Lamentations 2:5

ה (He)

2:5 The Lord, ¹  like an enemy,

destroyed ²  Israel.

He destroyed ³  all her palaces;

he ruined her ⁴  fortified cities.

He made everyone in Daughter Judah

mourn and lament. ⁵ 

Lamentations 2:17

ע (Ayin)

2:17 The Lord has done what he planned;

he has fulfilled ⁶  his promise ⁷ 

that he threatened ⁸  long ago: ⁹ 

He has overthrown you without mercy ¹⁰ 

and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;

he has exalted your adversaries’ power. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 5:10

5:10 The Lord commanded the enemy, ¹² 

“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. ¹³ 

But do not destroy them completely.

Strip off their branches

for these people do not belong to the Lord. ¹⁴ 

Micah 5:11-12

5:11 I will destroy the cities of your land,

and tear down all your fortresses.

5:12 I will remove the sorcery ¹⁵  that you practice, ¹⁶ 

and you will no longer have omen readers living among you. ¹⁷ 

Malachi 1:4

1:4 Edom ¹⁸  says, “Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places.” So the Lord who rules over all ¹⁹  responds, “They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as ²⁰  the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased.

Malachi 1:2

1:2 “I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?”

“Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the Lord explains, “yet I chose Jacob

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ²¹  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

[2:5]  ¹ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[2:5]  ² tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[2:5]  ³ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “his.” For consistency this has been translated as “her.”

[2:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “He increased in Daughter Judah mourning and lamentation.”

[2:17]  ⁶ tn The verb בָּצַע (batsa’) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “to cut off, break off,” (2) “to injure” a person, (3) “to gain by violence,” (4) “to finish, complete” and (5) “to accomplish, fulfill” a promise.

[2:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “His word.” When used in collocation with the verb בָּצַע (batsa’, “to fulfill,” see previous tn), the accusative noun אִמְרָה (’imrah) means “promise.”

[2:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “commanded” or “decreed.” If a reference to prophetic oracles is understood, then “decreed” is preferable. If understood as a reference to the warnings in the covenant, then “threatened” is a preferable rendering.

[2:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “from days of old.”

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “He has overthrown and has not shown mercy.” The two verbs חָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל (kharas vÿlo’ khamal) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its verbal sense and the second functions adverbially: “He has overthrown you without mercy.” וְלֹא חָמָל (vÿlo’ khamal) alludes to 2:2.

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3; Ezek 29:21), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” To lift up the horn often means to boast and to lift up someone else’s horn is to give victory or cause to boast.

[5:10]  ¹² tn These words to not appear in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for the sake of clarity to identify the implied addressee.

[5:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “through her vine rows and destroy.” No object is given but “vines” must be implicit. The word for “vineyards” (or “vine rows”) is a hapax legomenon and its derivation is debated. BDB 1004 s.v. שּׁוּרָה repoints שָׁרוֹתֶיהָ (sharoteha) to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ (shuroteha) and relates it to a Mishnaic Hebrew and Palestinian Aramaic word meaning “row.” HALOT 1348 s.v. שּׁוּרָה also repoints to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ and relates it to a noun meaning “wall,” preferring to see the reference here to the walled terraces on which the vineyards were planted. The difference in meaning is minimal.

[5:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for they do not belong to the Lord.” In the light of the context and Jeremiah’s identification of Israel as a vine (cf., e.g., 2:21) and a vineyard (cf., e.g., 12:10), it is likely that this verse has a totally metaphorical significance. The enemy is to go through the vineyard that is Israel and Judah and destroy all those who have been unfaithful to the Lord. It is not impossible, however, that the verse has a double meaning, a literal one and a figurative one: the enemy is not only to destroy Israel and Judah’s vines but to destroy Israel and Judah, lopping off the wicked Israelites who, because of their covenant unfaithfulness, the Lord has disowned. If the verse is totally metaphorical one might translate: “Pass through my vineyard, Israel and Judah, wreaking destruction. But do not destroy all of the people. Cut down like branches those unfaithful people because they no longer belong to the Lord.”

[5:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “magic charms” (so NCV, TEV); NIV, NLT “witchcraft”; NAB “the means of divination.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain, but note its use in Isa 47:9, 12.

[5:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from your hands.”

[5:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and you will not have omen-readers.”

[1:4]  ¹⁸ sn Edom, a “brother” nation to Israel, became almost paradigmatic of hostility toward Israel and God (see Num 20:14-21; Deut 2:8; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obad 10-12).

[1:4]  ¹⁹ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Malachi (24 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they will call them.” The third person plural subject is indefinite; one could translate, “and people will call them.”

[1:4]  ²¹ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).