Nahum 3:6-8

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Nahum 3:6 tn Heb “detestable things”; KJV, ASV “abominable filth”; NCV “filthy garbage.”
2. Nahum 3:7 tc While the MT reads second person feminine singular לָךְ (lakh, “for you”), the LXX reads αὔτή (autē, “for her”). The Dead Sea Scrolls from Wadi Murabba’at read לך (“for you”). The MT reading is preferred for several reasons: (1) it is supported by the scrolls from Wadi Murabba’at; (2) it is the more difficult reading; and (3) it explains the origin of the LXX which probably harmonized this with the preceding third person feminine singular pronoun. Abrupt switches from third to second person are commonly found in poetic and prophetic literature (e.g., Deut 32:15; Isa 5:8; Jer 29:19; Job 16:7) as well as in Northwest Semitic curses (see S. Gevirtz, “West-Semitic Curses and the Problem of the Origins of Hebrew Law,” VT 11 [1961]: 147, n. 4). The LXX treats the final phrase as part of the onlookers’ quote while the MT treats it as part of the Lord’s address.tn Heb “From whence shall I find comforters for you?”
3. Nahum 3:8 tn Heb “Are you better than Thebes?”
4. Nahum 3:8 tn Heb “No-Amon.” The name is transliterated by NAB, NASB; many other English versions employ the equivalent “Thebes.”
5. Nahum 3:8 tn The relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) is functioning in a possessive sense: “whose” (Job 37:17; Ps 95:5; Isa 5:28; 49:23; Jer 31:32; see HALOT 98 s.v. 4).
6. Nahum 3:8 tn The consonantal form חיל is vocalized in the MT as חֵיל (khel, “rampart”). The LXX translation ἡ ἀρξή (hē arxē, “strength”) reflects confusion between the relatively rare חֵיל and the more common חַיִל (khayil, “strength”); see HALOT 310-12.
7. Nahum 3:8 tn Heb “from (the) sea.” The form should be emended to מַיִם (mayim, “water”). This is a figurative description of the Nile River: It functioned like a fortress wall for Thebes.