swirled [with] the rising of the smoke” (cf. NRSV).