1:24 However, 1 because 2 I called but you refused to listen, 3
because 4 I stretched out my hand 5 but no one paid attention,
1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;
they will diligently seek 6 me, but they will not find me.
1 tn The term “however” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the contrast between the offer in 1:23 and the accusation in 1:24-25. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
2 tn The particle יַעַן (ya’an, “because”) introduces a causal clause which forms part of an extended protasis; the apodosis is 1:26.
3 tn The phrase “to listen” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
4 tn The term “because” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
5 sn This expression is a metonymy of adjunct; it is a gesture that goes with the appeal for some to approach.
6 tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).