6:9–12 This is a rather difficult text because of obscurities, possible displacement of some lines, and confusion of the person, gender, and number of some pronouns and verbs. Most commentators see verse 9b as a scribal gloss. Many follow the LXX suggestion and read “Hear, O tribe, and assembly of the city” for verse 9c. The same commentators then rearrange the lines, so that the relative pronoun (ʾ a šer) at the beginning of verse 12 has as its antecedent “city” in the emended 9c. The order thus becomes: 9a, 9c, 12, 10, 11, 13–16. While accepting the suggested emendation of 9c, we shall leave the order of the lines as they stand in the MT. On the whole, the general meaning of this oracle is clear.

This passage follows immediately after 6:6–8, in which justice, community solidarity, and car…