Ezekiel 13:19

13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people ¹  who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!

Hosea 4:18

The Shameful Sinners Will Be Brought to Shame

4:18 They consume their alcohol,

then engage in cult prostitution;

they dearly love their shameful behavior.

Micah 3:5

3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people

are as good as dead. ² 

If someone gives them enough to eat,

they offer an oracle of peace. ³ 

But if someone does not give them food,

they are ready to declare war on him. ⁴ 

Micah 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ⁵ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ⁶ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ⁷ 

Romans 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ⁸  of the naive.

Romans 16:2

16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

Romans 2:3

2:3 And do you think, ⁹  whoever you are, when you judge ¹⁰  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ¹¹  that you will escape God’s judgment?

¹ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”

² tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the Lord. For this reason some prefer to begin the quotation after “the Lord says” (cf. NIV), but this leaves “concerning the prophets” hanging very awkwardly at the beginning of the quotation. It is preferable to add הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) at the beginning of the quotation, right after the graphically similar יְהוָה (yÿhvah; see D. R. Hillers, Micah [Hermeneia], 44). The phrase הוֹי עַל (hoy ’al, “woe upon”) occurs in Jer 50:27 and Ezek 13:3 (with “the prophets” following the preposition in the latter instance).

³ tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.

⁴ tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”

⁵ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

⁶ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

⁷ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

⁸ tn Grk “hearts.”

⁹ tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.

¹⁰ tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”

¹¹ tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.