44:20 He feeds on ashes; 1
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 2
66:4 So I will choose severe punishment 3 for them;
I will bring on them what they dread,
because I called, and no one responded,
I spoke and they did not listen.
They did evil before me; 4
they chose to do what displeases me.”
21:29 while seeing false visions for you
and reading lying omens for you 9 –
to place that sword 10 on the necks of the profane wicked, 11
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
24:1 Now 14 as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings. 15
4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 16 to be tempted by the devil.
1 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
2 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
3 tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”
4 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”
5 tn The words “Don’t listen to them” have been repeated from v. 9a to pick up the causal connection between v. 9a and v. 10 that is formally introduced by a causal particle in v. 10 in the original text.
6 tn Heb “they are prophesying a lie.”
7 tn Heb “lies will result in your being taken far…” (לְמַעַן [lÿma’an] + infinitive). This is a rather clear case of the particle לְמַעַן introducing result (contra BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. There is no irony in this statement; it is a bold prediction).
8 tn The words “out of your country” are not in the text but are implicit in the meaning of the verb. The words “in exile” are also not in the text but are implicit in the context. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
9 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.
10 tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 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.
12 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
13 tn Or “and lead many astray.”
14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
15 sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.
16 tn Or “desert.”