Jeremiah 5:23

5:23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.

They have turned aside and gone their own way. ¹ 

Nehemiah 9:26

9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. ²  They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.

Nehemiah 9:30

9:30 You prolonged your kindness ³  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ⁴  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ⁵ 

Isaiah 1:20-23

1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,

you will be devoured ⁶  by the sword.”

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ⁷ 

Purifying Judgment

1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city

has become a prostitute! ⁸ 

She was once a center of ⁹  justice,

fairness resided in her,

but now only murderers. ¹⁰ 

1:22 Your ¹¹  silver has become scum, ¹² 

your beer is diluted with water. ¹³ 

1:23 Your officials are rebels, ¹⁴ 

they associate with ¹⁵  thieves.

All of them love bribery,

and look for ¹⁶  payoffs. ¹⁷ 

They do not take up the cause of the orphan, ¹⁸ 

or defend the rights of the widow. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 30:9

30:9 For these are rebellious people –

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. ²⁰ 

Lamentations 1:8

ח (Khet)

1:8 Jerusalem committed terrible sin; ²¹ 

therefore she became an object of scorn. ²² 

All who admired ²³  her have despised her ²⁴ 

because they have seen her nakedness. ²⁵ 

She groans aloud ²⁶ 

and turns away in shame. ²⁷ 

Lamentations 1:18

Jerusalem Speaks:

צ (Tsade)

1:18 The Lord is right to judge me! ²⁸ 

Yes, I rebelled against his commands. ²⁹ 

Please listen, all you nations, ³⁰ 

and look at my suffering!

My young women and men

have gone into exile.

Ezekiel 2:3-7

2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house ³¹  of Israel, to rebellious nations ³²  who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted ³³  against me to this very day. 2:4 The people ³⁴  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ³⁵  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ³⁶  2:5 And as for them, ³⁷  whether they listen ³⁸  or not – for they are a rebellious ³⁹  house ⁴⁰  – they will know that a prophet has been among them. 2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ⁴¹  and thorns ⁴²  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁴³  for they are a rebellious house! 2:7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

Daniel 9:7-19

9:7 “You are righteous, ⁴⁴  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ⁴⁵  – the people ⁴⁶  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. 9:8 O LORD, we have been humiliated ⁴⁷  – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you. 9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, ⁴⁸  even though we have rebelled against him. 9:10 We have not obeyed ⁴⁹  the LORD our God by living according to ⁵⁰  his laws ⁵¹  that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

9:11 “All Israel has broken ⁵²  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ⁵³  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ⁵⁴  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ⁵⁵  9:12 He has carried out his threats ⁵⁶  against us and our rulers ⁵⁷  who were over ⁵⁸  us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ⁵⁹  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ⁶⁰  from your reliable moral standards. ⁶¹  9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ⁶²  in all he has done, ⁶³  and we have not obeyed him. ⁶⁴ 

9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power ⁶⁵  and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly. 9:16 O Lord, according to all your justice, ⁶⁶  please turn your raging anger ⁶⁷  away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

9:17 “So now, our God, accept ⁶⁸  the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to ⁶⁹  your devastated sanctuary for your own sake. ⁷⁰  9:18 Listen attentively, ⁷¹  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ⁷²  and the city called by your name. ⁷³  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ⁷⁴  but because your compassion is abundant. 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.” ⁷⁵ 

[5:23]  ¹ tn The words, “their own way” are not in the text but are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:26]  ² tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”

[9:30]  ³ tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

[9:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[1:20]  ⁶ sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [to’khelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [tÿ’ukkÿlu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.

[1:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[1:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (’ekhah, “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2;1; 4:1-2). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.

[1:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “filled with.”

[1:21]  ¹⁰ tn Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund (Whoredom, 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.

[1:22]  ¹¹ tn The pronoun is feminine singular; personified Jerusalem (see v. 21) is addressed.

[1:22]  ¹² tn Or “dross.” The word refers to the scum or impurites floating on the top of melted metal.

[1:22]  ¹³ sn The metaphors of silver becoming impure and beer being watered down picture the moral and ethical degeneration that had occurred in Jerusalem.

[1:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or “stubborn”; CEV “have rejected me.”

[1:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and companions of” (so KJV, NASB); CEV “friends of crooks.”

[1:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “pursue”; NIV “chase after gifts.”

[1:23]  ¹⁷ sn Isaiah may have chosen the word for gifts (שַׁלְמוֹנִים, shalmonim; a hapax legomena here), as a sarcastic pun on what these rulers should have been doing. Instead of attending to peace and wholeness (שָׁלוֹם, shalom), they sought after payoffs (שַׁלְמוֹנִים).

[1:23]  ¹⁸ sn See the note at v. 17.

[1:23]  ¹⁹ sn The rich oppressors referred to in Isaiah and the other eighth century prophets were not rich capitalists in the modern sense of the word. They were members of the royal military and judicial bureaucracies in Israel and Judah. As these bureaucracies grew, they acquired more and more land and gradually commandeered the economy and legal system. At various administrative levels bribery and graft become commonplace. The common people outside the urban administrative centers were vulnerable to exploitation in such a system, especially those, like widows and orphans, who had lost their family provider through death. Through confiscatory taxation, conscription, excessive interest rates, and other oppressive governmental measures and policies, they were gradually disenfranchised and lost their landed property, and with it, their rights as citizens. The socio-economic equilibrium envisioned in the law of Moses was radically disturbed.

[30:9]  ²⁰ tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”

[1:8]  ²¹ tc The MT reads חֵטְא (khet’, “sin”), but the BHS editors suggest the vocalization חָטֹא (khato’, “sin”), Qal infinitive absolute.

[1:8]  ²² tn Heb “she has become an object of head-nodding” (לְנִידָה הָיָתָה, lÿniydah hayatah). This reflects the ancient Near Eastern custom of shaking the head in scorn (e.g., Jer 18:16; Ps 44:15 [HT 14]), hence the translation “object of scorn.” There is debate whether נִידָה (nidah) means (1) “object of head-shaking” from נוּד (nud, “to shake,” BDB 626-27 s.v. נוּד); (2) “unclean thing” from נָדַה (nadah, “to be impure”); or (3) “wanderer” from נָדַד (nadad, “to wander,” BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד). The LXX and Rashi connected it to נָדַד (nadad, “to wander”); however, several important early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus) and Syriac translated it as “unclean thing.” The modern English versions are split: (1) “unclean thing” (NASB); “unclean” (NIV); (2) “a mockery” (NRSV).

[1:8]  ²³ sn The Piel participle of כָּבֵד (kaved) is infrequent and usually translated formulaically as those who honor someone. The feminine nuance may be best represented as “her admirers have despised her.”

[1:8]  ²⁴ tn The verb הִזִּילוּהָ (hizziluha) is generally understood as a rare form of Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural + 3rd person feminine singular suffix from I זָלַל (zalal, “to despise”): “they despise her.” This follows the I nun (ן) pattern with daghesh (dot) in zayin (ז) rather than the expected geminate pattern הִזִילּוּהָ (hizilluha) with daghesh in lamed (ל) (GKC 178-79 §67.l).

[1:8]  ²⁵ sn The expression have seen her nakedness is a common metaphor to describe the plunder and looting of a city by a conquering army, probably drawn on the ignominious and heinous custom of raping the women of a conquered city as well.

[1:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “groan” or “sigh.” The verb אָנַח (’anakh, appearing only in Niphal) means “sigh” (BDB 58 s.v. 1) or “groan” (HALOT 70-71 s.v.) as an expression of grief (Prov 29:2; Isa 24:7; Lam 1:4, 8; Ezek 9:4; 21:11). The word גַּם (gam) is usually a particle meaning “also,” but has been shown from Ugaritic to have the meaning “aloud.” See T. McDaniel, “Philological Studies in Lamentations, I-II,” Bib 49 (1968): 31-32.

[1:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and turns backward.”

[1:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “The Lord himself is right.” The phrase “to judge me” is not in the Hebrew, but is added in the translation to clarify the expression.

[1:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “His mouth.” The term “mouth” (פֶּה, peh) is a metonymy of instrument (= mouth) for the product (= words). The term פֶּה (peh) often stands for spoken words (Ps 49:14; Eccl 10:3; Isa 29:13), declaration (Gen 41:40; Exod 38:21; Num 35:30; Deut 17:6; Ezra 1:1) and commands of God (Exod 17:1; Num 14:41; 22:18; Josh 15:13; 1 Sam 15:24; 1 Chr 12:24; Prov 8:29; Isa 34:16; 62:2). When the verb מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”) is used with the accusative direct object פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) to connote disobedience to God’s commandments (Num 20:24; 1 Sam 12:14, 15; 1 Kgs 13:21) (BDB 805 s.v. פֶּה 2.c).

[1:18]  ³⁰ tc The Kethib is written עַמִּים (’ammim, “peoples”), but the Qere, followed by many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions (LXX and Aramaic Targum), read הָעַמִּים (ha’ammim, “O peoples”). The Qere is probably the original reading.

[2:3]  ³¹ tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).

[2:3]  ³² tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.

[2:3]  ³³ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[2:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

[2:4]  ³⁵ tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

[2:4]  ³⁶ tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).

[2:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.

[2:5]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.

[2:5]  ³⁹ tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.

[2:5]  ⁴⁰ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[2:6]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

[2:6]  ⁴² tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.

[2:6]  ⁴³ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[9:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “men.”

[9:8]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”

[9:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”

[9:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).

[9:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “to walk in.”

[9:10]  ⁵¹ tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.

[9:11]  ⁵² tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ⁵³ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “him.”

[9:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”

[9:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “our judges.”

[9:12]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “who judged.”

[9:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[9:14]  ⁶² tn Or “righteous.”

[9:14]  ⁶³ tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”

[9:14]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”

[9:15]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”

[9:16]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “righteousness.”

[9:16]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).

[9:17]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “hear.” Here the verb refers to hearing favorably, accepting the prayer and responding positively.

[9:17]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “let your face shine.” This idiom pictures God smiling in favor. See Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19.

[9:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “for the sake of my Lord.” Theodotion has “for your sake.” Cf. v. 19.

[9:18]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ⁷² tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ⁷³ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[9:19]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v 18.