3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; 1
it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. 2
The sun will set on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. 3
5:6 They will rule 4 the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod 5 with a drawn sword. 6
Our king 7 will rescue us from the Assyrians
should they attempt to invade our land
and try to set foot in our territory.
1 tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”
sn The coming of night (and darkness in the following line) symbolizes the cessation of revelation.
2 tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”
sn The reading of omens (Heb “divination”) was forbidden in the law (Deut 18:10), so this probably reflects the prophets’ view of how they received divine revelation.
3 tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”
4 tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”
5 sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.
6 tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).
7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.