2:3a

In this verse the LORD gave a vivid description of one way he would “curse their blessings,” as he mentioned in 2:2. Unlike most verses in Hebrew, this one does not begin with a connector. However in some languages it may be helpful to use a transition phrase. For example:

Because of you I will rebuke your descendants. (New International Version)

Behold: The Hebrew word hinneh which the Berean Standard Bible translates as Behold is difficult to translate. Many English versions leave it untranslated because it has no equivalent in English.

The usual function of hinneh is to direct the attention of the reader or listener to what follows. Here, the LORD described what would happen immediately. Try to find a way to produce this effect in your translation. For example:

Now, I am going to break… (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
I am about to discipline… (NET Bible)

I will rebuke your descendants: That is, I will punish your descendants.

descendants: The Hebrew word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as descendants literally means “seed.” Most versions and commentators understand this to refer to the descendants of the priests.

2:3b

I will spread dung on your faces: This is a shocking picture. The LORD was saying that he would rub the faces of the priests in or with the excrement of the animals they sacrificed. This, of course, would make the priests ritually unclean and unable to serve the LORD in his temple and to offer sacrifices there.

dung: The Hebrew word pereš which the Berean Standard Bible translates as dung refers to the excrement that came from the intestines of a sacrificed animal. These were the parts of the animal which were considered unclean and which were to be taken outside the temple and burnt. See Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 4:11, 8:17, 16:27; Numbers 19:5.

2:3c

you will be carried off with it: The Hebrew clause which the Berean Standard Bible translates as you will be carried off with it literally means “and someone/he will carry you off with it.” Here the LORD referred to the custom of taking unacceptable parts of sacrificed animals outside the camp to be thrown away or burned. He implied that the priests were of no value to him and would be carried away with these unacceptable, useless things.

The LORD probably did not mean that he would literally cause the priests to be taken to the dung heap. This was an emphatic way to say that he would remove them from their work just like they removed the excrement and disposed of it. There are two possibilities for translation:

• Use the figure explicitly.

…splatter your faces with the dung of your festival sacrifices, and I will add you to the dung heap. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
…the excrement from your festival sacrifices. You will be discarded with it. (God’s Word)

• Omit the figure in 2:3c and translate the meaning directly. For example:

and I shall banish you from my presence. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
and then be done with you. (Contemporary English Version)

Use the option that communicates best in your language.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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