Zephaniah 2:9

2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,

“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.

They will be overrun by weeds, ¹ 

filled with salt pits, ² 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ³  will plunder their belongings; ⁴ 

those who are left in Judah ⁵  will take possession of their land.”

Isaiah 11:11

11:11 At that time ⁶  the sovereign master ⁷  will again lift his hand ⁸  to reclaim ⁹  the remnant of his people ¹⁰  from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, ¹¹  Cush, ¹²  Elam, Shinar, ¹³  Hamath, and the seacoasts. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 31:7

31:7 Moreover, ¹⁵  the Lord says,

“Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob.

Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. ¹⁶ 

Make your praises heard. ¹⁷ 

Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people.

Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’ ¹⁸ 

Micah 2:12

The Lord Will Restore His People

2:12 I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,

I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. ¹⁹ 

I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, ²⁰ 

like a flock in the middle of a pasture; ²¹ 

they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. ²² 

Micah 4:7

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ²³ 

and those far off ²⁴  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ²⁵ 

Micah 5:3-8

5:3 So the Lord ²⁶  will hand the people of Israel ²⁷  over to their enemies ²⁸ 

until the time when the woman in labor ²⁹  gives birth. ³⁰ 

Then the rest of the king’s ³¹  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ³² 

5:4 He will assume his post ³³  and shepherd the people ³⁴  by the Lord’s strength,

by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. ³⁵ 

They will live securely, ³⁶  for at that time he will be honored ³⁷ 

even in the distant regions of ³⁸  the earth.

5:5 He will give us peace. ³⁹ 

Should the Assyrians try to invade our land

and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, ⁴⁰ 

we will send ⁴¹  against them seven ⁴²  shepherd-rulers, ⁴³ 

make that eight commanders. ⁴⁴ 

5:6 They will rule ⁴⁵  the land of Assyria with the sword,

the land of Nimrod ⁴⁶  with a drawn sword. ⁴⁷ 

Our king ⁴⁸  will rescue us from the Assyrians

should they attempt to invade our land

and try to set foot in our territory.

5:7 Those survivors from ⁴⁹  Jacob will live ⁵⁰ 

in the midst of many nations. ⁵¹ 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ⁵² 

5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,

in the midst of many peoples.

They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,

like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,

which attacks when it passes through;

it rips its prey ⁵³  and there is no one to stop it. ⁵⁴ 

Haggai 1:12

The Response of the People

1:12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ⁵⁵  along with the whole remnant of the people, ⁵⁶  obeyed ⁵⁷  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, ⁵⁸  and the people began to respect the Lord. ⁵⁹ 

Haggai 2:2

2:2 “Ask the following questions to ⁶⁰  Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ⁶¹  and the remnant of the people:

Romans 11:5

11:5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

[2:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”

[2:9]  ² tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.

[2:9]  ³ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

[2:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.

[11:11]  ⁶ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:11]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[11:11]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).

[11:11]  ⁹ tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”

[11:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”

[11:11]  ¹¹ sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).

[11:11]  ¹² tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹³ tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”

[31:7]  ¹⁵ tn See the translator’s notes on 30:5, 12.

[31:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for the head/chief of the nations.” See BDB 911 s.v. רֹאשׁ 3.c and compare usage in Ps 18:44 referring to David as the “chief” or “foremost ruler” of the nations.

[31:7]  ¹⁷ tn It is unclear who the addressees of the masculine plural imperatives are in this verse. Possibly they are the implied exiles who are viewed as in the process of returning and praying for their fellow countrymen.

[31:7]  ¹⁸ tc Or “The Lord will rescue his people. He will deliver those of Israel who remain alive.” The translation used in the text follows the Hebrew: “Rescue your people, O Lord, the remnant of Israel.” The alternate translation which is preferred by several modern English versions (e.g., REB, TEV) and a majority of modern commentaries (see, e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 569; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 273, n. s-s) follows the reading of the Greek version and the Aramaic Targum and appears more appropriate to the context of praise presupposed by the preceding imperatives. The difference in the two readings are the omission of one vowel letter and the confusion of a final ךְ (kaf) and a וֹ (holem-vav) which are very similar in form. (The Greek presupposes הוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה אֶת־עַמּוֹ [hoshi’a yÿhvah ’et-’ammo] for the Hebrew הוֹשַׁע יְהוָה אֶת־עַמְּךְ [hosha’ yÿhvah ’et-’ammÿkh].) The key to a decision here is the shift from the verbs of praise to the imperative “say” which introduces the quotation; there is a shift from praise to petition. The shift in mood is not uncommon, occurring, for example, in Ps 118:25 and 126:4; it is the shift in mood between praise for what has begun to petition for what is further hoped for. It is easier to explain the origin contextually of the Greek and Targum than it is the Hebrew text, thus the Greek and Targum are probably a secondary smoothing of the text (this is the decision of the D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 4:263). The mood of prayer also shows up in v. 9 and again in vv. 17-18.

[2:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”

[2:12]  ²⁰ tc The MT reads בָּצְרָה (batsrah, “Bozrah”) but the form should be emended to בַּצִּרָה (batsirah, “into the fold”). See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 38.

[2:12]  ²¹ tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.

[2:12]  ²² tn Heb “and they will be noisy [or perhaps, “excited”] from men.” The subject of the third feminine plural verb תְּהִימֶנָה (tÿhimenah, “they will be noisy”) is probably the feminine singular צֹאן (tso’n, “flock”). (For another example of this collective singular noun with a feminine plural verb, see Gen 30:38.) In the construction מֵאָדָם (me’adam, “from men”) the preposition is probably causal. L. C. Allen translates “bleating in fear of men” (Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah [NICOT], 300), but it is possible to take the causal sense as “because of the large quantity of men.” In this case the sheep metaphor and the underlying reality are mixed.

[4:7]  ²³ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

[4:7]  ²⁴ tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).

[4:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from now until forever.”

[5:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²⁸ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ²⁹ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ³⁰ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ³² tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:4]  ³³ tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”

[5:4]  ³⁴ tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “by the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”

[5:4]  ³⁶ tn The words “in peace” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Perhaps וְיָשָׁבוּ (vÿyashavu, “and they will live”) should be emended to וְשָׁבוּ (vÿshavu, “and they will return”).

[5:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “be great.”

[5:4]  ³⁸ tn Or “to the ends of.”

[5:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).

[5:5]  ⁴⁰ tc Some prefer to read “in our land,” emending the text to בְּאַדְמָתֵנוּ (bÿ’admatenu).

[5:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “raise up.”

[5:5]  ⁴² sn The numbers seven and eight here symbolize completeness and emphasize that Israel will have more than enough military leadership and strength to withstand the Assyrian advance.

[5:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “shepherds.”

[5:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and eight leaders of men.”

[5:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”

[5:6]  ⁴⁶ sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.

[5:6]  ⁴⁷ tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).

[5:6]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ⁵¹ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁵² tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”

[5:8]  ⁵³ tn The words “its prey” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and there is no deliverer.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁵ tn Many English versions have “Joshua [the] son of Jehozadak, the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[1:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant (see Ezra 9:14; Isa 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Jer 23:3; 31:7; and many other passages). Cf. TEV “all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “heard the voice of”; NAB “listened to the voice of.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and according to the words of Haggai the prophet just as the Lord their God sent him.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) take the last clause as causal: “because the Lord their God had sent him.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and the people feared from before the Lord”; NASB “showed reverence for the Lord.”

[2:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “say to”; NAB “Tell this to.”

[2:2]  ⁶¹ tn Many English versions have “Joshua (the) son of Jehozadak the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.