21:29 while seeing false visions for you
and reading lying omens for you 3 –
to place that sword 4 on the necks of the profane wicked, 5
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
1 sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.
2 sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.
3 tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.
4 tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.