1 Kings 9:7-8

9:7 then I will remove Israel from the land ¹  I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, ²  and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed ³  among all the nations. 9:8 This temple will become a heap of ruins; ⁴  everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, ⁵  saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’

Isaiah 14:16-19

14:16 Those who see you stare at you,

they look at you carefully, thinking: ⁶ 

“Is this the man who shook the earth,

the one who made kingdoms tremble?

14:17 Is this the one who made the world like a desert,

who ruined its ⁷  cities,

and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?”’ ⁸ 

14:18 ⁹ As for all the kings of the nations,

all of them ¹⁰  lie down in splendor, ¹¹ 

each in his own tomb. ¹² 

14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave

like a shoot that is thrown away. ¹³ 

You lie among ¹⁴  the slain,

among those who have been slashed by the sword,

among those headed for ¹⁵  the stones of the pit, ¹⁶ 

as if you were a mangled corpse. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 51:37

51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ¹⁸ 

It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,

a place where no one lives. ¹⁹ 

Zephaniah 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ²⁰  –

the city that was so secure. ²¹ 

She thought to herself, ²²  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ²³ 

What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ²⁴  and shakes his fist. ²⁵ 

Zephaniah 2:1

The Prophet Warns the People

2:1 Bunch yourselves together like straw, ²⁶  you undesirable ²⁷  nation,

Colossians 4:9

4:9 I sent him ²⁸  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ²⁹  They will tell ³⁰  you about everything here.

Hebrews 10:33

10:33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way.

Jude 1:7

1:7 So also ³¹  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ³²  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ³³  in a way similar to ³⁴  these angels, ³⁵  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

[9:7]  ¹ tn Heb “I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land.”

[9:7]  ² tn Heb “and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face.”

[9:7]  ³ tn Heb “will become a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.

[9:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and this house will be high [or elevated].” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”

[9:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “hiss,” or perhaps “whistle.” This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.

[14:16]  ⁶ tn The word “thinking” is supplied in the translation in order to make it clear that the next line records their thoughts as they gaze at him.

[14:17]  ⁷ tc The pronominal suffix is masculine, even though its antecedent appears to be the grammatically feminine noun “world.” Some have suggested that the form עָרָיו (’arayv, plural noun with third masculine singular suffix) should be emended to עָרֶיהָ (’areha, plural noun with third feminine singular suffix). This emendation may be unnecessary in light of other examples of lack of agreement a suffix and its antecedent noun.

[14:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “and his prisoners did not let loose to [their] homes.” This really means, “he did not let loose his prisoners and send them back to their homes.’ On the elliptical style, see GKC 366 §117.o.

[14:18]  ⁹ sn It is unclear where the quotation of the kings, begun in v. 10b, ends. However, the reference to the “kings of the nations” in v. 18 (see also v. 9) seems to indicate that the quotation has ended at this point and that Israel’s direct taunt (cf. vv. 4b-10a) has resumed. In fact the references to the “kings of the nations” may form a stylistic inclusio or frame around the quotation.

[14:18]  ¹⁰ tc The phrase “all of them” does not appear in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[14:18]  ¹¹ sn This refers to the typically extravagant burial of kings.

[14:18]  ¹² tn Heb “house” (so KJV, ASV), but in this context a tomb is in view. Note the verb “lie down” in the preceding line and the reference to a “grave” in the next line.

[14:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”

[14:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “are clothed with.”

[14:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “those going down to.”

[14:19]  ¹⁶ tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.

[14:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.

[51:37]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.

[51:37]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”

[2:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ²² tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ²³ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ²⁵ 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.

[2:1]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew text combines a Hitpolel imperative of קָשַׁשׁ (qashash) with a Qal imperative of the same root. Elsewhere this root appears in the polel stem with the meaning “gather stubble.” Zephaniah’s command is ironic, implying the people are like stubble or straw. As such, they are vulnerable to the Lord’s fiery judgment that will quickly consume them (see 1:18). See Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 96.

[2:1]  ²⁷ tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.”

[4:9]  ²⁸ tn The Greek sentence continues v. 9 with the phrase “with Onesimus,” but this is awkward in English, so the verb “I sent” was inserted and a new sentence started at the beginning of v. 9 in the translation.

[4:9]  ²⁹ tn Grk “is of you.”

[4:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “will make known to you.” This has been simplified in the translation to “will tell.”

[1:7]  ³¹ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ³² tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ³³ tn Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος ({etero"; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelqousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them.

[1:7]  ³⁴ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ³⁵ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.