1:14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road 1 to slaughter 2 those trying to escape. 3
You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity. 4
1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word פֶּרֶק (pereq; here translated “fork in the road”) is uncertain. The word is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in Nah 3:1, where it means “plunder.” In the present context it seems to refer to a strategic intersection or fork in a road where bands of Edomites apprehended Israelites who were fleeing from the attack on Jerusalem. Cf. NAB, NIV, NLT “crossroads”; NRSV “crossings.”
2 tn Heb “to cut off” (so KJV, NRSV); NASB, NIV “to cut down.”
3 tn Heb “his fugitives”; NAB, CEV “refugees.”
4 tn Heb “in the day of distress” (so KJV, ASV).