3:5 The just Lord resides 1 within her;
he commits no unjust acts. 2
Every morning he reveals 3 his justice.
At dawn he appears without fail. 4
Yet the unjust know no shame.
3:6 “I destroyed 5 nations;
their walled cities 6 are in ruins.
I turned their streets into ruins;
no one passes through them.
Their cities are desolate; 7
no one lives there. 8
3:7 I thought, 9 ‘Certainly you will respect 10 me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home 11 would not be destroyed 12
by all the punishments I have threatened. 13
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did. 14
1 tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.
2 tn Or “he does no injustice.”
3 tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”
4 tn Heb “at the light he is not missing.” Note that NASB (which capitalizes pronouns referring to Deity) has divided the lines differently: “Every morning He brings His justice to light; // He does not fail.”
5 tn Heb “cut off.”
6 tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”
7 tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.
8 tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”
9 tn Heb “said.”
10 tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.
11 tn Or “dwelling place.”
12 tn Heb “cut off.”
13 tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.
14 tn Heb “But they got up early, they made corrupt all their actions.” The phrase “they got up early” probably refers to their eagerness to engage in sinful activities.