57:9 You take olive oil as tribute 1 to your king, 2
along with many perfumes. 3
You send your messengers to a distant place;
you go all the way to Sheol. 4
57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols 5 help you!
The wind blows them all away, 6
a breeze carries them away. 7
But the one who looks to me for help 8 will inherit the land
and will have access to 9 my holy mountain.”
1 tn Heb “you journey with oil.”
2 tn Heb “the king.” Since the context refers to idolatry and child sacrifice (see v. 5), some emend מֶלֶך (melekh, “king”) to “Molech.” Perhaps Israel’s devotion to her idols is likened here to a subject taking tribute to a ruler.
3 tn Heb “and you multiply your perfumes.”
4 sn Israel’s devotion to her idols is inordinate, irrational, and self-destructive.
5 tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.
6 tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”
7 tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”
8 tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”
9 tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.