5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. 6
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. 7
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock. 8
They refuse to change their ways. 9
6:12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?
Can one plow the sea with oxen? 15
Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,
and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. 16
3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 32
“Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! 33
3:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 sn This time of temporary faith represented by the description believe for a while is presented rather tragically in the passage. The seed does not get a chance to do all it can.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
4 tn Traditionally, “temptation.” Such a translation puts the emphasis on temptation to sin rather than testing of faith, which is what the context seems to indicate.
5 sn Fall away. On the idea of falling away and the warnings against it, see 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 3:12; Jer 3:14; Dan 9:9.
6 tn Heb “O
7 tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.
8 tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”
9 tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”
10 tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew
11 tn Heb “their flesh.”
12 tn Heb “heart of flesh.”
13 sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).
14 sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.
15 tc Heb “Does one plow with oxen?” This obviously does not fit the parallelism, for the preceding rhetorical question requires the answer, “Of course not!” An error of fusion has occurred in the Hebrew, with the word יָם (yam, “sea”) being accidentally added as a plural ending to the collective noun בָּקָר (baqar, “oxen”). A proper division of the consonants produces the above translation, which fits the parallelism and also anticipates the answer, “Of course not!”
16 sn The botanical imagery, when juxtaposed with the preceding rhetorical questions, vividly depicts and emphasizes how the Israelites have perverted justice and violated the created order by their morally irrational behavior.
17 tn Here and in vv. 7 and 8 δέ (de) has not been translated.
18 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
19 tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”
20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
21 tn Grk “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one.” The next two statements like this one have this same syntactical structure.
22 tn Grk “is temporary.”
23 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
24 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
25 tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”
26 tn Grk “it did not have root.”
27 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
28 tn Grk “are temporary.”
29 tn Grk “being unaware.”
30 tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.
31 tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”
32 sn The following quotation is from Ps 95:7b-11.
33 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
34 tn Grk “while it is said.”
35 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
36 sn A quotation from Ps 95:7b-8.