chevron-left All Reading Plans / M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan / Family: 1 Samuel 11; Romans 9. Secret: Jeremiah 48; Psalm 25. (New English Translation)
Print Print Page Options Settings
Previous Prev Day
August 19, 2016 Use the calendar to view readings from this plan.
Next DayNext

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The classic M'Cheyne plan--read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Gospels every day.
Duration: 365 days
New English Translation (NET)
Version
1 Samuel 11

Saul Comes to the Aid of Jabesh

11 [a] Nahash[b] the Ammonite marched[c] against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”

2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you.”

4 When the messengers went to Gibeah (where Saul lived)[d] and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly.[e] 5 Now Saul was walking behind the[f] oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, “What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about[g] the men of Jabesh.

6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a pair[h] of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army.[i] 8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 strong[j] and the men of Judah numbered 30,000.

9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy. 10 The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you[k] and you can do with us whatever you wish.”[l]

11 The next day Saul placed the people in three groups. They went to the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and struck them[m] down until the hottest part of the day. The survivors scattered; no two of them remained together.

Saul Is Established as King

12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who were the ones asking, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Hand over those men so we may execute them!” 13 But Saul said, “No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!” 14 Samuel said to the people, “Come on! Let’s go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where[n] they established Saul as king in the Lord’s presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord’s presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 11:1 tc 4QSama and Josephus (Ant. 6.68-71) attest to a longer form of text at this point. The addition explains Nahash’s practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the MT. The NRSV adopts this reading, with the following English translation: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh Gilead. About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead.” The variations may be explained as scribal errors due to homoioteleuton, in which case the scribe jumps from one word to another word with a similar ending later in the text. If the reading in 4QSama is correct, then perhaps the scribe of the MT skipped from the phrase ויהי כמחרישׁ (vayehi kemakharish) at the end of 1 Sam 10:27, which should possibly be ויהי כמו חרשׁ (vayehi kemo kheresh), and picked up after the phrase ויהי כמו חדשׁ (vayehi kemo khodesh, “it happened about a month later…”). Interestingly 4QSama itself involves a case of homoioteleuton in this passage. The scribe first skipped from one case of גלעד (Gilʿad, “Gilead”) to another, then inserted the missing 10 words between the lines of the 4QSama text. The fact that the scribe made a mistake of this sort and then corrected it supports the idea that he was copying from a source that had these verses in it. Also the 4QSama text first introduces Nahash with his full title, which is a better match to normal style See the discussions in E. Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 2nd rev. ed. [Fortress Press, 2001] 342-344, P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 103. Though the external evidence for the additional material is limited, the internal evidence is strong.
  2. 1 Samuel 11:1 sn The name “Nahash” means “serpent” in Hebrew.
  3. 1 Samuel 11:1 tn Heb “went up and camped”; NIV, NRSV “went up and besieged.”
  4. 1 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “to Gibeah of Saul.”
  5. 1 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “lifted their voice and wept.”
  6. 1 Samuel 11:5 tn Or perhaps, “his oxen.” On this use of the definite article see Joüon 2:506-7 §137.f.
  7. 1 Samuel 11:5 tn Heb “the matters of.”
  8. 1 Samuel 11:7 tn Heb “yoke.”
  9. 1 Samuel 11:7 tn Heb “like one man.”
  10. 1 Samuel 11:8 tc The LXX and two Old Latin mss read 600,000 here, rather than the MT’s 300,000.
  11. 1 Samuel 11:10 tn The second masculine plural forms in this quotation indicate that Nahash and his army are addressed.
  12. 1 Samuel 11:10 tn Heb “according to all that is good in your eyes.”
  13. 1 Samuel 11:11 tn Heb “Ammon.” By metonymy the name “Ammon” is used collectively for the soldiers in the Ammonite army.
  14. 1 Samuel 11:15 tn Heb “and there in Gilgal.”
Romans 9

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9 [a] I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me[b] in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.[c] 3 For I could wish[d] that I myself were accursed—cut off from Christ—for the sake of my people,[e] my fellow countrymen,[f] 4 who are Israelites. To them belong[g] the adoption as sons,[h] the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship,[i] and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs,[j] and from them,[k] by human descent,[l] came the Christ,[m] who is God over all, blessed forever![n] Amen.

6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,[o] 7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.”[p] 8 This means[q] it is not the children of the flesh[r] who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise declared:[s] “About a year from now[t] I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[u] 10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man,[v] our ancestor Isaac— 11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election[w] would stand, not by works but by[x] his calling)[y]— 12 [z] it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”[aa] 13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[ab]

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[ac] 16 So then,[ad] it does not depend on human desire or exertion,[ae] but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh:[af] “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”[ag] 18 So then,[ah] God[ai] has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.[aj]

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 20 But who indeed are you—a mere human being[ak]—to talk back to God?[al] Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?”[am] 21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay[an] one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?[ao] 22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects[ap] of wrath[aq] prepared for destruction?[ar] 23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects[as] of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he also says in Hosea:

“I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved,[at] ‘My beloved.’”[au]
26 “And in the very place[av] where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”[aw]

27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children[ax] of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, 28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.”[ay] 29 Just[az] as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[ba] had not left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”[bb]

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

30 What shall we say then?—that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 31 but Israel even though pursuing[bc] a law of righteousness[bd] did not attain it.[be] 32 Why not? Because they pursued[bf] it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works.[bg] They stumbled over the stumbling stone,[bh] 33 just as it is written,

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble
and a rock that will make them fall,[bi]
yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.”[bj]

Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:1 sn Rom 9:1-11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9-11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29—A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.
  2. Romans 9:1 tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”
  3. Romans 9:2 tn Grk “my sorrow is great and the anguish in my heart is unceasing.”
  4. Romans 9:3 tn Or “For I would pray.” The implied condition is “if this could save my fellow Jews.”
  5. Romans 9:3 tn Grk “brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
  6. Romans 9:3 tn Grk “my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
  7. Romans 9:4 tn Grk “of whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  8. Romans 9:4 tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e., in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).” Although some modern translations remove the filial sense completely and render the term merely “adoption” (cf. NAB, ESV), the retention of this component of meaning was accomplished in the present translation by the phrase “as sons.”
  9. Romans 9:4 tn Or “cultic service.”
  10. Romans 9:5 tn Grk “of whom are the fathers.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  11. Romans 9:5 tn Grk “from whom.” Here the relative pronoun has been replaced by a personal pronoun.
  12. Romans 9:5 tn Grk “according to the flesh.”
  13. Romans 9:5 tn Or “Messiah.” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed.”)
  14. Romans 9:5 tn Or “the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever,” or “the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever!” or “the Messiah who is over all. God be blessed forever!” The translational difficulty here is not text-critical in nature, but is a problem of punctuation. Since the genre of these opening verses of Romans 9 is a lament, it is probably best to take this as an affirmation of Christ’s deity (as the text renders it). Although the other renderings are possible, to see a note of praise to God at the end of this section seems strangely out of place. But for Paul to bring his lament to a crescendo (that is to say, his kinsmen had rejected God come in the flesh), thereby deepening his anguish, is wholly appropriate. This is also supported grammatically and stylistically: The phrase ὁ ὢν (ho ōn, “the one who is”) is most naturally taken as a phrase which modifies something in the preceding context, and Paul’s doxologies are always closely tied to the preceding context. For a detailed examination of this verse, see B. M. Metzger, “The Punctuation of Rom. 9:5, ” Christ and the Spirit in the New Testament, 95-112; and M. J. Harris, Jesus as God, 144-72.
  15. Romans 9:6 tn Grk “For not all those who are from Israel are Israel.”
  16. Romans 9:7 tn Grk “be called.” The emphasis here is upon God’s divine sovereignty in choosing Isaac as the child through whom Abraham’s lineage would be counted as opposed to Ishmael.sn A quotation from Gen 21:12.
  17. Romans 9:8 tn Grk “That is,” or “That is to say.”
  18. Romans 9:8 tn Because it forms the counterpoint to “the children of promise” the expression “children of the flesh” has been retained in the translation.sn The expression the children of the flesh refers to the natural offspring.
  19. Romans 9:9 tn Grk “For this is the word of promise.”
  20. Romans 9:9 tn Grk “About this time I will return.” Since this refers to the time when the promised child would be born, it would be approximately a year later.
  21. Romans 9:9 sn A quotation from Gen 18:10, 14.
  22. Romans 9:10 tn Or possibly “by one act of sexual intercourse.” See D. Moo, Romans (NICNT), 579.
  23. Romans 9:11 tn Grk “God’s purpose according to election.”
  24. Romans 9:11 tn Or “not based on works but based on…”
  25. Romans 9:11 tn Grk “by the one who calls.” sn The entire clause is something of a parenthetical remark.
  26. Romans 9:12 sn Many translations place this verse division before the phrase “not by works but by his calling” (NA28/UBS5, NIV, NRSV, NLT, NAB). Other translations place this verse division in the same place that the translation above does (NASB, KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV). The translation has followed the latter to avoid breaking the parenthetical statement.
  27. Romans 9:12 sn A quotation from Gen 25:23.
  28. Romans 9:13 sn A quotation from Mal 1:2-3.
  29. Romans 9:15 sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.
  30. Romans 9:16 sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
  31. Romans 9:16 tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”
  32. Romans 9:17 sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.
  33. Romans 9:17 sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.
  34. Romans 9:18 sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
  35. Romans 9:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  36. Romans 9:18 tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”
  37. Romans 9:20 tn Grk “O man.”
  38. Romans 9:20 tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”
  39. Romans 9:20 sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.
  40. Romans 9:21 tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”
  41. Romans 9:21 tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”
  42. Romans 9:22 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
  43. Romans 9:22 tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orgēs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.
  44. Romans 9:22 tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizō) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.
  45. Romans 9:23 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
  46. Romans 9:25 tn Grk “and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’”
  47. Romans 9:25 sn A quotation from Hos 2:23.
  48. Romans 9:26 tn Grk “And it will be in the very place.”
  49. Romans 9:26 sn A quotation from Hos 1:10.
  50. Romans 9:27 tn Grk “sons.”
  51. Romans 9:28 tc In light of the interpretive difficulty of this verse, a longer reading seems to have been added to clarify the meaning. The addition, in the middle of the sentence, makes the whole verse read as follows: “For he will execute his sentence completely and quickly in righteousness, because the Lord will do it quickly on the earth.” The shorter reading is found largely in Alexandrian mss (P46 א* A B 6 1506 1739 1881 co), while the longer reading is found principally in Western and Byzantine mss (א2 D F G Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M lat). The longer reading follows Isa 10:22-23 (LXX) verbatim, while Paul in the previous verse quoted the LXX loosely. This suggests the addition was made by a copyist trying to make sense out of a difficult passage rather than by the author himself. tn There is a wordplay in Greek (in both the LXX and here) on the phrase translated “completely and quickly” (συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων, suntelōn kai suntemnōn). These participles are translated as adverbs for smoothness; a more literal (and more cumbersome) rendering would be: “The Lord will act by closing the account [or completing the sentence], and by cutting short the time.” The interpretation of this text is notoriously difficult. Cf. BDAG 975 s.v. συντέμνω.sn A modified quotation from Isa 10:22-23. Since it is not exact, it has been printed as italics only.
  52. Romans 9:29 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  53. Romans 9:29 tn Traditionally, “Lord of Hosts”; or “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”
  54. Romans 9:29 sn A quotation from Isa 1:9.
  55. Romans 9:31 tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.
  56. Romans 9:31 tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunēs) as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).
  57. Romans 9:31 tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”
  58. Romans 9:32 tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.
  59. Romans 9:32 tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א2 D Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, apparently being motivated by a need to clarify.tn Grk “but as by works.”
  60. Romans 9:32 tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”
  61. Romans 9:33 tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”
  62. Romans 9:33 sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.
Jeremiah 48

Judgment Against Moab

48 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[a] spoke about Moab:[b]

“Sure to be judged is Nebo! Indeed,[c] it will be destroyed.
Kiriathaim[d] will suffer disgrace. It will be captured!
Its fortress[e] will suffer disgrace. It will be torn down![f]
2 People will not praise Moab anymore.
The enemy will capture Heshbon[g] and plot[h] how to destroy Moab,[i]
saying, ‘Come, let’s put an end to that nation!’
City of Madmen, you will also be destroyed.[j]
A destructive army will march against you.[k]
3 Cries of anguish will arise in Horonaim,
‘Oh, the ruin and great destruction!’
4 “Moab will be crushed.

Her children will cry out in distress.[l]
5 Indeed they will climb the slopes of Luhith,
weeping continually as they go.[m]
For on the road down to Horonaim
they will hear the cries of distress over the destruction.[n]
6 They will hear, ‘Run! Save yourselves;
even if you must be like a lonely shrub in the wilderness!’[o]
7 “Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches.

So you too will be conquered.
Your god Chemosh[p] will go into exile[q]
along with his priests and his officials.
8 The destroyer will come against every town.
Not one town will escape.
The towns in the valley will be destroyed.
The cities on the high plain will be laid waste.[r]
I, the Lord, have spoken.[s]
9 Set up a gravestone for Moab,
for it will certainly be laid in ruins![t]
Its cities will be laid waste
and become uninhabited.
10 A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction![u]
11 “From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed.

It has never been taken into exile.
Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs,
never poured out from one jar to another.
They are like wine that tastes like it always did,
whose aroma has remained unchanged.[v]
12 But the time is coming when I will send
men against Moab who will empty it out.
They will empty the towns of their people,
then will lay those towns in ruins.[w]
I, the Lord, affirm it![x]
13 The people of Moab will be disappointed by their god Chemosh.
They will be as disappointed as the people of Israel were
when they put their trust in the calf god at Bethel.[y]
14 How can you men of Moab say, ‘We are heroes,
men who are mighty in battle?’
15 Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded.
Its finest young men will be slaughtered.[z]
I, the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] affirm it![ab]
16 Moab’s destruction is at hand.
Disaster will come on it quickly.
17 Mourn for that nation, all you nations living around it,
all you nations that know of its fame.[ac]
Mourn and say, ‘Alas, its powerful influence has been broken!
Its glory and power have been done away with!’[ad]
18 Come down from your place of honor;
sit on the dry ground,[ae] you who live in Dibon.[af]
For the one who will destroy Moab will attack you;
he will destroy your fortifications.
19 You who live in Aroer,[ag]
stand by the road and watch.
Question the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping.
Ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 They will answer, ‘Moab is disgraced, for it has fallen!
Wail and cry out in mourning!
Announce along the Arnon River
that Moab has been destroyed.’

21 “Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain:[ah] on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath; 22 on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim; 23 on Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon; 24 on Kerioth and Bozrah. It will come on all the towns of Moab, both far and near. 25 Moab’s might will be crushed. Its power will be broken.[ai] I, the Lord, affirm it![aj]

26 “Moab has vaunted itself against me.
So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath[ak]
until he splashes[al] around in his own vomit,
until others treat him as a laughingstock.
27 For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel?
Did you think that they were nothing but thieves,[am]
that you shook your head in contempt[an]
every time you talked about them?[ao]
28 Leave your towns, you inhabitants of Moab.
Go and live in the cliffs.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
high on the sides of a ravine.[ap]
29 I have heard how proud the people of Moab are,
I know how haughty they are.
I have heard how arrogant, proud, and haughty they are,
what a high opinion they have of themselves.[aq]
30 I, the Lord, affirm that[ar] I know how arrogant they are.
But their pride is ill founded.
Their boastings will prove to be false.[as]
31 So I will weep with sorrow for Moab.
I will cry out in sadness for all Moab.
I will moan[at] for the people of Kir Heres.
32 I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah
just like the town of Jazer weeps over them.[au]
Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea.[av]
They reached as far as the town of Jazer.[aw]
The destroyer will ravage
her fig, date,[ax] and grape crops.
33 Joy and gladness will disappear
from the fruitful land of Moab.[ay]
I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses.
No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy.[az]
The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers,
not the shouts of those making wine.[ba]
34 Cries of anguish raised from Heshbon and Elealeh
will be sounded as far as Jahaz.[bb]
They will be sounded from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah.
For even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up.
35 I will put an end in Moab
to those who make offerings at her places of worship.[bc]
I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods.
I, the Lord, affirm it![bd]
36 So my heart moans for Moab
like a flute playing a funeral song.
Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song,
my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres.
For the wealth they have gained will perish.
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.[be]
38 On all the housetops in Moab
and in all its public squares
there will be nothing but mourning.
For I will break Moab like an unwanted jar.
I, the Lord, affirm it![bf]
39 Oh, how shattered Moab will be!
Oh, how her people will wail!
Oh, how she will turn away[bg] in shame!
Moab will become an object of ridicule,
a terrifying sight to all the nations that surround her.”
40 For the Lord says,

“Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings
a nation will swoop down on Moab.[bh]
41 Her towns[bi] will be captured;
her fortresses will be taken.
At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened
like a woman in labor.[bj]
42 Moab will be destroyed and no longer be a nation,[bk]
because she has vaunted herself against the Lord.
43 Terror, pits, and traps[bl] are in store
for the people who live in Moab.[bm]
I, the Lord, affirm it![bn]
44 Anyone who flees at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit.
Anyone who climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a trap.[bo]
For the time is coming
when I will punish the people of Moab.[bp]
I, the Lord, affirm it![bq]
45 In the shadows of the walls of Heshbon
those trying to escape will stand helpless.
For a fire will burst forth from Heshbon.
Flames will shoot out from the former territory of Sihon.
They will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab,
the skulls of those war-loving people.[br]
46 Moab, you are doomed![bs]
You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed.
Your sons will be taken away captive.
Your daughters will be carried away into exile.[bt]
47 Yet in future days
I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune,”[bu]
says the Lord.[bv]

The judgment against Moab ends here.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 48:1 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.
  2. Jeremiah 48:1 sn Moab was a country east of the Dead Sea whose boundaries varied greatly over time. Basically, it was the tableland between the Arnon River, about halfway up the Dead Sea, and the Zered River, which is roughly at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. When the Israelites entered Palestine, they were forbidden to take any of the Moabite territory, but they did capture the kingdom of Sihon north of the Arnon, which Sihon had taken from Moab. Several of the towns mentioned in the oracles of judgment against Moab here are in this territory north of the Arnon and were assigned to Reuben and Gad. Several are mentioned on the famous Moabite Stone, which details how Mesha king of Moab recovered from Israel many of these cities during the reign of Joram (852-841 b.c.; cf. 2 Kgs 3:4-5). It is usually assumed that Moab submitted to Nebuchadnezzar after the battle of Carchemish and that it remained loyal to him throughout most of this period, though representatives were present at Jerusalem in 594 b.c. when plans for revolt were apparently being discussed (Jer 27:3). Moabite contingents were used by Nebuchadnezzar in 598 b.c. to harass Jehoiakim after he rebelled (2 Kgs 24:2), so they must have remained loyal at that time. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Moab in 582 b.c. and destroyed many of its cities.
  3. Jeremiah 48:1 tn Heb “Woe to Nebo for it is destroyed.” For the use of the Hebrew particle “Woe” (הוֹי, hoy), see the translator’s note on 22:13. The translation has taken this form because the phrase “Woe to” probably does not convey the proper meaning or significance to the modern reader. The verbs again are in the tense (Hebrew prophetic perfect) that views the action as if it were as good as done. The particle כִּי (ki) probably is causal, but the asseverative works better in the modified translation.
  4. Jeremiah 48:1 sn Nebo and Kiriathaim were both north of the Arnon and were assigned to Reuben (Num 32:3; Josh 13:19). They are both mentioned on the Moabite Stone as having been recovered from Israel.
  5. Jeremiah 48:1 tn Or “Misgab.” The translation here follows the majority of commentaries and English versions. Only REB sees this as a place name, “Misgab,” which is otherwise unknown. The constant use of this word to refer to a fortress, the presence of the article on the front of it, and the lack of any reference to a place of this name anywhere else argue against it being a place name. However, the fact that the verbs that accompany it are feminine, while the noun for “fortress” is masculine, causes some pause.
  6. Jeremiah 48:1 tn For the meaning of the verb here see BDB 369 s.v. חָתַת Qal.1 and compare usage in Isa 7:8 and 30:31.
  7. Jeremiah 48:2 sn Heshbon was originally a Moabite city but was captured by Sihon king of Og and made his capital (Num 21:26-30). It was captured from Sihon and originally assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Num 32:37; Josh 13:17). Later it was made a Levitical city and was assigned to the tribe of Gad (Josh 21:39). It formed the northern limits of Moab and was located about eighteen miles east of the northern tip of the Dead Sea.
  8. Jeremiah 48:2 sn There is a wordplay in Hebrew on the word “Heshbon” and the word “plot” (חָשְׁבוּ, khashevu).
  9. Jeremiah 48:2 tn Heb “In Heshbon they plot evil against her [i.e., Moab].” The “they” is undefined, but it would scarcely be Moabites living in Heshbon. Hence TEV and CEV are probably correct in seeing a reference to the enemy, which would imply the conquest of this city that lay on the northern border of Moab.
  10. Jeremiah 48:2 tn The meaning of this line is somewhat uncertain. The translation here follows all the modern English versions and commentaries in reading the place name “Madmen,” even though the place is otherwise unknown, and the Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions all read this word as an emphasizing infinitive absolute of the following verb, “will be destroyed,” i.e., דָּמוֹם יִדֹּמּוּ (damom yiddommu). Some see this word as a variant of the name Dimon in Isa 15:9, which in turn is a playful variant of the place name Dibon. There is once again a wordplay on the word “Madmen” and “will be destroyed”: מַדְמֵן (madmen) and יִדֹּמּוּ (yiddommu). For the meaning of the verb as “perish” or “be destroyed,” see Jer 8:14 and Ps 31:18.
  11. Jeremiah 48:2 tn Heb “A sword will follow after you.” The sword is again figurative of destructive forces, here the army of the Babylonians.
  12. Jeremiah 48:4 tc The reading here follows the Qere צְעִירֶיהָ (tseʿireha), which is the same noun found in Jer 14:3 in the sense of “servants.” Here it refers to the young ones, i.e., the children (cf. the use of the adjective BDB 859 s.v. I צָעִיר 2, and see Gen 43:33). Many of the modern commentaries and a few of the modern English versions follow the Greek version and read “their cry is heard as far as Zoar” (reading צֹעֲרָה, tsoʿarah; see, for example, J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 699, n. 4, and BDB 858 s.v. צֹעַר). However, that leaves the verb with an indefinite subject (the verb is active third plural, not passive) not otherwise identified in the preceding context. Many of the modern English versions, such as NRSV, NJPS, and NIV, retain the Hebrew, as the present translation has done. In this case, the masculine plural noun furnishes a logical subject for the verb.
  13. Jeremiah 48:5 tn Or “Indeed her fugitives will…” It is unclear what the subject of the verbs are in this verse. The verb in the first two lines, “climb” (יַעֲלֶה, yaʿaleh), is third masculine singular, and the verb in the second two lines, “will hear” (שָׁמֵעוּ, shameʿu), is third common plural. The causal particles at the beginning of the two halves of the verse can indicate some connection with the preceding, so the translation assumes that the children are still the subject. In this case, the singular verb would be an example of the distributive singular already referred to in the translator’s note on 46:15. The parallel passage in Isa 15:5 refers to the “fugitives” (בְּרִיחֶהָ, berikheha) with the same singular verb as here, and that may be the implied subject here.sn The location of Luhith and Horonaim are uncertain, but their connection with Zoar in Isa 15:5 suggests they are located in southern Moab. Zoar was at the southern tip of the Dead Sea.
  14. Jeremiah 48:5 tn Heb “the distresses of the cry of destruction.” Many commentaries want to leave out the word “distresses” because it is missing from the Greek version and the parallel passage in Isa 15:5. However, it is in all the Hebrew mss and in the other early versions, and it is hard to see why it would be added here if it were not original.
  15. Jeremiah 48:6 tc The meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation follows one reading of the Hebrew text. The Greek version reads, “Be like a wild donkey in the desert!” There are three points of debate in this line: the syntax of the verb form “be” (תִהְיֶינָה, tihyenah) and the text and meaning of the word translated “shrub” in the Hebrew text. This latter word only occurs with this meaning here and in Jer 17:6. A related word occurs in Ps 102:17 (102:18 HT). Elsewhere this spelling refers to the name Aroer, which designated a place in Moab on the edge of the Arnon River. Most commentators do not feel that a reference to that place is appropriate here because it was not in the desert. The Greek version reads “like a wild donkey” (reading כְּעָרוֹד [keʿarod] in place of כַּעֲרוֹעֵר [kaʿaroʿer]). That would make an appropriate simile here because the wild donkey enjoys its freedom and is hard to capture. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 312) explain the simile of the “shrub” as referring to the marginal and rudimentary existence of a displaced person. That may not be as optimistic as the reference to the wild donkey, but it does give an appropriate meaning. The third feminine plural verb “be” has been explained as due to the singular noun + suffix = “yourselves” (נַפְשְׁכֶם, nafshekhem) being used as a collective (so S. R. Driver, Jeremiah, 368, with cross reference to GKC 462-63 §145.c). J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 314, n. e-e) follows a suggestion of D. N. Freedman in seeing the form (תִהְיֶינָה, tihyenah) as a mistake for the second masculine plural plus energic (תִהְיוּן, tihyun). Given the number of other textual difficulties in this passage, this is possible. The resultant meaning in either case is the same.
  16. Jeremiah 48:7 sn Chemosh was the national god of Moab (see also Num 21:29). Child sacrifice appears to have been a part of his worship (2 Kgs 3:27). Solomon built a high place in Jerusalem for him (1 Kgs 11:7), and he appears to have been worshiped in Israel until Josiah tore that high place down (2 Kgs 23:13).
  17. Jeremiah 48:7 sn The practice of carrying off the gods of captive nations has already been mentioned in the study note on 43:12. See also notes at Isa 46:1-2.
  18. Jeremiah 48:8 tn Heb “The valley will be destroyed and the tableland laid waste.” However, in the context this surely refers to the towns and not to the valley and the tableland itself.sn Most commentaries see a reference to the towns in the Jordan valley referred to in Josh 13:27 and to the towns mentioned in Josh 13:15-17, which were on the high tableland or high plateau or plain north of the Arnon. The mention of the towns in the first half of the verse is broader than that because it would include all the towns in the southern half of Moab between the Arnon and Zered, as well as those mentioned in the second half of the verse in conjunction with the valley and the high plateau north of the Arnon.
  19. Jeremiah 48:8 tn Heb “which/for/as the Lord has spoken.” The first person form has again been adopted because the Lord is the speaker throughout (cf. v. 1).
  20. Jeremiah 48:9 tn Or “Scatter salt over Moab, for it will certainly be laid in ruins.” The meaning of these two lines is very uncertain. The Hebrew of these two lines presents several difficulties. It reads תְּנוּ־צִיץ לְמוֹאָב נָצֹא תֵּצֵא (tenu-tsits lemoʾav natsoʾ tetseʾ). Of the five words, two are extremely problematic, and the meaning of the second affects also the meaning of the last word, which normally means “go out.” The word צִיץ (tsits) regularly refers to a blossom or flower or the diadem on the front of Aaron’s mitre. BDB 851 s.v. II צִיץ gives a nuance “wings (coll),” based on the interpretation of Abu Walid and some medieval Jewish interpreters, who related it to an Aramaic root. But BDB says that meaning is dubious and refers to the Greek, which reads σημεῖα (sēmeia, “sign” or “sign post”). Along with KBL 802 s.v. I צִיץ and HALOT 959 s.v. II צִיץ, BDB suggests that the Greek presupposes the word צִיּוּן (tsiyyun) which refers to a road marker (Jer 31:21) or a gravestone (2 Kgs 23:17). That is the meaning followed here. Several modern commentaries and English versions have followed a proposal by W. Moran that the word is related to a Ugaritic word meaning salt (cf., e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 320). However, HALOT 959 s.v. II צִיץ questions the validity of this on philological grounds, saying that the meaning of salt does not really fit the Ugaritic either. The present translation follows the suggestions of the lexicons here and reads the word as though the Greek supported the meaning “gravestone.” The other difficulty is with the word נָצֹא (natsoʾ), which looks like a Qal infinitive absolute of an otherwise unattested root that BDB s.v. נָצָא says is defined in Gesenius’ Thesaurus as “fly.” However, BDB sees the meaning and the construction of an infinitive absolute of one root preceding an imperfect of another as improbable. Hence, most modern lexicons either emend the forms to read נָצֹה תִּצֶּה (natsoh titseh) from the root נָצָה (natsah), meaning “to fall into ruins” (so KBL 629 s.v. נָצָה Qal, and see, among others, J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 700, n. 10, who notes that final א [alef] and final ה [he] are often confused; see the discussion and examples in GKC 216-17 §75.nn-rr). This is the option that this translation and a number of modern ones have taken. A second option is to see נָצֹא (natsoʾ) as an error for יָצֹא (yatsoʾ) and read the text in the sense of “she will certainly surrender,” a meaning that the verb יָצָא (yatsaʾ) has in 1 Sam 11:3 and Isa 36:6. The best discussion of this option, as well as a discussion on the problem of reading צִיץ (tsits) as salt, is found in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 313-14.
  21. Jeremiah 48:10 tn Heb “who withholds his sword from bloodshed.” This verse is an editorial aside (or apostrophe) warning the Babylonian destroyers to be diligent in carrying out the work of the Lord in destroying Moab.
  22. Jeremiah 48:11 tn Heb “Therefore his taste remains in him, and his aroma is not changed.” The metaphor is changed into a simile in an attempt to help the reader understand the figure in the context.sn The picture is that of undisturbed complacency (cf. Zeph 1:12). Because Moab had never known the discipline of exile, she had remained as she always was.
  23. Jeremiah 48:12 tn Heb “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, oracle of Yahweh, when I will send against him decanters [those who pour from one vessel to another], and they will decant him [pour him out], and they will empty his vessels and break their jars in pieces.” The verse continues the metaphor from the preceding verse, where Moab/the people of Moab are like wine left undisturbed in a jar, i.e., in their native land. In this verse the picture is that of the decanter emptying the wine from the vessels and then breaking the jars. The wine represents the people and the vessels the cities and towns where the people lived. The verse speaks of the exile of the people and the devastation of the land. The metaphor has been interpreted so it conveys meaning to the average reader.
  24. Jeremiah 48:12 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  25. Jeremiah 48:13 tn Heb “Moab will be ashamed because of Chemosh as the house of Israel was ashamed because of Bethel, their [source of] confidence.” The “shame” is, of course, the disappointment and disillusionment because of the lack of help from these gods in which they trusted (for this nuance of the verb see BDB 101 s.v. בּוֹשׁ Qal.2 and compare usage in Jer 2:13 and Isa 20:5). Because of the parallelism, some see the reference to Bethel to be a reference to a West Semitic god worshiped by the people of Israel (see J. P. Hyatt, “Bethel [Deity],” IDB 1:390 for the arguments). However, there is no evidence in the OT that such a god was worshiped in Israel, and there is legitimate evidence that northern Israel placed its confidence in the calf god that Jeroboam set up in Bethel (cf. 1 Kgs 12:28-32; Hos 10:5; 8:5-6; Amos 7:10-17).
  26. Jeremiah 48:15 tn Heb “will go down to the slaughter.”
  27. Jeremiah 48:15 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.” For an explanation of the translation and meaning of this title, see the study note on 2:19.
  28. Jeremiah 48:15 tn Heb “Oracle of the King whose name is Yahweh of armies.” The first person form has again been adopted because the Lord is the speaker throughout this oracle/ these oracles (cf. v. 1).
  29. Jeremiah 48:17 tn For the use of the word “name” (שֵׁם, shem) for “fame” or “repute,” see BDB 1028 s.v. שֵׁם 2.b and compare the usage in Ezek 16:14 and 2 Chr 26:15.sn This refers both to the nearby nations and to those who lived farther away and had heard of Moab’s power and might only by repute.
  30. Jeremiah 48:17 tn Heb “How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!” “How” introduces a lament that is here rendered by “Alas.” The staff and rod refer to the support that Moab gave to others, not to the fact that she ruled over others, which was never the case. According to BDB 739 s.v. עוֹז 1, the “strong staff” is figurative of political power.
  31. Jeremiah 48:18 tn Heb “sit in thirst.” The abstract “thirst” is put for the concrete, i.e., thirsty or parched ground (cf. Deut 8:19; Isa 35:7; Ps 107:33) for the concrete. There is no need to emend to “filth” (צֹאָה [tsoʾah] for צָמָא [tsamaʾ]) as is sometimes suggested.
  32. Jeremiah 48:18 tn Heb “inhabitant of Daughter Dibon.” “Daughter” is used here, as often in Jeremiah, for the personification of a city, a country, or its inhabitants. The word “inhabitant” is to be understood as a collective, as also in v. 19.sn Dibon was an important fortified city located on the “King’s Highway,” the main north-south road in Transjordan. It was the site at which the Moabite Stone was found in 1868 and was one of the cities mentioned on it. It was four miles north of the Arnon River and thirteen miles east of the Dead Sea. It was one of the main cities on the northern plateau and had been conquered from Sihon and allotted to the tribe of Reuben (Josh 13:17).
  33. Jeremiah 48:19 sn Aroer is probably the Aroer located a few miles south and west of Dibon on the edge of the Arnon River. It had formerly been the southern border of Sihon, king of Heshbon, and had been allotted to the tribe of Reuben (Josh 13:16). However, this whole territory had been taken over by the Arameans (2 Kgs 10:33; c. 842-800 b.c.), then by the Assyrians (Isa 15-16; c. 715-713 b.c.), and at this time was in the hands of the Moabites.
  34. Jeremiah 48:21 sn See the study note on Jer 48:8 for reference to this tableland or high plain that lay between the Arnon and Heshbon.
  35. Jeremiah 48:25 tn Heb “The horn of Moab will be cut off. His arm will be broken.” “Horn” and “arm” are both symbols of strength (see BDB 902 s.v. קֶרֶן 2 [and compare usage in Lam 2:3] and BDB 284 s.v. זְרוֹעַ 2 [and compare usage in 1 Sam 2:31]). The figures have been interpreted for the sake of clarity.
  36. Jeremiah 48:25 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  37. Jeremiah 48:26 tn Heb “Make him drunk because he has magnified himself against the Lord.” The first person has again been adopted for consistency within a speech of the Lord. Almost all of the commentaries relate the figure of drunkenness to the figure of drinking the cup of God’s wrath spelled out in Jer 25, where reference is made at one point to the nations drinking, staggering, vomiting, and falling (25:27; see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 316, for a full list of references to this figure, including this passage and 49:12-13; 51:6-10, 39, 57).
  38. Jeremiah 48:26 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. It is usually used of clapping the hands or the thigh in helpless anger or disgust. Hence J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 321) paraphrases, “shall vomit helplessly.” HALOT 722 s.v. II סָפַק relates this to an Aramaic word and sees a homonym meaning “vomit” or “spew out.” The translation here is that of BDB 706 s.v. סָפַק Qal.3, “splash (fall with a splash),” from the same root that refers to slapping or clapping the thigh.
  39. Jeremiah 48:27 tn Heb “were they caught among thieves?”
  40. Jeremiah 48:27 tn Heb “that you shook yourself.” But see the same verb in 18:16 in the active voice with the object “head” in a very similar context of contempt or derision.
  41. Jeremiah 48:27 tc The reading here presupposes the emendation of דְבָרֶיךָ (devarekha, “your words”) to דַבֶּרְךָ (dabberekha, “your speaking”). BHS (cf. fn c) suggested the change on the basis of one of the Greek versions (Symmachus). For the idiom, compare BDB 191 s.v. דַּי 2.c.α.
  42. Jeremiah 48:28 tn Heb “in the sides of the mouth of a pit/chasm.” The translation follows the suggestion of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 321. The point of the simile is inaccessibility.
  43. Jeremiah 48:29 tn Heb “We have heard of the pride of Moab—[he is] exceedingly proud—of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his haughtiness, and the loftiness of his heart.” These words are essentially all synonyms, three of them coming from the same Hebrew root (גָּאָה, gaʾah), and one of the words being used twice (גָּאוֹן, gaʾon). Since the first person singular is used in the next verse, the present translation considers the “we” of this verse to refer to the plural of majesty or the plural referring to the divine council, as in passages like Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8, and has translated in the singular to avoid possible confusion of who the “we” are. Most understand the reference to be to Jeremiah and his fellow Judeans.
  44. Jeremiah 48:30 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  45. Jeremiah 48:30 tn The meaning of this verse is somewhat uncertain: Heb “I know, oracle of the Lord,/ his arrogance and [that it is?] not true; // his boastings accomplish that which is not true.” Several modern English versions and commentaries redivide the verse and read something like, “I know his insolence…his boastings are false; his deeds are false” (NRSV, REB). However, the word translated “deeds” in the last line is a verb in the third person plural and can only have as its logical grammatical subject the word “boastings.” The adjective כֵּן (ken) + the negative לֹא (lo’) are evidently repeated here and applied to two different subjects, “arrogance” and “boasting,” to emphasize that Moab’s arrogant boasts will prove “untrue” (cf. HALOT 459 s.v. II כֵּן 2.c for the meaning “untrue” for both this passage and the parallel one in Isa 16:6). There is some difference of opinion about the identification of the “I” in this verse. Most commentators see it as referring to the prophet. However, F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 395) is probably correct in seeing it refer to the Lord. He points to the fact that the “I” in vv. 33, 35, 38 can only refer to God. The “I know” in v. 30 also clearly has the Lord as its subject. There are other cases in the book of Jeremiah where the Lord expresses his lament over the fate of a people (cf. 14:1-6, 17-18).
  46. Jeremiah 48:31 tc The translation is based on the emendation of the Hebrew third masculine singular (יֶהְגֶּה, yehgeh) to the first singular (אֶהְגֶּה, ʾehgeh). This emendation is assumed by almost all of the modern English versions and commentaries even though the textual evidence for it is weak (only one Hebrew ms and the Eastern Qere according to BHS).
  47. Jeremiah 48:32 tc Or “I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah more than I will weep over the town of Jazer.” The translation here assumes that there has been a graphic confusion of מ (mem) with כ (kaf) or ב (bet). The parallel passage in Isa 16:9 has the preposition ב, and the Greek version presupposes the comparative idea “as with.” Many of the modern English versions render the passage with the comparative מִן (min) as in the alternate translation, but it is unclear what the force of the comparison would be here. The verse is actually in the second person, an apostrophe or direct address to the grapevine(s) of Sibmah. However, the translation has retained the third person throughout because such sudden shifts in person are uncommon in contemporary English literature and retaining the third person is smoother. The Hebrew text reads, “From/With the weeping of Jazer I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah. Your tendrils crossed over the sea. They reached unto the sea of Jazer. Upon your summer fruit and your vintage [grape harvest] the destroyer has fallen.”
  48. Jeremiah 48:32 tn Heb “crossed over to the Sea.”
  49. Jeremiah 48:32 tn Or “reached the sea of Jazer.” The Sea is generally taken to be a reference to the Dead Sea. The translation presupposes that the word “sea” is to be omitted before “Jazer.” The word is missing from two Hebrew mss, from the parallel passage in Isa 16:8, and from the Greek version. It may have arisen from a mistaken copying of the same word in the preceding line.sn Though there is some doubt about the precise location of these places, Sibmah is generally considered to have been located slightly north and west of Heshbon, with Jazer farther north toward the border of Ammon, not far from the city of Amman. Most commentators see the reference here (and in the parallel in Isa 16:8) to the spread of viticulture westward and northward from the vineyards of Sibmah. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 318-19), however, see the reference rather to the spread of trade in wine westward beyond the coast of the Mediterranean and eastward into the desert.
  50. Jeremiah 48:32 tn Heb “her summer fruit.” See the translator’s note on 40:10 for the rendering here. According to BDB 657 s.v. נָפַל Qal.4.a, the verb means to “fall upon” or “attack,” but in the context it is probably metonymical for attack and destroy.
  51. Jeremiah 48:33 tn Heb “from the garden land, even from the land of Moab.” Comparison with the parallel passage in Isa 16:10, and the translation of the Greek text here (which has only “the land of Moab”), suggest that the second phrase is appositional to the first.
  52. Jeremiah 48:33 tn Heb “no one will tread [the grapes] with shout of joy.”
  53. Jeremiah 48:33 tn Heb “shouts will not be shouts.” The text has been expanded contextually to explain that the shouts of those treading grapes in winepresses will come to an end (v. 33a-d) and be replaced by the shouts of the soldiers who trample down the vineyards (v. 32e-f). Cf. 25:30; 51:41 for the idea.
  54. Jeremiah 48:34 tn The meaning of this verse is very uncertain. The ambiguity of the syntax and the apparent elliptical nature of this text make the meaning of this verse uncertain. The Hebrew text reads, “From the cry of Heshbon unto Elealeh unto Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, Eglath Shelishiyah.” The translation and interpretation here are based on interpreting the elliptical syntax here by the parallel passage in Isaiah 15:4-6, where cries of anguish rise from Heshbon and Elealeh that are heard all the way to Jahaz. The people flee southward, arriving at Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah, where they voice the news of the destruction in the north. Hence, the present translation interprets the phrase “from the cry of Heshbon unto Elealeh” to be parallel to “Heshbon and Elealeh cry out” and take the preposition “from” with the verb “they utter their voice,” i.e., with the cry of Heshbon and Elealeh. The impersonal “they raise their voice” is then treated as a passive and made the subject of the whole verse. There is some debate about the identification of the waters of Nimrim. They may refer to the waters of the Wadi Nimrim, which enters the Jordan about eight miles north of the Dead Sea, or to those of the Wadi en-Numeirah, which flows into the southern tip of the Dead Sea from about ten miles south. Most commentators prefer the latter option because of association with Zoar. However, if the passage is talking about the destruction in the north that is reported in the south by the fleeing refugees, the reference is probably to the Wadi Nimrim in the north.sn Elealeh was about two miles (3.3 km) north of Heshbon. Jahaz was about twenty miles (33 km) south of it. These three cities were in the north, and Zoar, Horonaim, and Eglath Shelishiyah were apparently in the south. The verse is speaking about the news of destruction in the north spreading to the south. Comparison should be made with the parallel passage in Isa 15:4-6.
  55. Jeremiah 48:35 tn Heb “high place[s].” For the meaning and significance of this term see the study note on 7:31.
  56. Jeremiah 48:35 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  57. 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).
  58. Jeremiah 48:38 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  59. Jeremiah 48:39 tn Heb “turn her back.”
  60. Jeremiah 48:40 tn Heb “Behold! Like an eagle he will swoop and will spread his wings against Moab.” The sentence has been reordered in English to give a better logical flow, and the unidentified “he” has been identified as “a nation.” The nation is, of course, Babylon, but it is nowhere identified, so the referent has been left ambiguous.sn Conquering nations are often identified with an eagle flying swiftly to swoop down on its victims (cf. Deut 28:49). In this case the eagle is to be identified with the nation (or king) of Babylon (cf. Ezek 17:3, 12, where reference is to the removal of Jehoiachin [Jeconiah] and his replacement with Zedekiah).
  61. Jeremiah 48:41 tn Parallelism argues that the word קְרִיּוֹת (qeriyyot) be understood as the otherwise unattested feminine plural of the noun קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) rather than the place name Kerioth mentioned in v. 24 (cf. HALOT 1065 s.v. קִרְיָה). Both this noun and the parallel term “fortresses” are plural but are found with feminine singular verbs, being treated either as collectives or distributive plurals (cf. GKC 462-63 §145.c or 464 §145.l).
  62. Jeremiah 48:41 tn Heb “The heart of the soldiers of Moab will be like the heart of a woman in labor.”
  63. Jeremiah 48:42 tn Heb “Moab will be destroyed from [being] a people.”
  64. Jeremiah 48:43 sn There is an extended use of assonance here and in the parallel passage in Isa 24:17. The Hebrew text reads פַּחַד וָפַחַת וָפָח (pakhad vafakhat vafakh). The assonance is intended to underscore the extensive trouble that is in store for them.
  65. Jeremiah 48:43 tn Heb “are upon you, inhabitant of Moab.” This is another example of the rapid switch in person, or direct address (apostrophe) in the midst of a third person description or prediction, which the present translation typically keeps in the third person for smoother English style.
  66. Jeremiah 48:43 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  67. Jeremiah 48:44 sn Jer 48:43-44a are in the main the same as Isa 24:17-18, which shows that the judgment was somewhat proverbial. For a very similar kind of argumentation see Amos 5:19; judgment is unavoidable.
  68. Jeremiah 48:44 tn Heb “For I will bring upon her, even upon Moab, the year of her punishment.”
  69. Jeremiah 48:44 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  70. Jeremiah 48:45 tn Or “of those noisy boasters.” Or “They will burn up the frontiers of Moab. They will burn up the mountain heights of those war-loving people.” The meaning of this verse is not entirely certain because of the highly figurative nature of the last two lines. The Hebrew text has been translated somewhat literally here. The Hebrew text reads, “In the shadow of Heshbon those fleeing stand without strength. For a fire goes forth from Heshbon, a flame from the midst of Sihon. And it devours the forehead of Moab and the skull of the sons of noise.” The meaning of the first part is fairly clear because v. 2 has already spoken of the conquest of Heshbon and a plot formed there to conquer the rest of the nation. The fire going forth from Heshbon would hence refer here to the conflagrations of war spreading from Heshbon to the rest of the country. The reference to the “midst of Sihon” is to be understood metonymically as a reference to the ruler for what he once ruled (cf. E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 583). The last two lines must describe more than the fugitives who stopped at Heshbon for protection because it refers to the forehead of Moab (a personification of the whole land or nation). It is unclear, however, why reference is made to the foreheads and skulls of the Moabites, other than the fact that this verse seems to be a readaptation or reuse of Num 24:17, where the verb used with them is “smite,” which fits nicely in the sense of martial destruction. Translated rather literally, the phrase about foreheads and skulls appears here to refer to the destruction by the fires of war of the Moabites, the part (forehead and skulls) put for the whole. TEV sees a reference here to the “frontiers” and “mountain heights” of Moab, and this would work nicely for “foreheads,” which is elsewhere used of the corner or border of a land in Neh 9:22. The word “crown” or “skull” might be a picturesque metaphor for the mountain heights of a land, but the word is never used elsewhere in such a figurative way. TEV (and CEV), which follows it, might be correct here, but there is no way to validate it. The meaning “war-loving people” for the phrase “sons of noise” is based on the suggestion of BDB 981 s.v. שָׁאוֹן 1, which relates the phrase to the dominant use for שָׁאוֹן (shaʾon), and is adopted also by TEV, CEV, and C. von Orelli, Jeremiah, 341. REB’s “braggarts” and NIV’s “noisy boasters” seem to base the nuance on the usage of שָׁאוֹן (shaʾon) in Jer 46:17, where Pharaoh is referred to as an empty noise, and on the reference to Moab’s arrogance and boasting in 48:29.sn This verse and the next are an apparent adaptation and reuse of a victory song in Num 21:28-29 and a prophecy in Num 24:17. That explains the reference to Sihon, the Amorite king who captured Heshbon and proceeded from there to capture most of northern Moab (the area between Heshbon and the Arnon), which has been referred to earlier in this prophecy. This prophecy appears to speak of the destruction of Moab, beginning from the same place, under the picture of a destructive fire that burns up all the people. The fire is a reference to the conflagrations of war by which the enemy captures the cities, sets them on fire, and burns all the people in them. What Sihon once did (Num 21:28-29), and what Balaam prophesied would happen to Moab in the future (by David? Num 24:17), are being reapplied to a new situation.
  71. Jeremiah 48:46 tn Heb “Woe to you, Moab.” For the usage of this expression see 4:13, 31; 13:17; and the translator’s notes on 4:13 and 10:19.
  72. Jeremiah 48:46 tn Heb “Your sons will be taken away into captivity, your daughters into exile.”
  73. Jeremiah 48:47 tn See 29:14; 30:3; and the translator’s note on 29:14 for the idiom used here.
  74. Jeremiah 48:47 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
Psalm 25

Psalm 25[a]

By David.

25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone[ab] and oppressed.
17 Deliver me from my distress;[ac]
rescue me from my suffering.[ad]
18 See my pain and suffering.
Forgive all my sins.[ae]
19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me.[af]
20 Protect me[ag] and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you.
21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you.
22 O God, rescue[ah] Israel
from all their distress![ai]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 25:1 sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.
  2. Psalm 25:1 tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.
  3. Psalm 25:3 tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).
  4. Psalm 25:4 sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.
  5. Psalm 25:5 sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.
  6. Psalm 25:6 tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.
  7. Psalm 25:6 tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”
  8. Psalm 25:7 tn Heb “do not remember,” with the intention of punishing.
  9. Psalm 25:7 sn That is, the sins characteristic of youths, who lack moral discretion and wisdom.
  10. Psalm 25:7 tn Heb “according to your faithfulness, remember me, you, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”
  11. Psalm 25:8 tn Heb “good and just.”
  12. Psalm 25:8 tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”
  13. Psalm 25:9 tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.
  14. Psalm 25:9 tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (ʿanavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.
  15. Psalm 25:9 tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).
  16. Psalm 25:10 tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.
  17. Psalm 25:10 tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
  18. Psalm 25:11 tn Heb “name.” By forgiving the sinful psalmist, the Lord’s reputation as a merciful God will be enhanced.
  19. Psalm 25:11 sn Forgive my sin, because it is great. The psalmist readily admits his desperate need for forgiveness.
  20. Psalm 25:12 tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”).
  21. Psalm 25:13 tn Heb “his life in goodness dwells.” The singular is representative (see v. 14).
  22. Psalm 25:13 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
  23. Psalm 25:13 tn Or “earth.”
  24. Psalm 25:14 tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.”
  25. Psalm 25:14 tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”
  26. Psalm 25:15 tn Heb “my eyes continually [are] toward the Lord.”
  27. Psalm 25:15 tn Heb “for he will bring out from a net my feet.” The hostility of the psalmist’s enemies is probably in view (see v. 19).
  28. Psalm 25:16 tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.
  29. Psalm 25:17 tc Heb “the distresses of my heart, they make wide.” The text makes little if any sense as it stands, unless this is an otherwise unattested intransitive use of the Hiphil of רָחַב (rakhav, “be wide”). It is preferable to emend the form הִרְחִיבוּ (hirkhivu; Hiphil perfect third plural “they make wide”) to הַרְחֵיב (harkhev; Hiphil imperative masculine singular “make wide”). (The final vav [ו] can be joined to the following word and taken as a conjunction.) In this case one can translate, “[in/from] the distresses of my heart, make wide [a place for me],” that is, “deliver me from the distress I am experiencing.” For the expression “make wide [a place for me],” see Ps 4:1.
  30. Psalm 25:17 tn Heb “from my distresses lead me out.”
  31. Psalm 25:18 tn Heb “lift up all my sins.”
  32. Psalm 25:19 tn Heb “see my enemies for they are numerous, and [with] violent hatred they hate me.”
  33. Psalm 25:20 tn Or “my life.”
  34. Psalm 25:22 tn Or “redeem.”
  35. Psalm 25:22 tn Heb “his distresses.”sn O God, rescue Israel from all their distress. It is possible that the psalmist speaks on behalf of the nation throughout this entire psalm. Another option is that v. 22 is a later addition to the psalm which applies an original individual lament to the covenant community. If so, it may reflect an exilic setting.
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Prev Day Prev Day
Top
Next Day Next Day