² tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).

² sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 B.C.

¹ tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).

¹ tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”

¹ tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.

¹ sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.

¹ tn Heb “prisoner.” Jehoiachin was carried off to Babylon as a prisoner. See 2 Chr 36:10.

¹ sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.

¹ tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”

¹ tn Heb “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying….” The quote, however, is part of the earlier letter.

² sn Compare Jer 49:18 and 50:40 where the same thing is said about Edom and Babylon.

² tn Heb “The sea has risen up over Babylon. She has been covered by the multitude of its waves.”

⁶ sn The fall of Babylon the great city is described in detail in Rev 18:2-24.

⁵ tn Verse 14 is set in parentheses because in it the city, Babylon, is addressed directly in second person.

¹ sn Cyrus was actually a Persian king, but when he conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. he apparently appropriated to himself the additional title “king of Babylon.” The Syriac Peshitta substitutes “Persia” for “Babylon” here, but this is probably a hyper-correction.

¹ sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.

¹ sn The word for “tar” (or “bitumen”) occurs earlier in the story of the building of the tower in Babylon (see Gen 11:3).

¹ tn Heb “and when the envoys of the officials of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire concerning the sign which was in the land, [arrived].”