1:6 “I will turn Samaria 1 into a heap of ruins in an open field –
vineyards will be planted there! 2
I will tumble 3 the rubble of her stone walls 4 down into the valley,
and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. 5
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 6
and those far off 7 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 8
1 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
2 tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”
3 tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”
4 tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.
5 tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.
6 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
7 tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).
8 tn Heb “from now until forever.”