27:11 When its branches get brittle, 1 they break;
women come and use them for kindling. 2
For these people lack understanding, 3
therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;
the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! 4
Not one of these creatures will be missing, 5
none will lack a mate. 6
For the Lord has issued the decree, 7
and his own spirit gathers them. 8
1 tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
2 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.
3 tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”
4 tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”
sn It is uncertain what particular scroll is referred to here. Perhaps the phrase simply refers to this prophecy and is an admonition to pay close attention to the details of the message.
5 tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
6 tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”
7 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and a few medieval
8 tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).