2:14 “Israel is not a slave, is he?
He was not born into slavery, was he? 1
If not, why then is he being carried off?
2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;
they raise their voices in triumph. 2
They have laid his land waste;
his cities have been burned down and deserted. 3
2:16 Even the soldiers 4 from Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. 5
2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, 6
by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. 7
2:18 What good will it do you 8 then 9 to go down to Egypt
to seek help from the Egyptians? 10
What good will it do you 11 to go over to Assyria
to seek help from the Assyrians? 12
2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.
Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. 13
Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful 14
it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, 15
to show no respect for me,” 16
says the Lord God who rules over all. 17
1 tn Heb “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a house born slave?” The questions are rhetorical, expecting a negative answer.
sn The
2 tn Heb “Lions shout over him, they give out [raise] their voices.”
sn The reference to lions is here a metaphor for the Assyrians (and later the Babylonians, see Jer 50:17). The statement about lions roaring over their prey implies that the prey has been vanquished.
3 tn Heb “without inhabitant.”
4 tn Heb “the sons of…”
5 tc The translation follows the reading of the Syriac version. The Hebrew text reads “have grazed [= “shaved” ?] your skulls [as a sign of disgracing them].” Note that the reference shifts from third person, “him,” to second person, “you,” which is common in Hebrew style. The words “people of Israel” have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent and ease the switch. The reading presupposes יְרֹעוּךְ (yÿro’ukh) a Qal imperfect from the verb רָעַע (ra’a’; see BDB 949 s.v. II רָעַע Qal.1 and compare usage in Jer 15:2; Ps 2:9). The MT reads יִרְעוּךְ (yir’ukh), a Qal imperfect from the root רָעָה (ra’ah; see BDB 945 s.v. I רָעָה Qal.2.b for usage). The use of the verb in the MT is unparalleled in the sense suggested, but the resultant figure, if “graze” can mean “shave,” is paralleled in Jer 47:5; 48:37; Isa 7:20. The reading of the variant is accepted on the basis that it is the rarer root; the scribe would have been more familiar with the root “graze” even though it is unparalleled in the figurative nuance implied here. The noun “head/skull” is functioning as an accusative of further specification (see GKC 372 §117.ll and compare usage in Gen 3:8), i.e., “they crack you on the skull” or “they shave you on the skull.” The verb is a prefixed form and in this context is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an iterative imperfect denoting repeated action. Some modern English versions render the verb in the future tense, “they will break [or shave] your skull.”
6 tn Heb “Are you not bringing this on yourself.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
7 tn Heb “at the time of leading you in the way.”
8 tn Heb “What to you to the way.”
9 tn The introductory particle וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah, “and now”) carries a logical, not temporal, connotation here (cf. BDB 274 s.v. עַתָּה 2.b).
10 tn Heb “to drink water from the Shihor [a branch of the Nile].” The reference is to seeking help through political alliance with Egypt as opposed to trusting in God for help. This is an extension of the figure in 2:13.
11 tn Heb “What to you to the way.”
12 tn Heb “to drink water from the River [a common designation in biblical Hebrew for the Euphrates River].” This refers to seeking help through political alliance. See the preceding note.
13 tn Or “teach you a lesson”; Heb “rebuke/chide you.”
14 tn Heb “how evil and bitter.” The reference is to the consequences of their acts. This is a figure of speech (hendiadys) where two nouns or adjectives joined by “and” introduce a main concept modified by the other noun or adjective.
15 tn Heb “to leave the
16 tn Heb “and no fear of me was on you.”
17 tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh, [the God of] hosts.” For the title Lord