1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, 1
the powerful ruler of Israel, 2 says this:
“Ah, I will seek vengeance 3 against my adversaries,
I will take revenge against my enemies. 4
27:11 When its branches get brittle, 5 they break;
women come and use them for kindling. 6
For these people lack understanding, 7
therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;
the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 8 a stone in Zion,
an approved 9 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 10
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 11
1 tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9.
2 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”
3 tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”
4 sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.
5 tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
6 tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.
7 tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”
8 tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.
9 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
10 sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).
11 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.