Jeremiah 51:4

51:4 Let them fall ¹  slain in the land of Babylonia, ² 

mortally wounded in the streets of her cities. ³ 

Isaiah 13:15

13:15 Everyone who is caught will be stabbed;

everyone who is seized ⁴  will die ⁵  by the sword.

Isaiah 14:19

14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave

like a shoot that is thrown away. ⁶ 

You lie among ⁷  the slain,

among those who have been slashed by the sword,

among those headed for ⁸  the stones of the pit, ⁹ 

as if you were a mangled corpse. ¹⁰ 

[51:4]  ¹ tn The majority of English versions and the commentaries understand the vav (ו) consecutive + perfect as a future here “They will fall.” However, it makes better sense in the light of the commands in the previous verse to understand this as an indirect third person command (= a jussive; see GKC 333 §112.q, r) as REB and NJPS do.

[51:4]  ² tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[51:4]  ³ tn The words “cities” is not in the text. The text merely says “in her streets” but the antecedent is “land” and must then refer to the streets of the cities in the land.

[13:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “carried off,” i.e., grabbed from the fleeing crowd. See HALOT 764 s.v. ספה.

[13:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “will fall” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NLT “will be run through with a sword.”

[14:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”

[14:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “are clothed with.”

[14:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “those going down to.”

[14:19]  ⁹ tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.

[14:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.