57:5 you who practice ritual sex 1 under the oaks and every green tree,
who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. 2
28:4 The withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
will be like an early fig before harvest –
as soon as someone notices it,
he grabs it and swallows it. 3
1 tn Heb “inflame yourselves”; NRSV “burn with lust.” This verse alludes to the practice of ritual sex that accompanied pagan fertility rites.
2 sn This apparently alludes to the practice of child sacrifice (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
3 tn Heb “which the one seeing sees, while still it is in his hand he swallows it.”