Yesaya 24:5
Konteks24:5 The earth is defiled by 1 its inhabitants, 2
for they have violated laws,
disregarded the regulation, 3
and broken the permanent treaty. 4
Yesaya 48:1
Konteks48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, 5
you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’
and are descended from Judah, 6
who take oaths in the name of the Lord,
and invoke 7 the God of Israel –
but not in an honest and just manner. 8
Yesaya 59:2-8
Konteks59:2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers. 9
59:3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
59:4 No one is concerned about justice; 10
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words 11 and tell lies;
they conceive of oppression 12
and give birth to sin.
59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched. 13
59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes. 14
59:7 They are eager to do evil, 15
quick to shed innocent blood. 16
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy. 17
59:8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust. 18
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace. 19
Yesaya 59:12-15
Konteks59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds, 20
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well. 21
59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up 22 oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 23
59:14 Justice is driven back;
godliness 24 stands far off.
Indeed, 25 honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
59:15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased, 26
for there is no justice.
Yeremia 5:1-2
Konteks“Go up and down 28 through the streets of Jerusalem. 29
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. 30
If you can, 31 then I will not punish this city. 32
5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord. 33
But the fact is, 34 what they swear to is really a lie.” 35
Yeremia 5:7-9
Konteks“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? 37
Your people 38 have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. 39
Even though I supplied all their needs, 40 they were like an unfaithful wife to me. 41
They went flocking 42 to the houses of prostitutes. 43
5:8 They are like lusty, well-fed 44 stallions.
Each of them lusts after 45 his neighbor’s wife.
5:9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!” 46
Yeremia 5:26-27
Konteks5:26 “Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.
They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush. 47
They set deadly traps 48 to catch people.
5:27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, 49
their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit. 50
That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful. 51
Yeremia 6:7
Konteks6:7 As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds. 52
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. 53
All I see are sick and wounded people.’ 54
Yeremia 7:6-10
Konteks7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. 55 Stop killing innocent people 56 in this land. Stop paying allegiance to 57 other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. 58 7:7 If you stop doing these things, 59 I will allow you to continue to live in this land 60 which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession. 61
7:8 “‘But just look at you! 62 You are putting your confidence in a false belief 63 that will not deliver you. 64 7:9 You steal. 65 You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to 66 other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own 67 and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! 68
Yeremia 9:2-8
Konteks9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. 69
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregation 70 of people that has been disloyal to him. 71
“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 73
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means. 74
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 75
and do not pay attention to me. 76
9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.
He must not even trust any of his relatives. 77
For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. 78
And all of his friends will tell lies about him.
9:5 One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselves 79 to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.
9:6 They do one act of violence after another,
and one deceitful thing after another. 80
They refuse to pay attention to me,” 81
says the Lord.
9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, 82
“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction 83 and test them.
The wickedness of my dear people 84 has left me no choice.
What else can I do? 85
9:8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. 86
They are always telling lies. 87
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths.
But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them. 88
Yeremia 23:10-14
Konteks23:10 For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. 89
They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. 90
So the land is dried up 91 because it is under his curse. 92
The pastures in the wilderness are withered.
23:11 Moreover, 93 the Lord says, 94
“Both the prophets and priests are godless.
I have even found them doing evil in my temple!
23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.
They will stumble and fall headlong.
For I will bring disaster on them.
A day of reckoning is coming for them.” 95
The Lord affirms it! 96
23:13 The Lord says, 97 “I saw the prophets of Samaria 98
doing something that was disgusting. 99
They prophesied in the name of the god Baal
and led my people Israel astray. 100
23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem 101
doing something just as shocking.
They are unfaithful to me
and continually prophesy lies. 102
So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,
with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. 103
I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,
and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. 104
Yehezkiel 22:2-13
Konteks22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, 105 are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? 106 Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), 107 and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 22:4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; 108 the end of your years has come. 109 Therefore I will make 110 you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 22:5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, 111 full of turmoil.
22:6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. 112 22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt 113 within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow 114 within you. 22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. 115 Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; 116 they commit obscene acts among you. 117 22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; 118 they violate women during their menstrual period within you. 119 22:11 One 120 commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates 121 his sister – his father’s daughter 122 – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; 123 you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, 124 declares the sovereign Lord. 125
22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together 126 at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed 127 they have done among you.
Yehezkiel 22:25-30
Konteks22:25 Her princes 128 within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows 129 within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, 130 or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore 131 my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. 132 They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. 133
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 134
Mikha 2:1-3
Konteks2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, 135
those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. 136
As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, 137
because they have the power to do so.
2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,
and seize the houses they want. 138
They defraud people of their homes, 139
and deprive people of the land they have inherited. 140
2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! 141
It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. 142
You will no longer 143 walk proudly,
for it will be a time of catastrophe.
Mikha 3:2
Konteks3:2 yet you 144 hate what is good, 145
and love what is evil. 146
You flay my people’s skin 147
and rip the flesh from their bones. 148
Mikha 3:9
Konteks3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family 149 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 150 of Israel!
You 151 hate justice
and pervert all that is right.
Mikha 6:10
Konteks6:10 “I will not overlook, 152 O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, 153
or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. 154
Mikha 7:2
Konteks7:2 Faithful men have disappeared 155 from the land;
there are no godly men left. 156
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; 157
they hunt their own brother with a net. 158
Zefanya 3:1
Konteks3:1 The filthy, 159 stained city is as good as dead;
the city filled with oppressors is finished! 160
Zakharia 5:3
Konteks5:3 The speaker went on to say, “This is a curse 161 traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals 162 will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate.”
Zakharia 7:9
Konteks7:9 “The Lord who rules over all said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other.
[24:5] 1 tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”
[24:5] 2 sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.
[24:5] 3 tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”
[24:5] 4 tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”
[24:5] sn For a lengthy discussion of the identity of this covenant/treaty, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In this context, where judgment comes upon both the pagan nations and God’s covenant community, the phrase “permanent treaty” is intentionally ambiguous. For the nations this treaty is the Noahic mandate of Gen 9:1-7 with its specific stipulations and central regulation (Gen 9:7). By shedding blood, the warlike nations violated this treaty, which promotes population growth and prohibits murder. For Israel, which was also guilty of bloodshed (see Isa 1:15, 21; 4:4), this “permanent treaty” would refer more specifically to the Mosaic Law and its regulations prohibiting murder (Exod 20:13; Num 35:6-34), which are an extension of the Noahic mandate.
[48:1] 5 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”
[48:1] 6 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿ’e, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.
[48:1] 7 tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”
[48:1] 8 tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”
[59:2] 9 tn Heb “and your sins have caused [his] face to be hidden from you so as not to hear.”
[59:4] 10 tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”
[59:4] 11 tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”
[59:4] 12 tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”
[59:5] 13 tn Heb “that which is pressed in hatches [as] a snake.”
[59:6] 14 tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”
[59:7] 15 tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”
[59:7] 16 tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”
[59:7] 17 tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”
[59:8] 18 tn Heb “a way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their pathways.”
[59:8] 19 tn Heb “their paths they make crooked, everyone who walks in it does not know peace.”
[59:12] 20 tn Heb “for many are our rebellious deeds before you.”
[59:12] 21 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] our rebellious deeds (are) with us, and our sins, we know them.”
[59:13] 22 tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[59:13] 23 tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”
[59:14] 24 tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”
[59:14] 25 tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).
[59:15] 26 tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”
[5:1] 27 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the
[5:1] 28 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed here as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly counsel through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these are the most likely addressee, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text. The translation will just have to run the risk of the probable erroneous assumption by most English readers that the addressee is Jeremiah.
[5:1] 29 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:1] 30 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
[5:1] 31 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
[5:1] 32 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
[5:2] 33 tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the
[5:2] 34 tc The translation follows many Hebrew
[5:2] tn Heb “Surely.”
[5:2] 35 tn Heb “they swear falsely.”
[5:7] 36 tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.
[5:7] 37 tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you.” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.
[5:7] 38 tn Heb “your children.”
[5:7] 39 tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”
[5:7] 40 tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”
[5:7] 41 tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.
[5:7] 42 tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading ִיתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitggorÿru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitggodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.
[5:7] 43 tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”
[5:7] sn This could be a reference to cultic temple prostitution connected with the pagan shrines. For allusion to this in the OT, see, e.g., Deut 23:17 and 2 Kgs 23:7.
[5:8] 44 tn The meanings of these two adjectives are uncertain. The translation of the first adjective is based on assuming that the word is a defectively written participle related to the noun “testicle” (a Hiphil participle מַאֲשִׁכִים [ma’ashikhim] from a verb related to אֶשֶׁךְ [’eshekh, “testicle”]; cf. Lev 21:20) and hence “having testicles” (cf. HALOT 1379 s.v. שָׁכָה) instead of the Masoretic form מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) from a root שָׁכָה (shakhah), which is otherwise unattested in either verbal or nominal forms. The second adjective is best derived from a verb root meaning “to feed” (a Hophal participle מוּזָנִים [muzanim, the Kethib] from a root זוּן [zun; cf. BDB 266 s.v. זוּן] for which there is the cognate noun מָזוֹן [mazon; cf. 2 Chr 11:23]). This is more likely than the derivation from a root יָזַן ([yazan]reading מְיֻזָּנִים [mÿyuzzanim], a Pual participle with the Qere) which is otherwise unattested in verbal or nominal forms and whose meaning is dependent only on a supposed Arabic cognate (cf. HALOT 387 s.v. יָזַן).
[5:8] 45 tn Heb “neighs after.”
[5:9] 46 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions have the force of strong declarations.
[5:26] 47 tn The meaning of the last three words is uncertain. The pointing and meaning of the Hebrew word rendered “hiding in ambush” is debated. BDB relates the form (כְּשַׁךְ, kÿshakh) to a root שָׁכַךְ (shakhakh), which elsewhere means “decrease, abate” (cf. BDB 1013 s.v. שָׁכַךְ), and notes that this is usually understood as “like the crouching of fowlers,” but they say this meaning is dubious. HALOT 1345 s.v. I שׁוֹר questions the validity of the text and offers three proposals; the second appears to create the least textual modification, i.e., reading כְּשַׂךְ (kesakh, “as in the hiding place of (bird catchers)”; for the word שַׂךְ (sakh) see HALOT 1236 s.v. שׂךְ 4 and compare Lam 2:6 for usage. The versions do not help. The Greek does not translate the first two words of the line. The proposal given in HALOT is accepted with some hesitancy.
[5:26] 48 tn Heb “a destroying thing.”
[5:27] 49 tn The words, “that have been caught” are not in the text but are implicit in the comparison.
[5:27] 50 tn Heb “are filled with deceit.” The translation assumes a figure of speech of cause for effect (metonymy). Compare the same word in the same figure in Zeph 1:9.
[5:27] 51 tn Heb “therefore they have gotten great and rich.”
[6:7] 52 tc Heb “As a well makes cool/fresh its water, she makes cool/fresh her wickedness.” The translation follows the reading proposed by the Masoretes (Qere) which reads a rare form of the word “well” (בַּיִר [bayir] for בְּאֵר [bÿ’er]) in place of the form written in the text (Kethib, בּוֹר [bor]), which means “cistern.” The latter noun is masculine and the pronoun “its” is feminine. If indeed בַּיִר (bayir) is a byform of בְּאֵר (be’er), which is feminine, it would agree in gender with the pronoun. It also forms a more appropriate comparison since cisterns do not hold fresh water.
[6:7] 53 tn Heb “Violence and destruction are heard in it.”
[6:7] 54 tn Heb “Sickness and wound are continually before my face.”
[7:6] 55 tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”
[7:6] 56 tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”
[7:6] 57 tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:6] 58 tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”
[7:7] 59 tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase, “If you do all this,” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.
[7:7] 60 tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”
[7:7] 61 tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”
[7:8] 63 tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.
[7:8] 64 tn Heb “not profit [you].”
[7:9] 65 tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.
[7:9] 66 tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:10] 67 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:10] 68 tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”
[9:2] 69 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
[9:2] 70 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
[9:2] 71 tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.
[9:3] 72 tn The words “The
[9:3] 73 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
[9:3] 74 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
[9:3] 75 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
[9:3] 76 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).
[9:4] 77 tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).
[9:4] 78 tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”
[9:4] sn There is perhaps an intentional pun and allusion here to Gen 27:36 and the wordplay on the name Jacob there. The text here reads עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב (’aqob ya’qob).
[9:5] 79 tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.
[9:6] 80 tc An alternate reading for vv. 5d-6b is: “They wear themselves out doing wrong. Jeremiah, you live in the midst of deceitful people. They deceitfully refuse to take any thought of/acknowledge me.” The translation which has been adopted is based on a redivision of the lines, a redivision of some of the words, and a revocalization of some of the consonants. The MT reads literally “doing wrong they weary themselves. Your sitting in the midst of deceit; in deceit they refuse to know me” (הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ׃ שִׁבְתְּךָ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת־אוֹתִי). The Greek version reads literally “they do wrong and they do not cease to turn themselves around. Usury upon usury and deceit upon deceit. They do not want to know me.” This suggests that one should read the Hebrew text as שֻׁב׃ תֹּךְ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְ־מָה בְּמִרְ־מָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת אוֹתִי הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ, which translated literally yields “doing evil [= “they do evil” using the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ff)] they are not able [cf. KBL 468 s.v. לָאָה Niph.3 and see Exod 7:18 for parallel use] to repent. Oppression on oppression [cf. BDB 1067 s.v. תֹּךְ, II תּוֹךְ]; deceit on deceit. They refuse to know me.” This reading has ancient support and avoids the introduction of an unexpected second masculine suffix into the context. It has been adopted here along with a number of modern commentaries (cf., e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:201) and English versions as the more likely reading.
[9:6] 81 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” See the note on the phrase “do not take any thought of me” in 9:3.
[9:7] 82 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[9:7] sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[9:7] 83 tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.
[9:7] 84 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[9:7] 85 tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, ra’at) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-’ammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne ra’at) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.
[9:8] 86 tc This reading follows the Masoretic consonants (the Kethib, a Qal active participle from שָׁחַט, shakhat). The Masoretes preferred to read “a sharpened arrow” (the Qere, a Qal passive participle from the same root or a homonym, meaning “hammered, beaten”). See HALOT 1354 s.v. II שָׁחַט for discussion. The exact meaning of the word makes little difference to the meaning of the metaphor itself.
[9:8] 87 tn Heb “They speak deceit.”
[9:8] 88 tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”
[23:10] 89 tn Heb “adulterers.” But spiritual adultery is clearly meant as also in 3:8-9; 9:2, and probably also 5:7.
[23:10] 90 tn For the word translated “They live…lives” see usage in Jer 8:6. For the idea of “misusing” their power (Heb “their power is not right” i.e., used in the wrong way) see 2 Kgs 7:9; 17:9. In the original text this line (really two lines in the Hebrew poetry) are at the end of the verse. However, this places the antecedent too far away and could lead to confusion. The lines have been rearranged to avoid such confusion.
[23:10] 91 tn For the use of this verb see 12:4 and the note there.
[23:10] 92 tc The translation follows the majority of Hebrew
[23:10] sn The curse is, of course, the covenant curse. See Deut 29:20-21 (29:19-20 HT) and for the specific curse see Deut 28:23-24. The curse is appropriate since their “adultery” lay in attributing their fertility to the god Baal (see Hos 2:9-13 (2:11-15 HT) and violating the covenant (see Hos 4:1-3).
[23:11] 93 tn The particle כִּי (ki) which begins this verse is parallel to the one at the beginning of the preceding verse. However, the connection is too distant to render it “for.” “Moreover” is intended to draw the parallel. The words “the
[23:11] 94 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:12] 95 tn For the last two lines see 11:23 and the notes there.
[23:12] 96 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:13] 97 tn The words “The
[23:13] 98 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[23:13] 99 tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.
[23:13] sn Prophesying in the name of the god Baal was a clear violation of Mosaic law and punishable by death (see Deut 13:1-5). For an example of the apostasy encouraged by prophets of Baal in the northern kingdom of Israel see 1 Kgs 18:16-40.
[23:14] 101 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[23:14] 102 tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)
[23:14] 103 tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.
[23:14] 104 tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
[23:14] sn The rhetoric of this passage is very forceful. Like Amos who focuses attention on the sins of the surrounding nations to bring out more forcefully the heinousness of Israel’s sin, God focuses attention on the sins of the prophets of Samaria to bring out the even worse sin of the prophets of Jerusalem. (The oracle is directed at them, not at the prophets of Samaria. See the announcement of judgment that follows.) The
[22:2] 105 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.
[22:2] 106 tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.
[22:3] 107 tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).
[22:4] 108 tn Heb “you have brought near your days.” The expression “bring near your days” appears to be an adaptation of the idiom “days draw near,” which is used to indicate that an event, such as death, is imminent (see Gen 27:41; 47:29; Deut 31:14; 1 Kgs 2:1; Ezek 12:23). Here “your days” probably refers to the days of the personified city’s life, which was about to come to an end through God’s judgment.
[22:4] 109 tn Heb “and you have come to your years.” This appears to mean that she has arrived at the time when her years (i.e., life) would end, though it may mean that her years of punishment will begin. Because “day” and “time” are so closely associated in the immediate context (see 21:25, 29) some prefer to emend the text and read “you have brought near your time.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:31, as well as the translator’s note on verse 3.
[22:4] 110 tn The Hebrew verb is a prophetic perfect, emphasizing that the action is as good as done from the speaker’s perspective.
[22:5] 111 tn Heb “unclean of name.”
[22:6] 112 tn Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:7] 113 tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”
[22:7] 114 tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.
[22:9] 115 tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:9] 116 tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.
[22:9] 117 sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.
[22:10] 118 tn Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).
[22:10] 119 tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).
[22:11] 121 tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.
[22:11] 122 sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.
[22:12] 123 tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
[22:12] 124 sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
[22:12] 125 tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.
[22:13] 126 sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).
[22:13] 127 tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”
[22:25] 128 tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.
[22:25] 129 tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.
[22:26] 130 tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”
[22:26] 131 tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).
[22:28] 132 tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
[22:29] 133 tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”
[22:30] 134 tn Heb “I did not find.”
[2:1] 135 tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.
[2:1] 136 tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”
[2:1] 137 tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”
[2:2] 138 tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”
[2:2] 139 tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”
[2:2] 140 tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[2:3] 141 tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”
[2:3] 142 tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:3] 143 tn Or “you will not.”
[3:2] 144 tn Heb “the ones who.”
[3:2] 147 tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the
[3:2] 148 tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”
[3:2] sn Micah compares the social injustice perpetrated by the house of Jacob/Israel to cannibalism, because it threatens the very lives of the oppressed.
[3:9] 151 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).
[6:10] 152 tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”
[6:10] 153 tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”
[6:10] 154 tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”
[6:10] sn Merchants would use a smaller than standard measure so they could give the customer less than he thought he was paying for.
[7:2] 155 tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”
[7:2] 156 tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”
[7:2] 157 tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”
[7:2] 158 sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.
[3:1] 159 tn The present translation assumes מֹרְאָה (mor’ah) is derived from רֹאִי (ro’i,“excrement”; see Jastrow 1436 s.v. רֳאִי). The following participle, “stained,” supports this interpretation (cf. NEB “filthy and foul”; NRSV “soiled, defiled”). Another option is to derive the form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”); in this case the term should be translated “rebellious” (cf. NASB, NIV “rebellious and defiled”). This idea is supported by v. 2. For discussion of the two options, see HALOT 630 s.v. I מרא and J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 206.
[3:1] 160 tn Heb “Woe, soiled and stained one, oppressive city.” The verb “is finished” is supplied in the second line. On the Hebrew word הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), see the note on the word “dead” in 2:5.
[3:1] sn The following verses show that Jerusalem, personified as a woman (“she”), is the referent.
[5:3] 161 tn The Hebrew word translated “curse” (אָלָה, ’alah) alludes to the covenant sanctions that attend the violation of God’s covenant with Israel (cf. Deut 29:12, 14, 20-21).
[5:3] 162 sn Stealing and swearing falsely (mentioned later in this verse) are sins against mankind and God respectively and are thus violations of the two major parts of the Ten Commandments. These two stipulations (commandments 8 and 3) represent the whole law.
