1:13 Residents of Lachish, 1 hitch the horses to the chariots!
You 2 influenced Daughter Zion 3 to sin, 4
for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back 5 to you!
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 6
and those far off 7 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 8
4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, 9
fortress of Daughter Zion 10 –
your former dominion will be restored, 11
the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.
1 sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”
2 tn Heb “she”; this has been translated as second person (“you”) in keeping with the direct address to the residents of Lachish in the previous line.
3 sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.
4 tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”
5 tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”
6 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
7 tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).
8 tn Heb “from now until forever.”
11 tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).
12 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.
13 tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”