Exodus 23:3

23:3 and you must not show partiality ¹  to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Jeremiah 22:17

22:17 But you are always thinking and looking

for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.

Your eyes and your heart are set

on killing some innocent person

and committing fraud and oppression. ² 

Jeremiah 22:2

22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. ³  You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 2:15-16

2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;

they raise their voices in triumph. ⁵ 

They have laid his land waste;

his cities have been burned down and deserted. ⁶ 

2:16 Even the soldiers ⁷  from Memphis and Tahpanhes

have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. ⁸ 

[23:3]  ¹ tn The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 237).

[22:17]  ² tn Heb “Your eyes and your heart do not exist except for dishonest gain and for innocent blood to shed [it] and for fraud and for oppression to do [them].” The sentence has been broken up to conform more to English style and the significance of “eyes” and “heart” explained before they are introduced into the translation.

[22:2]  ³ tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”

[22:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah who sits on the throne of David, you, and your officials and your people who pass through these gates.”

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “Lions shout over him, they give out [raise] their voices.”

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “without inhabitant.”

[2:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “the sons of…”

[2:16]  ⁸ tc The translation follows the reading of the Syriac version. The Hebrew text reads “have grazed [= “shaved” ?] your skulls [as a sign of disgracing them].” Note that the reference shifts from third person, “him,” to second person, “you,” which is common in Hebrew style. The words “people of Israel” have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent and ease the switch. The reading presupposes יְרֹעוּךְ (yÿro’ukh) a Qal imperfect from the verb רָעַע (ra’a’; see BDB 949 s.v. II רָעַע Qal.1 and compare usage in Jer 15:2; Ps 2:9). The MT reads יִרְעוּךְ (yir’ukh), a Qal imperfect from the root רָעָה (ra’ah; see BDB 945 s.v. I רָעָה Qal.2.b for usage). The use of the verb in the MT is unparalleled in the sense suggested, but the resultant figure, if “graze” can mean “shave,” is paralleled in Jer 47:5; 48:37; Isa 7:20. The reading of the variant is accepted on the basis that it is the rarer root; the scribe would have been more familiar with the root “graze” even though it is unparalleled in the figurative nuance implied here. The noun “head/skull” is functioning as an accusative of further specification (see GKC 372 §117.ll and compare usage in Gen 3:8), i.e., “they crack you on the skull” or “they shave you on the skull.” The verb is a prefixed form and in this context is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an iterative imperfect denoting repeated action. Some modern English versions render the verb in the future tense, “they will break [or shave] your skull.”