63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray 1 from your ways, 2
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? 3
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
63:18 For a short time your special 4 nation possessed a land, 5
but then our adversaries knocked down 6 your holy sanctuary.
63:19 We existed from ancient times, 7
but you did not rule over them,
they were not your subjects. 8
1 tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.
2 tn This probably refers to God’s commands.
3 tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
4 tn Or “holy” (ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
5 tn Heb “for a short time they had a possession, the people of your holiness.”
6 tn Heb “your adversaries trampled on.”
7 tn Heb “we were from antiquity” (see v. 16). The collocation עוֹלָם + מִן + הָיָה (hayah + min + ’olam) occurs only here.
8 tn Heb “you did not rule them, your name was not called over them.” The expression “the name is called over” indicates ownership; see the note at 4:1. As these two lines stand they are very difficult to interpret. They appear to be stating that the adversaries just mentioned in v. 18 have not been subject to the Lord’s rule in the past, perhaps explaining why they could commit the atrocity described in v. 18b.