Jeremiah 1:7

1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go ¹  to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

Jeremiah 26:2

26:2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. ²  Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word!

Ezekiel 2:4-7

2:4 The people ³  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ⁴  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ⁵  2:5 And as for them, ⁶  whether they listen ⁷  or not – for they are a rebellious ⁸  house ⁹  – they will know that a prophet has been among them. 2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ¹⁰  and thorns ¹¹  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ¹²  for they are a rebellious house! 2:7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

Ezekiel 3:17-18

3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman ¹³  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 3:18 When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” ¹⁴  and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, ¹⁵  but I will hold you accountable for his death. ¹⁶ 

Acts 20:27

20:27 For I did not hold back from ¹⁷  announcing ¹⁸  to you the whole purpose ¹⁹  of God.

¹ tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”

² sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.

³ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

⁴ tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

⁵ tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).

⁴ tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.

⁶ tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.

⁷ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

⁵ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

⁶ tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.

⁷ tn Heb “of their faces.”

⁶ tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

⁷ sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.

⁸ tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and v. 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

⁹ tn Heb “his blood I will seek from your hand.” The expression “seek blood from the hand” is equivalent to requiring the death penalty (2 Sam 4:11-12).

⁸ tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern – ‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”

⁹ tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”

¹⁰ tn Or “plan.”