2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. 1
He does this so he can build his nest way up high
and escape the clutches of disaster. 2
2:12 The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead 3 –
he who starts 4 a town by unjust deeds.
1 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who profits unjustly by evil unjust gain for his house.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.
2 tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”
sn Here the Babylonians are compared to a bird, perhaps an eagle, that builds its nest in an inaccessible high place where predators cannot reach it.
3 tn On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.
4 tn Or “establishes”; or “founds.”