Psalms 28:5

28:5 For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,

or the way he carries out justice. ¹ 

The Lord ²  will permanently demolish them. ³ 

Psalms 107:43

107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!

Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!

Proverbs 1:29-30

1:29 Because ⁴  they hated moral knowledge, ⁵ 

and did not choose to fear the Lord, ⁶ 

1:30 they did not comply with my advice,

they spurned ⁷  all my rebuke.

Isaiah 1:3

1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,

a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; ⁸ 

but Israel does not recognize me, ⁹ 

my people do not understand.”

Isaiah 5:12

5:12 They have stringed instruments, ¹⁰  tambourines, flutes,

and wine at their parties.

So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,

they do not perceive what he is bringing about. ¹¹ 

Haggai 2:15-19

2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, ¹²  before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ¹³  2:16 From that time ¹⁴  when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty. 2:17 I struck all the products of your labor ¹⁵  with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ ¹⁶  says the Lord. 2:18 ‘Think carefully about the past: ¹⁷  from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, ¹⁸  to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, ¹⁹  think about it. ²⁰  2:19 The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’”

¹ tn Heb “or the work of his hands.” In this context “the Lord’s actions” and “the work of his hands” probably refer to the way he carries out justice by vindicating the godly and punishing the wicked. (Note the final line of the verse, which refers to divine judgment. See also Ps 92:4-7.) Evil men do not “understand” God’s just ways; they fail to realize he will protect the innocent. Consequently they seek to harm the godly, as if they believe they will never be held accountable for their actions.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord, who is referred to in the two immediately preceding lines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “will tear them down and not rebuild them.” The ungodly are compared to a structure that is permanently demolished.

⁴ tn The causal particle תַּחַת כִּי (takhat ki, “for the reason that”) introduces a second accusation of sin and reason for punishment.

⁵ tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to moral knowledge. See note on 1:7.

⁶ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear. See note on 1:7.

⁷ tn The verb “spurned” (נָאַץ, na’ats) is parallel to “comply, accede to, be willing” (e.g., 1:10). This is how the morally stubborn fool acts (e.g., 15:5).

⁸ tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

⁹ tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).

¹⁰ tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).

¹¹ tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).

¹² tn Heb “and now set your heart from this day and upward.” The juxtaposition of מָעְלָה (ma’lah, “upward”) with the following מִטֶּרֶם (mitterem, “before”) demands a look to the past. Cf. ASV “consider from this day and backward.”

¹³ sn Before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple is best taken as referring to the laying of the present temple’s foundation, sixteen years earlier (536 b.c.; see Ezra 3:8). Cf. NCV “before you started laying stones”; TEV “before you started to rebuild”; NLT “before you began to lay (started laying CEV) the foundation.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “from their being,” idiomatic for “from the time they were then,” or “since the time.” Cf. KJV “Since those days were.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “you, all the work of your hands”; NRSV “you and all the products of your toil”; NIV “all the work of your hands.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and there was not with you.” The context favors the idea that the harvests were so poor that the people took care of only themselves, leaving no offering for the Lord. Cf. KJV and many English versions “yet ye turned not to me,” understanding the phrase to refer to the people’s repentance rather than their failure to bring offerings.

¹⁷ tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15.

¹⁸ sn The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520. See v. 10. Here the reference is to “today,” the day the oracle is being delivered.

¹⁹ sn The day work…was resumed. This does not refer to the initial founding of the Jerusalem temple in 536 b.c. but to the renewal of construction three months earlier (see 1:15). This is clear from the situation described in v. 19 which accords with the food scarcities of that time already detailed in Hag 1:10-11.

²⁰ tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15 and at the beginning of this verse.