Ezekiel 17:9

17:9 “‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Will it prosper?

Will he not rip out its roots

and cause its fruit to rot ¹  and wither?

All its foliage ²  will wither.

No strong arm or large army

will be needed to pull it out by its roots. ³ 

Deuteronomy 29:12-15

29:12 so that you may enter by oath into the covenant the Lord your God is making with you today. ⁴  29:13 Today he will affirm that you are his people and that he is your God, ⁵  just as he promised you and as he swore by oath to your ancestors ⁶  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29:14 It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant by oath, 29:15 but with whoever stands with us here today before the Lord our God as well as those not with us here today. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 22:29-30

22:29 O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah! ⁸ 

Listen to what the Lord has to say!

22:30 The Lord says,

“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless. ⁹ 

Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.

For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David

or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”

[17:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT and appears to have the meaning of “strip off.” In application to fruit the meaning may be “cause to rot.”

[17:9]  ² tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.

[17:9]  ³ tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”

[29:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “for you to pass on into the covenant of the Lord your God and into his oath, which the Lord your God is cutting with you today.”

[29:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “in order to establish you today to him for a people and he will be to you for God.” Verses 10-13 are one long sentence in Hebrew. The translation divides this into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[29:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).

[29:15]  ⁷ tn This is interpreted by some English versions as a reference to generations not yet born (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[22:29]  ⁸ tn There is no certain explanation for the triple repetition of the word “land” here. F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 209) suggests the idea of exasperation, but exasperation at what? Their continued apostasy which made these exiles necessary? Or exasperation at their pitiful hopes of seeing Jeconiah restored? Perhaps “pitiful, pitiful, pitiful land of Judah” would convey some of the force of the repetition without being any more suggestive of why the land is so addressed.

[22:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “Write this man childless.” For the explanation see the study note. The word translated “childless” has spawned some debate because Jeconiah was in fact not childless. There is record from both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts that he had children (see, e.g., 1 Chr 3:17). G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 (1937-38): 115, has suggested that the word both here and in Lev 20:20-21 should be translated “stripped of honor.” While that would relieve some of the difficulties here, the word definitely means “childless” in Gen 15:2 and also in Sir 16:3 where it is contrasted with having godless children. The issue is not one of childlessness but of having “one of his sons” succeed to the Davidic throne. The term for “one of his sons” is literally “from his seed a man” and the word “seed” is the same one that is used to refer to his “children” who were forced into exile with him (v. 28).