1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, 1
those who think to themselves, 2
‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ 3
1:17 I will bring distress on the people 4
and they will stumble 5 like blind men,
for they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dirt;
their flesh 6 will be scattered 7 like manure.
1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
The whole earth 8 will be consumed by his fiery wrath. 9
Indeed, 10 he will bring terrifying destruction 11 on all who live on the earth.” 12
3:5 The just Lord resides 13 within her;
he commits no unjust acts. 14
Every morning he reveals 15 his justice.
At dawn he appears without fail. 16
Yet the unjust know no shame.
3:20 At that time I will lead you –
at the time I gather you together. 17
Be sure of this! 18 I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you 19
when you see me restore you,” 20 says the Lord.
1 tn Heb “who thicken on their sediment.” The imagery comes from wine making, where the wine, if allowed to remain on the sediment too long, will thicken into syrup. The image suggests that the people described here were complacent in their sinful behavior and interpreted the delay in judgment as divine apathy.
2 tn Heb “who say in their hearts.”
3 tn Heb “The
4 tn “The people” refers to mankind in general (see vv. 2-3) or more specifically to the residents of Judah (see vv. 4-13).
5 tn Heb “walk.”
6 tn Some take the referent of “flesh” to be more specific here; cf. NEB (“bowels”), NAB (“brains”), NIV (“entrails”).
7 tn The words “will be scattered” are supplied in the translation for clarity based on the parallelism with “will be poured out” in the previous line.
8 tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.
9 tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”
10 tn Or “for.”
11 tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”
12 tn It is not certain where the
13 tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.
14 tn Or “he does no injustice.”
15 tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”
16 tn Heb “at the light he is not missing.” Note that NASB (which capitalizes pronouns referring to Deity) has divided the lines differently: “Every morning He brings His justice to light; // He does not fail.”
17 tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.
18 tn Or “for.”
19 tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”
20 tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.