Jeremiah 33:9

33:9 All the nations will hear about all the good things which I will do to them. This city will bring me fame, honor, and praise before them for the joy that I bring it. The nations will tremble in awe at all the peace and prosperity that I will provide for it.’ ¹ 

Jeremiah 48:2

48:2 People will not praise Moab any more.

The enemy will capture Heshbon ²  and plot ³  how to destroy Moab, ⁴ 

saying, ‘Come, let’s put an end to that nation!’

City of Madmen, you will also be destroyed. ⁵ 

A destructive army will march against you. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 48:39

48:39 Oh, how shattered Moab will be!

Oh, how her people will wail!

Oh, how she will turn away ⁷  in shame!

Moab will become an object of ridicule,

a terrifying sight to all the nations that surround her.”

Jeremiah 51:41

51:41 “See how Babylon ⁸  has been captured!

See how the pride of the whole earth has been taken!

See what an object of horror

Babylon has become among the nations! ⁹ 

Psalms 37:35-36

37:35 I have seen ruthless evil men ¹⁰ 

growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil. ¹¹ 

37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared! ¹² 

I looked for them, but they could not be found.

Isaiah 1:26

1:26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,

wise advisers as in earlier days. ¹³ 

Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,

Faithful Town.’”

Isaiah 14:4-6

14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ¹⁴ 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ¹⁵  has ceased!

14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers.

14:6 It ¹⁶  furiously struck down nations

with unceasing blows. ¹⁷ 

It angrily ruled over nations,

oppressing them without restraint. ¹⁸ 

Daniel 4:30

4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ¹⁹  by my own mighty strength ²⁰  and for my majestic honor?”

Revelation 18:10

18:10 They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say,

“Woe, woe, O great city,

Babylon the powerful city!

For in a single hour your doom ²¹  has come!”

Revelation 18:16-19

18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city –

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, ²² 

and adorned with gold, ²³  precious stones, and pearls –

18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” ²⁴ 

And every ship’s captain, ²⁵  and all who sail along the coast ²⁶  – seamen, and all who ²⁷  make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18:18 and began to shout ²⁸  when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up, ²⁹  “Who is like the great city?” 18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, ³⁰ 

“Woe, Woe, O great city –

in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth –

because in a single hour she has been destroyed!” ³¹ 

[33:9]  ¹ tn Heb “And it [the city] will be to me for a name for joy and for praise and for honor before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good things which I will do for them and which will be in awe and tremble for all the good things and all the peace [or prosperity] which I will do for them.” The long complex Hebrew sentence has been broken down to better conform with contemporary English style.

[48:2]  ² sn Heshbon was originally a Moabite city but was captured by Sihon king of Og and made his capital (Num 21:26-30). It was captured from Sihon and originally assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Num 32:37; Josh 13:17). Later it was made a Levitical city and was assigned to the tribe of Gad (Josh 21:39). It formed the northern limits of Moab. It was located about eighteen miles east of the northern tip of the Dead Sea.

[48:2]  ³ sn There is a wordplay in Hebrew on the word “Heshbon” and the word “plot” (חָשְׁבוּ, khoshvu).

[48:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “In Heshbon they plot evil against her [i.e., Moab].” The “they” is undefined, but it would scarcely be Moabites living in Heshbon. Hence TEV and CEV are probably correct in seeing a reference to the enemy which would imply the conquest of this city which lay on the northern border of Moab.

[48:2]  ⁵ tn The meaning of this line is somewhat uncertain. The translation here follows all the modern English versions and commentaries in reading the place name “Madmen” even though the place is otherwise unknown and the Greek, Syriac, and Latin version all read this word as an emphasizing infinitive absolute of the following verb “will be destroyed,” i.e. דָּמוֹם יִדֹּמּוּ (damom yiddommu). Some see this word as a variant of the name Dimon in Isa 15:9 which in turn is a playful variant of the place name Dibon. There is once again a wordplay on the word “Madmen” and “will be destroyed”: מַדְמֵן (madmen) and יִדֹּמּוּ (yiddommu). For the meaning of the verb = “perish” or “be destroyed” see Jer 8:14; Ps 31:18.

[48:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “A sword will follow after you.” The sword is again figurative of destructive forces, here the army of the Babylonians.

[48:39]  ⁷ tn Heb “turn her back.”

[51:41]  ⁸ sn Heb “Sheshach.” For an explanation of the usage of this name for Babylon see the study note on Jer 25:26 and that on 51:1 for a similar phenomenon. Babylon is here called “the pride of the whole earth” because it was renowned for its size, its fortifications, and its beautiful buildings.

[51:41]  ⁹ tn Heb “How Sheshach has been captured, the pride of the whole earth has been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!” For the usage of “How” here see the translator’s note on 50:23.

[37:35]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.

[37:35]  ¹¹ tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mit’areh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (’arah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (’alah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.

[37:36]  ¹² tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).

[1:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning; and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.

[14:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ¹⁵ tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.

[14:6]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “he” (cf. KJV; NCV “the king of Babylon”). The present translation understands the referent of the pronoun (“it”) to be the “club/scepter” of the preceding line.

[14:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it was striking down nations in fury [with] a blow without ceasing.” The participle (“striking down”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[14:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[4:30]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “house.”

[4:30]  ²⁰ tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”

[18:10]  ²¹ tn Or “judgment,” condemnation,” “punishment.” BDAG 569 s.v. κρίσις 1.a.β states, “The word oft. means judgment that goes against a person, condemnation, and the sentence that follows…ἡ κ. σου your judgment Rv 18:10.”

[18:16]  ²² tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[18:16]  ²³ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[18:17]  ²⁴ tn On ἠρημώθη (hrhmwqh) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned – ‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”

[18:17]  ²⁵ tn On κυβερνήτης (kubernhth") BDAG 574 s.v. 1 states, “one who is responsible for the management of a ship, shipmaster, lit. Rv 18:17.”

[18:17]  ²⁶ tn Or perhaps, “everyone who sails as a passenger.” On πλέων (plewn) BDAG 825 s.v. πλέω states, “πᾶς ὁ ἐπὶ τόπον πλέων everyone who sails to a place = seafarer, sea traveler…Rv 18:17. The vv.ll.…have led to various interpretations. Some render: everyone who sails along the coast…See EbNestle, Einführung in das Griech. NT 1909, 182; AFridrichsen, K. Hum. Vetensk.-Samf. i Upps. Årsb. ’43, 31 note ὁ ἐπίτοπον πλέων=one who sails occasionally, a passenger. – S. also IHeikel, StKr 106, ’34/’35, 317).”

[18:17]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and as many as.”

[18:18]  ²⁸ tn Here the imperfect ἔκραζον (ekrazon) has been translated ingressively.

[18:18]  ²⁹ tn Grk “from the burning of her, saying.” For the translation “the smoke from the fire that burned her up,” see L&N 14.63. Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[18:19]  ³⁰ tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[18:19]  ³¹ tn On ἡρημώθη (Jhrhmwqh) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned – ‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”