Yesaya 24:16

24:16 From the ends of the earth we ¹  hear songs –

the Just One is majestic. ² 

But I ³  say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!

Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” ⁴ 

Habakuk 1:13

1:13 You are too just ⁵  to tolerate ⁶  evil;

you are unable to condone ⁷  wrongdoing.

So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ⁸ 

Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ⁹  those more righteous than they are? ¹⁰ 

Zefanya 3:4

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ¹¹ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ¹² 

they break God’s laws. ¹³ 

Zefanya 3:2

3:2 She is disobedient; ¹⁴ 

she refuses correction. ¹⁵ 

She does not trust the Lord;

she does not seek the advice of ¹⁶  her God.

1 Timotius 3:4

3:4 He must manage his own household well and keep his children in control without losing his dignity. ¹⁷ 

[24:16]  ¹ sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.

[24:16]  ² tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.

[24:16]  ³ sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.

[24:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”

[24:16]  tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away…”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.

[1:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.

[1:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”

[1:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”

[1:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.

[1:13]  ⁹ tn Or “swallow up.”

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”

[3:4]  ¹¹ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

[3:4]  ¹² tn Or “defile the temple.”

[3:4]  sn These priests defile what is holy by not observing the proper distinctions between what is ritually clean and unclean (see Ezek 22:26).

[3:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

[3:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.

[3:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “she does not receive correction.” The Hebrew phrase, when negated, refers elsewhere to rejecting verbal advice (Jer 17:23; 32:33; 35:13) and refusing to learn from experience (Jer 2:30; 5:3).

[3:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “draw near to.” The present translation assumes that the expression “draw near to” refers to seeking God’s will (see 1 Sam 14:36).

[3:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “having children in submission with all dignity.” The last phrase, “keep his children in control without losing his dignity,” may refer to the children rather than the parent: “having children who are obedient and respectful.”