1 Kings 21:8-10

21:8 She wrote out orders, ¹  signed Ahab’s name to them, ²  and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders ³  to the leaders ⁴  and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. ⁵  21:9 This is what she wrote: ⁶  “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 21:10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

Psalms 19:13

19:13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant ⁷  sins;

do not allow such sins to control me. ⁸ 

Then I will be blameless,

and innocent of blatant ⁹  rebellion.

Psalms 52:2

52:2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; ¹⁰ 

it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. ¹¹ 

Psalms 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ¹² 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 9:1-4

9:1 (8:23) ¹⁴  I wish that my head were a well full of water ¹⁵ 

and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!

If they were, I could cry day and night

for those of my dear people ¹⁶  who have been killed.

9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert

where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. ¹⁷ 

Then I would desert my people

and walk away from them

because they are all unfaithful to God,

a congregation ¹⁸  of people that has been disloyal to him. ¹⁹ 

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ²⁰ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ²¹ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ²² 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ²³ 

and do not pay attention to me. ²⁴ 

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ²⁵ 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ²⁶ 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

Jeremiah 17:9

17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.

It is incurably bad. ²⁷  Who can understand it?

Micah 7:3-5

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ²⁸ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ²⁹ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ³⁰ 

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. ³¹ 

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, ³² 

and then you will experience confusion. ³³ 

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! ³⁴ 

[21:8]  ¹ tn Heb “scrolls.”

[21:8]  ² tn Heb “in the name of Ahab.”

[21:8]  ³ tn Heb “scrolls.”

[21:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “elders.”

[21:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the nobles who were in his city, the ones who lived with Naboth.”

[21:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “she wrote on the scrolls, saying.”

[19:13]  ⁷ tn Or “presumptuous.”

[19:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “let them not rule over me.”

[19:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “great.”

[52:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”

[52:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (’asah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.

[62:9]  ¹² tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ¹³ tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.

[9:1]  ¹⁴ sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[9:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”

[9:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[9:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”

[9:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.

[9:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.

[9:3]  ²⁰ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ²² tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ²³ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[9:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[17:9]  ²⁷ tn Or “incurably deceitful”; Heb “It is incurable.” For the word “deceitful” compare the usage of the verb in Gen 27:36 and a related noun in 2 Kgs 10:19. For the adjective “incurable” compare the usage in Jer 15:18. It is most commonly used with reference to wounds or of pain. In Jer 17:16 it is used metaphorically for a “woeful day” (i.e., day of irreparable devastation).

[7:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ³⁰ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

[7:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.

[7:4]  ³² tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”

[7:4]  ³³ tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”

[7:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”