³ tn Or “from.” The account suggests God’s planned direction in these events, so “by” is better than “from,” as six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God acts again.

¹ sn With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? The prophet speaks again, playing the role of an inquisitive worshiper who wants to know what God really desires from his followers.

³ sn Once again there is irony in the divine judgment. The oppressive nation itself will suffer oppression. The verb “oppress” (לָחַץ, lakhats) in this verse is not the same as that used in 4:1 (עָשַׁק, ʿashaq).

⁵ sn Again there is irony. The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew. How surprising and tragic that Bethel, the “house of God” where Jacob received the inheritance given to Abraham, would be overrun by disaster.

¹ tn Heb “fourteen”; the word “cubits” is not in the Hebrew text but is understood from the context; the phrase occurs again later in this verse. Fourteen cubits is about 7.35 meters.

³ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”); this occurs again a second time later in this verse. See the note at 1:14.

¹ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” The first person is again adopted because the Lord is speaking. For this title, “Yahweh of Armies,” compare 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

³ tn Heb “Because it is the Lord’s vengeance.” The first person has again been used because the Lord is the speaker, and the nominal expression has been turned into a verbal one more in keeping with contemporary English style.

³ tn Heb “Oracle of the King whose name is Yahweh of armies.” The first person form has again been adopted because the Lord is the speaker throughout this oracle/ these oracles (cf. v. 1).

¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” Again the first person is adopted because the Lord is speaking, and the indirect quotation is used to avoid an embedded quotation with quotation marks on either side.

¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” Again the first person is adopted because the Lord is speaking, and the indirect quotation is used to avoid an embedded quotation with quotation marks on either side.

² tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.

¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” For this title, which occurs again in the following verse, see the notes on 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

⁴ tn The words “never again” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied not only by this translation but by a number of others.

⁶ sn The area that is here delimited is larger than any of the known boundaries of Jerusalem during the OT period. Again, this refers to the increase in population of the restored community (cf. 31:27).

³ sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.

² tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).

¹ tn Heb “For thus said the Lord concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of his father, who went away from this place: He will not return there again.”

³ tn Once again the translation has sacrificed some of the rhetorical force for the sake of clarity and English style: Heb “Only falsehood did our ancestors possess, vanity and [things in which?] there was no one profiting in them.”

⁴ tn In place of the words “I said at that time,” the Hebrew text has “saying.” The sentence is again being restructured in English to avoid the long, confusing style of the Hebrew original.