nettles

October 6, 2017

No more festivals (Hos 9:5-9:6)

“What will you do

On the day

Of the appointed festival?

What will you do

On the day

Of the festival

Of Yahweh?

Even if they escape

Destruction,

Egypt shall gather them.

Memphis shall bury them.

Nettles shall possess

Their precious things

Of silver.

Thorns shall be

In their tents.”

There will be no more festivals for Yahweh. Even if they are not destroyed, Egypt would take them away. They would be buried in the southern capital of Egypt, Memphis. Nettles were stinging plants that would be all over their precious metal silver objects. Their tents would have thorns in them. They would have a very unpleasant life.

August 21, 2016

The menacing wild animals in Edom (Isa 34:13-34:15)

“Thorns shall grow over Edom’s strongholds.

Nettles shall be in its fortresses.

Thistles shall be in its fortresses.

It shall be the haunt of jackals.

It shall be an abode for ostriches.

Wildcats shall meet with hyenas.

Goat-demons shall cry to each other.

There too Lilith shall repose.

It shall find a place to rest.

There shall the owl nest.

The owl lays there.

The owl hatches its brood in its shadow.

There too the buzzards shall gather.

Each one shall have her mate.”

This terrible place of Edom will have thorn bushes growing in its strongholds, with nettles and thistles in these fortresses. A number of menacing odd animals will live there, the jackal wolf dogs, the ostriches, the wildcats, and the hyenas. On top of that there will be demon like goats and the ancient monster female demon Lilith. Strangely enough, the menacing owls are also there to rest and nest their young ones. Of course, there would be the ever threatening buzzards with their mates.

February 12, 2016

Badly kept fields (Prov 24:30-24:32)

“I passed by the field

Of a lazy person.

I passed by the vineyard

Of a stupid person.

See!

It was all overgrown with thorns.

The ground was covered with nettles.

Its stone wall was broken down.

Then I saw it.

I considered it.

I looked.

I received instruction.”

This wise person passed by the fields of a lazy person as well as the vineyards of a stupid person. These fields were overgrown with thorns and nettles. The stone wall fences were broken down. Once again, this indicates a strong agricultural society where there were general rules on how to keep up your farming fields. The wise one saw it, looked at it, considered it, and received instructions about it. This un-kept farm field was a big deal.