16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, 1
my inner being sighs 2 for Kir Hareseth. 3
1 tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.
2 tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.
3 tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).