1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown. Proposals include “heroes” (cf. KJV, ASV “valiant ones”; NASB, NIV “brave men”); “priests,” “residents [of Jerusalem].” The present translation assumes that the term is synonymous with “messengers of peace,” with which it corresponds in the parallel structure of the verse.
2 tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).
3 tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
4 tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
5 tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
6 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “he despises cities.” The term עָרִים (’arim, “cities”) is probably a corruption of an original עֵדִים (’edim, “[legal] witnesses”), a reading that is preserved in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa. Confusion of dalet (ד) and resh (ר) is a well-attested scribal error.
7 tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
