16:4 I also could speak 1 like you,
if 2 you were in my place;
I could pile up 3 words against you
and I could shake my head at you. 4
22:7 All who see me taunt 5 me;
they mock me 6 and shake their heads. 7
22:8 They say, 8
“Commit yourself 9 to the Lord!
Let the Lord 10 rescue him!
Let the Lord 11 deliver him, for he delights in him.” 12
“The virgin daughter Zion 14
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 15
ס (Samek)
2:15 All who passed by on the road
clapped their hands to mock you. 16
They sneered and shook their heads
at Daughter Jerusalem.
“Ha! Is this the city they called 17
‘The perfection of beauty, 18
the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” 19
1 tn For the use of the cohortative in the apodosis of conditional sentences, see GKC 322 §109.f.
2 tn The conjunction לוּ (lu) is used to introduce the optative, a condition that is incapable of fulfillment (see GKC 494-95 §159.l).
3 tn This verb אַחְבִּירָה (’akhbirah) is usually connected to חָבַר (khavar, “to bind”). There are several suggestions for this word. J. J. Finkelstein proposed a second root, a homonym, meaning “to make a sound,” and so here “to harangue” (“Hebrew habar and Semitic HBR,” JBL 75 [1956]: 328-31; see also O. Loretz, “HBR in Job 16:4,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 293-94, who renders it “I could make noisy speeches”). Other suggestions have been for new meanings based on cognate studies, such as “to make beautiful” (i.e., make polished speeches).
4 sn The action is a sign of mockery (see Ps 22:7[8]; Isa 37:22; Matt 27:39).
5 tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”
6 tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.
7 sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.
8 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.
9 tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the
10 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
11 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
12 tn That is, “for he [the
13 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
14 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
15 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
16 tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).
17 tn Heb “of which they said.”
18 tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.
19 tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.
20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.