Isaiah 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Isaiah 59:12

59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds, ¹ 

and our sins testify against us;

indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;

we know our sins all too well. ² 

Jeremiah 14:7

14:7 Then I said, ³ 

“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name ⁴ 

even though our sins speak out against us. ⁵ 

Indeed, ⁶  we have turned away from you many times.

We have sinned against you.

Matthew 23:31

23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

Luke 19:22

19:22 The king ⁷  said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, ⁸  you wicked slave! ⁹  So you knew, did you, that I was a severe ¹⁰  man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow?

¹ tn Heb “for many are our rebellious deeds before you.”

² tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] our rebellious deeds (are) with us, and our sins, we know them.”

³ tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. However, it cannot be a continuation of the Lord’s speech and the people have consistently refused to acknowledge their sin. The fact that the prayer here and in vv. 19-22 are followed by an address from God to Jeremiah regarding prayer (cf. 4:11 and the interchanges there between God and Jeremiah and 15:1) also argues that the speaker is Jeremiah. He is again identifying with his people (cf. 8:18-9:2). Here he takes up the petition part of the lament which often contains elements of confession of sin and statements of trust. In 14:1-6 God portrays to Jeremiah the people’s lamentable plight instead of their describing it to him. Here Jeremiah prays what they should pray. The people are strangely silent throughout.

⁴ tn Heb “Act for the sake of your name.” The usage of “act” in this absolute, unqualified sense cf. BDB 794 s.v. עָוֹשָׂה Qal.I.r and compare the usage, e.g., in 1 Kgs 8:32 and 39. For the nuance of “for the sake of your name” compare the usage in Isa 48:9 and Ezek 20:9, 14.

⁵ tn Or “bear witness against us,” or “can be used as evidence against us,” to keep the legal metaphor. Heb “testify against.”

⁶ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can scarcely be causal here; it is either intensive (BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) or concessive (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c). The parallel usage in Gen 18:20 argues for the intensive force as does the fact that the concessive has already been expressed by אִם (’im).

⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “out of your own mouth” (an idiom).

⁹ tn Note the contrast between this slave, described as “wicked,” and the slave in v. 17, described as “good.”

¹⁰ tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”