18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,
and the ripening fruit appears, 1
he will cut off the unproductive shoots 2 with pruning knives;
he will prune the tendrils. 3
18:6 They will all be left 4 for the birds of the hills
and the wild animals; 5
the birds will eat them during the summer,
and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.
1 tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”
2 tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.
3 tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”
4 tn Heb “they will be left together” (so NASB).
5 tn Heb “the beasts of the earth” (so KJV, NASB).