5:2 Those who revolt are knee-deep in slaughter, 1
but I will discipline them all. 2
7:15 Although I trained and strengthened them, 3
they plot evil against me!
9:2 Threshing floors and wine vats will not feed the people, 4
and new wine only deceives them. 5
11:5 They will return to Egypt! 6
Assyria will rule over them 7
because they refuse to repent! 8
1 tc The MT reads וְשַׁחֲטָה שֵׂטִים הֶעְמִיקוּ (vÿshakhatah setim he’miqu): “and rebels have made deep the slaughter.” The BHS editors propose ושַׁחַת הַשִּׁטִּים הֶעְמִיקוּ (vÿshakhat hashittim he’miqu): “they have made the pit of Shittim [place of idolatry] deep” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT; see BDB 1006 s.v. שַׁחֲטָּה). This involves: (1) phonological confusion between the similar sounding consonants ת (tav) and ט (tet), (2) redivision of words to take ה (hey) as the article with הַשִּׁטִּים rather than feminine noun ending of וְשַׁחֲטָה, and (3) revocalization of הַשִּׁטִּים with the two daghesh fortes. Retaining the reading of the MT is preferable here.
tn Heb “and those who revolt have gone deep into slaughter” (similar KJV, NIV); NASB “deep in depravity.”
2 tn Heb “but I am discipline to all of them”; ASV “but I am a rebuker of them all.”
3 tn Heb “their arms” (so NAB, NRSV).
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).
6 tc Or “Will they not return to Egypt?” (so NIV). Following the LXX and BHS, the MT לֹא (lo’, “not”) should probably be read as לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and connected to the end of 11:4 rather than the beginning of 11:5. The textual confusion between לֹא and לוֹ probably reflects an unintentional scribal error due to a mistake in hearing (cf., e.g., Kethib/Qere in Ps 100:3).
7 tn Heb “Assyria, he will be his [Israel’s] king” (NASB similar).
8 tn Heb “return” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). The root שׁוּב (shuv, “to turn, return”) appears at the beginning and ending of this verse, creating an inclusio. This repetition produces an ironic wordplay: because Israel refuses to “return” to God or “turn” from its sin, it will “return” to Egypt. The punishment fits the crime.