27:3 I, the Lord, protect it; 1
I water it regularly. 2
I guard it night and day,
so no one can harm it. 3
27:4 I am not angry.
I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!
Then I would march against them 4 for battle;
I would set them 5 all on fire,
1 tn Heb “her.” Apparently “vineyard” is the antecedent, though normally this noun is understood as masculine (see Lev 25:3, however).
2 tn Or perhaps, “constantly.” Heb “by moments.”
3 tn Heb “lest [someone] visit [harm] upon it, night and day I guard it.”
4 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense. For other examples of a cohortative expressing resolve after a hypothetical statement introduced by נָתַן with מִי (miwith natan), see Judg 9:29; Jer 9:1-2; Ps 55:6.
5 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense.