5:3 So the Lord 1 will hand the people of Israel 2 over to their enemies 3
until the time when the woman in labor 4 gives birth. 5
Then the rest of the king’s 6 countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel. 7
5:1 (4:14) 8 But now slash yourself, 9 daughter surrounded by soldiers! 10
We are besieged!
With a scepter 11 they strike Israel’s ruler 12
on the side of his face.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
2 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
4 sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.
5 sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.
6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
8 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.
9 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).
10 tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”
11 tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”
12 tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).