1 Samuel 2:29

2:29 Why are you ¹  scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? ²  You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’

Isaiah 43:22

The Lord Rebukes His People

43:22 “But you did not call for me, O Jacob;

you did not long ³  for me, O Israel.

Amos 8:5

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ⁴  be over, ⁵  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ⁶  so we can open up the grain bins? ⁷ 

We’re eager ⁸  to sell less for a higher price, ⁹ 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ¹⁰ 

Micah 6:3

6:3 “My people, how have I wronged you? ¹¹ 

How have I wearied you? Answer me!

Mark 14:4-5

14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ¹²  ointment? 14:5 It ¹³  could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins ¹⁴  and the money ¹⁵  given to the poor!” So ¹⁶  they spoke angrily to her.

Mark 14:37-38

14:37 Then ¹⁷  he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? 14:38 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

¹ tc The MT has a plural “you” here, but the LXX and a Qumran ms have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb “you have honored” later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse (“you have made yourselves fat”).

² tn Heb “which I commanded, dwelling place.” The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation.

³ tn Or “strive”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “been weary of me.”

⁴ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

⁵ tn Heb “pass by.”

⁶ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

⁷ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

⁸ tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁹ tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

¹¹ tn Heb “My people, what have I done to you?”

¹² tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

¹³ tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

¹⁴ tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” One denarius was the standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking in to account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).

¹⁵ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.