41:11 Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the atrocities 1 that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed. 41:12 So they took all their troops and went to fight against Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the large pool 2 at Gibeon.
9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
ב (Bet)
1:2 She weeps bitterly at night;
tears stream down her cheeks. 6
She has no one to comfort her
among all her lovers. 7
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
1 tn Or “crimes,” or “evil things”; Heb “the evil.”
2 tn Heb “the many [or great] waters.” This is generally identified with the pool of Gibeon mentioned in 2 Sam 2:13.
3 sn The kingdom of Zimri is mentioned nowhere else, so its location is unknown.
4 sn See further Jer 49:34-39 for judgment against Elam.
5 sn Elam and Media were east of Babylon; Elam in the south and Media in the north. They were in what is now western Iran.
6 tn Heb “her tears are on her cheek.”
7 tn Heb “lovers.” The term “lovers” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis), comparing Jerusalem’s false gods and foreign political alliances to sexually immoral lovers. Hosea uses similar imagery (Hos 2:5, 7, 10, 13). It may also function as a double entendre, first evoking a disconcerting picture of a funeral where the widow has no loved ones present to comfort her. God also does not appear to be present to comfort Jerusalem and will later be called her enemy. The imagery in Lamentations frequently capitalizes on changing the reader’s expectations midstream.