2 Chronicles 36:15-16

The Babylonians Destroy Jerusalem

36:15 The Lord God of their ancestors ¹  continually warned them through his messengers, ²  for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place. 36:16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, ³  and ridiculed his prophets. ⁴  Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment. ⁵ 

Nehemiah 9:29-30

9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances – those by which an individual, if he obeys them, ⁶  will live. They boldly turned from you; ⁷  they rebelled ⁸  and did not obey. 9:30 You prolonged your kindness ⁹  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ¹⁰  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 25:4-7

25:4 Over and over again ¹²  the Lord has sent ¹³  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ¹⁴  25:5 He said through them, ¹⁵  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ¹⁶  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ¹⁷  25:6 Do not pay allegiance to ¹⁸  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ¹⁹  Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, ²⁰  ‘You have not listened to me. But ²¹  you have made me angry by the things that you have done. ²²  Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

Jeremiah 44:4-5

44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over ²³  again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. ²⁴  44:5 But the people of Jerusalem and Judah ²⁵  would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods. ²⁶ 

Zechariah 1:4

1:4 “Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Turn now from your evil wickedness,”’ but they would by no means obey me,” says the Lord.

Acts 7:51-52

7:51 “You stubborn ²⁷  people, with uncircumcised ²⁸  hearts and ears! ²⁹  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ³⁰  did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ³¹  not persecute? ³²  They ³³  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ³⁴  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ³⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

² tn Heb “and the Lord God of their fathers sent against them by the hand of his messengers, getting up early and sending.”

³ tn Heb “his words.”

⁴ tn All three verbal forms (“mocked,” “despised,” and “ridiculed”) are active participles in the Hebrew text, indicating continual or repeated action. They made a habit of rejecting God’s prophetic messengers.

⁵ tn Heb “until the anger of the Lord went up against his people until there was no healer.”

⁶ tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

⁷ tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”

⁸ tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

¹² tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

¹³ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

¹⁴ tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

¹⁵ tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.

¹⁷ tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.

¹⁸ tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.

¹⁹ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

²⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

²¹ tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).

²² tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

²³ tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.

²⁴ tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.

²⁵ tn There appears to be a deliberate shift in the pronouns used in vv. 2-5. “You” refers to the people living in Egypt who are being addressed (v. 2) and to the people of present and past generations to whom the Lord persistently sent the prophets (v. 4). “They” refers to the people of Jerusalem and the towns of Judah who have suffered disaster (v. 2) because of the wickedness of sacrificing to other gods (vv. 3, 5). The referents have been explicitly identified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

²⁶ tn Heb “They did not listen or incline their ear [= pay attention] by turning from their wickedness by not sacrificing to other gods.” The לְ (lamed) + the negative + the infinitive is again epexegetical. The sentence has been restructured and more idiomatic English expressions have been used to better conform with contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to retain the basic relationships of subordination.

²⁷ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

²⁸ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

²⁹ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

³⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

³¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

³² sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

³³ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

³⁴ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

³⁵ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).