3:1 Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies 1
is about to remove from Jerusalem 2 and Judah
every source of security, including 3
all the food and water, 4
3:2 the mighty men and warriors,
judges and prophets,
omen readers and leaders, 5
3:3 captains of groups of fifty,
the respected citizens, 6
advisers and those skilled in magical arts, 7
and those who know incantations.
1 tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 tn Heb “support and support.” The masculine and feminine forms of the noun are placed side-by-side to emphasize completeness. See GKC 394 §122.v.
4 tn Heb “all the support of food, and all the support of water.”
5 tn Heb “elder” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NCV “older leaders.”
6 tn Heb “the ones lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.
7 tn Heb “and the wise with respect to magic.” On the meaning of חֲרָשִׁים (kharashim, “magic”), see HALOT 358 s.v. III חרשׁ. Some understand here a homonym, meaning “craftsmen.” In this case, one could translate, “skilled craftsmen” (cf. NIV, NASB).