1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head,
there is no spot that is unharmed. 1
There are only bruises, cuts,
and open wounds.
They have not been cleansed 2 or bandaged,
nor have they been treated 3 with olive oil. 4
15:2 They went up to the temple, 8
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 9
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 10 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 11
28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, 12
the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, 13
situated 14 at the head of a rich valley,
the crown of those overcome with wine. 15
28:4 The withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
will be like an early fig before harvest –
as soon as someone notices it,
he grabs it and swallows it. 16
51:20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God. 17
59:17 He wears his desire for justice 18 like body armor, 19
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. 20
He puts on the garments of vengeance 21
and wears zeal like a robe.
1 tn Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”
2 tn Heb “pressed out.”
3 tn Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”
4 sn This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.
5 tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”
6 tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.
8 tn Heb “house.”
9 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
10 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
11 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.
12 tn Heb “Woe [to] the crown [or “wreath”] of the splendor [or “pride”] of the drunkards of Ephraim.” The “crown” is Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom (Ephraim). Priests and prophets are included among these drunkards in v. 7.
13 tn Heb “the beauty of his splendor.” In the translation the masculine pronoun (“his”) has been replaced by “its” because the referent (the “crown”) is the city of Samaria.
14 tn Heb “which [is].”
15 tn Heb “ones overcome with wine.” The words “the crown of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The syntactical relationship of the final phrase to what precedes is uncertain. הֲלוּמֵי יָיִן (halume yayin, “ones overcome with wine”) seems to correspond to שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרַיִם (shikkore ’efrayim, “drunkards of Ephraim”) in line 1. The translation assumes that the phrase “the splendid crown” is to be understood in the final line as well.
16 tn Heb “which the one seeing sees, while still it is in his hand he swallows it.”
17 tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”
18 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”
19 tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”
20 tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”
21 tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”