An apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a speaker turns his attention away from his listeners and speaks to someone or something that he knows cannot hear him. He does this to tell his listeners his message or feelings about that person or thing in a very strong way.
Many languages do not use apostrophe, and readers could be confused by it. They may wonder who the speaker is talking to, or think that the speaker is crazy to talk to things or people who cannot hear.
King Saul was killed on Mount Gilboa, and David sang a sad song about it. By telling these mountains that he wanted them to have no dew or rain, he showed how sad he was.
Jesus was expressing his feelings for the people of Jerusalem in front of his disciples and a group of Pharisees. By speaking directly to Jerusalem as though its people could hear him, Jesus showed how deeply he cared about them.
> He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh: "**Altar**, **altar**! This is what Yahweh says, ‘See, … on you they will burn human bones.’“ (1 Kings 13:2 ULT)
If apostrophe would be natural and give the right meaning in your language, consider using it. But if this way of speaking would be confusing to your people, let the speaker continue speaking to the people that are listening to him as he tells **them** his message or feelings about the people or thing that cannot hear him. See the example below.
> He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh: "**Altar**, **altar**! This is what Yahweh says, ‘See, … on you they will burn human bones.’“ (1 Kings 13:2 ULT)
See in Reader
