2 Chronicles 28:9

28:9 Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice.

Proverbs 12:10

12:10 A righteous person cares for the life of his animal,

but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel.

Isaiah 46:7

46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;

they put it in its place and it just stands there;

it does not move from its place.

Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;

it does not deliver him from his distress.

Isaiah 47:6

47:6 I was angry at my people;

I defiled my special possession

and handed them over to you.

You showed them no mercy;

you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.


tn Heb “and you killed them with anger [that] reaches as far as heaven.”

tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” The righteous take care of animals, not just people.

tn Heb “but the mercies.” The additional words appear in the translation for the sake of clarification. The line can be interpreted in two ways: (1) when the wicked exhibit a kind act, they do it in a cruel way, or (2) even the kindest of their acts is cruel by all assessments, e.g., stuffing animals with food to fatten them for market – their “kindness” is driven by ulterior motives (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 129).

tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.

tn Or “compassion.”

tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”