2 Kings 9:25

9:25 Jehu ordered ¹  his officer Bidkar, “Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, when the Lord pronounced this judgment on him,

Isaiah 13:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

13:1 ² This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: ³ 

Isaiah 14:28

The Lord Will Judge the Philistines

14:28 In the year King Ahaz died, ⁴  this message was revealed: ⁵ 

Malachi 1:1

Introduction and God’s Election of Israel

1:1 What follows is divine revelation. ⁶  The word of the Lord came to Israel through Malachi: ⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “said to.”

² sn Isa 13-23 contains a series of judgment oracles against various nations. It is likely that Israel, not the nations mentioned, actually heard these oracles. The oracles probably had a twofold purpose. For those leaders who insisted on getting embroiled in international politics, these oracles were a reminder that Judah need not fear foreign nations or seek international alliances for security reasons. For the righteous remnant within the nation, these oracles were a reminder that Israel’s God was indeed the sovereign ruler of the earth, worthy of his people’s trust.

³ tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] [about] Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.”

⁴ sn Perhaps 715 b.c., but the precise date is uncertain.

⁵ tn Heb “this oracle came.”

⁶ tn Heb “The burden.” The Hebrew term III מַשָּׂא (massa’), usually translated “oracle” or “utterance” (BDB 672 s.v. מַשָּׂא), is a technical term in prophetic literature introducing a message from the Lord (see Zech 9:1; 12:1). Since it derives from a verb meaning “to carry,” its original nuance was that of a burdensome message, that is, one with ominous content. The grammatical structure here suggests that the term stands alone (so NAB, NRSV) and is not to be joined with what follows, “the burden [or “revelation”] of” (so KJV, NASB, ESV).

⁷ tn Heb “The word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of Malachi.” There is some question as to whether מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi) should be understood as a personal name (so almost all English versions) or as simply “my messenger” (the literal meaning of the Hebrew). Despite the fact that the word should be understood in the latter sense in 3:1 (where, however, it refers to a different person), to understand it that way here would result in the book being of anonymous authorship, a situation anomalous among all the prophetic literature of the OT.