31:24 The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns
as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks. 2
50:19 But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture.
They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan.
They will eat until they are full 6
on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead. 7
50:20 When that time comes,
no guilt will be found in Israel.
No sin will be found in Judah. 8
For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive. 9
I, the Lord, affirm it!’” 10
65:10 Sharon 11 will become a pasture for sheep,
and the Valley of Achor 12 a place where cattle graze; 13
they will belong to my people, who seek me. 14
36:8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will grow your branches, and bear your fruit for my people Israel; for they will arrive soon. 17 36:9 For indeed, I am on your side; 18 I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted. 36:10 I will multiply your people 19 – the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be populated and the ruins rebuilt. 36:11 I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful. 20 I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times, and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history. 21 Then you will know that I am the Lord.
1:19 The people of the Negev 22 will take possession 23 of Esau’s mountain,
and the people of the Shephelah 24 will take
possession 25 of the land of 26 the Philistines.
They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
and the people of Benjamin will take possession 27 of Gilead. 28
1:20 The exiles of this fortress 29 of the people of Israel
will take possession 30 of what belongs to
the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, 31
and the exiles of Jerusalem 32 who are in Sepharad 33
will take possession of the towns of the Negev.
2:6 The seacoast 34 will be used as pasture lands 35 by the shepherds
and as pens for their flocks.
2:7 Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah 36 will take possession of it. 37
By the sea 38 they 39 will graze,
in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening,
for the Lord their God will intervene for them 40 and restore their prosperity. 41
1 tn Heb “There will come from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem and from…those bringing…incense and those bringing thank offerings.” This sentence has been restructured from a long complex original to conform to contemporary English style.
2 tn The translation “those who move about with their flocks” is based on an emendation of the Hebrew text which reads a third plural Qal perfect (נָסְעוּ, nos’u) to a masculine plural Qal participle in the construct (נֹסְעֵי, nosÿ’e) as suggested in the BHS fn. For the use of the construct participle before a noun with a preposition see GKC 421 §130.a. It is generally agreed that three classes of people are referred to here, townspeople, farmers, and shepherds. But the syntax of the Hebrew sentence is a little awkward: “And they [i.e., “people” (the indefinite plural, GKC 460 §144.g)] will live in it, Judah and all its cities [an apposition of nearer definition (GKC 425-26 §131.n)], [along with] farmers and those who move about with their flocks.” The first line refers awkwardly to the townspeople and the other two classes are added asyndetically (i.e., without the conjunction “and”).
3 tn Heb “They will buy fields with silver and write in the deed and seal [it] and have witnesses witness [it] in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the towns in Judah, in the towns in the hill country, in the towns in the Shephelah, and in the towns in the Negev.” The long Hebrew sentence has again been restructured to better conform to contemporary English style. The indefinite “they will buy” is treated as a passive. It is followed by three infinitive absolutes which substitute for the finite verb (cf. GKC 345 §113.y) which is a common feature of the style of the book of Jeremiah.
4 tn Or “I will reverse their fortunes.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on 29:14 and compare the usage in 29:14; 30:3, 18; 31:23.
5 tn Heb “Oracle of the
6 tn Heb “their soul [or hunger/appetite] will be satisfied.”
7 sn The metaphor of Israel as a flock of sheep (v. 17) is continued here. The places named were all in Northern Israel and in the Transjordan, lands that were lost to the Assyrians in the period 738-722
8 tn Heb “In those days and at that time, oracle of the
9 sn Compare Jer 31:34 and 33:8.
10 tn Heb “Oracle of the
11 sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.
12 sn The Valley of Achor (“Achor” means “trouble” in Hebrew) was the site of Achan’s execution. It was located to the east, near Jericho.
13 tn Heb “a resting place for cattle”; NASB, NIV “for herds.”
14 tn Heb “for my people who seek me.”
15 sn The imagery may reflect the overthrow of the Israelites by the Babylonians in 587/6
16 tn Heb “good.”
17 tn Heb “they draw near to arrive.”
18 tn Heb “I (am) toward you.”
19 tn Heb “I will multiply on you human(s).”
20 sn These verbs occur together in Gen 1:22, 28; 9:1.
21 tn Heb “your beginning.”
22 tn Heb “the Negev”; ASV “the South”; NCV, TEV “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev.
23 sn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”) which is repeated three times in vv. 19-20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as through military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered them then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.
24 tn The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the Shephelah” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region.
25 tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
26 tn The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
27 tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
28 sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.
29 tn Or “army” (TEV); KJV, NAB, NASB “host”; NIV “company.” Some text critics suggest revocalizing MT הַחֵל (hakhel, “the fortress”) to the place- name הָלָה (halah, “Halah”; so NRSV), the location to which many of the Israelite exiles were sent in the 8th century (2 Kgs 7:6; 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26). The MT form is from הַיִל (hayil, “strength”), which is used elsewhere to refer to an army (Exod 14:17; 1 Sam 17:20; 2 Sam 8:9), military fortress (2 Sam 20:15; 22:33), leaders (Exod 18:21) and even wealth or possessions (Obad 1:11, 13).
30 tn The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.
31 sn Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.
32 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
33 sn The exact location of Sepharad is uncertain. Suggestions include a location in Spain, or perhaps Sparta in Greece, or perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor. For inscriptional evidence that bears on this question see E. Lipinski, “Obadiah 20,” VT 23 (1973): 368-70. The reason for mentioning this location in v. 20 seems to be that even though it was far removed from Jerusalem, the Lord will nonetheless enable the Jewish exiles there to return and participate in the restoration of Israel that Obadiah describes.
34 tn The NIV here supplies the phrase “where the Kerethites dwell” (“Kerethites” is translated in v. 5 as “the people who came from Crete”) as an interpretive gloss, but this phrase is not in the MT. The NAB likewise reads “the coastland of the Cretans,” supplying “Cretans” here.
35 tn The Hebrew phrase here is נְוֹת כְּרֹת (nÿvot kÿrot). The first word is probably a plural form of נָוָה (navah, “pasture”). The meaning of the second word is unclear. It may be a synonym of the preceding word (cf. NRSV “pastures, meadows for shepherds”); there is a word כַּר (kar, “pasture”) in biblical Hebrew, but elsewhere it forms its plural with a masculine ending. Some have suggested the meaning “wells” or “caves” used as shelters (cf. NEB “shepherds’ huts”); in this case, one might translate, “The seacoast will be used for pasturelands; for shepherds’ wells/caves.”
36 tn Heb “the remnant of the house of Judah.”
37 tn Or “the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah.”
38 tc Heb “on them,” but the antecedent of the masculine pronoun is unclear. It may refer back to the “pasture lands,” though that noun is feminine. It is preferable to emend the text from עֲלֵיהֶם (’alehem) to עַל־הַיָּם (’al-hayyam, “by the sea”) an emendation that assumes a misdivision and transposition of letters in the MT (cf. NEB “They shall pasture their flocks by the sea”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 192.
39 tn The referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) is unclear. It may refer (1) to the shepherds (in which case the first verb should be translated, “pasture their sheep,” cf. NEB), or (2) to the Judahites occupying the area, who are being compared to sheep (cf. NIV, “there they will find pasture”).
40 tn Or “will care for them.”
41 tn Traditionally, “restore their captivity,” i.e., bring back their captives, but it is more likely the expression means “restore their fortunes” in a more general sense (cf. NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).