Isaiah 17:4

17:4 “At that time ¹ 

Jacob’s splendor will be greatly diminished, ² 

and he will become skin and bones. ³ 

Isaiah 23:9

23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –

to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, ⁴ 

to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

Genesis 31:1

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ⁵  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ⁶  at our father’s expense!” ⁷ 

Esther 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ⁸  his many sons, ⁹  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Jeremiah 9:23

9:23 ¹⁰ The Lord says,

“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.

Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. ¹¹ 

Rich people should not boast that they are rich. ¹² 

Nahum 2:9-10

2:9 Her conquerors cry out: ¹³ 

“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!”

There is no end to the treasure;

riches of every kind of precious thing.

2:10 Destruction, devastation, and desolation! ¹⁴ 

Their hearts faint, ¹⁵ 

their knees tremble, ¹⁶ 

each stomach churns, ¹⁷  each face ¹⁸  turns ¹⁹  pale! ²⁰ 

[17:4]  ¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[17:4]  ² tn Heb “will be tiny.”

[17:4]  ³ tn Heb “and the fatness of his flesh will be made lean.”

[23:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”

[31:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[5:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ⁹ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[9:23]  ¹⁰ sn It is not always clear why verses were placed in their present position in the editorial process of collecting Jeremiah’s sermons and the words the Lord spoke to him (see Jer 36:4, 32 for reference to two of these collections). Here it is probable that vv. 23-26 were added as a further answer to the question raised in v. 12.

[9:23]  ¹¹ tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”

[9:23]  ¹² tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”

[2:9]  ¹³ tn The phrase “Her conquerors cry out” has been supplied from context.

[2:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Emptiness and devastation and being laid waste.” Several English versions attempt to reproduce the assonance, alliteration, and paronomasia of three similarly sounding Hebrew words: בּוּקַָה וּמְבוּקָה וּמְבֻלָּקָה (buqah umÿvuqah umÿvullaqah; NJPS “Desolation, devastation, and destruction!”; NRSV: “Devastation, desolation, and destruction!”).

[2:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and melting heart.”

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and tottering of knees.”

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and shaking in all of the loins.”

[2:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all of their faces.”

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “gather” or “withdraw.” The Piel perfect קִבְּצוּ (qibbÿtsu) from קָבַץ (qavats, “to gather”) may be nuanced in the intensive sense “to gather glow; to glow [in excitement]” (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ pi. 4) or the privative sense “to take away, withdraw” (BDB 868 s.v. קָבַץ Pi.3). The phrase קִבְּצוּ פָארוּר (qibbÿtsu pa’rur) is very difficult; it occurs only here and in Joel 2:6 which also describes the fearful facial reaction to an invading army. It probably means: (1) to grow red in fear; (2) to grow pale in fear; or (3) to turn ashen in fear. This difficult phrase may be translated by the modern English idioms: “every face grows pale” or “every face flushes red in fear.”

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term פָּארוּר (pa’rur) occurs only here and in Joel 2:6 where it also describes a fearful facial reaction. The meaning of פָּארוּר is debated and numerous etymologies have been suggested: (1) From פָּרוּר (parur, “cooking pot”; HALOT 964 s.v. פָּרוּר): LXX τὸ πρόσωπον πάντων ὡς πρόσκαυμα ξύτρας (to proswpon pantwn Jw" proskauma xutra", “all their faces are like a blackened/burned pot”); Vulgate et facies omnium sicut nigredo ollae (“all their faces are like a black pot”); Targum Jonathan (“covered with black like a pot”). This approach is adopted by the KJV and AV: “the faces of them all gather blackness.” (2) From פְּאֵר (pÿ’er, “beauty”). Taking קָבַץ (qavats) in a private sense (“gather in”), several scholars propose: “to draw in beauty, withdraw color,” hence: “their faces grow pale” (NASB, NIV); see K&D 26:192-93; A. Haldar, Studies in the Book of Nahum, 59. (3) From פָּרַר (parar, “break in pieces”). Due to fear, their faces have gathered wrinkles. (4) From IV פּרר (“to boil”), related to Arabic ’pr and Syriac npr (“to boil”): “their faces glow red in excitement” (HALOT 860 s.v.). (5) From פּאר (“grey, ash grey”): “their faces turn grey” (J. J. Gluck, “parur – paárur: A Case of Biblical Paronomasia,” OTWSA 12 [1969]: 21-26). The NJPS translation appears to adopt this approach: “all faces turn ashen.”