1:4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle, 1
even if you 2 were to make your nest among the stars,
I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.
1:17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape, 3
and it will be a holy place once again.
The descendants 4 of Jacob will conquer 5
those who had conquered them. 6
1 sn The eagle was often used in the ancient Near East as a symbol of strength and swiftness.
2 tc The present translation follows the reading תָּשִׂים (tasim; active) rather than שִׁים (sim; passive) of the MT (“and your nest be set among the stars,” NAB). Cf. LXX, Syriac, Vg.
3 tn Heb “will be a fugitive.” This is a collective singular. Cf. NCV “some will escape the judgment.”
4 tn Heb “house” (so most English versions); NCV, TEV “the people of Jacob.” The word “house” also occurs four times in v. 18.
5 tn Heb “dispossess.” This root is repeated in the following line to emphasize poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime.
6 tc The present translation follows the reading מוֹרִשֵׁיהֶם (morishehem; literally, “those dispossessing them”; cf. NAB, NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹרָשֵׁיהֶם (morashehem, “their possessions”) of the MT (cf. LXX, Syriac, and Vg, followed by KJV, ASV, NASB).