¹ sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is from the same root as the expression “you have sinned” in v. 9 (וַתָּרַע [vattara’], from רָעַע, [ra’a’]). Jeroboam’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.

² tn Heb “house.”

³ tn Heb “and I will cut off from Jeroboam those who urinate against a wall (including both those who are) restrained and let free (or “abandoned”) in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vÿ’azuv) is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 s.v. עצר 6 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס [’efes], “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.

⁴ tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean “burn.” Manure was sometimes used as fuel (see Ezek 4:12, 15). However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I will sweep away the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away manure it is gone” (cf. ASV, NASB, TEV). Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.

⁵ tn Heb “raised a hand against.”

⁶ tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם).

⁷ tc Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.

⁸ tn Heb “and Jeroboam lived in Egypt.” The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, “and Jeroboam returned from Egypt.” In a purely consonantal text the forms “and he lived” and “and he returned” are identical (וישׁב).

⁹ tn Heb “came.”

¹⁰ tc The Old Greek translation has here a lengthy section consisting of twenty-three verses that are not found in the MT.

¹¹ tn Heb “Look.” The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.

¹² tn Heb “the man of God.”

¹³ tn Heb “came by the word of the Lord to Bethel.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “house.”

¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 7-11 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 7-9) and the main clause announcing the punishment (vv. 10-11). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.

¹⁶ tn Heb “house.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “This is the day. What also now?” The precise meaning of the second half of the statement is uncertain.

¹⁸ tn Heb “and he will give [up] Israel.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “went and entered.”

²⁰ tn Heb “because of Jeroboam which he committed and which he made Israel commit, by his provocation by which he made the Lord God of Israel angry.”

²¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

²² tn Heb “and he walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.”

²³ tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean “burn.” However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר (ba’ar) as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I am ready to sweep away Baasha and his family.” Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.

²⁴ tc The Old Greek, Syriac Peshitta, and some mss of the Targum have here “his house.”

²⁵ tn Heb “walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin which he made Israel sin.”

²⁶ tn Heb “angering the Lord God of Israel with their empty things.”

²⁷ tn Heb “house.”

²⁸ tn Heb “because of the provocation by which you angered [me], and you caused Israel to sin.”