50:16 God says this to the evildoer: 1
“How can you declare my commands,
and talk about my covenant? 2
50:17 For you hate instruction
and reject my words. 3
50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; 4
you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. 5
50:19 You do damage with words, 6
and use your tongue to deceive. 7
50:20 You plot against your brother; 8
you slander your own brother. 9
50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, 10
so you thought I was exactly like you. 11
But now I will condemn 12 you
and state my case against you! 13
50:22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! 14
Otherwise I will rip you to shreds 15
and no one will be able to rescue you.
3:5 “I 16 will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, 17 and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, 18 who refuse to help 19 the immigrant 20 and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
1 tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the
2 tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The
3 tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”
4 tn Heb “you run with him.”
5 tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”
6 tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”
7 tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”
8 tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).
9 tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”
10 tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.
11 tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).
12 tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).
13 tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the
14 tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.
15 sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).
16 tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the
17 tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”
18 tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”
19 tn Heb “those who turn aside.”
20 tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”
21 tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).
22 tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered
23 sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.
24 tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).
25 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
26 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
27 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
28 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these
29 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
30 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”