Amos 6:1

The Party is over for the Rich

6:1 Woe ¹  to those who live in ease in Zion, ² 

to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.

They think of themselves as ³  the elite class of the best nation.

The family ⁴  of Israel looks to them for leadership. ⁵ 

Amos 6:3

6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ⁶ 

but you establish a reign of violence. ⁷ 

Psalms 10:11

10:11 He says to himself, ⁸ 

“God overlooks it;

he does not pay attention;

he never notices.” ⁹ 

Ecclesiastes 8:11

8:11 When ¹⁰  a sentence ¹¹  is not executed ¹²  at once against a crime, ¹³ 

the human heart ¹⁴  is encouraged to do evil. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 5:19

5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, ¹⁶ 

so we can see;

let the plan of the Holy One of Israel ¹⁷  take shape ¹⁸  and come to pass,

then we will know it!”

Isaiah 28:14-15

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

28:14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word,

you who mock,

you rulers of these people

who reside in Jerusalem! ¹⁹ 

28:15 For you say,

“We have made a treaty with death,

with Sheol ²⁰  we have made an agreement. ²¹ 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by ²² 

it will not reach us.

For we have made a lie our refuge,

we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” ²³ 

Isaiah 56:12

56:12 Each one says, ²⁴ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ²⁶  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ²⁷  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ²⁸  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ²⁹  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Malachi 3:15

3:15 So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. ³⁰  In fact, those who challenge ³¹  God escape!’”

[6:1]  ¹ tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.

[6:1]  ² sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.

[6:1]  ³ tn The words “They think of themselves as” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the term נְקֻבֵי (nÿquvey; “distinguished ones, elite”) is in apposition to the substantival participles in the first line.

[6:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[6:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “comes to them.”

[6:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”

[6:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.

[10:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “he says in his heart.” See v. 6.

[10:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “God forgets, he hides his face, he never sees.”

[8:11]  ¹⁰ tn The particle אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is used as a conjunction in a conditional/temporal clause to introduce the protasis (“when” or “if”), and עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken) introduces the apodosis (“then”); cf. BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.d.

[8:11]  ¹¹ tn The noun פִתְגָם (fitgam, “decision; announcement; edict; decree”) is a loanword from Persian patigama (HALOT 984 s.v. פִּתְגָם; BDB 834 s.v. פִּתְגָם). The Hebrew noun occurs twice in the OT (Eccl 8:11; Esth 1:20), twice in the Apocrypha (Sir 5:11; 8:9), and five times in Qumran (11QtgJob 9:2; 29:4; 30:1; 34:3; 1QapGen 22:27). The English versions consistently nuance this as a judicial sentence against a crime: “sentence” (KJV, NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, MLB, YLT), “sentence for a crime” (NIV), “sentence imposed” (NJPS), “sentence on a crime” (Moffatt).

[8:11]  ¹² tn Heb “is not done.” The verb עָשַׂה (’asah, “to do”) refers to a judicial sentence being carried out (HALOT 892 s.v. 2). The Niphal can denote “be executed; be carried out” of a sentence (Eccl 8:11) or royal decree (Esth 9:1; BDB 795 s.v. 1.a). Similarly, the Qal can denote “to execute” vengeance (Judg 11:36) or judgment (1 Sam 28:18; Isa 48:14; Ezek 25:11; 28:26; Ps 149:7, 9; BDB 794 s.v.).

[8:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “the evil.”

[8:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the heart of the sons of man.” The singular noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) is used collectively. The term לֵב is often used figuratively (metonymy) in reference to inclinations and determinations of the will (BDB 525 s.v. 4), moral character (BDB 525 s.v. 6), and as a synecdoche for the man himself (BDB 525 s.v. 7).

[8:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “is full to do evil.” The verb מָלֵא (male’, “to fill”) is used figuratively (metonymy): the lack of swift judicial punishment only emboldens the wicked to commit more crimes without fear of retribution. Most English versions translate the term literally: “are filled” (NIV, MLB, YLT), “is fully set” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV). However, several versions nuance it figuratively: “emboldened” (ASV, NJPS) and “boldly” (NEB). Moffatt renders the line, “Because sentence on a crime is not executed at once, the mind of man is prone to evil practices.”

[5:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.

[5:19]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[5:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.”

[28:14]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[28:15]  ²⁰ sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.

[28:15]  ²¹ tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.

[28:15]  ²² tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).

[28:15]  ²³ sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.

[56:12]  ²⁴ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[18:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

[18:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

[18:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

[18:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

[3:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “built up” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “prosper”; NLT “get rich.”

[3:15]  ³¹ tn Or “test”; NRSV, CEV “put God to the test.”