1:6 Look, I am about to empower 1 the Babylonians,
that ruthless 2 and greedy 3 nation.
They sweep across the surface 4 of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and more alert 5 than wolves in the desert. 6
Their horses 7 gallop, 8
their horses come a great distance;
like a vulture 9 they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. 10
1:13 You are too just 11 to tolerate 12 evil;
you are unable to condone 13 wrongdoing.
So why do you put up with such treacherous people? 14
Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour 15 those more righteous than they are? 16
1 tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).
2 tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”
3 tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.
4 tn Heb “the open spaces.”
5 tn Heb “sharper,” in the sense of “keener” or “more alert.” Some translate “quicker” on the basis of the parallelism with the first line (see HALOT 291 s.v. חדד).
6 tn Heb “wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The present translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). On this phrase see also Zeph 3:3.
7 tn Or “horsemen,” “cavalry.”
8 tn The precise nuance of the rare verb פָּוַשׁ (parash) is unclear here. Elsewhere it is used of animals jumping or leaping (see Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2).
9 tn Or “eagle” (so NASB, NRSV). The term can refer to either eagles or vultures, but in this context of gruesome destruction and death “vulture” is preferred.
10 tn Heb “they fly like a vulture/an eagle quickly to devour.” The direct object “their prey” is not included in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.
12 tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”
13 tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”
14 tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.
15 tn Or “swallow up.”
16 tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”