Exodus 5:8

5:8 But you must require ¹  of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. ²  Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. ³  That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’

Exodus 5:17

5:17 But Pharaoh replied, ⁴  “You are slackers! Slackers! ⁵  That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’

Amos 8:5

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ⁶  be over, ⁷  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ⁸  so we can open up the grain bins? ⁹ 

We’re eager ¹⁰  to sell less for a higher price, ¹¹ 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ¹² 

Malachi 1:10-13

1:10 “I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, ¹³  so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you. 1:11 For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” ¹⁴  says the Lord who rules over all. 1:12 “But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings ¹⁵  despicable. 1:13 You also say, ‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” ¹⁶  asks the Lord.

Matthew 26:8

26:8 When ¹⁷  the disciples saw this, they became indignant and said, “Why this waste?

Mark 14:4

14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ¹⁸  ointment?

Luke 6:41

6:41 Why ¹⁹  do you see the speck ²⁰  in your brother’s eye, but fail to see ²¹  the beam of wood ²²  in your own?

[5:8]  ¹ tn The verb is the Qal imperfect of שִׂים (sim, “place, put”). The form could be an imperfect of instruction: “You will place upon them the quota.” Or, as here, it may be an obligatory imperfect: “You must place.”

[5:8]  ² tn Heb “yesterday and three days ago” or “yesterday and before that” is idiomatic for “previously” or “in the past.”

[5:8]  ³ tn Or “loafers.” The form נִרְפִּים (nirpim) is derived from the verb רָפָה (rafah), meaning “to be weak, to let oneself go.” They had been letting the work go, Pharaoh reasoned, and being idle is why they had time to think about going to worship.

[5:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “And he said.”

[5:17]  ⁵ tn Or “loafers.” The form נִרְפִּים (nirpim) is derived from the verb רָפָה (rafah), meaning “to be weak, to let oneself go.”

[8:5]  ⁶ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

[8:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “pass by.”

[8:5]  ⁸ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[8:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

[8:5]  ¹⁰ tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.

[8:5]  ¹² tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

[1:10]  ¹³ sn The rhetorical language suggests that as long as the priesthood and people remain disobedient, the temple doors may as well be closed because God is not “at home” to receive them or their worship there.

[1:11]  ¹⁴ sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the Lord contrasts the unbelief and virtual paganism of the postexilic community with the conversion and obedience of the nations that will one day worship the God of Israel.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “fruit.” The following word “food” in the Hebrew text (אָכְלוֹ, ’okhlo) appears to be an explanatory gloss to clarify the meaning of the rare word נִיב (niv, “fruit”; see Isa 57:19 Qere; נוֹב, nov, “fruit,” in Kethib). Cf. ASV “the fruit thereof, even its food.” In this cultic context the reference is to the offerings on the altar.

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from your hand,” a metonymy of part (the hand) for whole (the person).

[26:8]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[14:4]  ¹⁸ tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

[6:41]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:41]  ²⁰ sn A speck (also twice in v. 42) refers to a small piece of wood, chaff, or straw (L&N 3.66).

[6:41]  ²¹ tn Or “do not notice.”

[6:41]  ²² sn The beam of wood (also twice in v. 42) refers to a big piece of wood, the main beam of a building, in contrast to the speck in the other’s eye (L&N 7.78).