5:13 Therefore my 1 people will be deported 2
because of their lack of understanding.
Their 3 leaders will have nothing to eat, 4
their 5 masses will have nothing to drink. 6
44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool 7
and forges metal over the coals.
He forms it 8 with hammers;
he makes it with his strong arm.
He gets hungry and loses his energy; 9
he drinks no water and gets tired.
32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; 10
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 11
He commits godless deeds 12
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 13
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 14
1 sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.
2 tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.
3 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
4 tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (mÿtey, “men of”) as מִתֵי (mitey, “dead ones of”).
5 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
6 tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.”
7 tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.
8 tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.
9 tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”
13 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
14 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
15 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
16 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
17 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”