2:24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.
In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. 1
No one can hold her back when she is in heat.
None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.
At mating time she is easy to find. 2
5:24 They do not say to themselves, 3
“Let us revere the Lord our God.
It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.
It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.” 4
14:22 Do any of the worthless idols 5 of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? 6
So we put our hopes in you 7
because you alone do all this.”
1 tn The words “to get the scent of a male” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s irrepressible desire to worship other gods.
3 tn Heb “say in their hearts.”
4 tn Heb “who keeps for us the weeks appointed for harvest.”
5 tn The word הֶבֶל (hevel), often translated “vanities”, is a common pejorative epithet for idols or false gods. See already in 8:19 and 10:8.
6 tn Heb “Is it not you, O
7 tn The rhetorical negatives are balanced by a rhetorical positive.
8 sn Compare Deut 15:12-18 for the complete statement of this law. Here only the first part of it is cited.
9 sn Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria were all cities in the northern kingdom of Israel with important religious and political histories. When Israel was destroyed in 722
map For the location of Samaria see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
10 tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs.
11 tn The words “in Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.