Deuteronomy 11:16

Exhortation to Instruction and Obedience

11:16 Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods! ¹ 

Deuteronomy 31:29

31:29 For I know that after I die you will totally ²  corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly ³  before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.” ⁴ 

Joshua 23:6

23:6 Be very strong! Carefully obey ⁵  all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left,

Psalms 40:4

40:4 How blessed ⁶  is the one ⁷  who trusts in the Lord ⁸ 

and does not seek help from ⁹  the proud or from liars! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 101:3

101:3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. ¹¹ 

I hate doing evil; ¹² 

I will have no part of it. ¹³ 

Psalms 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ¹⁴ 

may the Lord remove them, ¹⁵  along with those who behave wickedly! ¹⁶ 

May Israel experience peace! ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 3:1

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ¹⁸ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ¹⁹ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ²⁰ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ²¹ 

says the Lord.

¹ tn Heb “Watch yourselves lest your heart turns and you turn aside and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “totally.”

³ tn Heb “do the evil.”

⁴ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

⁵ tn Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.”

⁶ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

⁷ tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.

⁸ tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”

⁹ tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”

¹¹ tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”

¹² tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).

¹³ tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

¹⁵ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

¹⁶ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

¹⁸ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

¹⁹ tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

²⁰ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

²¹ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.