9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased 1 with their young men,
he took no pity 2 on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless 3 and did wicked things, 4
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. 5
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 6
29:13 The sovereign master 8 says,
“These people say they are loyal to me; 9
they say wonderful things about me, 10
but they are not really loyal to me. 11
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual. 12
30:9 For these are rebellious people –
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. 13
30:10 They 14 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 15
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 16
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 17
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 18
33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
panic 19 grips the godless. 20
They say, 21 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 22 fire?’
4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil 25
so that you may yet be delivered.
How long will you continue to harbor up
wicked schemes within you?
1 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”
2 tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yÿrakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)
3 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
4 tn מֵרַע (mera’) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.
5 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
6 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
7 tn Heb “and the land of Judah will become [a source of] shame to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it [i.e., the land of Judah] will fear because of the plan of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] which he is planning against him.”
8 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
9 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
10 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
11 tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
12 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
13 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
14 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
16 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
17 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
18 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
19 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
20 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
21 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
22 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
23 tn Heb “And even in all this.”
24 tn Heb “ has not turned back to me with all her heart but only in falsehood.”
25 tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”