2 Chronicles 25:16

25:16 While he was speaking, Amaziah¹ said to him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!”² So the prophet stopped, but added, “I know that the Lord has decided³ to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice.”

Isaiah 29:21

29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person,⁴

who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate⁵

and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.⁶

Isaiah 30:9-11

30:9 For these are rebellious people –

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law.⁷

30:10 They⁸ say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right!⁹

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages.¹⁰

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path.¹¹

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.”¹²

Amos 5:10

5:10 The Israelites¹³ hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate;¹⁴

they despise anyone who speaks honestly.

Amos 7:10-13

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel¹⁵ sent this message¹⁶ to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel!¹⁷ The land cannot endure all his prophecies.¹⁸ 7:11 As a matter of fact,¹⁹ Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile²⁰ away from its land.’”

7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary!²¹ Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living²² and prophesy there! 7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel²³ any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!”²⁴

Micah 2:6

2:6 ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly.²⁵

‘These prophets should not preach of such things;

we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’²⁶

Matthew 21:23

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus²⁷ entered the temple courts,²⁸ the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority²⁹ are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Acts 4:17-19

4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more³⁰ to anyone in this name.” 4:18 And they called them in and ordered³¹ them not to speak or teach at all in the name³² of Jesus. 4:19 But Peter and John replied,³³ “Whether it is right before God to obey³⁴ you rather than God, you decide,

Acts 5:28

5:28 saying, “We gave³⁵ you strict orders³⁶ not to teach in this name.³⁷ Look,³⁸ you have filled Jerusalem³⁹ with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood⁴⁰ on us!”

Acts 6:14

6:14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs⁴¹ that Moses handed down to us.”

¹tn Heb “he”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²tn Heb “Stop yourself! Why should they strike you down?”

³tn The verb יָעַץ (ya’ats, “has decided”) is from the same root as יוֹעֵץ (yo’ets, “counselor”) in v. 16 and עֵצָה (’etsah, “advice”) later in v. 16. The wordplay highlights the appropriate nature of the divine punishment. Amaziah rejected the counsel of God’s prophet; now he would be the victim of God’s “counsel.”

⁴tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”

⁵sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.

⁶tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”

⁷tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”

⁸tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”

¹⁰tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”

¹¹sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.

¹²sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

¹³tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴sn In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

¹⁵map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

¹⁶tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁷tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

¹⁸tn Heb “words.”

¹⁹tn Or “for.”

²⁰tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.

²¹tn Traditionally, “seer.” The word is a synonym for “prophet,” though it may carry a derogatory tone on the lips of Amaziah.

²²tn Heb “Eat bread there.”

²³map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

²⁴tn Heb “for it is a temple of a king and it is a royal house.” It is possible that the phrase “royal house” refers to a temple rather than a palace. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 243.

²⁵tn Heb “‘Do not foam at the mouth,’ they foam at the mouth.” The verb נָטַף (nataf) means “to drip.” When used of speech it probably has the nuance “to drivel, to foam at the mouth” (HALOT 694 s.v. נטף). The sinful people tell the Lord’s prophets not to “foam at the mouth,” which probably refers in a derogatory way to their impassioned style of delivery. But the Lord (who is probably still speaking here, see v. 3) sarcastically refers to their impassioned exhortation as “foaming at the mouth.”

²⁶tc If one follows the MT as it stands, it would appear that the Lord here condemns the people for their “foaming at the mouth” and then announces that judgment is inevitable. The present translation assumes that this is a continuation of the quotation of what the people say. In this case the subject of “foam at the mouth” is the Lord’s prophets. In the second line יִסַּג (yissag, a Niphal imperfect from סוּג, sug, “to remove”) is emended to יַסִּגֵנוּ (yassigenu; a Hiphil imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג, nasag/nasag, “to reach; to overtake”).

²⁷tn Grk “he.”

²⁸tn Grk “the temple.”

²⁹tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

³⁰tn Or “speak no longer.”

³¹tn Or “commanded.”

³²sn In the name of Jesus. Once again, the “name” reflects the person. The person of Jesus and his authority is the “troubling” topic that, as far as the Jewish leadership is concerned, needs controlling.

³³tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

³⁴tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14).

³⁵tc ‡ The majority of mss, including a few important witnesses (א² D E [Ψ] 1739 Ï sy sa), have the negative particle οὐ (ou) here, effectively turning the high priest’s words into a question: “Did we not give you strict orders not to teach in this name?” But the earliest and most important mss, along with some others (Ì⁷⁴ א* A B 1175 lat bo), lack the particle, making this a strong statement rather than a question. Scribes may have been tempted to omit the particle to strengthen the contrast between official Judaism and the new faith, but the fact that v. 27 introduces the quotation with ἐπηρώτησεν (ephrwthsen, “he questioned”) may well have prompted scribes to add οὐ to convert the rebuke into a question. Further, that excellent witnesses affirm the shorter reading is sufficient ground for accepting it as most probably authentic. NA²⁷ includes the particle in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

³⁶tn Grk “We commanded you with a commandment” (a Semitic idiom that is emphatic).

³⁷sn The name (i.e., person) of Jesus is the constant issue of debate.

³⁸tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

³⁹map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴⁰sn To bring this man’s blood on us is an idiom meaning “you intend to make us guilty of this man’s death.”

⁴¹tn Or “practices.”