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 ¹  nor by the prophets.

Yesaya 1:15

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ² 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ³ 

Amos 8:12

8:12 People ⁴  will stagger from sea to sea, ⁵ 

and from the north around to the east.

They will wander about looking for a revelation from ⁶  the Lord,

but they will not find any. ⁷ 

Mikha 3:7

3:7 The prophets ⁸  will be ashamed;

the omen readers will be humiliated.

All of them will cover their mouths, ⁹ 

for they will receive no divine oracles.” ¹⁰ 

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

[1:15]  ² tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ³ sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.

[8:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ⁵ tn That is, from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east – that is, across the whole land.

[8:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “looking for the word of.”

[8:12]  ⁷ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Or “seers.”

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”

[3:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”