Jeremiah 30:18

The Lord Will Restore Israel and Judah

30:18 The Lord says,

“I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob.

I will show compassion on their ruined homes. ¹ 

Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins. ² 

Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site. ³ 

Jeremiah 31:38-40

Jerusalem Will Be Enlarged

31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,” ⁴  says the Lord, ⁵  “when the city of Jerusalem ⁶  will be rebuilt as my special city. ⁷  It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. ⁸  31:39 The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah. ⁹  31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown ¹⁰  and all the terraced fields ¹¹  out to the Kidron Valley ¹²  on the east as far north ¹³  as the Horse Gate ¹⁴  will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. ¹⁵  The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

Obadiah 1:19-21

1:19 The people of the Negev ¹⁶  will take possession ¹⁷  of Esau’s mountain,

and the people of the Shephelah ¹⁸  will take

possession ¹⁹  of the land of ²⁰  the Philistines.

They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

and the people of Benjamin will take possession ²¹  of Gilead. ²² 

1:20 The exiles of this fortress ²³  of the people of Israel

will take possession ²⁴  of what belongs to

the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, ²⁵ 

and the exiles of Jerusalem ²⁶  who are in Sepharad ²⁷ 

will take possession of the towns of the Negev.

1:21 Those who have been delivered ²⁸  will go up on Mount Zion

in order to rule over ²⁹  Esau’s mountain.

Then the Lord will reign as King! ³⁰ 

Micah 7:14

7:14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod, ³¹ 

the flock that belongs to you, ³² 

the one that lives alone in a thicket,

in the midst of a pastureland. ³³ 

Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, ³⁴ 

as they did in the old days. ³⁵ 

[30:18]  ¹ tn Heb “I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and will have compassion on his habitations.” For the meaning of the idiom “restore the fortunes of” see the translator’s note on 29:14. The “tents of Jacob” refers to their homes or houses (see BDB 14 s.v. אֹהֶל 2 and compare usage in Judg 19:9; Mal 2:12). The word “ruined” has been supplied in the translation to show more clearly the idea of restoration of their houses on their former sites in conformity to the concepts in the latter half of the verse.

[30:18]  ² sn Heb “on its tel.” A tel is a site where successive layers of occupation are built upon one another after the destruction or decay of the former city. The original site was not abandoned because it had been chosen for strategic purposes, such as proximity to water or ease of defense. Many modern archaeological sites have the designation “Tel” as a component of their name because of this practice.

[30:18]  ³ tn Heb “according to its custom [or plan].” Cf. BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 6.d and compare usage in 1 Sam 27:11.

[31:38]  ⁴ tc The words “is coming” (בָּאִים, ba’im) are not in the written text (Kethib) but are supplied in the margin (Qere), in several Hebrew mss and in the versions. It is part of the idiom that also occurs in vv. 27, 31.

[31:38]  ⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:38]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:38]  ⁷ tn Heb “the city will be built to [or for] the Lord.” The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity. However, the word occurs in a first person speech so the translation has accommodated the switch in person as it has in a number of other places (compare also NIV, TEV, ICV).

[31:38]  ⁸ tn The word “westward” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to give some orientation.

[31:39]  ⁹ tn The words “west” and “southward” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give some orientation.

[31:40]  ¹⁰ sn It is generally agreed that this refers to the Hinnom Valley which was on the southwestern and southern side of the city. It was here where the people of Jerusalem had burned their children as sacrifices and where the Lord had said that there would be so many dead bodies when he punished them that they would be unable to bury all of them (cf. Jer 7:31-32). Reference here may be to those dead bodies and to the ashes of the cremated victims. This defiled place would be included within the holy city.

[31:40]  ¹¹ tc The translation here follows the Qere and a number of Hebrew mss in reading שְׁדֵמוֹת (shÿdemot) for the otherwise unknown word שְׁרֵמוֹת (shÿremot) exhibiting the common confusion of ר (resh) and ד (dalet). The fields of Kidron are mentioned also in 2 Kgs 23:4 as the place where Josiah burned the cult objects of Baal.

[31:40]  ¹² sn The Kidron Valley is the valley that joins the Hinnom Valley in the southeastern corner of the city and runs northward on the east side of the city.

[31:40]  ¹³ tn The words “on the east” and “north” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give orientation.

[31:40]  ¹⁴ sn The Horse Gate is mentioned in Neh 3:28 and is generally considered to have been located midway along the eastern wall just south of the temple area.

[31:40]  ¹⁵ tn The words “will be included within this city that is” are not in the text. The text merely says that “The whole valley…will be sacred to the Lord.” These words have been supplied in the translation because they are really implicit in the description of the whole area as being included within the new city plan, not just the Hinnom and terraced fields as far as the Kidron Valley.

[1:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Negev”; ASV “the South”; NCV, TEV “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev.

[1:19]  ¹⁷ sn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”) which is repeated three times in vv. 19-20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as through military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered them then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.

[1:19]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the Shephelah” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region.

[1:19]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[1:19]  ²⁰ tn The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ²¹ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:19]  ²² sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.

[1:20]  ²³ tn Or “army” (TEV); KJV, NAB, NASB “host”; NIV “company.” Some text critics suggest revocalizing MT הַחֵל (hakhel, “the fortress”) to the place- name הָלָה (halah, “Halah”; so NRSV), the location to which many of the Israelite exiles were sent in the 8th century (2 Kgs 7:6; 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26). The MT form is from הַיִל (hayil, “strength”), which is used elsewhere to refer to an army (Exod 14:17; 1 Sam 17:20; 2 Sam 8:9), military fortress (2 Sam 20:15; 22:33), leaders (Exod 18:21) and even wealth or possessions (Obad 1:11, 13).

[1:20]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.

[1:20]  ²⁵ sn Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.

[1:20]  ²⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:20]  ²⁷ sn The exact location of Sepharad is uncertain. Suggestions include a location in Spain, or perhaps Sparta in Greece, or perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor. For inscriptional evidence that bears on this question see E. Lipinski, “Obadiah 20,” VT 23 (1973): 368-70. The reason for mentioning this location in v. 20 seems to be that even though it was far removed from Jerusalem, the Lord will nonetheless enable the Jewish exiles there to return and participate in the restoration of Israel that Obadiah describes.

[1:21]  ²⁸ tc The present translation follows the reading מוּשָׁעִים (musha’im, “those who have been delivered”; cf. NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹשִׁעִים (moshi’im,“deliverers”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) of the MT (cf. LXX, Aquila, Theodotion, and Syriac).

[1:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to judge.” In this context the term does not mean “to render judgment on,” but “to rule over” (cf. NAB “to rule”; NIV “to govern”).

[1:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “then the kingdom will belong to the Lord.”

[7:14]  ³¹ tn Or “with your scepter” (the Hebrew term can mean either “rod” or “scepter”).

[7:14]  ³² tn Heb “the flock of your inheritance.”

[7:14]  ³³ tn Or “in the midst of Carmel.” The Hebrew term translated “pastureland” may be a place name.

[7:14]  ³⁴ sn The regions of Bashan and Gilead, located in Transjordan, were noted for their rich grazing lands.

[7:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “as in the days of antiquity.”