50:8 “People of Judah, 1 get out of Babylon quickly!
Leave the land of Babylonia! 2
Be the first to depart! 3
Be like the male goats that lead the herd.
50:9 For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon
a host of mighty nations 4 from the land of the north.
They will set up their battle lines against her.
They will come from the north and capture her. 5
Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier 6
who does not return from the battle empty-handed. 7
1 tn The words “People of Judah” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the subject of the address.
2 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
3 tn The words “Be the first to leave” are not in the text but spell out the significance of the simile that follows. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 sn Some of these are named in Jer 51:27-28.
5 tn Heb “She will be captured from there (i.e., from the north).”
6 tc Read Heb ַָמשְׂכִּיל (moskil) with a number of Hebrew
7 tn Or more freely, “Their arrows will be as successful at hitting their mark // as a skilled soldier always returns from battle with plunder.”
sn I.e., none of the arrows misses its mark.