Amos 4:11

4:11 “I overthrew some of you the way God ¹  overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. ² 

You were like a burning stick ³  snatched from the flames.

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

Zechariah 3:2

3:2 The Lord ⁴  said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, ⁵  rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Zechariah 3:1

Vision Four: The Priest

3:1 Next I saw Joshua the high priest ⁶  standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan ⁷  standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Colossians 3:15

3:15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body ⁸  to this peace), and be thankful.

¹ tn Several English versions substitute the first person pronoun (“I”) here for stylistic reasons (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

² tn Heb “like God’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The divine name may be used in an idiomatic superlative sense here, in which case one might translate, “like the great [or “disastrous”] overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.”

³ tn Heb “like that which is burning.”

⁴ sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the Lord in v. 1 and the Lord in v. 2 shows that here, at least, they are one and the same. See Zech 1:11, 12 where they are distinguished from each other.

⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁶ sn Joshua the high priest mentioned here is the son of the priest Jehozadak, mentioned also in Hag 1:1 (cf. Ezra 2:2; 3:2, 8; 4:3; 5:2; 10:18; Neh 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26). He also appears to have been the grandfather of the high priest contemporary with Nehemiah ca. 445 b.c. (Neh 12:10).

⁷ tn The Hebrew term הַשָּׂטָן (hassatan, “the satan”) suggests not so much a personal name (as in almost all English translations) but an epithet, namely, “the adversary.” This evil being is otherwise thus described in Job 1 and 2 and 1 Chr 21:1. In this last passage the article is dropped and “the satan” becomes “Satan,” a personal name.

⁸ tn Grk “in one body.” This phrase emphasizes the manner in which the believers were called, not the goal of their calling, and focuses upon their unity.