39:5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
39:6 to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
39:7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver. 1
2:24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.
In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. 2
No one can hold her back when she is in heat.
None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.
At mating time she is easy to find. 3
8:9 They have gone up to Assyria,
like a wild donkey that wanders off.
Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers. 4
1 sn The animal is happier in open countryside than in a busy town, and on its own rather than being driven by a herdsman.
2 tn The words “to get the scent of a male” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s irrepressible desire to worship other gods.
4 tn Or “has hired herself out to lovers”; cf. NIV “has sold herself to lovers.”