1 Samuel 3:1

The Call of Samuel

3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. ¹  Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.

1 Samuel 28:6

28:6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim ²  nor by the prophets.

1 Samuel 28:15

28:15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me – not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”

Mazmur 74:9

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ³ 

there are no longer any prophets ⁴ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ⁵ 

Yesaya 5:6

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, ⁶ 

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

Yesaya 30:20-21

30:20 The sovereign master ⁷  will give you distress to eat

and suffering to drink; ⁸ 

but your teachers will no longer be hidden;

your eyes will see them. ⁹ 

30:21 You ¹⁰  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct ¹¹  way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

Yehezkiel 7:26

7:26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders.

Mikha 3:6

3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; ¹² 

it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. ¹³ 

The sun will set on these prophets,

and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. ¹⁴ 

Matius 9:36

9:36 When ¹⁵  he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, ¹⁶  like sheep without a shepherd.

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “before Eli.”

[28:6]  ² sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.

[74:9]  ³ tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.

[30:20]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[30:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”

[30:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden, your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.

[30:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:21]  ¹¹ tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:6]  ¹² tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”

[3:6]  sn The coming of night (and darkness in the following line) symbolizes the cessation of revelation.

[3:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”

[3:6]  sn The reading of omens (Heb “divination”) was forbidden in the law (Deut 18:10), so this probably reflects the prophets’ view of how they received divine revelation.

[3:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”

[9:36]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:36]  ¹⁶ tn Or “because they had been bewildered and helpless.” The translational issue is whether the perfect participles are predicate (as in the text) or are pluperfect periphrastic (the alternate translation). If the latter, the implication would seem to be that the crowds had been in such a state until the Great Shepherd arrived.