Exodus 34:15-16

34:15 Be careful ¹  not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when ²  they prostitute themselves ³  to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, ⁴  you will eat from his sacrifice; 34:16 and you then take ⁵  his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well.

Numbers 15:39

15:39 You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow ⁶  after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. ⁷ 

Psalms 73:27

73:27 Yes, ⁸  look! Those far from you ⁹  die;

you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you. ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 6:9

6:9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize ¹¹  how I was crushed by their unfaithful ¹²  heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves ¹³  because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.

Hosea 4:12

4:12 They consult their wooden idols,

and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.

The wind of prostitution blows them astray;

they commit spiritual adultery ¹⁴  against their God.

[34:15]  ¹ tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.

[34:15]  ² tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.

[34:15]  ³ tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.

[34:15]  ⁴ tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.

[34:16]  ⁵ tn In the construction this verb would follow as a possible outcome of the last event, and so remain in the verbal sequence. If the people participate in the festivals of the land, then they will intermarry, and that could lead to further involvement with idolatry.

[15:39]  ⁶ tn Heb “seek out, look into.”

[15:39]  ⁷ tn This last clause is a relative clause explaining the influence of the human heart and physical sight. It literally says, “which you go whoring after them.” The verb for “whoring” may be interpreted to mean “act unfaithfully.” So, the idea is these influences lead to unfaithful activity: “after which you act unfaithfully.”

[73:27]  ⁸ tn Or “for.”

[73:27]  ⁹ sn The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.

[73:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”

[6:9]  ¹¹ tn The words “they will realize” are not in the Hebrew text; they are added here for stylistic reasons since this clause assumes the previous verb “to remember” or “to take into account.”

[6:9]  ¹² tn Heb “how I was broken by their adulterous heart.” The image of God being “broken” is startling, but perfectly natural within the metaphorical framework of God as offended husband. The idiom must refer to the intense grief that Israel’s unfaithfulness caused God. For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of the Hebrew text, see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:134.

[6:9]  ¹³ tn Heb adds “in their faces.”

[4:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “adultery.” The adjective “spiritual” is supplied in the translation to clarify that apostasy is meant here.