17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, 1
those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. 2
The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, 3
those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. 4
66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, 5 those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice 6 – they will all be destroyed together,” 7 says the Lord.
1 tn Heb “Woe [to] the massing of the many nations.” The word הוֹי (hoy) could be translated as a simple interjection here (“ah!”), but since the following verses announce the demise of these nations, it is preferable to take הוֹי as a funeral cry. See the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
2 tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”
3 tn Heb “the uproar of the peoples.” The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse; the words “are as good as dead” are supplied in the translation to reflect this.
4 tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”
5 tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.
6 tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”
7 tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”