Lamentations 2:17
ע (Ayin)
17 The Lord has done what he planned;he has fulfilled ▼
▼ The verb בָּצַע (batsa’) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “to cut off, break off,” (2) “to injure” a person, (3) “to gain by violence,” (4) “to finish, complete” and (5) “to accomplish, fulfill” a promise.
his promise ▼▼ Heb “His word.” When used in collocation with the verb בָּצַע (batsa’, “to fulfill,” see previous [T]), the accusative noun אִמְרָה (’imrah) means “promise.”
that he threatened ▼
▼ Heb “commanded” or “decreed.” If a reference to prophetic oracles is understood, then “decreed” is preferable. If understood as a reference to the warnings in the covenant, then “threatened” is a preferable rendering.
long ago: ▼▼ Heb “from days of old.”
He has overthrown you without mercy ▼
and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;
he has exalted your adversaries’ power. ▼
▼ Heb “He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3; Ezek 29:21), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” To lift up the horn often means to boast and to lift up someone else’s horn is to give victory or cause to boast.
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