Translation
I will deliver
Go to footnote numberthe princes of JUDAH, the princes of JERUSALEM, the eunuchs,
Go to footnote numberthe priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
I will hand over the ruling class among the people say they love PRAISE AND CELEBRATION, and the ruling class of those who should have WHOLESOME FOUNDATIONS, as well as those who supposedly are free from sinful tendencies, and those who are supposedly good spiritual leaders of the people, and everyone else who pledged their lives in exchange for obedience,
Footnotes
1
The same verb is used here as in the previous verse. It usually means “to give” but here it means “to give over, to deliver, to hand over.”
2
Eunuchs were a picture of pure motives because they were men who had their testicles removed. Obviously, there are temptations in life other than sexual ones, but the term is used here of people who should have fewer sinful tendencies than most, but even they turned their backs on God.
3
The inauguration of a covenant usually involved cutting several animals in half from head to tail and laying those halves on either side of a ditch or depression. Then the participants would walk in the blood and by so doing proclaim, “If I violate this covenant, you may do to me what we have done to these animals.”