33:9 The land 1 dries up 2 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 3 and decays.
Sharon 4 is like the desert; 5
Bashan and Carmel 6 are parched. 7
65:10 Sharon 8 will become a pasture for sheep,
and the Valley of Achor 9 a place where cattle graze; 10
they will belong to my people, who seek me. 11
1 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
2 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.
3 tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation.
4 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
5 tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
6 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
7 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
8 sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.
9 sn The Valley of Achor (“Achor” means “trouble” in Hebrew) was the site of Achan’s execution. It was located to the east, near Jericho.
10 tn Heb “a resting place for cattle”; NASB, NIV “for herds.”
11 tn Heb “for my people who seek me.”