1 Kings 14:15-16

14:15 The Lord will attack Israel, making it like a reed that sways in the water. 1  He will remove Israel from this good land he gave to their ancestors 2  and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, 3  because they angered the Lord by making Asherah poles. 4  14:16 He will hand Israel over to their enemies 5  because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit.”

1 tn The elliptical Hebrew text reads literally “and the Lord will strike Israel as a reed sways in the water.”

2 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 31).

3 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew this is a typical reference to the Euphrates River. The name “Euphrates” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

4 tn Heb “because they made their Asherah poles that anger the Lord”; or “their images of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “their Asherim”; NCV “they set up idols to worship Asherah.”

sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).

5 tn Heb “and he will give [up] Israel.”