8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people 1 of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”
9:3 The Lord says, 2
“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 3
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means. 4
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 5
and do not pay attention to me. 6
9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. 7
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregation 8 of people that has been disloyal to him. 9
3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, 10
and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You must confess 11 that you have given yourself to 12 foreign gods under every green tree,
and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
1 tn Heb “house.”
2 tn The words “The
3 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
4 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
5 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
6 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).
7 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
8 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
9 tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.
10 tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”
11 tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.
12 tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.