9:18 For 1 evil burned like a fire, 2
it consumed thorns and briers;
it burned up the thickets of the forest,
and they went up in smoke. 3
33:9 The land 4 dries up 5 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 6 and decays.
Sharon 7 is like the desert; 8
Bashan and Carmel 9 are parched. 10
1 tn Or “Indeed” (cf. NIV “Surely”). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
2 sn Evil was uncontrollable and destructive, and so can be compared to a forest fire.
3 tn Heb “and they swirled [with] the rising of the smoke” (cf. NRSV).
4 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
5 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.
6 tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation.
7 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
8 tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
9 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
10 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”