9:14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,
both the shoots and stalk 1 in one day.
9:15 The leaders and the highly respected people 2 are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
46:2 Together they bend low and kneel down;
they are unable to rescue the images; 3
they themselves 4 head off into captivity. 5
1 sn The metaphor in this line is that of a reed being cut down.
2 tn Heb “the elder and the one lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.
3 tn Heb “[the] burden,” i.e., their images, the heavy burden carried by the animals.
4 tn נַפְשָׁם (nafsham, “their souls/lives”) is equivalent here to a third masculine plural suffix, but the third feminine singular verb הָלָכָה (halakhah, “they go”) agrees with the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, life”).
5 sn The downfall of Babylon is depicted here. The idols are carried off by the victorious enemy; the gods are likened to defeated captives who cower before the enemy and are taken into exile.