47:9 Both of these will come upon you
suddenly, in one day!
You will lose your children and be widowed. 2
You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, 3
despite 4 your many incantations
and your numerous amulets. 5
57:19 I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. 6
Complete prosperity 7 is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,”
says the Lord, “and I will heal them.
1 tn Heb “lightly dressed and barefoot, and bare with respect to the buttocks, the nakedness of Egypt.”
2 tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.
3 tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”
4 tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.
5 sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.
6 tc The Hebrew text has literally, “one who creates fruit of lips.” Perhaps the pronoun אֲנִי (’ani) should be inserted after the participle; it may have been accidentally omitted by haplography: נוּב שְׂפָתָיִם[אֲנִי] בּוֹרֵא (bore’ [’ani] nuv sÿfatayim). “Fruit of the lips” is often understood as a metonymy for praise; perhaps it refers more generally to joyful shouts (see v. 18).
7 tn Heb “Peace, peace.” The repetition of the noun emphasizes degree.