1:9 No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the temple 1 of the Lord anymore. 2
So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.
1:16 Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! 3
There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God! 4
1:18 Listen to the cattle groan! 5
The herds of livestock wander around in confusion 6
because they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
1 tn Heb “house.” So also in vv. 13, 14, 16.
2 tn Heb “grain offering and drink offering are cut off from the house of the
3 tn Heb “Has not the food been cut off right before our eyes?” This rhetorical question expects an affirmative answer; the question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarity and emphasis.
4 tn Heb “joy and gladness from the house of our God?” Verse 16b is a continuation of the rhetorical question begun in v. 16a, but has been translated as an affirmative statement to make the meaning clear. The words “There is no longer any” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “how the cattle groan!”
6 tn Heb “the herds of cattle are confused.” The verb בּוּךְ (bukh, “be confused”) sometimes refers to wandering aimlessly in confusion (cf. Exod 14:3).