23:10 For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. 1
They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. 2
So the land is dried up 3 because it is under his curse. 4
The pastures in the wilderness are withered.
50:19 But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture.
They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan.
They will eat until they are full 5
on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead. 6
51:5 “For Israel and Judah will not be forsaken 7
by their God, the Lord who rules over all. 8
For the land of Babylonia is 9 full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel. 10
51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. 11
Her warriors will be captured;
their bows will be broken. 12
For the Lord is a God who punishes; 13
he pays back in full. 14
1 tn Heb “adulterers.” But spiritual adultery is clearly meant as also in 3:8-9; 9:2, and probably also 5:7.
2 tn For the word translated “They live…lives” see usage in Jer 8:6. For the idea of “misusing” their power (Heb “their power is not right” i.e., used in the wrong way) see 2 Kgs 7:9; 17:9. In the original text this line (really two lines in the Hebrew poetry) are at the end of the verse. However, this places the antecedent too far away and could lead to confusion. The lines have been rearranged to avoid such confusion.
3 tn For the use of this verb see 12:4 and the note there.
4 tc The translation follows the majority of Hebrew
sn The curse is, of course, the covenant curse. See Deut 29:20-21 (29:19-20 HT) and for the specific curse see Deut 28:23-24. The curse is appropriate since their “adultery” lay in attributing their fertility to the god Baal (see Hos 2:9-13 (2:11-15 HT) and violating the covenant (see Hos 4:1-3).
5 tn Heb “their soul [or hunger/appetite] will be satisfied.”
6 sn The metaphor of Israel as a flock of sheep (v. 17) is continued here. The places named were all in Northern Israel and in the Transjordan, lands that were lost to the Assyrians in the period 738-722
7 tn Heb “widowed” (cf. BDB 48 s.v. אַלְמָן, an adjective occurring only here but related to the common word for “widow”). It is commonly translated as has been done here.
sn The verses from v. 5 to v. 19 all speak of the
8 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering see the study note on 2:19.
9 tn Or “all, though their land was…” The majority of the modern English versions understand the land here to refer to the land of Israel and Judah (the text reads “their land” and Israel and Judah are the nearest antecedents). In this case the particle כִּי (ki) is concessive (cf. BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c[b]). Many of the modern commentaries understand the referent to be the land of the Chaldeans/Babylonians. However, most of them feel that the line is connected as a causal statement to 51:2-4 and see the line as either textually or logically out of place. However, it need not be viewed as logically out of place. It is parallel to the preceding and gives a second reason why they are to be destroyed. It also forms an excellent transition to the next lines where the exiles and other foreigners are urged to flee and not get caught up in the destruction which is coming “because of her sin.” It might be helpful to note that both the adjective “widowed” and the suffix on “their God” are masculine singular, looking at Israel and Judah as one entity. The “their” then goes back not to Israel and Judah of the preceding lines but to the “them” in v. 4. This makes for a better connection with the following and understands the particle כִּי in its dominant usage not an extremely rare one (see the comment in BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c[b]). This interpretation is also reflected in RSV.
10 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 50:29.
11 tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”
12 tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.
13 tn Or “God of retribution.”
14 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the