137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! 6
How blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us! 7
3:7 Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them.
I will repay you for what you have done! 8
3:8 I will sell your sons and daughters to 9 the people of Judah. 10
They will sell them to the Sabeans, 11 a nation far away.
Indeed, the Lord has spoken!
2:8 Because you robbed many countries, 12
all who are left among the nations 13 will rob you.
You have shed human blood
and committed violent acts against lands, cities, 14 and those who live in them.
1 tn Grk “as.”
2 tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”
3 tn Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος ({etero"; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelqousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them.
4 tn Or “in the same way as.”
5 tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.
6 tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.
7 tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”
8 tn Heb “I will return your recompense on your head.”
9 tn Heb “into the hand of.”
10 tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”
11 sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.
12 tn Or “nations.”
13 tn Or “peoples.”
14 tn Heb “because of the shed blood of humankind and violence against land, city.” The singular forms אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) and קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) are collective, referring to all the lands and cities terrorized by the Babylonians.
15 tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured to you.”
16 tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.