Isaiah 37:22

37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: ¹ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ² 

despises you – she makes fun of you;

daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ³ 

Jeremiah 46:11

46:11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment, ⁴ 

you dear poor people of Egypt. ⁵ 

But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use; ⁶ 

there will be no healing for you.

[37:22]  ¹ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[37:22]  ² sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.

[37:22]  ³ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[46:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “balm.” See 8:22 and the notes on this phrase there.

[46:11]  ⁵ sn Heb “Virgin Daughter of Egypt.” See the study note on Jer 14:17 for the significance of the use of this figure. The use of the figure here perhaps refers to the fact that Egypt’s geographical isolation allowed her safety and protection that a virgin living at home would enjoy under her father’s protection (so F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 379). By her involvement in the politics of Palestine she had forfeited that safety and protection and was now suffering for it.

[46:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “In vain you multiply [= make use of many] medicines.”