OET interlinear ZEP 2:9

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-oathformula

לָ⁠כֵ֣ן חַי־אָ֡נִי & כִּֽי

for=so/thus/hence he/it_lived I & that/for/because/then/when

Yahweh is using this language to swear a solemn oath. He is indicating that the things he says will happen to Moab and Ammon are just as certain as some other very certain thing, the fact that he is alive. Translate this in a way that will show your readers that it is an oath. For example, it may be helpful to add the words I swear, as the UST does. If oaths are unfamiliar in your culture, you could also add a short explanation of what an oath is.

Note 2 topic: writing-quotations

נְאֻם֩ יְהוָ֨ה צְבָא֜וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל

declares_of YHWH armies/messengers god_of Yisrael

This phrase indicates that the rest of the material in verses 2:8–9 is a direct quotation from Yahweh. See how you decided to introduce this direct quotation in the previous verse.

Note 3 topic: translate-names

יְהוָ֨ה צְבָא֜וֹת

YHWH armies/messengers

The phrase Yahweh of Armies is a title for God that indicates his great power. It describes him as the commander of heavenly armies. If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, it may have a particular way of translating this phrase, and you may wish to use that in your translation. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, express the meaning of this phrase in a way that will be clear to your readers. Alternate translation: “Yahweh the Almighty”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

מוֹאָ֞ב כִּ⁠סְדֹ֤ם תִּֽהְיֶה֙ וּ⁠בְנֵ֤י עַמּוֹן֙ כַּֽ⁠עֲמֹרָ֔ה

Mōʼāⱱ like,Sodom you(ms)_will_be and=the_sons ˊAmmōn like,Gomorrah

The point of this comparison is that just as Sodom and Gomorrah were completely destroyed (see Genesis 19:1–29), so the countries of Moab and Ammon will be completely destroyed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. See how you translated the word “Moab” and the expression “the sons of Ammon” in the previous verse. Alternate translation: “the country of Moab will be completely destroyed, as the city of Sodom was, and the people of Ammon will be completely destroyed, as the people of the city of Gomorrah were”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

מִמְשַׁ֥ק חָר֛וּל וּ⁠מִכְרֵה־מֶ֥לַח וּ⁠שְׁמָמָ֖ה עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם

place_of weeds and,pits_of salt and,wasteland until forever

Yahweh is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “They will become a possession of the nettle and the pit of salt and a ruin forever”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

מִמְשַׁ֥ק חָר֛וּל וּ⁠מִכְרֵה־מֶ֥לַח וּ⁠שְׁמָמָ֖ה עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם

place_of weeds and,pits_of salt and,wasteland until forever

Yahweh is not referring to a specific nettle or pit of salt. He means nettles and salt pits in general. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using plural forms. Alternate translation: “a possession of nettles and salt pits and a ruin forever”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מִמְשַׁ֥ק חָר֛וּל וּ⁠מִכְרֵה־מֶ֥לַח וּ⁠שְׁמָמָ֖ה עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם

place_of weeds and,pits_of salt and,wasteland until forever

Yahweh is speaking as if nettles and salt pits would literally own or possess the territory where the Moabites and Ammonites formerly lived. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “a place where only weeds grow and where people dig for salt and where no one will ever build any buildings again”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

שְׁאֵרִ֤ית עַמִּ⁠י֙ יְבָזּ֔וּ⁠ם וְ⁠יֶ֥תֶר גּוֹיִ֖י יִנְחָלֽוּ⁠ם

remnant_of people_of,my plunder,them and,remainder_of (Some words not found in UHB: for=so/thus/hence he/it_lived I declares_of YHWH armies/messengers god_of Yisrael that/for/because/then/when Mōʼāⱱ like,Sodom you(ms)_will_be and=the_sons ˊAmmōn like,Gomorrah place_of weeds and,pits_of salt and,wasteland until forever remnant_of people_of,my plunder,them and,remainder_of גוי possess,them )

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and it would be good to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation rather than combining them. It may be clearer in your language to connect the phrases with a word other than and in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: “The remnant of my people will plunder them; indeed, the remainder of my nation will occupy them”