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Jeremiah 14:2 – NASB vs. HCSB vs. ESV
NASB “Judah mourns And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
HCSB Judah mourns; her gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem’s cry rises up.
ESV “Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
The obvious difference is the NASB adds the word “sit”; but when you look at the Hebrew there is no such word. No doubt some would sit as in ashes, but isn’t it possible some would be prostrate also?
Also, all three give a less than literal and less than picturesque translation of qadar which literally means “black.” The English Revised Version adds “sit” like the NASB, but translates qadar as black:
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Looking at various other translations which also read “black” (i.e., KJV) brings up this question: Does “black” describe their mood or their clothes?
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