Discovery Box1 Kings 9:7-9
Context9:7 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?’ 9:9 Others will then answer, 6 ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors 7 out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. 8 That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”
Psalms 41:13
Context41:13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise 9
in the future and forevermore! 10
We agree! We agree! 11
Psalms 79:4
Context79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. 12
Isaiah 64:9-11
Context64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!
Do not hold our sins against us continually! 13
Take a good look at your people, at all of us! 14
64:10 Your chosen 15 cities have become a desert;
Zion has become a desert,
Jerusalem 16 is a desolate ruin.
64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy, 17
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed. 18
Jeremiah 24:9
Context24:9 I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. 19 That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them. 20
Jeremiah 29:18
Context29:18 I will chase after them with war, 21 starvation, and disease. I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to them. I will make them examples of those who are cursed, objects of horror, hissing scorn, and ridicule among all the nations where I exile them.
Lamentations 1:8-9
Contextח (Khet)
1:8 Jerusalem committed terrible sin; 22
therefore she became an object of scorn. 23
All who admired 24 her have despised her 25
because they have seen her nakedness. 26
She groans aloud 27
and turns away in shame. 28
ט (Tet)
1:9 Her menstrual flow 29 has soiled 30 her clothing; 31
she did not consider 32 the consequences of her sin. 33
Her demise 34 was astonishing, 35
and there was no one to comfort her.
She cried, “Look, 36 O Lord, on my 37 affliction
because my 38 enemy boasts!”
Lamentations 2:15-16
Contextס (Samek)
2:15 All who passed by on the road
clapped their hands to mock you. 39
They sneered and shook their heads
at Daughter Jerusalem.
“Ha! Is this the city they called 40
‘The perfection of beauty, 41
the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” 42
פ (Pe)
2:16 All your enemies
gloated over you. 43
They sneered and gnashed their teeth;
they said, “We have destroyed 44 her!
Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.
We have lived to see it!” 45
[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.
[9:9] 6 tn Heb “and they will say.”
[9:9] 8 tn Heb “and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them.”
[41:13] 9 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.
[41:13] 10 tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” See 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5; Pss 90:2; 106:48.
[41:13] 11 tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.
[79:4] 12 tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.” See Ps 44:13.
[64:9] 13 tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”
[64:9] 14 tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”
[64:10] 15 tn Heb “holy” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT); NIV “sacred.”
[64:10] 16 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[64:11] 17 tn Heb “our source of pride.”
[64:11] 18 tn Or “all that we valued has become a ruin.”
[24:9] 19 tn Or “an object of reproach in peoples’ proverbs…an object of ridicule in people’s curses.” The alternate translation treats the two pairs which are introduced without vavs (ו) but are joined by vavs as examples of hendiadys. This is very possible here but the chain does not contain this pairing in 25:18; 29:18.
[24:9] 20 tn Heb “I will make them for a terror for disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, for a reproach and for a proverb, for a taunt and a curse in all the places which I banish them there.” The complex Hebrew sentence has been broken down into equivalent shorter sentences to conform more with contemporary English style.
[29:18] 21 tn Heb “with the sword.”
[1:8] 22 tc The MT reads חֵטְא (khet’, “sin”), but the BHS editors suggest the vocalization חָטֹא (khato’, “sin”), Qal infinitive absolute.
[1:8] 23 tn Heb “she has become an object of head-nodding” (לְנִידָה הָיָתָה, lÿniydah hayatah). This reflects the ancient Near Eastern custom of shaking the head in scorn (e.g., Jer 18:16; Ps 44:15 [HT 14]), hence the translation “object of scorn.” There is debate whether נִידָה (nidah) means (1) “object of head-shaking” from נוּד (nud, “to shake,” BDB 626-27 s.v. נוּד); (2) “unclean thing” from נָדַה (nadah, “to be impure”); or (3) “wanderer” from נָדַד (nadad, “to wander,” BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד). The LXX and Rashi connected it to נָדַד (nadad, “to wander”); however, several important early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus) and Syriac translated it as “unclean thing.” The modern English versions are split: (1) “unclean thing” (NASB); “unclean” (NIV); (2) “a mockery” (NRSV).
[1:8] 24 sn The Piel participle of כָּבֵד (kaved) is infrequent and usually translated formulaically as those who honor someone. The feminine nuance may be best represented as “her admirers have despised her.”
[1:8] 25 tn The verb הִזִּילוּהָ (hizziluha) is generally understood as a rare form of Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural + 3rd person feminine singular suffix from I זָלַל (zalal, “to despise”): “they despise her.” This follows the I nun (ן) pattern with daghesh (dot) in zayin (ז) rather than the expected geminate pattern הִזִילּוּהָ (hizilluha) with daghesh in lamed (ל) (GKC 178-79 §67.l).
[1:8] 26 sn The expression have seen her nakedness is a common metaphor to describe the plunder and looting of a city by a conquering army, probably drawn on the ignominious and heinous custom of raping the women of a conquered city as well.
[1:8] 27 tn Heb “groan” or “sigh.” The verb אָנַח (’anakh, appearing only in Niphal) means “sigh” (BDB 58 s.v. 1) or “groan” (HALOT 70-71 s.v.) as an expression of grief (Prov 29:2; Isa 24:7; Lam 1:4, 8; Ezek 9:4; 21:11). The word גַּם (gam) is usually a particle meaning “also,” but has been shown from Ugaritic to have the meaning “aloud.” See T. McDaniel, “Philological Studies in Lamentations, I-II,” Bib 49 (1968): 31-32.
[1:8] 28 tn Heb “and turns backward.”
[1:9] 29 tn Heb “uncleanness.” The noun טֻמְאָה (tum’ah, “uncleanness”) refers in general to the state of ritual uncleanness and specifically to (1) sexual uncleanness (Num 5:19); (2) filthy mass (Ezek 24:11; 2 Chr 29:16); (3) ritual uncleanness (Lev 16:16, 19; Ezek 22:15; 24:13; 36:25, 29; 39:24; Zech 13:2); (4) menstrual uncleanness (Lev 15:25, 26, 30; 18:19; Ezek 36:17); (5) polluted meat (Judg 13:7, 14). Here, Jerusalem is personified as a woman whose menstrual uncleanness has soiled even her own clothes; this is a picture of the consequences of the sin of Jerusalem: uncleanness = her sin, and soiling her own clothes = consequences of sin. The poet may also be mixing metaphors allowing various images (of shame) to circulate in the hearer’s mind, including rape and public exposure. By not again mentioning sin directly (a topic relatively infrequent in this book), the poet lays a general acknowledgment of sin in 1:8 alongside an exceptionally vivid picture of the horrific circumstances which have come to be. It is no simplistic explanation that sin merits such inhumane treatment. Instead 1:9 insists that no matter the legal implications of being guilty, the Lord should be motivated to aid Jerusalem (and therefore her people) because her obscene reality is so revolting.
[1:9] 30 tn Heb “her uncleanness is in her skirts.”
[1:9] 31 tn Heb “her skirts.” This term is a synecdoche of specific (skirts) for general (clothing).
[1:9] 32 tn The basic meaning of זָכַר (zakhar) is “to remember, call to mind” (HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר). Although it is often used in reference to recollection of past events or consideration of present situations, it also may mean “to consider, think about” the future outcome of conduct (e.g., Isa 47:7) (BDB 270 s.v. 5). The same term is used is 7a.
[1:9] 33 tn Heb “she did not consider her end.” The noun אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) here refers to an outcome or the consequences of an action; in light of 1:8 here it is the consequence of sin or immoral behavior (Num 23:10; 24:20; Deut 32:20, 29; Job 8:7; Pss 37:37; 73:17; Prov 14:12; 23:32; 25:8; Eccl 7:8; Isa 46:10; 47:7; Jer 5:31; 17:11; Dan 12:8).
[1:9] 34 tc The MT reads וַתֵּרֶד (vattered) vav (ו) consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person feminine singular from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). Symmachus καὶ κατήχθη (kai kathcqh, “and she was brought down”) and Vulgate deposita est use passive forms which might reflect וַתּוּרַד (vatturad, vav consecutive + Pual preterite 3rd person feminine singular from from יָרַד [yarad, “to go down”]). External evidence favors the MT (supported by all other ancient versions and medieval Hebrew
[1:9] 35 tn The noun פֶּלֶא (pele’) means not only “miracle, wonder” (BDB 810 s.v.) but “something unusual, astonishing” (HALOT 928 s.v.). The plural פְּלָאִים (pÿla’im, lit., “astonishments”) is an example of the plural of intensity: “very astonishing.” The noun functions as an adverbial accusative of manner; the nature of her descent shocks and astounds. Rendering פְּלָאִים וַתֵּרֶד (vattered pÿla’im) as “she has come down marvelously” (cf. BDB 810 s.v. 1 and KJV, ASV) is hardly appropriate; it is better to nuance it “in an astonishing way” (HALOT 928 s.v. 3) or simply “was astonishing.”
[1:9] 36 tn The words “she cried” do not appear in the Hebrew. They are added to indicate that personified Jerusalem is speaking.
[1:9] 37 tc The MT reads עָנְיִי (’onyi, “my affliction”) as reflected in all the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta) and the medieval Hebrew
[1:9] 38 tn Heb “an enemy.” While it is understood that the enemy is Jerusalem’s, not using the pronoun in Hebrew leaves room to imply to God that the enemy is not only Jerusalem’s but also God’s.
[2:15] 39 tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).
[2:15] 40 tn Heb “of which they said.”
[2:15] 41 tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.
[2:15] 42 tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.
[2:16] 43 tn Heb “they have opened wide their mouth against you.”
[2:16] 44 tn Heb “We have swallowed!”
[2:16] 45 tn Heb “We have attained, we have seen!” The verbs מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ (matsa’nu ra’inu) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its full verbal sense and the second functions as an object complement. It forms a Hebrew idiom that means something like, “We have lived to see it!” The three asyndetic 1st person common plural statements in 2:16 (“We waited, we destroyed, we saw!”) are spoken in an impassioned, staccato style reflecting the delight of the conquerors.
