4:13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. 1
The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. 2
His horses move more swiftly than eagles.”
I cry out, 3 “We are doomed, 4 for we will be destroyed!”
ק (Qof)
4:19 Those who pursued us were swifter
than eagles 5 in the sky. 6
They chased us over the mountains;
they ambushed us in the wilderness.
“‘A great eagle 8 with broad wings, long feathers, 9
with full plumage which was multi-hued, 10
came to Lebanon 11 and took the top of the cedar.
8:1 Sound the alarm! 15
An eagle 16 looms over the temple of the Lord!
For they have broken their covenant with me, 17
and have rebelled against my law.
17:37 Then 20 the disciples 21 said 22 to him, “Where, 23 Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body 24 is, there the vultures 25 will gather.” 26
1 tn Heb “he is coming up like clouds.” The words “The enemy” are supplied in the translation to identify the referent and the word “gathering” is supplied to try to convey the significance of the simile, i.e., that of quantity and of an approaching storm.
2 tn Heb “his chariots [are] like a whirlwind.” The words “roar” and “sound” are supplied in the translation to clarify the significance of the simile.
3 tn The words “I cry out” are not in the text, but the words that follow are obviously not the
4 tn Heb “Woe to us!” The words “woe to” are common in funeral laments and at the beginning of oracles of judgment. In many contexts they carry the connotation of hopelessness or apprehensiveness of inevitable doom.
5 tn The bird referred to here could be one of several species of eagles, but more likely is the griffin-vulture (cf. NEB “vultures”). However, because eagles are more commonly associated with swiftness than vultures in contemporary English, “eagles” was used in the translation.
6 tn Or “in the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
7 tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.
8 sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).
9 tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).
10 tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.
11 sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).
12 tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.
13 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.
14 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
15 tn Heb “A horn unto your gums!”; NAB “A trumpet to your lips!”
16 tn Or perhaps “A vulture.” Some identify the species indicated by the Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) as the griffon vulture (cf. NEB, NRSV).
17 tn Heb “my covenant” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “the covenant I made with them.”
18 tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.
19 tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
21 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the disciples, v. 22) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Grk “answering, they said to him.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.
23 sn The question “Where, Lord?” means, “Where will the judgment take place?”
24 tn Or “corpse.”
25 tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures, because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.
26 tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.