Job 21:11-12

21:11 They allow their children to run ¹  like a flock;

their little ones dance about.

21:12 They sing ²  to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp,

and make merry to the sound of the flute.

Deuteronomy 28:32

28:32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it. ³ 

Deuteronomy 28:41

28:41 You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity.

Deuteronomy 28:2

28:2 All these blessings will come to you in abundance ⁴  if you obey the Lord your God:

Deuteronomy 9:7-8

The History of Israel’s Stubbornness

9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget ⁵  – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him. ⁶  9:8 At Horeb you provoked him and he was angry enough with you to destroy you.

Deuteronomy 10:6-10

Conclusion of the Historical Resume

10:6 “During those days the Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-Yaaqan ⁷  to Moserah. ⁸  There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his place. 10:7 From there they traveled to Gudgodah, ⁹  and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, ¹⁰  a place of flowing streams. 10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ¹¹  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings ¹²  in his name, as they do to this very day. 10:9 Therefore Levi has no allotment or inheritance ¹³  among his brothers; ¹⁴  the Lord is his inheritance just as the Lord your God told him. 10:10 As for me, I stayed at the mountain as I did the first time, forty days and nights. The Lord listened to me that time as well and decided not to destroy you.

Esther 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ¹⁵  his many sons, ¹⁶  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Esther 9:5-10

9:5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies. 9:6 In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 9:7 In addition, they also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 9:8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9:9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 9:10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property.

Psalms 109:13

109:13 May his descendants ¹⁷  be cut off! ¹⁸ 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ¹⁹ 

Hosea 9:13-14

9:13 Just as lion cubs are born predators, ²⁰ 

so Ephraim will bear his sons for slaughter.

9:14 Give them, O Lord –

what will you give them?

Give them wombs that miscarry,

and breasts that cannot nurse! ²¹ 

Luke 23:29

23:29 For this is certain: ²²  The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!’ ²³ 

[21:11]  ¹ tn The verb שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to send forth,” but in the Piel “to release; to allow to run free.” The picture of children frolicking in the fields and singing and dancing is symbolic of peaceful, prosperous times.

[21:12]  ² tn The verb is simply “they take up [or lift up],” but the understood object is “their voices,” and so it means “they sing.”

[28:32]  ³ tn Heb “and there will be no power in your hand”; NCV “there will be nothing you can do.”

[28:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”

[9:7]  ⁵ tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tishÿkakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.

[9:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise in the following verse with both “him” and “he”). See note on “he” in 9:3.

[10:6]  ⁷ sn Beeroth Bene-Yaaqan. This Hebrew name could be translated “the wells of Bene-Yaaqan” or “the wells of the sons of Yaaqan,” a site whose location cannot be determined (cf. Num 33:31-32; 1 Chr 1:42).

[10:6]  ⁸ sn Moserah. Since Aaron in other texts (Num 20:28; 33:38) is said to have died on Mount Hor, this must be the Arabah region in which Hor was located.

[10:7]  ⁹ sn Gudgodah. This is probably the same as Haggidgad, which is also associated with Jotbathah (Num 33:33).

[10:7]  ¹⁰ sn Jotbathah. This place, whose Hebrew name can be translated “place of wadis,” is possibly modern Ain Tabah, just north of Eilat, or Tabah, 6.5 mi (11 km) south of Eilat on the west shore of the Gulf of Aqaba.

[10:8]  ¹¹ sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.

[10:8]  ¹² sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.

[10:9]  ¹³ sn Levi has no allotment or inheritance. As the priestly tribe, Levi would have no land allotment except for forty-eight towns set apart for their use (Num 35:1-8; Josh 21:1-42). But theirs was a far greater inheritance, for the Lord himself was their apportionment, that is, service to him would be their full-time and lifelong privilege (Num 18:20-24; Deut 18:2; Josh 13:33).

[10:9]  ¹⁴ tn That is, among the other Israelite tribes.

[5:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ¹⁶ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[109:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “offspring.”

[109:13]  ¹⁸ sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

[109:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

[9:13]  ²⁰ tc The MT is corrupt in 9:13. The BHS editors suggest emending the text to follow the LXX reading. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:250-51.

[9:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “breasts that shrivel up dry”; cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “dry breasts.”

[23:29]  ²² tn Grk “For behold.”

[23:29]  ²³ tn Grk “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have not nursed!”