2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,
“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.
They will be overrun by weeds, 1
filled with salt pits, 2
and permanently desolate.
Those of my people who are left 3 will plunder their belongings; 4
those who are left in Judah 5 will take possession of their land.”
2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up 6 –
the city that was so secure. 7
She thought to herself, 8 “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” 9
What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!
Everyone who passes by her taunts her 10 and shakes his fist. 11
1 tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”
2 tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.
3 tn Or “The remnant of my people.”
4 tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.
6 tn Heb “this is the proud city.”
7 tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”
8 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
9 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”
10 tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”
11 sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time.