1 Kings 22:19-23

22:19 Micaiah ¹  said, “That being the case, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left. 22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die ²  there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit ³  stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ⁴  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ⁵  Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

Psalms 81:12

81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ⁶ 

they did what seemed right to them. ⁷ 

Proverbs 1:31-32

1:31 Therefore ⁸  they will eat from the fruit ⁹  of their way, ¹⁰ 

and they will be stuffed full ¹¹  of their own counsel.

1:32 For the waywardness ¹²  of the

simpletons will kill ¹³  them,

and the careless ease ¹⁴  of fools will destroy them.

Matthew 24:24

24:24 For false messiahs ¹⁵  and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Matthew 24:2

24:2 And he said to them, ¹⁶  “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, ¹⁷  not one stone will be left on another. ¹⁸  All will be torn down!” ¹⁹ 

Matthew 2:10-12

2:10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. ²⁰  2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down ²¹  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, ²²  and myrrh. ²³  2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ²⁴  they went back by another route to their own country.

[22:19]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:20]  ² tn Heb “and fall.”

[22:21]  ³ tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord (רוּחַ־יְהוָה, [ruakh-Yahweh], Heb “the spirit of the Lord”) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, Isa 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-23 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 24. This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ; he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.

[22:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”

[81:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”

[81:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).

[1:31]  ⁸ tn The vav (ו) prefixed to the verb וְיֹאכְלוּ (vÿyo’khÿlu) functions in a consecutive logical sense: “therefore.”

[1:31]  ⁹ sn The expression “eat the fruit of” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis) that compares the consequences of sin to agricultural growth that culminates in produce. They will suffer the consequences of their sinful actions, that is, they will “reap” what they “sow.”

[1:31]  ¹⁰ sn The words “way” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) and “counsel” (מוֹעֵצָה, mo’etsah) stand in strong contrast to the instruction of wisdom which gave counsel and rebuke to encourage a better way. They will bear the consequences of the course they follow and the advice they take (for that wrong advice, e.g., Ps 1:1).

[1:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to eat to one’s fill.” The verb שָׂבֵעַ (savea’) means (1) positive: “to eat one’s fill” so that one’s appetite is satisfied and (2) negative: “to eat in excess” as a glutton to the point of sickness and revulsion (BDB 959 s.v.). Fools will not only “eat” the fruit of their own way (v. 31a), they will be force-fed this revolting “menu” which will make them want to vomit (v. 31b) and eventually kill them (v. 32).

[1:32]  ¹² tn Heb “turning away” (so KJV). The term מְשׁוּבַת (mÿshuvat, “turning away”) refers to moral defection and apostasy (BDB 1000 s.v.; cf. ASV “backsliding”). The noun מְשׁוּבַת (“turning away”) which appears at the end of Wisdom’s speech in 1:32 is from the same root as the verb תָּשׁוּבוּ (tashuvu, “turn!”) which appears at the beginning of this speech in 1:23. This repetition of the root שׁוּב (shuv, “to turn”) creates a wordplay: Because fools refuse to “turn to” wisdom (1:23), they will be destroyed by their “turning away” from wisdom (1:32). The wordplay highlights the poetic justice of their judgment. But here they have never embraced the teaching in the first place; so it means turning from the advice as opposed to turning to it.

[1:32]  ¹³ sn The Hebrew verb “to kill” (הָרַג, harag) is the end of the naive who refuse to change. The word is broad enough to include murder, massacre, killing in battle, and execution. Here it is judicial execution by God, using their own foolish choices as the means to ruin.

[1:32]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “complacency” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “smugness.” The noun שַׁלְוַה (shalvah) means (1) positively: “quietness; peace; ease” and (2) negatively: “self-sufficiency; complacency; careless security” (BDB 1017 s.v.), which is the sense here. It is “repose gained by ignoring or neglecting the serious responsibilities of life” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 29).

[24:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[24:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:2]  ¹⁸ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[24:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “they rejoiced with very great joy.”

[2:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[2:11]  ²² sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).

[2:11]  ²³ sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

[2:12]  ²⁴ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.