2:8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do so right 1 beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do so right in the temple 2 of their God! 3
3:14 “Certainly when 4 I punish Israel for their 5 covenant transgressions, 6
I will destroy 7 Bethel’s 8 altars.
The horns 9 of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
1 tn The words “They do so right” are supplied twice in the translation of this verse for clarification.
2 tn Heb “house.”
3 tn Or “gods.” The Hebrew term אֱלֹהֵיהֶם (’elohehem) may be translated “their gods” (referring to pagan gods), “their god” (referring to a pagan god, cf. NAB, NIV, NLT), or “their God” (referring to the God of Israel, cf. NASB, NRSV).
4 tn Heb “in the day.”
5 tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.
6 tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.
7 tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).
8 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
9 sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the