Jeremiah 3:9

3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land ¹  through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. ² 

Habakkuk 2:19

2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ³  –

he who says ⁴  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’

Can it give reliable guidance? ⁵ 

It is overlaid with gold and silver;

it has no life’s breath inside it.

¹ tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.

² tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”

³ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

⁴ tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.

⁵ tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).