4:8 They feed on the sin offerings of my people;
their appetites long for their iniquity!
4:11 Old and new wine
take away the understanding of my people. 3
9:2 Threshing floors and wine vats will not feed the people, 4
and new wine only deceives them. 5
1 tn Heb “Say to….” The imperative אִמְרוּ (’imru, Qal imperative masculine plural) functions rhetorically, as an example of erotesis of one verbal form (imperative) for another (indicative). The imperative is used as a rhetorical device to emphasize the certainty of a future action.
2 sn The suffixes on the nouns אֲחֵיכֶם (’akhekhem, “your brother”) and אֲחוֹתֵיכֶם (’akhotekhem, “your sister”) are both plural forms. The brother/sister imagery is being applied to Israel and Judah collectively.
3 tn Heb “take away the heart of my people.” The present translation assumes that the first word of v. 12 in the Hebrew text is to be construed with the noun at the end of v. 11 (so also TEV, CEV, NLT).
4 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “her” (so KJV, ASV). This is taken as a collective singular (so also most modern English versions).