Deuteronomy 14:1
New English Translation
The Holy and the Profane
14 You are children[a] of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald[b] for the sake of the dead.
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- Deuteronomy 14:1 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”
- Deuteronomy 14:1 sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not to be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.
1 Kings 18:28
New English Translation
28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual,[a] mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood.[b]
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- 1 Kings 18:28 tn Or “as was their custom.”
- 1 Kings 18:28 tn Heb “until blood poured out on them.”sn mutilated…covered with blood. This self-mutilation was a mourning rite designed to facilitate Baal’s return from the underworld.
Jeremiah 16:6
New English Translation
6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them.[a]
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Jeremiah 41:5
New English Translation
5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria.[a] They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning.[b] They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.[c]
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- Jeremiah 41:5 sn Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria were all cities in the northern kingdom of Israel with important religious and political histories. When Israel was destroyed in 722 b.c., some of the Israelites had been left behind, and some of the Judeans had taken up residence in these northern cities. People residing there had participated in the reforms of Hezekiah (2 Chr 30:11) and Josiah (2 Chr 34:9) and were evidently still faithfully following the Jewish calendar. They would have been on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:34).
- Jeremiah 41:5 tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs.
- Jeremiah 41:5 tn The words “in Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 47:5
New English Translation
5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning.
The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb.
How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow,[a]
you who remain of Philistia’s power?[b]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 47:5 sn Shaving one’s head and gashing one’s body were customs to show mourning or sadness for the dead (cf. Deut 14:1; Mic 1:16; Ezek 27:31; Jer 16:6; 48:37).
- Jeremiah 47:5 tn Or “you who are left alive on the Philistine plain.” Or “you who remain of the Anakim.” The translation follows the suggestion of several of the modern commentaries that the word עֵמֶק (ʿemeq) means “strength” or “power” here (see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 698; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 310; and see also HALOT 803 s.v. II עֵמֶק). It is a rare homonym of the word that normally means “valley,” which seems to be an inappropriate designation of the Philistine plain. Many of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the Greek version, which reads here “remnant of the Anakim” (עֲנָקִים [ʿanaqim] instead of עִמְקָם [ʿimqam], a confusion of basically one letter). This emendation is followed by both BDB 771 s.v. עֵמֶק and KBL 716 s.v. עֵמֶק. The Anakim were generally associated with the southern region around Hebron, but an enclave of them was known to have settled in Gaza, Gath, and Ekron, three of the Philistine cities (cf. Josh 11:22). However, the facts that this judgment is directed against the Philistines, not the Anakim, and that this homonym apparently appears also in Jer 49:4 make the reading of “power” more likely here.
Jeremiah 48:37
New English Translation
37 For all of them will shave their heads in mourning.
They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow.
They will all make gashes in their hands.
They will all put on sackcloth.[a]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:37 tn Heb “upon every loin [there is] sackcloth.” The word “all” is restored here before “loin,” in agreement with a number of Hebrew mss and a number of versions. The words “in mourning” and “to show their sorrow” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to give the average reader some idea of the significance of these acts.sn The actions referred to here were all acts used to mourn the dead (cf. Isa 15:2-3).
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