Isaiah 52:5

52:5 And now, what do we have here?” ¹  says the Lord.

“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,

those who rule over them taunt,” ²  says the Lord,

“and my name is constantly slandered ³  all day long.

Numbers 14:15-16

14:15 If you kill ⁴  this entire people at once, ⁵  then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 14:16 ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to them, he killed them in the wilderness.’

Deuteronomy 32:26-27

The Weakness of Other Gods

32:26 “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces. ⁶ 

I want to make people forget they ever existed.

32:27 But I fear the reaction ⁷  of their enemies,

for ⁸  their adversaries would misunderstand

and say, “Our power is great, ⁹ 

and the Lord has not done all this!”’

Ezekiel 20:9

20:9 I acted for the sake of my reputation, ¹⁰  so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, ¹¹  before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹² 

Ezekiel 20:39

20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ¹³  if you will not listen to me. ¹⁴  But my holy name will not be profaned ¹⁵  again by your sacrifices ¹⁶  and your idols.

Romans 2:24

2:24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” ¹⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “and now what [following the marginal reading (Qere)] to me here?”

² tn The verb appears to be a Hiphil form from the root יָלַל (yalal, “howl”), perhaps here in the sense of “mock.” Some emend the form to יְהוֹלָּלוֹ (yÿhollalo) and understand a Polel form of the root הָלַל meaning here “mock, taunt.”

³ tn The verb is apparently a Hitpolal form (with assimilated tav, ת) from the root נָאַץ (na’ats), but GKC 151-52 §55.b explains it as a mixed form, combining Pual and Hitpolel readings.

⁴ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of מוּת (mut), וְהֵמַתָּה (vÿhemattah). The vav (ו) consecutive makes this also a future time sequence verb, but again in a conditional clause.

⁵ tn Heb “as one man.”

⁶ tc The LXX reads “I said I would scatter them.” This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT, CEV).

⁷ tn Heb “anger.”

⁸ tn Heb “lest.”

⁹ tn Heb “Our hand is high.” Cf. NAB “Our own hand won the victory.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”

¹¹ tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”

¹² tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.

¹³ sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

¹⁴ tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.

¹⁵ sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

¹⁶ tn Or “gifts.”

¹⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 52:5.