Job 35:9-10

35:9 “People ¹  cry out

because of the excess of oppression; ² 

they cry out for help

because of the power ³  of the mighty. ⁴ 

35:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,

who gives songs in the night, ⁵ 

Psalms 78:34-37

78:34 When he struck them down, ⁶  they sought his favor; ⁷ 

they turned back and longed for God.

78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, ⁸ 

and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. ⁹ 

78:36 But they deceived him with their words, ¹⁰ 

and lied to him. ¹¹ 

78:37 They were not really committed to him, ¹² 

and they were unfaithful to his covenant.

Isaiah 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ¹³  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ¹⁴ 

they say wonderful things about me, ¹⁵ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ¹⁶ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 3:10

3:10 In spite of all this, ¹⁸  Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,” ¹⁹  says the Lord.

Zechariah 7:5

7:5 “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh ²⁰  months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me – for me, indeed?

¹ tn The word “people” is supplied, because the sentence only has the masculine plural verb.

² tn The final noun is an abstract plural, “oppression.” There is no reason to change it to “oppressors” to fit the early versions. The expression is literally “multitude of oppression.”

³ tn Heb “the arm,” a metaphor for strength or power.

⁴ tn Or “of the many” (see HALOT 1172 s.v. I רַב 6.a).

⁵ tn There have been several attempts to emend the line, none of which are particularly helpful or interesting. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 225) says, “It is a pity to rob Elihu of a poetic line when he creates one.”

⁶ tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.

⁷ tn Heb “they sought him.”

⁸ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

⁹ tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “with their mouth.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”

¹² tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”

¹³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

¹⁴ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “And even in all this.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “ has not turned back to me with all her heart but only in falsehood.”

²⁰ tn The seventh month apparently refers to the anniversary of the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judah (Jer 40:13-14; 41:1), in approximately 581 b.c.