1 Samuel 2:29-30

2:29 Why are you ¹  scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? ²  You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ³  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ⁴  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ⁵  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed!

1 Samuel 2:2

2:2 No one is holy ⁶  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ⁷  like our God!

1 Samuel 16:10-16

16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. ⁸  But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse ⁹  replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. ¹⁰  Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!” 16:13 So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

David Appears before Saul

16:14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit ¹¹  from the Lord tormented him. 16:15 Then Saul’s servants said to him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!” 16:16 Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre ¹²  and you will feel better.” ¹³ 

Isaiah 9:16

9:16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,

and the people being led were destroyed. ¹⁴ 

Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ¹⁵  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ¹⁶ 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ¹⁷  the law of your God,

I will reject ¹⁸  your descendants.

Hosea 5:1

Announcement of Sin and Judgment

5:1 Hear this, you priests!

Pay attention, you Israelites! ¹⁹ 

Listen closely, ²⁰  O king! ²¹ 

For judgment is about to overtake you! ²² 

For you were like a trap ²³  to Mizpah, ²⁴ 

like a net ²⁵  spread out to catch Tabor. ²⁶ 

Malachi 2:8-9

2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ²⁷  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ²⁸  says the Lord who rules over all. 2:9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent to which you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your ²⁹  instruction.”

[2:29]  ¹ tc The MT has a plural “you” here, but the LXX and a Qumran ms have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb “you have honored” later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse (“you have made yourselves fat”).

[2:29]  ² tn Heb “which I commanded, dwelling place.” The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation.

[2:30]  ³ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[2:2]  ⁶ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[16:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.

[16:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.

[16:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.”

[16:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “an injurious spirit”; cf. NLT “a tormenting spirit.” The phrase need not refer to an evil, demonic spirit. The Hebrew word translated “evil” may refer to the character of the spirit or to its effect upon Saul. If the latter, another translation option might be “a mischief-making spirit.”

[16:16]  ¹² tn Heb “and he will play with his hand.”

[16:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “and it will be better for you.”

[9:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the ones being led were swallowed up.” Instead of taking מְבֻלָּעִים (mÿbulla’im) from בָּלַע (bala’, “to swallow”), HALOT 134 s.v. בלע proposes a rare homonymic root בלע (“confuse”) here.

[4:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”

[5:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”

[5:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”

[5:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”

[5:1]  ²² tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”

[5:1]  ²³ sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).

[5:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”

[5:1]  ²⁵ sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).

[5:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”

[2:8]  ²⁷ tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

[2:8]  ²⁸ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

[2:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in the instruction” (so NASB). The Hebrew article is used here as a possessive pronoun (cf. NRSV, NLT).