39:14 For she leaves 1 her eggs on the ground,
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
39:15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animal 2 might trample them.
39:16 She is harsh 3 with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned
about the uselessness of her labor.
16:2 At the fords of the Arnon 4
the Moabite women are like a bird
that flies about when forced from its nest. 5
1 tn The meaning may have the connotation of “lays; places,” rather than simply abandoning (see M. Dahood, “The Root ’zb II in Job,” JBL 78 [1959]: 307f.).
2 tn Heb “an animal of the field.”
3 sn This verb, “to deal harshly; to harden; to treat cruelly,” is used for hardening the heart elsewhere (see Isa 63:17).
4 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
5 tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”