46:9 Go ahead and 1 charge into battle, you horsemen!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
Let the soldiers march out into battle,
those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields,
and those from Lydia 2 who are armed with the bow. 3
30:5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners, 4 Libya, and the people 5 of the covenant land 6 will die by the sword along with them.
1 tn The words “Go ahead and” are not in the text but are intended to suggest the ironical nature of the commands here. The
2 sn The peoples that are referred to here are all known to have been mercenaries in the army of Egypt (see Nah 3:9; Ezek 30:5). The place names in Hebrew are actually Cush, Put, and Lud. “Cush” has already been identified in Jer 13:23 as the region along the Nile south of Egypt most commonly referred to as Ethiopia. The identification of “Put” and “Lud” are both debated though it is generally felt that Put was a part of Libya and Lud is to be identified with Lydia in Asia Minor. For further discussion see M. J. Mellink, “Lud, Ludim” IDB 3:178, and T. O. Lambdin, “Put,” IDB 3:971.
3 tn Heb “who grasp and bend the bow.”
4 tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.
5 tn Heb “sons.”
6 tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
7 tn Or “Nubians” (NIV, NCV); Heb “Cushites.”
8 tn Heb “Libyans and Cushites [will be] at his footsteps.”