30:13 There is no one to plead your cause.
There are no remedies for your wounds. 1
There is no healing for you.
4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright
when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ 2
If you do, 3 the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are
and will make him the object of their boasting.” 4
1 tc The translation of these first two lines follows the redivision of the lines suggested in NIV and NRSV rather than that of the Masoretes who read, “There is no one who pleads your cause with reference to [your] wound.”
2 tn Heb “If you [= you must, see the translator’s note on the word “do” later in this verse] swear/take an oath, ‘As the
3 tn 4:1-2a consists of a number of “if” clauses, two of which are formally introduced by the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) while the others are introduced by the conjunction “and,” followed by a conjunction (“and” = “then”) with a perfect in 4:2b which introduces the consequence. The translation “You must…. If you do,” was chosen to avoid a long and complicated sentence.
4 tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”