48:12 Walk around 1 Zion! Encircle it!
Count its towers!
48:13 Consider its defenses! 2
Walk through 3 its fortresses,
so you can tell the next generation about it! 4
2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, 5
for 6 all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;
2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan; 7
2:14 for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills, 8
2:15 for every high tower,
for every fortified wall,
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 9 city is abandoned.
Hill 10 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 11
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 12
1 tn The verb forms in vv. 12-13 are plural; the entire Judahite community is addressed.
2 tn Heb “set your heart to its rampart.”
3 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word translated “walk through,” which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Cf. NEB “pass…in review”; NIV “view.”
4 sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.
5 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”
6 tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).
7 sn The cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan were well-known for their size and prominence. They make apt symbols here for powerful men who think of themselves as prominent and secure.
8 sn The high mountains and hills symbolize the apparent security of proud men, as do the high tower and fortified wall of v. 15.
9 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
10 tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
11 tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.
12 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”