1:12 Indeed, the residents of Maroth 1 hope for something good to happen, 2
though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. 3
1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and 4 the sins of the nation 5 of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? 6
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! 7
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? 8
They are right in Jerusalem! 9
1:9 For Samaria’s 10 disease 11 is incurable.
It has infected 12 Judah;
it has spread to 13 the leadership 14 of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem! 15
4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, 16
fortress of Daughter Zion 17 –
your former dominion will be restored, 18
the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.
1 sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”
2 tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).
3 tn Heb “though disaster has come down from the
4 tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “house.”
6 tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”
7 tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.
8 tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”
9 tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”
7 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
9 tn Heb “come to.”
10 tn Or “reached.”
11 tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.
12 tn Heb “to Jerusalem.” The expression “it has contaminated” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to fill out the parallelism with the preceding line.
10 tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).
11 sn The city of David, located within Jerusalem, is addressed as Daughter Zion. As the home of the Davidic king, who was Israel’s shepherd (Ps 78:70-72), the royal citadel could be viewed metaphorically as the watchtower of the flock.
12 tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”