Jeremiah 2:16

Even the soldiers ¹  from Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. ² 

Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.

"Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes Have shaved the crown of your head.

Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes, have utterly destroyed Israel’s glory and power.

Egyptians from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken your skulls.

Even the children of Noph and Tahpanhes have put shame on you.

Moreover, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.

Also the people of Noph and Tahpanhes Have broken the crown of your head.

Even the soldiers ¹  from Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. ² 

¹ tn Heb “the sons of…”

² tc The translation follows the reading of the Syriac version. The Hebrew text reads “have grazed [= “shaved” ?] your skulls [as a sign of disgracing them].” Note that the reference shifts from third person, “him,” to second person, “you,” which is common in Hebrew style. The words “people of Israel” have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent and ease the switch. The reading presupposes יְרֹעוּךְ (yÿro’ukh) a Qal imperfect from the verb רָעַע (ra’a’; see BDB 949 s.v. II רָעַע Qal.1 and compare usage in Jer 15:2; Ps 2:9). The MT reads יִרְעוּךְ (yir’ukh), a Qal imperfect from the root רָעָה (ra’ah; see BDB 945 s.v. I רָעָה Qal.2.b for usage). The use of the verb in the MT is unparalleled in the sense suggested, but the resultant figure, if “graze” can mean “shave,” is paralleled in Jer 47:5; 48:37; Isa 7:20. The reading of the variant is accepted on the basis that it is the rarer root; the scribe would have been more familiar with the root “graze” even though it is unparalleled in the figurative nuance implied here. The noun “head/skull” is functioning as an accusative of further specification (see GKC 372 §117.ll and compare usage in Gen 3:8), i.e., “they crack you on the skull” or “they shave you on the skull.” The verb is a prefixed form and in this context is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an iterative imperfect denoting repeated action. Some modern English versions render the verb in the future tense, “they will break [or shave] your skull.”