Discovery Box| (0.20) | (Mal 3:17) | 1 sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (segullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward. |
| (0.20) | (Mal 1:7) | 1 sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8). |
| (0.20) | (Zec 9:4) | 1 tn The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength, wealth”) can, with certain suffixes, look exactly like חֵל (khel, “fortress, rampart”). The chiastic pattern here suggests that not Tyre’s riches but her defenses will be cast into the sea. Thus the present translation renders the term “fortifications” (so also NLT) rather than “wealth” (NASB, NRSV, TEV) or “power” (NAB, NIV). |
| (0.20) | (Zec 6:10) | 1 tn The words “some people” are supplied in the translation. The Hebrew verb translated “choose” (alternatively “take” [NAB, NIV]; “collect” [NRSV, CEV]) has no direct object specified in the text. Some translations supply “silver and gold” (NIV, NRSV) or “an offering” (NASB). |
| (0.20) | (Zec 6:11) | 1 tn Heb “crowns” (so KJV, ASV; also in v. 14). The Hebrew word for “crown” here is עֲטֶרֶת (ʿateret), a term never used in the OT for the priestly crown or mitre. Thus, the scene here describes the investing of the priest with royal authority. |
| (0.20) | (Hag 2:6) | 2 tn Or “the heavens.” The same Hebrew word, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “sky” or “heavens” depending on the context. Although many English versions translate the term as “heavens” here, the other three elements present in this context (earth, sea, dry ground) suggest “sky” is in view. |
| (0.20) | (Hag 2:6) | 1 tc The difficult MT reading עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא (ʿod ʾakhat meʿat hiʾ, “yet once, it is little”; cf. NAB “One moment yet, a little while”) appears as “yet once” in the LXX, omitting the last two Hebrew words. However, the point being made is that the anticipated action is imminent; thus the repetition provides emphasis. |
| (0.20) | (Hag 1:12) | 4 tn Heb “and according to the words of Haggai the prophet just as the Lord their God sent him.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) take the last clause as causal: “because the Lord their God had sent him.” |
| (0.20) | (Zep 2:14) | 5 tn Heb “rubble [will be] on the threshold.” “Rubble” translates the Hebrew word חֹרֶב (khorev, “desolation”). Some emend to עֹרֵב (ʿorev, “raven”) following the LXX and Vulgate; Adele Berlin translates, “A voice shall shriek from the window—a raven at the sill” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 104). |
| (0.20) | (Zep 2:11) | 3 tn The meaning of this rare Hebrew word is unclear. If the meaning is indeed “weaken,” then this line may be referring to the reduction of these gods’ territory through conquest (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 110-11). Cf. NEB “reduce to beggary”; NASB “starve”; NIV “when he destroys”; NRSV “shrivel.” |
| (0.20) | (Zep 2:14) | 2 tn Heb “[and] all the wild animals of a nation.” How גוֹי (goy, “nation”) relates to what precedes is unclear. It may be an unusual expression or need emendation to another word. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 193. |
| (0.20) | (Zep 2:1) | 2 tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.” |
| (0.20) | (Zep 2:3) | 3 tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.” |
| (0.20) | (Hab 2:18) | 3 tn Heb “or a metal image, a teacher of lies.” The words “What good is” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line. “Teacher of lies” refers to the false oracles that the so-called god would deliver through a priest. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 126. |
| (0.20) | (Hab 2:20) | 1 tn Or “holy temple.” The Lord’s heavenly palace, rather than the earthly temple, is probably in view here (see Ps 11:4; Mic 1:2-3). The Hebrew word קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holy”) here refers to the sovereign transcendence associated with his palace. |
| (0.20) | (Nah 2:10) | 1 tn Heb “Emptiness and devastation and being laid waste.” Several English versions attempt to reproduce the assonance, alliteration, and paronomasia of three similarly sounding Hebrew words: בּוּקַָה וּמְבוּקָה וּמְבֻלָּקָה (buqah umevuqah umevullaqah; NJPS “Desolation, devastation, and destruction!”; NRSV “Devastation, desolation, and destruction!”). |
| (0.20) | (Nah 1:3) | 4 tn The words “the wicked” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation; they are implied when this idiom is used (Exod 34:7; Num 14:18). In legal contexts the nuance “the guilty” is most appropriate; in nonlegal contexts the nuance “the wicked” is used. |
| (0.20) | (Mic 6:5) | 2 tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the Lord.” Something appears to be missing at the beginning of the line. The present translation supplies the words, “Recall how you went.” This apparently refers to how Israel crossed the Jordan River (see Josh 3:1; 4:19-24). |
| (0.20) | (Jon 2:6) | 7 tn Heb “As for the earth, its bars [were] against me forever.” This line is a verbless clause. The verb in the translation has been supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness. The rhetorical nominative construction (see the note on the word “gates” earlier in this verse) has also been smoothed out in the translation. |
| (0.20) | (Jon 2:5) | 2 tn Or “the deep; the abyss” (תְּהוֹם, tehom). The simple “ocean” is perhaps too prosaic, since this Hebrew word has primeval connections (Gen 1:2; 7:11; 8:2; Prov 8:27-28) and speaks of the sea at its vastest (Job 38:16-18; Pss 36:6; 104:5-9). |
