6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,
“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,
and houses are uninhabited,
and the land is ruined and devastated,
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 3 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 4
107:34 and a fruitful land into a barren place, 5
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
9:6 Look! 6 Even if 7 they flee from the destruction,
Egypt will take hold 8 of them,
and Memphis will bury them.
The weeds will inherit the silver they treasure 9 –
thorn bushes will occupy their homes. 10
10:8 The high places of the “House 11 of Wickedness” 12 will be destroyed;
it is the place where Israel sins.
Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
1 tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
2 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB); NAB “shall be turned to.”
3 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
5 tn Heb “a salty land.”
6 tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “Behold!”) is used frequently in prophetic announcements, introducing a solemn or important declaration, particularly in threats of judgment (BDB 244 s.v. הִנֵּה b.β). Many modern English versions leave this particle untranslated here.
7 tn The conjunction כִּי (ki) introduces a concessive clause: “Although, when, if, even if” (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.β). It has a force approximating “even if” (so NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT), but it represents a situation as more likely to occur than אִם (‘im, “if”). The concessive use of כִּי is normally followed by an imperfect, but occasionally a perfect is used, as is the case here (e.g., Mic 7:8; Nah 1:10; Pss 21:12; 119:83).
8 tn The verb קָבַץ (qavats, “to gather together”) should be nuanced “grab hold” in this context (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ). This pictures a personified Egypt taking the fugitives prisoner.
9 tn Heb “the treasured things of their silver”; NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT “treasures of silver.”
10 tn Heb “their tents” (so NIV, NRSV); CEV “your tents.”
11 tn Alternately, “Aven” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) for the city name “Beth Aven.” The term “Beth” (house) does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied (e.g., Hos 4:15). It is supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tc The MT reads בָּמוֹת אָוֶן (bamot ’aven, “high places of Aven”); however, several Hebrew