2:8 They do not jostle one another; 1
each of them marches straight ahead. 2
They burst through 3 the city defenses 4
and do not break ranks.
3:8 I will sell your sons and daughters to 5 the people of Judah. 6
They will sell them to the Sabeans, 7 a nation far away.
Indeed, the Lord has spoken!
3:12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up
to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.
1 tn “each one does not crowd his brother.”
2 tn Heb “each warrior walks in his own course.”
3 tn Heb “they fall upon.” This line has been interpreted in two different ways: (1) although they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded (KJV), or (2) when they “burst through” the city’s defenses, they will not break ranks (RSV, NASB, NIV, NIrV).
4 tn Heb “missile” or “javelin.” This term appears to function as a synecdoche for the city’s defenses as a whole (cf. NASB, NIV, TEV). Some scholars instead understand the reference to be an aqueduct by which the locusts (or armies) entered the city.
5 tn Heb “into the hand of.”
6 tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”
7 sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.