1 Kings 14:7-11

14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “I raised you up ¹  from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 14:8 I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve. ²  14:9 You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me. ³  14:10 So I am ready to bring disaster ⁴  on the dynasty ⁵  of Jeroboam. I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. ⁶  I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed. ⁷  14:11 Dogs will eat the members of your family ⁸  who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”’ Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

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¹ tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 7-11 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 7-9) and the main clause announcing the punishment (vv. 10-11). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.

² tn Heb “what was right in my eyes.”

³ tn Heb “you went and you made for yourself other gods, metal [ones], angering me, and you threw me behind your back.”

⁴ sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is from the same root as the expression “you have sinned” in v. 9 (וַתָּרַע [vattara’], from רָעַע, [ra’a’]). Jeroboam’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.

⁵ tn Heb “house.”

⁶ tn Heb “and I will cut off from Jeroboam those who urinate against a wall (including both those who are) restrained and let free (or “abandoned”) in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vÿ’azuv) is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 s.v. עצר 6 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס [’efes], “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.

⁷ tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean “burn.” Manure was sometimes used as fuel (see Ezek 4:12, 15). However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I will sweep away the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away manure it is gone” (cf. ASV, NASB, TEV). Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.

⁸ tn The Hebrew text has “belonging to Jeroboam” here.