Nahum 3:5-11 God’s Justice Before The Nations

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 9 March 2025

Omitting greyed-out text should bring presentation time down around 45 minutes.

Introduction

v. 5 – Loss of Protection as God’s Judgment

v. 6Shame As Judgment From God

    1. The last phrase is that God will “set” Nineveh up to be a “spectacle/gazingstock” – literally, a “sight” over which people gawk. That has literally come true. Nineveh ceased to be a functioning city after its overthrow in 612 BC, but, thousands of years later, its ruins are a tourist destination – people come to “stare” at it!

    2. The second phrase describing God’s judgement of “shame” in v.6 is, “I will make you vile/treat you with contempt/make a fool of you.”

    1. The first phrase in verse 6 (also detailing God’s judgment of shame upon Nineveh) is, I think, particularly a jibe at Nineveh’s false gods. The Hebrew word shiqqutzim, translated “filth/abominations” appears 47 other times in the Bible, and almost every time it occurs, a word for an idol or a false god appears alongside it. Nevertheless, most of the commentaries I read thought it was describing God throwing “mud/excrement/rotting food” at Nineveh. I think this is God littering the ground of Nineveh with the useless shapes of its own idols. This is the one True God getting the last laugh against all the petty demonic rivals that stole worship from Him in Nineveh!

v. 7 – Alienation as Judgment From God

v. 8 – If No-Amon Can Be Conquered, You Can Be Conquered Too

v. 9 – It Doesn’t Matter How Strong You Are, God Can Punish You

v. 10 – God’s Judgment Upon the Citizens of Egypt

v. 11 – Nineveh Will Be Down And Out

Nahum 3:5-11 Side-by side comparison of versionsA

DouayB (Vulgate)

LXXC

BrentonD (Vaticanus)

KJVE

NAW

Masoretic HebrewF

5 Behold I [comeG] against thee, saith the Lord of hosts: and I will dis­cover thy shame to thy face, and will shew thy nakedness to the na­tions, and thy shame to king­doms.

5 ἰδοῦ ἐγὼ ἐπὶ σέ, λέγει κύριος [ὁ θεὸς] ὁ παν­τοκράτωρ, καὶ ἀπο­καλύψω τὰ ὀπίσω σου ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου καὶ δείξωH ἔθνεσιν τὴν αἰσχύνην σου καὶ βασιλείαις τὴν ἀτιμίαν σου

5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord [God] Almighty, and I will uncover thy skirts in thy presence, and I will shew the nations thy shame, and the king­doms thy disgrace.

5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy naked­ness, and the king­doms thy shame.

5 “Look at me; I am against you,” declares Yahweh, Commander of armies, “and I will strip your skirts over your face, and I will show nations your nakedness, and kingdoms your shame,

(ה) Iהִנְנִי אֵלַיִךְ נְאֻם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת וְגִלֵּיתִי שׁוּלַיִךְ עַל פָּנָיִךְ וְהַרְאֵיתִי גוֹיִם מַעְרֵךְ וּמַמְלָכוֹת קְלוֹנֵךְ.

6 And I will cast abomina­tions upon thee, and will dis­grace thee, and will make an example of thee.

6 καὶ ἐπιρρίψω ἐπὶ σὲ βδελυγμὸν κατὰ τὰς ἀκαθαρσίας σου καὶ θήσομαίJ σε εἰς παρά­δειγμα,

6 And I will cast abominable filthX upon thee ac­cording to thine un­clean ways, and will make thee a [public] example.

6 And I will cast abominable filthX upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing­stock.

6 and I will throw abominable-idols on top of you, and I will make a fool of you, then I will set you up as a sight [to see],

(ו) וְהִשְׁלַכְתִּי עָלַיִךְ שִׁקֻּצִיםK וְנִבַּלְתִּיךְL וְשַׂמְתִּיךְ כְּרֹאִי.

7 And it shall come to pass that every one that shall see thee, shall flee from thee, and shall say: Ninive is laid waste: who shall be­moan thee? whence shall I seek a comforter for thee?

7 καὶ ἔσται πᾶς ὁ ὁρῶν σε ἀπο­πηδή­σεταιM ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ ἐρεῖ ΔειλαίαN Νινευη· τίς στενάξει αὐτήν; πόθεν ζητήσω παράκλησιν αὐτῇ;O

7 And it shall be that every one that sees thee shall go downP from thee, and shall say, Wretched Nineve! who shall lament for her? whence shall I seek comfort for her?

7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nine­veh is laid waste: who will be­moan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

7 and it will be that everyone who sees you will withdraw from you and will say, “Nineveh has been devestated; who will be sympathetic toward her?” Where ever would I seek comforters for you from?

(ז) וְהָיָה כָל רֹאַיִךְ יִדּוֹד מִמֵּךְ וְאָמַר שָׁדְּדָה נִינְוֵה מִי יָנוּדQ לָהּR מֵאַיִןS אֲבַקֵּשׁ מְנַחֲמִים לָךְ.

8 Art thou better than the popu­lous Alex­an­dria, that dwelleth among the rivers? waters are round about it: the sea is its riches: the waters are its wall[s].

8 [ἑτοίμα­σαι μερίδα, ἅρμοσαι χορδήν,] ἑτοίμασαιT μερίδα, Αμωνκατοικοῦσα ἐν ποταμ­οῖς, ὕδωρ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς, ἧς ἡ ἀρχὴU θάλασσα [καὶV] ὕδωρ τὰ τείχη αὐτῆς,

8 [Prepare thee a por­tion, tune the chord,] prepare a portion for Ammon: she that dwells among the rivers, water is round about her, whose do­minion is the sea, [and] whose wall[s] are water.

8 Art thou better than populous No X, that was situate among the rivers, that had the wa­ters round about it, whose ram­part was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

8 Are you better than No-Amon – the one settled along the rivers, water all around her, the rampart of which was the sea, her defensive-wall being /the water\?

(ח) הֲתֵיטְבִי מִנֹּא אָמוֹן הַיֹּשְׁבָה בַּיְאֹרִים מַיִם סָבִיב לָהּ אֲשֶׁר חֵילW יָםX מִיָּםY חוֹמָתָהּ.

9 Ethiopia and Egypt were the strength thereof, and there is no end: Africa and the Libyans were thy helper[s].

9 [καὶZ] Αἰθιοπία ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτῆς καὶ Αἴγυπ­τος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν πέρας [τῆς] φυγῆς, καὶ Λίβυες ἐγένοντο βοηθοὶ αὐτῆς.

9 [And] Ethiopia is her strength, and Egypt; and there was no limit of [the] flight [of her enemiesAA]; and the Libyans became her helper[s].

9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were X thy helper[s].

9 Ethiopia was her strength, and so was Egypt, and that without limit. Sudan and Libya were in your alliance.

(ט) כּוּשׁ עָצְמָהAB וּמִצְרַיִם וְאֵין קֵצֶה פּוּטAC וְלוּבִים הָיוּ בְּעֶזְרָתֵךְAD.

10 Yet she also was X removed and carried into cap- tivity: X her young children were dashed in pieces at the top of every streetX, and they cast lots upon her nobles, and all her great men were bound in fetters.

10 καAE αὐτὴ εἰς AF μετοικεσίαν πορεύσεται αἰχμάλωτος, καὶ τὰ νήπια αὐτῆς ἐδαφιοῦσιν ἐπ᾿ ἀρχὰς πασῶν τῶν ὁδῶν [αὐτῆςAG], καὶ ἐπὶ [πάν­τα] τὰ ἔν­δοξα αὐτῆς βαλοῦσιν κλήρους, καὶ πάντες οἱ μεγιστᾶν­ες αὐτς δεθήσονται χειροπέδαις.

10 Yet she shall go as a prisoner into captiv­ity, and they shall X dashX her infants [against the ground] at the top of all [her] ways: and they shall cast lots upon [all] her glorious [possessions], and all her nobles shall be bound in chains.

10 Yet was she X carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

10 Even she become an exile; she went into captivity. Even her nursing-babies were dashed to pieces at the head of all the streets. And over her honored men they handled dice, and all her great men were bound with chains.

(י) גַּם הִיא לַגֹּלָה הָלְכָה בַשֶּׁבִי גַּם עֹלָלֶיהָAH יְרֻטְּשׁוּAI בְּרֹאשׁ כָּל חוּצוֹת וְעַל נִכְבַּדֶּיהָ יַדּוּ גוֹרָל וְכָל גְּדוֹלֶיהָ רֻתְּקוּAJ בַזִּקִּים.

11 There­-fore thou also shalt be made drunk, and shalt be despised: and thou shalt seek help from the enem[ies].

11 κα σὺAK μεθυσθήσῃ καὶ ἔσῃ ὑπερεωρ­αμένη, καὶAL σὺ ζητήσεις σεαυτῇ στάσινAM ἐξ ἐχθρῶν.

11 And thou shalt be drunken, and shalt be over­looked; and thou shalt seek for thy­self strength because of [thine] enem[ies].

11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

11 Even you yourself will become intoxicated; you will be disregarded, Even you yourself will seek refuge from the enemies.

(יא) גַּם אַתְּ תִּשְׁכְּרִיAN תְּהִי נַעֲלָמָה AO גַּם אַתְּ תְּבַקְשִׁי מָעוֹז מֵאוֹיֵבAP.



1cf. 3 Maccabees 6:5 “When Sennacheri[b], the grievous king of the Assyrians, glorying in his countless hosts, had subdued the whole land with his spear, and was lifting himself against thine holy city, with boastings grievous to be endured, thou, O Lord, didst demolish him and didst shew forth thy might to many nations.” (Brenton)

2Jeremiah 50:31 "Behold, I am against you, [Babylon,] O most haughty one!" says the Lord GOD of hosts; "For your day has come, The time that I will punish you. 13:22 And if you say in your heart, "Why have these things come upon me?" For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare… 26 Therefore I will uncover [חָשַׂפְתִּי] your skirts over your face, That your shame may appear.” (NKJV)

3Isaiah 20:4 “...the king of Assyria shall lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, children and elders, naked and barefoot, and their buttocks will be bare [חֲשׂוּפַי], the nakedness of Egypt.” (NAW)

4Micah 1:6 “Therefore I will make Samaria into a pile in the field – into a place for planting a vineyard, and I will have her building-stones poured out into the ravine, and her foundations laid bare.” (NAW) Ezekiel 23:9-10 "Therefore I have delivered her [Israel] Into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of the Assyrians, For whom she lusted. They uncovered her nakedness, Took away her sons and daughters, And slew her with the sword; She became a byword among women, For they had executed judgment on her.” (NKJV)

5Lamentations 1:8 “Jerusalem has sinned gravely, Therefore she has become vile. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Yes, she sighs and turns away.” (NKJV, cf. Ezekiel 16:37 & 23:17-18 ) Habakkuk 2:16 “You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised [הערל]! The cup of the LORD'S right hand will be turned against you, And utter shame will be on your glory.” (NKJV)

6γυμνότητός, a synonym for the word αἰσχύνην in the LXX of Nahum 3:5.

7https://www.wildfrontierstravel.com/en_GB/blog/i-ashurbanipal accessed 6 Mar 2025.

8https://store.biblearchaeology.org/collections/bible-and-spade-magazine/products/abr-com-016

9Cf. Isaiah 1:7-8 “Your country is wasted; your cities burned with fire. In front of you foreigners consume your ground; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber patch… 51:19 “...Who will sympathize for her? The violence and the breakup and the famine and the sword – How shall I comfort her?” (NAW)

10Their attempt at pronouncing the Egyptian phrase “the seat.” They also called it the “city of 100 gates” and Diospolis (“city of god”). See Pusey’s commentary on Nahum for an extended description of the ancient city.

11Some early church fathers and Midieval Jewish commentators thought it was Alexandria, and Calvin seems to have followed them. All commentators after Calvin seem to be agreed on Thebes.

12It is possible, however, that the “defensive-rampart” on the “sea” that Nahum mentions might refer to a separate set of citadels located about 500 miles downriver in the lowlands of Egypt next to the Mediterranean Ocean. As we’ll see, those cities down on the delta had to be conquered before the Assyrians could make it up to the capitol city of No-Amon. One reason those delta cities were so easy for Assyria to conquer is that the Nubians had previously conducted a campaign against lower Egypt and weakened the defenses of that part of the country. I did not find a single commentator who suggested this possibility, however.

13https://biblearchaeology.org/research/divided-kingdom/2744-nahum-nineveh-and-those-nasty-assyrians

14Perhaps it should be noted that, although the Assyrian conquest of this city was a huge setback from which it never did fully recover, it did not result in the absolute erasure of the city. It got rebuilt in time, and God revisited judgment on it later on, as Jeremiah 46:25 and Ezekiel 30:14 attest.

15It is also possible that the event could be one of Sargon’s raids against Egypt between 705-722 BC, before Sennacherib’s attempted siege of Jerusalem around 700, a position held by C.F. Keil.

16Cf. Hos. 14:1ff (where it was done by Assyria), 2 Ki. 8:12 (where it was done by Syria), Amos 1:13 (where it was done by Ammon), and Psalm 137:9 (where it is implied that it was done by Edom).

17“pinioned or handcuffed (so the word properly signifies)” ~Matthew Henry

18cf. Deut. 32:42 (“make arrows drunk with blood”), Cant. 5:1b (sexual excitement), Isa. 49:25 (“intoxicated with their own blood”). The Greek word in the LXX for “drunk” appears 4x in the New Testament, 3x to indicate alcoholic drunkenness, and 1x figuratively (Rev. 17:2).

19The passive meaning is supported by all the ancient versions.

20See also: Psalm 10:1, 55:2, Prov. 28:27, Ezek. 22:26. The LXX word is found in the GNT only in Acts 17:30 (“God overlooked/winked at these times of ignorance”).

21Calvin, Pusey, and Keil, however interpreted this hiddenness in terms of disappearance “as though it had never been” (cf. Obadiah 1:16). Cf. Michael Barrett’s 2021 commentary: “The word for ‘hiding’ also has the sense of being unconscious or deranged and may fit the idea of drunkenness a bit better.”

22In both of the places where “hide” appears in this passage from Revelation 6, it is the standard Greek word for “hide” κρυπτω, whereas the LXX word used to translate “hid” in Nahum 3:11 was ὑπερεωραμένη (“overlook”).

AMy original chart includes the following copyrighted English versions: NASB, NIV, ESV, Bauscher’s version of the Peshitta, and Cathcart’s version of the Targums, but I remove these columns from my public, non-copyrighted edition of this chart so as not to infringe on their copyrights. NAW is my translation. When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing Nahum 3 are 4Q82 (containing parts of verses 1-3 & 17 and dated between 30-1 BC), The Nahal Hever Greek scroll (containing parts of vs. 1-3 & 6-16 and dated around 25BC), and the Wadi Muraba’at Scroll (containing parts of verses 1-19 and dated around 135 AD). Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where the DSS supports the LXX/Vulgate/Peshitta with omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.

BDouay Old Testament first published by the English College at Douay, A.D. 1609, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword.

C“Septuagint” Greek Old Testament, edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935. As published on E-Sword.

DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.

E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.

FFrom the Wiki Hebrew Bible https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%94_%D7%90/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com

GThis word “come” is not in the original Latin text; it was added by Douay for the English translation.

H“show… kingdom… peoples” occurs in the LXX of Esther 1:4 & 11 (when the Babylonian King “showed off” his “kingdom” and also wanted to show off his queen before the “nations”) and in the GNT in Matthew 4:8 (when the Devil “showed” Jesus all the “kingdoms” of the world).

IThe first half of this verse is a reiteration of 2:13.

JNahal Hever reads with an active form (θησω) instead of the LXX’s deponent form, but the meaning is the same.

KAll 48 instances of this word are associated with idols and the worship of false gods, so I question the prevailing opinion among commentators that this is speaking of physical “filth.”

LThe only other times this verb appears in the Piel stem is Deut. 32:15 (“lightly esteemed the Rock”), Jer. 14:21 (“don’t make a fool of the seat of Your glory”), and Mic. 7:6 (“son makes a fool of father”).

MSymmachus rendered with αναχωρησει (clear out”), an equally fair translation of the MT.

NΝ. Η. reads differently. The legible portion of this word is -πωρηκε- . A search for that string in the LXX yields only one word, τεταλαιπωρηκεν (“afflicted/miserable/wretched” Jer. 4:20; Joel 1:10; Zech. 11:3), which turns out to be a close synonym to the LXX, further evidence that they are independent translations. Symmachus rendered διεσκεδασται, possibly closer to the MT Hebrew meaning “it has been destroyed.”

OAnother instance of a homophone variant in the LXX. If the translator were visually reading the original, he would have translated correctly, but since he was hearing someone else read it, and the Hebrew לה (“to her”) sounds the same as לך (“to you”), a variant was introduced.

PAlthough the Greek word in the LXX can mean “dismount,” it also can mean “get off” or “leap away” from, and the latter would have been a better English translation.

QMost instances of this verb have to do with back-and-forth movement, but the meaning of “mourning/sympathizing” shows up here and in Isa. 51:19, Jer. 15:5, 22:10, 31:18, & 48:17, Psalm 69:20, and Job 2:11, & 42:11.

RCuriously, this pronoun in the Aramaic versions is second person (“you”) whereas it is 3rd person (“her”) in the MT, Latin and Greek.

SThe final nun appears to be a lengthened form of the interrogative אי (“where”). Perhaps since it borrows the spelling of the negative particle (אין) it emphasizes the negation of the prospect that it is anywhere. This lengthened form of אי is also found in Gen. 29:4, 42:7, Num. 11:13, Josh. 2:4, 9:8, Jdg. 17:9, 19:17, 2 Ki. 5:25, 6:27, 20:14, Job 1:7, 28:12,20, Psa. 121:1, Isa. 39:3, and Jon. 1:8.

TThe first phrase in the LXX appears to be an alternate translation of the first phrase in Hebrew. Nahal Hever omits that repetition, reading like the MT and other versions except with a negative: μη αγαθυεις ‘υπ- “You are not better than…” (Aquilla’s version concurs, and Symmachus translated with the synonym βελτιων=better than, and Theodotian with the synonym καλη). The name that follows is illegible in N.H., so, unfortunately, it can’t be compared to the LXX, but Aq, Sym. and Theod. all interpreted the Hebrew minno ammon as “than Ammon.”

UN.H. has the synonym ‘ισχυς (“strength”), which is a closer translation of the MT than the LXX.

VN.H. omits “and,” thus reading more like MT, but the meaning is not significantly different either way.

WThis word is only here and 2 Sam. 20:15, 1 Ki. 21:23, Ps. 48:14, 122:7, Isa. 26:1, and Lam. 2:8. I have translated it “rampart,” “bulwark,” and “defensive wall.”

XThis word “sea” is missing in W.M., but it’s in the other DSS (N.H.) as it is in the MT and all the ancient versions. The LXX and Peshitta, however, add an “and” here. The MT just has a disjunctive accent here, not a conjunction-word, but the practical upshot is much the same.

YNIV, ESV, NET, & NLT follow the Vulgate, LXX, and Peshitta which reasonably translate the unpointed text as “water,” but with the Masoretic pointing it becomes “from the sea,” which is the reading of Geneva, KJV & NASB. Targums go both ways.

ZAlthough obscured, N.H. does not appear to have this extra και, and the MT and other versions match without it.

AABrenton appears to have added this explanatory phrase for the word “flight” – it is not in the LXX or Vaticanus.

ABThe unpointed text could be either a feminine form of “strength/force,” or it could be a 3fs possessive pronoun “her strength.” Masoretic pointing from the 900’s AD chose the former, followed by one of the Targums and the NASB, NET, & NLT, but the consensus of the Vulgate, LXX, Peshitta, Geneva, KJV, NIV, ESV, and another Targum is the latter, which would call for a dot in the middle of the last letter. (The song “Dagesh In The He” that I composed and recorded with Nathan Clark George explains it all.)

ACN.H., Aq., Sym. and Theod. spell as the place name Put (φουδ/τ), followed by MT and all the other versions. (The Vulgate paraphrased “Africa” rather than transliterating “Put,” and the LXX editor noticed that the Hebrew word sounded a lot like the Greek word for “fugitive” and just went with it. Put would correspond roughly to modern-day Sudan.)

ADGeneva, NASB, NIV, NET, ESV, and NLT decided to follow the LXX & Syriac (“her” – which would have sounded the same but would have been spelled with a different letter in Hebrew) instead of the DSS, MT, Targums, Vulgate, and KJV (“your”). This “your” in Hebrew is spelled feminine and singular, so its meaning in English would be a cross between “her” and “your.”

AEThis and the next και are translated καιγε in N.H. No significant difference in meaning.

AFN.H. employed the απ- prefix instead of the μετα- prefix to the next main verb, but it is a synonymous meaning.

AGN.H. does not have space between legible words to include this word. MT also does not include this pronoun, although it doesn’t change the meaning.

AHFrom a root that means “suck milk.” The only other instances of this word are in Ps. 137:9 (where it speaks of dashing Edom’s infants against stones in retribution), Jer. 6:11 & 9:20 (Judgment coming on Jerusalem, even its children), and Lam. 1:5, 2:19, 4:4, Joel 2:16, and Mic. 2:9 (with less-relevant indicatives about children).

AIVulgate and Syriac (followed by all English versions to my knowledge) translated this as past tense, even though it is in imperfect tense in Hebrew (the LXX and Targums rendered it as future tense). The LXX reasonably translated the unpointed text actively, but all other versions follow the Hophal passive pointing in the MT. It is a rare word, only occurring here and 2 Ki. 8:12, Isa. 13:16-18, and Hos. 10:14 & 14:1 – all in connection with killing nursing children.

AJThe only other instance of this word is in Ecclesiastes 12:6 – what happens to the “silver cord” at death. This rare word (רֻתְּקוּ) could have been chosen to parallel יְרֻטְּשׁוּ (“dash in pieces”) from earlier in the verse.

AKNahal Hever reads γε instead of the LXX συ. Και γε might be a slightly better-nuanced translation of the the Hebrew gam, but the Hebrew does have an emphatic pronoun “you” here which is in the LXX, but not in Nahal Hever. However, since the verb has the second person embedded in it, the meaning is not really any different.

ALNahal Hever is partially illegible, but the letter ε is visible before συ here, presumably translating the Hebrew gam as και γε, like it did at the beginning of the verse also, yet another indication that Nahal Hever was a separate translation into Greek from the LXX.

AMBy the time of the Greek N. T., this word had a different meaning, that of insurrection/disputation, but there is an interesting judgment-day parallel in Rev. 6:17 which uses the same Greek root in the phrase “who is able to stand?”

ANCf. Hab. 2:16.

AOThe Niphal spelling is properly interpreted reflexively by the Geneva (“hide thyself”) or passively (“be concealed/ignored/disregarded”) by Vulgate, LXX, Peshitta, Targums, KJV, and NASB, but the Niphal stem is ignored and translated actively (“hiding”) by NIV & ESV. There are other words in Hebrew with a more primary meaning of “cover/hide,” but this one is used throughout the HOT to indicate accidental ignorance or a purposeful averting of the eyes or ears so as not to see or hear another person. BHS suggested that switching the second and third letters of this word could generate the Targum’s word “destroyed.”

APPeshitta, Symmachus, and Brenton add “your,” but it is not in the LXX (not even Vaticanus) or Vulgate. However, what is in the Peshitta, LXX, and Vulgate is a plural ending. Since no DSS have survived with this word intact, those ancient versions are much closer to the time of the original than the existing Hebrew text itself. The fact that Symmachus also saw a suffix on the ending of the Hebrew word also raises doubt as to the MT spelling. But whether it is “your enemy,” “enemy” or “enemies,” the general meaning comes out the same.

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