5:7 The Israelites 1 turn justice into bitterness; 2
they throw what is fair and right 3 to the ground. 4
5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight 5 into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
1 tn Heb “Those who”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In light of vv. 11-13, it is also possible that the words are directed at a more limited group within the nation – those with social and economic power.
2 tn There is an interesting wordplay here with the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn, turn”). Israel “turns” justice into wormwood (cf. 6:12), while the Lord “turns” darkness into morning (v. 8; cf. 4:11; 8:10). Israel’s turning is for evil, whereas the Lord’s is to demonstrate his absolute power and sovereignty.
3 tn Heb “they throw righteousness.”
4 sn In v. 7 the prophet begins to describe the guilty Israelites, but then interrupts his word picture with a parenthetical, but powerful, description of the judge they must face (vv. 8-9). He resumes his description of the sinners in v. 10.
5 tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”