30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; 1
at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, 2
until the remaining few are as isolated 3
as a flagpole on a mountaintop
or a signal flag on a hill.”
66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen this?
Can a country 4 be brought forth in one day?
Can a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!
1 tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.
2 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
3 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
4 tn Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (’erets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following line).