Lam 5:12 reads:
Princes are hanged up by their
hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.
There is an ambiguity in the Hebrew. The phrase בְּיָדָ֣ם is singular “by their hand.” Does this mean that
the hand(s) of the princes are the focus, or is it speaking of the instrument
(i.e., they are being suspended by the hand of their enemies)?
Both the LXX and Targum renders “hand” in the plural:
ἄρχοντες ἐν χερσὶν αὐτῶν ἐκρεμάσθησαν
πρεσβύτεροι οὐκ ἐδοξάσθησαν
The rulers were hung by their
hands; the elders were not esteemed. (LES 2d ed)
רברבנין בידיהון אצטליבו אפי סביא לא סברו
Princes were impaled by their
hands; the faces of the elders they did not respect. (The Targum of
Lamentations: Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes [trans.
Philip S. Alexander; The Aramaic Bible 17B; Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical
Press, 2007], Logos Bible Software edition)
