20:32 “‘What you plan 1 will never happen. You say, “We will be 2 like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” 3
21:13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? 4 declares the sovereign Lord.’
1 tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”
2 tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”
3 tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”
sn This verse echoes the content of 1 Sam 8:20.
4 tn Heb “For testing (will come) and what if also a scepter, it despises, will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult and any rendering is uncertain.