4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, 1
fortress of Daughter Zion 2 –
your former dominion will be restored, 3
the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.
5:1 (4:14) 4 But now slash yourself, 5 daughter surrounded by soldiers! 6
We are besieged!
With a scepter 7 they strike Israel’s ruler 8
on the side of his face.
7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,
a daughter challenges 9 her mother,
and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are his own servants. 10
1 tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).
2 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.
3 tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”
4 sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
5 tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).
6 tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”
7 tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”
8 tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).
7 tn Heb “rises up against.”
8 tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”