Isaiah 3:16

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ² 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ³ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ⁴ 

Isaiah 47:7-8

47:7 You said,

‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ ⁵ 

You did not think about these things; ⁶ 

you did not consider how it would turn out. ⁷ 

47:8 So now, listen to this,

O one who lives so lavishly, ⁸ 

who lives securely,

who says to herself, ⁹ 

‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ¹⁰ 

I will never have to live as a widow;

I will never lose my children.’ ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 28:56

28:56 Likewise, the most ¹²  tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, ¹³  will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

Jeremiah 6:2-6

6:2 I will destroy ¹⁴  Daughter Zion, ¹⁵ 

who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden. ¹⁶ 

6:3 Kings will come against it with their armies. ¹⁷ 

They will encamp in siege all around it. ¹⁸ 

Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him. ¹⁹ 

6:4 They will say, ²⁰  ‘Prepare to do battle ²¹  against it!

Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’

But later they will say, ²²  ‘Oh, oh! Too bad! ²³ 

The day is almost over

and the shadows of evening are getting long.

6:5 So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night

and destroy all its fortified buildings.’

6:6 All of this is because ²⁴  the Lord who rules over all ²⁵  has said:

‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem

and build up a siege ramp against its walls. ²⁶ 

This is the city which is to be punished. ²⁷ 

Nothing but oppression happens in it. ²⁸ 

Jeremiah 48:11-12

48:11 “From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed.

It has never been taken into exile.

Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs,

never poured out from one jar to another.

They are like wine which tastes like it always did,

whose aroma has remained unchanged. ²⁹ 

48:12 But the time is coming when I will send

men against Moab who will empty it out.

They will empty the towns of their people,

then will lay those towns in ruins. ³⁰ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ³¹ 

Lamentations 4:5

ה (He)

4:5 Those who once feasted on delicacies ³² 

are now starving to death ³³  in the streets.

Those who grew up ³⁴  wearing expensive clothes ³⁵ 

are now dying ³⁶  amid garbage. ³⁷ 

Amos 6:1-6

The Party is over for the Rich

6:1 Woe ³⁸  to those who live in ease in Zion, ³⁹ 

to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.

They think of themselves as ⁴⁰  the elite class of the best nation.

The family ⁴¹  of Israel looks to them for leadership. ⁴² 

6:2 They say to the people: ⁴³ 

“Journey over to Calneh and look at it!

Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! ⁴⁴ 

Then go down to Gath of the Philistines!

Are they superior to our two ⁴⁵  kingdoms?

Is their territory larger than yours?” ⁴⁶ 

6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ⁴⁷ 

but you establish a reign of violence. ⁴⁸ 

6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, ⁴⁹ 

and sprawl out on their couches.

They eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the middle of the pen.

6:5 They sing ⁵⁰  to the tune of ⁵¹  stringed instruments; ⁵² 

like David they invent ⁵³  musical instruments.

6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ⁵⁴ 

and pour the very best oils on themselves. ⁵⁵ 

Yet they are not concerned over ⁵⁶  the ruin ⁵⁷  of Joseph.

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ³ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[47:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”

[47:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”

[47:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”

[47:8]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

[47:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[47:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

[47:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”

[28:56]  ¹² tc The LXX adds σφόδρα (sfodra, “very”) to bring the description into line with v. 54.

[28:56]  ¹³ tn Heb “delicateness and tenderness.”

[6:2]  ¹⁴ tn The verb here is another example of the Hebrew verb form that indicates the action is as good as done (a Hebrew prophetic perfect).

[6:2]  ¹⁵ sn Jerusalem is personified as a young maiden who is helpless in the hands of her enemies.

[6:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “The beautiful and delicate one I will destroy, the daughter of Zion. The English versions and commentaries are divided over the rendering of this verse because (1) there are two verbs with these same consonants, one meaning “to be like” and the other meaning “to be destroyed” (intransitive) or “to destroy” (transitive), and (2) the word rendered “beautiful” (נָוָה, navah) can be understood as a noun meaning “pasture” or as a defective writing of an adjective meaning “beautiful, comely” (נָאוָה, na’vah). Hence some render “Fair Zion, you are like a lovely pasture,” reading the verb form as an example of the old second feminine singular perfect. Although this may fit the imagery of the next verse, that rendering ignores the absence of a preposition (לְ or אֶל, lÿ or ’el, both of which can be translated “to”) that normally goes with the verb “be like” and drops the conjunction in front of the adjective “delicate.” The parallel usage of the verb in Hos 4:5 argues for the meaning “destroy.”

[6:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Shepherds and their flocks will come against it.” Rulers are often depicted as shepherds; see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 1.d(2) (cf. Jer 12:10). The translation of this verse attempts to clarify the point of this extended metaphor.

[6:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “They will thrust [= pitch] tents around it.” The shepherd imagery has a surprisingly ominous tone. The beautiful pasture filled with shepherds grazing their sheep is in reality a city under siege from an attacking enemy.

[6:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “They will graze each one his portion.” For the use of the verb “graze” to mean “strip” or “devastate” see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 2.c. For a similar use of the word normally meaning “hand” to mean portion compare 2 Sam 19:43 (19:44 HT).

[6:4]  ²⁰ tn These words are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “Sanctify war.” This is probably an idiom from early Israel’s holy wars in which religious rites were to precede the battle.

[6:4]  ²² tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some commentaries and English versions see these not as the words of the enemy but as those of the Israelites expressing their fear that the enemy will launch a night attack against them and further destroy them. The connection with the next verse, however, fits better with them if they are the words of the enemy.

[6:4]  ²³ tn Heb “Woe to us!” For the usage of this phrase see the translator’s note on 4:13. The usage of this particle here is a little exaggerated. They have lost the most advantageous time for attack but they are scarcely in a hopeless or doomed situation. The equivalent in English slang is “Bad news!”

[6:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “For.” The translation attempts to make the connection clearer.

[6:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[6:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Cut down its trees and build up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.” The referent has been moved forward from the second line for clarity.

[6:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “must be punished.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The LXX reads, “Woe, city of falsehood!” The MT presents two anomalies: a masculine singular verb with a feminine singular subject in a verbal stem (Hophal) that elsewhere does not have the meaning “is to be punished.” Hence many follow the Greek which presupposes הוֹי עִיר הַשֶּׁקֶר (hoy ’ir hasheqer) instead of הִיא הָעִיר הָפְקַד (hi’ ha’ir hofqad). The Greek is the easier reading in light of the parallelism, and it would be hard to explain how the MT arose from it. KBL suggests reading a noun meaning “licentiousness” which occurs elsewhere only in Mishnaic Hebrew, hence “this is the city, the licentious one” (attributive apposition; cf. KBL 775 s.v. פֶּקֶר). Perhaps the Hophal perfect (הָפְקַד, hofÿqad) should be revocalized as a Niphal infinitive absolute (הִפָּקֹד, hippaqod); this would solve both anomalies in the MT since the Niphal is used in this nuance and the infinitive absolute can function in place of a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ee and ff). This, however, is mere speculation and is supported by no Hebrew ms.

[6:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “All of it oppression in its midst.”

[48:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Therefore his taste remains in him and his aroma is not changed.” The metaphor is changed into a simile in an attempt to help the reader understand the figure in the context.

[48:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Therefore, behold the days are coming, oracle of Yahweh, when I will send against him decanters [those who pour from one vessel to another] and they will decant him [pour him out] and they will empty his vessels and break their jars in pieces.” The verse continues the metaphor from the preceding verse where Moab/the people of Moab are like wine left undisturbed in a jar, i.e., in their native land. In this verse the picture is that of the decanter emptying the wine from the vessels and then breaking the jars. The wine represents the people and the vessels the cities and towns where the people lived. The verse speaks of the exile of the people and the devastation of the land. The metaphor has been interpreted so it conveys meaning to the average reader.

[48:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[4:5]  ³² tn Heb “eaters of delicacies.” An alternate English gloss would be “connoisseurs of fine foods.”

[4:5]  ³³ tn Heb “are desolate.”

[4:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “were reared.”

[4:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in purple.” The term תוֹלָע (tola’, “purple”) is a figurative description of expensive clothing: it is a metonymy of association: the color of the dyed clothes (= purple) stands for the clothes themselves.

[4:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “embrace garbage.” One may also translate “rummage through” (cf. NCV “pick through trash piles”; TEV “pawing through refuse”; NLT “search the garbage pits.”

[4:5]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew word אַשְׁפַּתּוֹת (’ashpatot) can also mean “ash heaps.” Though not used as a combination elsewhere, to “embrace ash heaps” might also envision a state of mourning or even dead bodies lying on the ash heaps.

[6:1]  ³⁸ tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.

[6:1]  ³⁹ sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.

[6:1]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “They think of themselves as” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the term נְקֻבֵי (nÿquvey; “distinguished ones, elite”) is in apposition to the substantival participles in the first line.

[6:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “house.”

[6:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “comes to them.”

[6:2]  ⁴³ tn The words “They say to the people” are interpretive and supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation understands v. 2 as the boastful words, which the leaders (described in v. 1) spoke to those who came to them (v. 1b). Some interpret v. 2 differently, understanding the words as directed to the leaders by the prophet. Verse 2b would then be translated: “Are you (i.e., Israel and Judah) better than these kingdoms (i.e., Calneh, etc.)? Is your border larger than their border?” (This reading requires an emendation of the Hebrew text toward the end of the verse.) In this case the verse is a reminder to Judah/Israel that they are not superior to other nations, which have already fallen victim to military conquest. Consequently Judah/Israel should not expect to escape the same fate. Following this line of interpretation, some take v. 2 as a later addition since the Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser III conquered Calneh, Hamath, and Gath after the time of Amos’ ministry. However, this conclusion is not necessary since the kingdoms mentioned here had suffered military setbacks prior to Amos’ time as well. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 201-4.

[6:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Great Hamath” (cf. NIV); or “Hamath the great” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); the word “rabbah” means “great” in Hebrew.

[6:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “to these,” referring to Judah and Israel (see v. 1a).

[6:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Both rhetorical questions in this verse expect the answer “no.” If these words do come from the leaders, then this verse underscores their self-delusion of power (compare 6:13). The prophet had no such mistaken sense of national grandeur (7:2, 5).

[6:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”

[6:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.

[6:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “beds of ivory.”

[6:5]  ⁵⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”

[6:5]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”

[6:5]  ⁵² sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).

[6:5]  ⁵³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).

[6:6]  ⁵⁴ sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).

[6:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”

[6:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “not sickened by.”

[6:6]  ⁵⁷ sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.