21:29 while seeing false visions for you
and reading lying omens for you 6 –
to place that sword 7 on the necks of the profane wicked, 8
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! 9 I did not send them. I did not commission them. 10 I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, 11 and the delusions of their own mind.
29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 12 says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination 13 deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream.
1 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Or “iniquity.”
5 tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).
6 tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.
7 tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.
9 tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).
10 tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.
11 tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.
12 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
13 sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.
14 tn The Hebrew word תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim, “teraphim”) refers to small images used as means of divination and in other occult practices (cf. Gen 31:19, 34-35; 1 Sam 19:13, 16; Hos 3:4). A number of English versions transliterate the Hebrew term (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) or simply use the generic term “idols” (so KJV, NIV, TEV).
15 sn Shepherd is a common OT metaphor for the king (see esp. Jer 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 23:1-2; 50:6; Ezek 34).