Jeremiah 50:37

50:37 Destructive forces will come against her horses and her ¹  chariots.

Destructive forces will come against all the foreign troops within her; ² 

they will be as frightened as women! ³ 

Destructive forces will come against her treasures;

they will be taken away as plunder!

Isaiah 45:3

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ⁴ 

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

Habakkuk 2:5-10

2:5 Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! ⁵ 

His appetite ⁶  is as big as Sheol’s; ⁷ 

like death, he is never satisfied.

He gathers ⁸  all the nations;

he seizes ⁹  all peoples.

The Proud Babylonians are as Good as Dead

2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him ¹⁰ 

and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ¹¹ 

‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ¹² 

(How long will this go on?) ¹³  –

he who gets rich by extortion!’ ¹⁴ 

2:7 Your creditors will suddenly attack; ¹⁵ 

those who terrify you will spring into action, ¹⁶ 

and they will rob you. ¹⁷ 

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, ¹⁸ 

all who are left among the nations ¹⁹  will rob you.

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ²⁰  and those who live in them.

2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ²¹ 

He does this so he can build his nest way up high

and escape the clutches of disaster. ²² 

2:10 Your schemes will bring shame to your house.

Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct. ²³ 

Revelation 18:11-17

18:11 Then ²⁴  the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo ²⁵  any longer – 18:12 cargo such as gold, silver, ²⁶  precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, ²⁷  scarlet cloth, ²⁸  all sorts of things made of citron wood, ²⁹  all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 18:13 cinnamon, spice, ³⁰  incense, perfumed ointment, ³¹  frankincense, ³²  wine, olive oil and costly flour, ³³  wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, ³⁴  slaves and human lives. ³⁵ 

18:14 (The ripe fruit ³⁶  you greatly desired ³⁷ 

has gone from you,

and all your luxury ³⁸  and splendor ³⁹ 

have gone from you –

they will never ever be found again!) ⁴⁰ 

18:15 The merchants who sold ⁴¹  these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep ⁴²  and mourn, 18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city –

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, ⁴³ 

and adorned with gold, ⁴⁴  precious stones, and pearls –

18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” ⁴⁵ 

And every ship’s captain, ⁴⁶  and all who sail along the coast ⁴⁷  – seamen, and all who ⁴⁸  make their living from the sea, stood a long way off

[50:37]  ¹ tn Hebrew has “his” in both cases here whereas the rest of the possessive pronouns throughout vv. 35-37 are “her.” There is no explanation for this switch unless the third masculine singular refers as a distributive singular to the soldiers mentioned in the preceding verse (cf. GKC 464 §145.l). This is probably the case here, but to refer to “their horses and their chariots” in the midst of all the “her…” might create more confusion than what it is worth to be that pedantic.

[50:37]  ² tn Or “in the country,” or “in her armies”; Heb “in her midst.”

[50:37]  ³ tn Heb “A sword against his horses and his chariots and against all the mixed company [or mixed multitude] in her midst and they will become like women.” The sentence had to be split up because it is too long and the continuation of the second half with its consequential statement would not fit together with the first half very well. Hence the subject and verb have been repeated. The Hebrew word translated “foreign troops” (עֶרֶב, ’erev) is the same word that is used in 25:20 to refer to the foreign peoples living in Egypt and in Exod 12:38 for the foreign people that accompanied Israel out of Egypt. Here the word is translated contextually to refer to foreign mercenaries, an identification that most of the commentaries and many of the modern English versions accept (see, e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 355; NRSV; NIV). The significance of the simile “they will become like women” has been spelled out for the sake of clarity.

[45:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[2:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “Indeed wine betrays a proud man and he does not dwell.” The meaning of the last verb, “dwell,” is uncertain. Many take it as a denominative of the noun נָוָה (navah, “dwelling place”). In this case it would carry the idea, “he does not settle down,” and would picture the drunkard as restless (cf. NIV “never at rest”; NASB “does not stay at home”). Some relate the verb to an Arabic cognate and translate the phrase as “he will not succeed, reach his goal.”

[2:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “who opens wide like Sheol his throat.” Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in a physical sense, meaning “throat,” which in turn is figurative for the appetite. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 11-12.

[2:5]  ⁷ sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead. In ancient Canaanite thought Death was a powerful god whose appetite was never satisfied. In the OT Sheol/Death, though not deified, is personified as greedy and as having a voracious appetite. See Prov 30:15-16; Isa 5:14; also see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 168.

[2:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “he gathers for himself.”

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “he collects for himself.”

[2:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Will not these, all of them, take up a taunt against him…?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.

[2:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and a mocking song, riddles, against him? And one will say.”

[2:6]  ¹² tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who increases [what is] not his.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe,” “ah”) was used in funeral laments and carries the connotation of death.

[2:6]  ¹³ tn This question is interjected parenthetically, perhaps to express rhetorically the pain and despair felt by the Babylonians’ victims.

[2:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the one who makes himself heavy [i.e., wealthy] [by] debts.” Though only appearing in the first line, the term הוֹי (hoy) is to be understood as elliptical in the second line.

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Will not your creditors suddenly rise up?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[Will not] the ones who make you tremble awake?”

[2:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and you will become their plunder.”

[2:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “nations.”

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “peoples.”

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “because of the shed blood of humankind and violence against land, city.” The singular forms אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) and קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) are collective, referring to all the lands and cities terrorized by the Babylonians.

[2:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who profits unjustly by evil unjust gain for his house.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:9]  ²² tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”

[2:10]  ²³ tn Heb “you planned shame for your house, cutting off many nations, and sinning [against] your life.”

[18:11]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[18:11]  ²⁵ tn On γόμος (gomos) BDAG 205 s.v. states, “load, freight…cargo of a ship…Ac 21:3. W. gen. of the owner Rv 18:11. W. gen. of content…γ. χρυσοῦ a cargo of gold vs. 12.”

[18:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and silver,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before most of these terms since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more

[18:12]  ²⁷ tn On this term BDAG 924-25 s.v. σιρικός states, “per. to silk from Ser, subst. τὸ σιρικόν silk cloth or garments w. other costly materials Rv 18:12.”

[18:12]  ²⁸ tn On the translation of κόκκινον (kokkinon) as “scarlet cloth” see L&N 6.170.

[18:12]  ²⁹ tn On the phrase πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον (pan xulon quinon) L&N 3.63 states, “pertaining to being made or consisting of citron wood (that is, from a citron tree) – ‘of citron wood.’ καὶ πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον καὶ πᾶν σκεῦος ἐλεφάντινον ‘and all kinds of things made of citron wood and all kinds of objects made of ivory’ Re 18:12. The citron tree belongs to the citrus family of plants, and it produces a pale yellow fruit somewhat larger than a lemon, the rind of which is often candied. In Re 18:12, however, the focus is upon the fine quality of the wood.”

[18:13]  ³⁰ tn On the term ἄμωμον (amwmon) L&N 5.23 states, “a generic term for any kind of spice, though often a specific reference to amomum, an Indian type of spice – ‘spice, amomum.’ κιννάμωμον καὶ ἄμωμον καὶ θυμιάματα ‘cinnamon and spice and incense’ Re 18:13. In most translations ἄμωμον is interpreted as spice in general.”

[18:13]  ³¹ tn Or “myrrh,” a strong aromatic ointment often used to prepare a body for burial (L&N 6.205).

[18:13]  ³² tn The Greek term λίβανος (libano") refers to the aromatic resin of a certain type of tree (L&N 6.212).

[18:13]  ³³ tn On σεμίδαλις (semidali") L&N 5.10 states, “a fine grade of wheat flour – ‘fine flour.’ οἶνον καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ σεμίδαλιν καὶ σῖτον ‘wine and oil and fine flour and wheat’ Re 18:13. In some languages ‘fine flour’ may be best expressed as ‘expensive flour.’ Such a rendering fits well the context of Re 18:13.”

[18:13]  ³⁴ tn Or “and wagons.” On the term ῥέδη (rJedh) see L&N 6.53: “a four-wheeled carriage or wagon used for travel or the transportation of loads – ‘carriage, wagon.’ The term ῥέδη occurs only in Re 18:13 in a list of products bought and sold by merchants.”

[18:13]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and bodies and souls of men.” This could be understood (1) as a hendiadys (two things mentioned = one thing meant), referring only to slave trade; (2) it could be referring to two somewhat different concepts: slavery (bodies) and the cheapness of human life – some of the items earlier in the list of merchandise were to be obtained only at great cost of human life; or (3) a somewhat related idea, that the trade is in not just physical bodies (slavery) but human souls (people whose lives are destroyed through this trade).

[18:14]  ³⁶ tn On ὀπώρα (opwra) L&N 3.34 states, “ἡ ὀπώρα σου τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ψυχῆς ‘the ripe fruit for which you longed’ Re 18:14. In this one occurrence of ὀπώρα in the NT, ‘ripe fruit’ is to be understood in a figurative sense of ‘good things.’”

[18:14]  ³⁷ tn Grk “you desired in your soul.”

[18:14]  ³⁸ tn On λιπαρός (liparo") BDAG 597 s.v. states, “luxury Rv 18:14.”

[18:14]  ³⁹ tn On τὰ λαμπρά (ta lampra) BDAG 585 s.v. λαμπρός 4 states, “splendor…in which a rich man takes delight (cp. Jos., Ant. 12, 220 δωρεὰς δοὺς λαμπράς) Rv 18:14.”

[18:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Verse 14 is set in parentheses because in it the city, Babylon, is addressed directly in second person.

[18:15]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “the merchants [sellers] of these things.”

[18:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “her torment, weeping.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation by supplying the words “They will” here.

[18:16]  ⁴³ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[18:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[18:17]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “and as many as.”