4:6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. 4
Run for safety! Do not delay!
For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.
It will bring great destruction. 5
5:15 The Lord says, 6 “Listen, 7 nation of Israel! 8
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
6:1 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem! 9
Sound the trumpet 10 in Tekoa!
Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster lurks 11 out of the north;
it will bring great destruction. 12
6:22 “This is what the Lord says:
‘Beware! An army 13 is coming from a land in the north.
A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.
1:6 Look, I am about to empower 14 the Babylonians,
that ruthless 15 and greedy 16 nation.
They sweep across the surface 17 of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
1:7 They are frightening and terrifying;
they decide for themselves what is right. 18
1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and more alert 19 than wolves in the desert. 20
Their horses 21 gallop, 22
their horses come a great distance;
like a vulture 23 they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. 24
1:9 All of them intend 25 to do violence;
every face is determined. 26
They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. 27
1 tn Heb “they will each set up.” The pronoun “they” refers back to the “kingdoms” in the preceding sentence. However, kingdoms do not sit on thrones; their kings do. This is an example of a figure of speech called metonymy where the kingdom is put for its king. For a similar use see 2 Chr 12:8.
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 tn Or “They will come and set up their thrones in the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem. They will destroy all the walls surrounding it and also destroy all the towns in Judah.” The text of v. 15b reads in Hebrew, “they will each set up his throne [near? in?] the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls…and against all the towns….” Commentators are divided over whether the passage refers to the kings setting up their thrones after victory in preparation for passing judgment on their defeated enemies in the city or whether it refers to setting up siege against it. There is no Hebrew preposition before the word for “the entrance” so that it could be “in” (which would imply victory) or “at/near” (which would imply siege), and the same verb + object (i.e., “they will set up their thrones”) governs all the locative statements. It is most often taken to refer to the aftermath of victory because of the supposed parallel in Jer 43:8-13 and the supposed fulfillment in Jer 39:3. Though this may fit well with the first part of the compound expression, it does not fit well with the latter part which is most naturally taken to refer to hostile attacks against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah. The translation given in the text is intended to reflect the idea of an army setting up for siege. The alternate translation is intended to reflect the other view.
4 tn Heb “Raise up a signal toward Zion.”
5 tn Heb “out of the north, even great destruction.”
6 tn Heb “oracle of the
7 tn Heb “Behold!”
8 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
9 tn Heb “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem.”
10 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
11 tn Heb “leans down” or “looks down.” This verb personifies destruction leaning/looking down from its window in the sky, ready to attack.
12 tn Heb “[It will be] a severe fracture.” The nation is pictured as a limb being fractured.
13 tn Heb “people.”
14 tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).
15 tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”
16 tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.
17 tn Heb “the open spaces.”
18 tn Heb “from him his justice, even his lifting up, goes out.” In this context שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) probably has the nuance “authority.” See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 150.
19 tn Heb “sharper,” in the sense of “keener” or “more alert.” Some translate “quicker” on the basis of the parallelism with the first line (see HALOT 291 s.v. חדד).
20 tn Heb “wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The present translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). On this phrase see also Zeph 3:3.
21 tn Or “horsemen,” “cavalry.”
22 tn The precise nuance of the rare verb פָּוַשׁ (parash) is unclear here. Elsewhere it is used of animals jumping or leaping (see Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2).
23 tn Or “eagle” (so NASB, NRSV). The term can refer to either eagles or vultures, but in this context of gruesome destruction and death “vulture” is preferred.
24 tn Heb “they fly like a vulture/an eagle quickly to devour.” The direct object “their prey” is not included in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
25 tn Heb “come.”
26 tn Heb “The totality of their faces is to the east” (or “is forward”). The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מְגַמַּת (megammat) is unclear. For a discussion of options see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 93. NEB has “a sea of faces rolls on”; NIV “their hordes advance like a desert wind”; NRSV “with faces pressing forward.”
27 tn Heb “and he gathers like sand, prisoners.”