1.5 KiB
General Information:
Yahweh used Babylon to punish Judah and the nation. It is either the people of Judah or the people of the nations who are speaking the words in this quotation.
Babylon ... she is not healed ... leave her ... her guilt
The name of the city is a metonym for the people who live there, and the city is spoken of as if it were a woman. AT: "the people of Babylon ... they are not healed ... leave them ... their guilt" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
she is not healed
This can be translated in active form. AT: "we have not been able to heal her" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive)
For her guilt reaches up to the heavens; it is piled up to the clouds
Guilt is spoken of as if it were an object that could be made into a pile. The words "to the heavens" and "to the clouds" are an exaggeration for something that is very high. AT: "For Babylon is so very guilty" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole)
Yahweh has declared our innocence
Yahweh had punished the Israelites for their sins, but now has let them return to him.