1 Raja-raja 14:24

14:24 There were also male cultic prostitutes ¹  in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations ²  that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.

Mazmur 115:8

115:8 Those who make them will end up ³  like them,

as will everyone who trusts in them.

Amsal 28:9

28:9 The one who turns away his ear ⁴  from hearing the law,

even his prayer ⁵  is an abomination. ⁶ 

Yesaya 41:24

41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;

the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. ⁷ 

Maleakhi 2:11

2:11 Judah has become disloyal, and unspeakable sins have been committed in Israel and Jerusalem. ⁸  For Judah has profaned ⁹  the holy things that the Lord loves and has turned to a foreign god! ¹⁰ 

[14:24]  ¹ tc The Old Greek translation has “a conspiracy” rather than “male cultic prostitutes.”

[14:24]  ² tn Heb “they did according to all the abominable acts of the nations.”

[115:8]  ³ tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”

[115:8]  sn Because the idols are lifeless, they cannot help their worshipers in times of crisis. Consequently the worshipers end up as dead as the gods in which they trust.

[28:9]  ⁴ sn The expression “turn away the ear from hearing” uses a metonymy to mean that this individual will not listen – it indicates a deliberate refusal to follow the instruction of the law.

[28:9]  ⁵ sn It is hard to imagine how someone who willfully refuses to obey the law of God would pray according to the will of God. Such a person is more apt to pray for some physical thing or make demands on God. (Of course a prayer of repentance would be an exception and would not be an abomination to the Lord.)

[28:9]  ⁶ sn C. H. Toy says, “If a man, on his part, is deaf to instruction, then God, on his part, is deaf to prayer” (Proverbs [ICC], 499). And W. McKane observes that one who fails to attend to God’s law is a wicked person, even if he is a man of prayer (Proverbs [OTL], 623).

[41:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “an object of disgust [is he who] chooses you.”

[2:11]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:11]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps “secularized”; cf. NIV “desecrated”; TEV, NLT “defiled”; CEV “disgraced.”

[2:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “has married the daughter of a foreign god.” Marriage is used here as a metaphor to describe Judah’s idolatry, that is, her unfaithfulness to the Lord and “remarriage” to pagan gods. But spiritual intermarriage found expression in literal, physical marriage as well, as vv. 14-16 indicate.