1:2 Listen to this, you elders; 1
pay attention, 2 all inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life 3
or in the lifetime 4 of your ancestors? 5
1:6 For a nation 6 has invaded 7 our 8 land.
There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. 9
Their teeth are like those 10 of a lion;
they tear apart their prey like a lioness. 11
2:26 You will have plenty to eat,
and your hunger will be fully satisfied; 12
you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has acted wondrously in your behalf.
My people will never again be put to shame.
1 sn Elders here refers not necessarily to men advanced in years, but to leaders within the community.
2 tn Heb “give ear.”
3 tn Heb “days.” The term “days” functions here as a synecdoche for one’s lifespan.
4 tn Heb “days.”
5 tn Heb “fathers.”
6 sn As becomes increasingly clear in what follows, this nation is to be understood figuratively. It refers to the locust invasion as viewed from the standpoint of its methodical, destructive advance across the land (BDB 156 s.v. גּוֹי 2). This term is used figuratively to refer to animals one other time (Zeph 2:14).
7 tn Heb “has come up against.”
8 tn Heb “my.”
9 tn Heb “[It] is huge and there is not number.”
10 tn Heb “its teeth are the teeth of a lion.”
11 tn Heb “its incisors are those of a lioness.” The sharp, cutting teeth are metonymical for the action of tearing apart and eating prey. The language is clearly hyperbolic. Neither locusts nor human invaders literally have teeth of this size. The prophet is using exaggerated and picturesque language to portray in vivid terms the enormity of the calamity. English versions vary greatly on the specifics: KJV “cheek teeth”; ASV “jaw-teeth”; NAB “molars”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “fangs.”
12 tn Heb “you will surely eat and be satisfied.”