“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! 1
How can Jacob survive? 2
He is too weak!” 3
9:12 As a result they 4 will conquer those left in Edom 5
and all the nations subject to my rule.” 6
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!
9:15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from the 7 land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
1 tn “Israel” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “stand” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “small.”
4 sn They probably refers to the Israelites or to the Davidic rulers of the future.
5 tn Heb “take possession of the remnant of Edom”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “possess the remnant of Edom.”
6 tn Heb “nations over whom my name is proclaimed.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership, sometimes as a result of conquest. See 2 Sam 12:28.
sn This verse envisions a new era of Israelite rule, perhaps patterned after David’s imperialistic successes (see 2 Sam 8-10). At the same time, however, the verse does not specify how this rule is to be accomplished. Note that the book ends with a description of peace and abundance, and its final reference to God (v. 15) does not include the epithet “the Lord who commands armies,” which has militaristic overtones. This is quite a different scene than what the book began with: nations at war and standing under the judgment of God.
7 tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.