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2 Kings 3:16-18
New English Translation
2 Kings 3:16-18
New English Translation
16 and he said, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Make many cisterns in this valley,’[a] 17 for this is what the Lord has said, ‘You will not feel[b] any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water, and you and your cattle and animals will drink.’ 18 This is an easy task for the Lord;[c] he will also hand Moab over to you.
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- 2 Kings 3:16 tn Heb “making this valley cisterns, cisterns.” The Hebrew noun גֵּב (gev) means “cistern” in Jer 14:3 (cf. Jer 39:10). The repetition of the noun is for emphasis. See GKC 396 §123.e. The verb (“making”) is an infinitive absolute, which has to be interpreted in light of the context. The translation above takes it in an imperatival sense. The command need not be understood as literal, but as hyperbolic. Telling them to build cisterns is a dramatic way of leading into the announcement that he would miraculously provide water in the desert. Some prefer to translate the infinitive as an imperfect with the Lord as the understood subject, “I will turn this valley [into] many pools.”
- 2 Kings 3:17 tn Heb “see.”
- 2 Kings 3:18 tn Heb “and this is easy in the eyes of the Lord.”
New English Translation (NET)
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