Nehemiah 9:32

9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ¹  – do not regard as inconsequential ²  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

Nehemiah 9:37

9:37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit, ³  and we are in great distress!

Isaiah 5:26-30

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ⁴ 

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they ⁵  come quickly and swiftly.

5:27 None tire or stumble,

they don’t stop to nap or sleep.

They don’t loosen their belts,

or unstrap their sandals to rest. ⁶ 

5:28 Their arrows are sharpened,

and all their bows are prepared. ⁷ 

The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, ⁸ 

and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. ⁹ 

5:29 Their roar is like a lion’s;

they roar like young lions.

They growl and seize their prey;

they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.

5:30 At that time ¹⁰  they will growl over their prey, ¹¹ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ¹² 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ¹³ 

Isaiah 7:18-20

7:18 At that time ¹⁴  the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. ¹⁵  7:19 All of them will come and make their home ¹⁶  in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. ¹⁷  7:20 At that time ¹⁸  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ¹⁹  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ²⁰  it will also shave off the beard.

[9:32]  ¹ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.

[9:32]  ² tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”

[9:37]  ³ tn Heb “according to their desire.”

[5:26]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.

[5:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.

[5:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the belt on his waist is not opened, and the thong of his sandals is not torn in two.”

[5:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.”

[5:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “regarded like flint.”

[5:28]  ⁹ sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust.

[5:30]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ¹² tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[7:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:18]  ¹⁵ sn Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and especially dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (see Deut 1:44; Ps 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyrian wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the reference to sour milk and honey, the metaphor is especially apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey.

[7:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and shall rest” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “and settle.”

[7:19]  ¹⁷ tn The meaning of this word (נַהֲלֹל, nahalol) is uncertain; some understand this as referring to another type of thorn bush. For bibliography, see HALOT 676 s.v. I *נַהֲלֹל.

[7:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.