Genesis 7:1-24

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ¹  7:2 You must take with you seven ²  of every kind of clean animal, ³  the male and its mate, ⁴  two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven ⁵  of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, ⁶  to preserve their offspring ⁷  on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days ⁸  I will cause it to rain ⁹  on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”

7:5 And Noah did all ¹⁰  that the Lord commanded him.

7:6 Noah ¹¹  was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed ¹²  the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because ¹³  of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs ¹⁴  of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground, 7:9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, ¹⁵  just as God had commanded him. ¹⁶  7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. ¹⁷ 

7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep ¹⁸  burst open and the floodgates of the heavens ¹⁹  were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell ²⁰  on the earth forty days and forty nights.

7:13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives. ²¹  7:14 They entered, ²²  along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. ²³  7:15 Pairs ²⁴  of all creatures ²⁵  that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, ²⁶  just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

7:17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed ²⁷  the earth, and the ark floated ²⁸  on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated ²⁹  the earth so that even ³⁰  all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet ³¹  above the mountains. ³²  7:21 And all living things ³³  that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 7:22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life ³⁴  in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord ³⁵  destroyed ³⁶  every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. ³⁷  They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. ³⁸  7:24 The waters prevailed over ³⁹  the earth for 150 days.

Genesis 1:11

1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: ⁴⁰  plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, ⁴¹  and ⁴²  trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so.

Genesis 1:13-14

1:13 There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

1:14 God said, “Let there be lights ⁴³  in the expanse ⁴⁴  of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs ⁴⁵  to indicate seasons and days and years,

Genesis 1:22

1:22 God blessed them ⁴⁶  and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ⁴⁷ 

Psalms 12:5

12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ⁴⁸ 

because of the painful cries ⁴⁹  of the needy,

I will spring into action,” ⁵⁰  says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ⁵¹ 

Proverbs 22:22-23

22:22 Do not exploit ⁵²  a poor person because he is poor

and do not crush the needy in court, ⁵³ 

22:23 for the Lord will plead their case ⁵⁴ 

and will rob those who are robbing ⁵⁵  them.

Ecclesiastes 4:1

Evil Oppression on Earth

4:1 So ⁵⁶  I again considered ⁵⁷  all the oppression ⁵⁸  that continually occurs ⁵⁹  on earth. ⁶⁰ 

This is what I saw: ⁶¹ 

The oppressed ⁶²  were in tears, ⁶³  but no one was comforting them;

no one delivers ⁶⁴  them from the power of their oppressors. ⁶⁵ 

Ecclesiastes 5:8

Government Corruption

5:8 If you see the extortion ⁶⁶  of the poor,

or the perversion ⁶⁷  of justice and fairness in the government, ⁶⁸ 

do not be astonished by the matter.

For the high official is watched by a higher official, ⁶⁹ 

and there are higher ones over them! ⁷⁰ 

Jeremiah 50:33-34

50:33 The Lord who rules over all ⁷¹  says,

“The people of Israel are oppressed.

So too are the people of Judah. ⁷² 

All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners.

They refuse to set them free.

50:34 But the one who will rescue them ⁷³  is strong.

He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ⁷⁴ 

He will strongly ⁷⁵  champion their cause.

As a result ⁷⁶  he will bring peace and rest to the earth,

but trouble and turmoil ⁷⁷  to the people who inhabit Babylonia. ⁷⁸ 

Amos 4:1

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ⁷⁹  who live on Mount Samaria!

You ⁸⁰  oppress the poor;

you crush the needy.

You say to your ⁸¹  husbands,

“Bring us more to drink!” ⁸² 

Micah 2:1-3

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ⁸³ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ⁸⁴ 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ⁸⁵ 

because they have the power to do so.

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ⁸⁶ 

They defraud people of their homes, ⁸⁷ 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ⁸⁸ 

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ⁸⁹ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ⁹⁰ 

You will no longer ⁹¹  walk proudly,

for it will be a time of catastrophe.

[7:1]  ¹ tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

[7:2]  ² tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

[7:2]  ³ sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.

[7:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.

[7:3]  ⁵ tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

[7:3]  ⁶ tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).

[7:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”

[7:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”

[7:4]  ⁹ tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.

[7:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “according to all.”

[7:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Now Noah was.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate nominative after implied “to be” verb) provides background information. The age of Noah receives prominence.

[7:6]  ¹² tn Heb “and the flood was water upon.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial/temporal in relation to the preceding clause. The verb הָיָה (hayah) here carries the nuance “to come” (BDB 225 s.v. הָיָה). In this context the phrase “come upon” means “to engulf.”

[7:7]  ¹³ tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark.

[7:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”

[7:9]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”

[7:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “came upon.”

[7:11]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 1:2).

[7:11]  ¹⁹ sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.

[7:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “was.”

[7:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “On that very day Noah entered, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.”

[7:14]  ²² tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:14]  ²³ tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”

[7:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”

[7:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “flesh.”

[7:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”

[7:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigbÿru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.

[7:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “went.”

[7:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.

[7:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and.”

[7:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “rose fifteen cubits.” Since a cubit is considered by most authorities to be about eighteen inches, this would make the depth 22.5 feet. This figure might give the modern reader a false impression of exactness, however, so in the translation the phrase “fifteen cubits” has been rendered “more than twenty feet.”

[7:20]  ³² tn Heb “the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward and they covered the mountains.” Obviously, a flood of twenty feet did not cover the mountains; the statement must mean the flood rose about twenty feet above the highest mountain.

[7:21]  ³³ tn Heb “flesh.”

[7:22]  ³⁴ tn Heb “everything which [has] the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils from all which is in the dry land.”

[7:23]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:23]  ³⁶ tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).

[7:23]  ³⁷ tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”

[7:23]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁאָר (sha’ar) means “to be left over; to survive” in the Niphal verb stem. It is the word used in later biblical texts for the remnant that escapes judgment. See G. F. Hasel, “Semantic Values of Derivatives of the Hebrew Root só’r,” AUSS 11 (1973): 152-69.

[7:24]  ³⁹ sn The Hebrew verb translated “prevailed over” suggests that the waters were stronger than the earth. The earth and everything in it were no match for the return of the chaotic deep.

[1:11]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew construction employs a cognate accusative, where the nominal object (“vegetation”) derives from the verbal root employed. It stresses the abundant productivity that God created.

[1:11]  ⁴¹ sn After their kinds. The Hebrew word translated “kind” (מִין, min) indicates again that God was concerned with defining and dividing time, space, and species. The point is that creation was with order, as opposed to chaos. And what God created and distinguished with boundaries was not to be confused (see Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9-11).

[1:11]  ⁴² tn The conjunction “and” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the relationship of the clauses.

[1:14]  ⁴³ sn Let there be lights. Light itself was created before the light-bearers. The order would not seem strange to the ancient Hebrew mind that did not automatically link daylight with the sun (note that dawn and dusk appear to have light without the sun).

[1:14]  ⁴⁴ tn The language describing the cosmos, which reflects a prescientific view of the world, must be interpreted as phenomenal, describing what appears to be the case. The sun and the moon are not in the sky (below the clouds), but from the viewpoint of a person standing on the earth, they appear that way. Even today we use similar phenomenological expressions, such as “the sun is rising” or “the stars in the sky.”

[1:14]  ⁴⁵ tn The text has “for signs and for seasons and for days and years.” It seems likely from the meanings of the words involved that “signs” is the main idea, followed by two categories, “seasons” and “days and years.” This is the simplest explanation, and one that matches vv. 11-13. It could even be rendered “signs for the fixed seasons, that is [explicative vav (ו)] days and years.”

[1:22]  ⁴⁶ tn While the translation “blessed” has been retained here for the sake of simplicity, it would be most helpful to paraphrase it as “God endowed them with fruitfulness” or something similar, for here it refers to God’s giving the animals the capacity to reproduce. The expression “blessed” needs clarification in its different contexts, for it is one of the unifying themes of the Book of Genesis. The divine blessing occurs after works of creation and is intended to continue that work – the word of blessing guarantees success. The word means “to enrich; to endow,” and the most visible evidence of that enrichment is productivity or fruitfulness. See C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[1:22]  ⁴⁷ sn The instruction God gives to creation is properly a fuller expression of the statement just made (“God blessed them”), that he enriched them with the ability to reproduce. It is not saying that these were rational creatures who heard and obeyed the word; rather, it stresses that fruitfulness in the animal world is a result of the divine decree and not of some pagan cultic ritual for fruitfulness. The repeated emphasis of “be fruitful – multiply – fill” adds to this abundance God has given to life. The meaning is underscored by the similar sounds: בָּרָךְ (barakh) with בָּרָא (bara’), and פָּרָה (parah) with רָבָה (ravah).

[12:5]  ⁴⁸ tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.

[12:5]  ⁴⁹ tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).

[12:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “I will rise up.”

[12:5]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the Lord would be promising protection to those who have the courage to support the oppressed in the court of law. However, the first part of the verse focuses on the oppressed, not their advocates.

[22:22]  ⁵² tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (’al-tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (ve’al-tÿdakke’, “do not crush”).

[22:22]  ⁵³ tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.

[22:23]  ⁵⁴ tn The construction uses the verb יָרִיב (yariv) with its cognate accusative. It can mean “to strive,” but here it probably means “to argue a case, plead a case” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). How the Lord will do this is not specified – either through righteous people or by direct intervention.

[22:23]  ⁵⁵ tn The verb קָבַע (qava’, “to rob; to spoil; to plunder”) is used here in both places to reflect the principle of talionic justice. What the oppressors did to the poor will be turned back on them by the Lord.

[4:1]  ⁵⁶ tn The prefixed vav on וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavti, vav + perfect 1st person common singular from שׁוּב, shuv, “to turn”) might be: (1) introductory (and left untranslated): “I observed again”; (2) consequence of preceding statement: “So I observed again”; or (3) continuation of preceding statement: “And I observed again.”

[4:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “I turned and I saw.” The phrase וָאֶרְאֶה…וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavti… va’er’eh, “I turned and I saw”) is a verbal hendiadys (the two verbs represent one common idea). Normally in a verbal hendiadys, the first verb functions adverbially, modifying the second verb which retains its full verbal force. The verb וְשַׁבְתִּי (vav + perfect 1st person common singular from שׁוּב “to turn”) is used idiomatically to denote repetition: “to return and do” = “to do again” (e.g., Gen 26:18; 30:31; 43:2) or “to do repeatedly” (e.g., Lam 3:3); see HALOT 1430 s.v. שׁוב 5; BDB 998 s.v. שׁוּב 8; GKC 386 §120.e: “I observed again” or “I repeatedly observed.” On the other hand, the shift from the perfect וְשַׁבְתִּי to the preterite וָאֶרְאֶה (vav + Qal preterite 1st person common singular from רָאָה, ra’ah, “to see”) might indicate a purpose clause: “I turned [my mind] to consider.” The preterite וָאֶרְאֶה follows the perfect וְשַׁבְתִּי. When a wayyiqtol form (vav + preterite) follows a perfect in reference to a past-time situation, the preterite also represents a past-time situation. Its aspect is based on the preceding perfect. In this context, the perfect and preterite may denote definite past or indefinite past action (“I turned and considered” as hendiadys for “I observed again” or “I repeatedly observed”) or past telic action (“I turned [my mind] to consider”). See IBHS 554-55 §33.3.1a.

[4:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “all the oppressions” or “all the oppression”; alternately, “all the various kinds of oppression.” The term עֹשֶׁק (’osheq) denotes “oppression,” e.g., Jer 6:6; 22:17; Ezek 18:18; 22:7, 12, 29; Pss 73:8; 119:134 (see HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1; BDB 799 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1). It occurs several times in the book, always in reference to personal rather than national oppression (4:1; 5:8 ET [5:7 HT]; 7:7). The noun הָעֲשֻׁקִים (ha’ashuqim) is plural and articular (Heb “the oppressions”). The article indicates a generic class (“oppression”). The plural may be classified in one of two ways: (1) a plural of number, which refers to specific kinds of oppression that occur on earth: “the various kinds of oppression”; (2) an abstract plural, which is used to refer to abstract concepts: “the oppression”; or (3) a plural of intensity, which describes the oppression at hand as particularly grievous: “awful oppression” or “severe oppression.” The LXX renders it as a plural of number: συκοφαντίας (sukofantias, “oppressions”), as does the Vulgate. Most English versions treat it as a plural of number: “the oppressions” (KJV, ASV, NAB, RSV, NRSV, MLB, YLT); however, a few treat it as an abstract plural: “the oppression” (NJPS, NIV, Moffatt).

[4:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “is done.” The term נַעֲשִׂים (na’asim, Niphal participle mpl from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do”) is a probably a verbal use of the participle rather than a substantival use (NEB: “all the acts of oppression”). This verbal use of the participle depicts durative or universal gnomic action. It emphasizes the lamentable continuity of oppression throughout human history. The English versions translate it variously: “[all the oppressions that] are done” (KJV, ASV, Douay, YLT), “[all the oppression] that goes on” (NJPS, Moffatt), “[all the oppressions] that are practiced” (RSV, NRSV), “[all the oppressions] that occur” (MLB), “[all the acts of oppression] which were being done” (NASB), “[all the oppressions] that take place” (NAB), “[all the oppression] that was taking place” (NIV).

[4:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[4:1]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and behold.” The deictic particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and behold!”) often occurs after verbs of perceiving, such as רָאָה, ra’ah, “to see” (e.g., Gen 19:28; 22:13; Exod 3:2; Lev 13:8). It introduces the content of what the character or speaker saw (HALOT 252 s.v. הִנֵּה 8). It is used for rhetorical emphasis, to draw attention to the following statement (e.g., Gen 1:29; 17:20; Num 22:32; Job 1:19; cf. HALOT 252 s.v. 5). It often introduces something surprising or unexpected (e.g., Gen 29:6; Num 25:6; cf. HALOT 252 s.v. 6).

[4:1]  ⁶² tn The term הָעֲשֻׁקִים (ha’ashuqim, Qal passive participle mpl from עָשַׁק, ’ashaq, “to oppress”) is a passive form, emphasizing that they are the objects of oppression at the hands of their oppressors. The participle functions as a noun, emphasizing the durative aspect of their condition and that this was the singular most characteristic attribute of this group of people: Their lives were marked by oppression.

[4:1]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the tear of the oppressed.” Alternately, “the oppressed [were in] tears.” The singular noun דִּמְעָה (dim’ah, “tear”) is used as a collective for “tears” (2 Kgs 20:5; Isa 16:9; 25:8; 38:5; Jer 8:23; 19:7; 13:17; 14:17; 31:16; Ezek 24:16; Mal 2:13; Pss 6:7; 39:13; 42:4; 56:9; 80:6; 116:8; 126:5; Lam 1:2; 2:18; Eccl 4:1); see HALOT 227 s.v. דִּמְעָה; BDB 199 s.v. דִּמְעָה. It is often used in reference to lamentation over calamity, distress, or oppression (e.g., Ps 6:7; Lam 1:2; 2:11; Jer 9:17; 13:17; 14:17). The LXX translated it as singular δάκρουν (dakroun, “the tear”); however, the Vulgate treated it as a collective (“the tears”). Apart from the woodenly literal YLT (“the tear”), the major English versions render this as a collective: “the tears” or “tears” (KJV, ASV, NEB, NAB, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NJPS, MLB, NIV). The term דִּמְעָה functions as a metonymy of association for “weeping” (e.g., Isa 16:9; 8:23): “the oppressed [were weeping with] tears.” The genitive construct דִּמְעָת הָעֲשֻׁקִים (dim’at ha’ashuqim, literally, “tear of the oppressed”) is a subjective genitive construction, that is, the oppressed are weeping. The singular דִּמְעָת (dim’at, “tear”) is used as a collective for “tears.” This entire phrase, however, is still given a woodenly literal translation by most English versions: “the tears of the oppressed” (NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS). Some paraphrases attempt to fill out the meaning, e.g., “the oppressed were in tears” (Moffatt).

[4:1]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “comforts.” The verb נָחַם (nakham, “to comfort”) is used as a metonymy of effect (i.e., comfort) for cause (i.e., deliverance), e.g., it is used in parallelism with גָאַל (ga’al, “to deliver”) in Isa 52:9 (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 560-67).

[4:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “from the hand of their oppressors is power.”

[5:8]  ⁶⁶ tn Alternately, “oppression.” The term עֹשֶׁק (’osheq) has a basic two-fold range of meaning: (1) “oppression; brutality” (e.g., Isa 54:14); and (2) “extortion” (e.g., Ps 62:11); see HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק; BDB 799 s.v. עֹשֶׁק. The LXX understands the term as “oppression,” as the translation συκοφαντίαν (sukofantian, “oppression”) indicates. Likewise, HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1 classifies this usage as “oppression” against the poor. However, the context of 5:8-9 [7-8 HT] focuses on corrupt government officials robbing people of the fruit of their labor through extortion and the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “robbery.” The noun גֵזֶל (gezel, “robbery”) refers to the wrestling away of righteousness or the perversion of justice (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The related forms of the root גזל mean “to rob; to loot” (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The term “robbery” is used as a figure for the perversion of justice (hypocatastasis): just as a thief robs his victims through physical violence, so corrupt government officials “rob” the poor through the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “in the province.”

[5:8]  ⁶⁹ tn The word “official” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:8]  ⁷⁰ sn And there are higher ones over them! This may describe a corrupt system of government in which each level of hierarchy exploits its subordinates, all the way down to the peasants: “Set in authority over the people is an official who enriches himself at their expense; he is watched by a more authoritative governor who also has his share of the spoils; and above them are other officers of the State who likewise have to be satisfied”; see A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth (SoBB), 141.

[50:33]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:33]  ⁷² tn Heb “Oppressed are the people of Israel and the people of Judah together,” i.e., both the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. However, neither of these renderings is very poetic. The translation seeks to achieve the same meaning with better poetic expression.

[50:34]  ⁷³ sn Heb “their redeemer.” The Hebrew term “redeemer” referred in Israelite family law to the nearest male relative who was responsible for securing the freedom of a relative who had been sold into slavery. For further discussion of this term as well as its metaphorical use to refer to God as the one who frees Israel from bondage in Egypt and from exile in Assyria and Babylonia see the study note on 31:11.

[50:34]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:34]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “he will certainly champion.” The infinitive absolute before the finite verb here is probably functioning to intensify the verb rather than to express the certainty of the action (cf. GKC 333 §112.n and compare usage in Gen 43:3 and 1 Sam 20:6 listed there).

[50:34]  ⁷⁶ tn This appears to be another case where the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a result rather than giving the purpose or goal. See the translator’s note on 25:7 for a listing of other examples in the book of Jeremiah and also the translator’s note on 27:10.

[50:34]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “he will bring rest to the earth and will cause unrest to.” The terms “rest” and “unrest” have been doubly translated to give more of the idea underlying these two concepts.

[50:34]  ⁷⁸ tn This translation again reflects the problem often encountered in these prophecies where the Lord appears to be speaking but refers to himself in the third person. It would be possible to translate here using the first person as CEV and NIrV do. However, to sustain that over the whole verse results in a considerably greater degree of paraphrase. The verse could be rendered “But I am strong and I will rescue them. I am the Lord who rules over all. I will champion their cause. And I will bring peace and rest to….”

[4:1]  ⁷⁹ sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.

[4:1]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

[4:1]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “their.”

[4:1]  ⁸² sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).

[2:1]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.

[2:1]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”

[2:2]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:3]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

[2:3]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:3]  ⁹¹ tn Or “you will not.”