Ezekiel 13:23

13:23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you ¹  will know that I am the Lord.’”

Ezekiel 13:1

False Prophets Denounced

13:1 Then the word of the Lord came to me:

Ezekiel 22:11-13

22:11 One ²  commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates ³  his sister – his father’s daughter ⁴  – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; ⁵  you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, ⁶  declares the sovereign Lord. ⁷ 

22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together ⁸  at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed ⁹  they have done among you.

Ezekiel 22:17

22:17 The word of the Lord came to me:

Proverbs 26:28

26:28 A lying tongue ¹⁰  hates those crushed by it,

and a flattering mouth works ruin. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 14:13-16

14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, ¹²  look! ¹³  The prophets are telling them that you said, ¹⁴  ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. ¹⁵  I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’” ¹⁶ 

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ¹⁷  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ¹⁸  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ¹⁹  and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about ²⁰  them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ ²¹  14:16 The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem ²²  and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. ²³  For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.” ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 23:14-29

23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem ²⁵ 

doing something just as shocking.

They are unfaithful to me

and continually prophesy lies. ²⁶ 

So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,

with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. ²⁷ 

I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,

and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. ²⁸ 

23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, ²⁹ 

have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ³⁰ 

‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering

and drink the poison water of judgment. ³¹ 

For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason ³² 

that ungodliness ³³  has spread throughout the land.’”

23:16 The Lord who rules over all ³⁴  says to the people of Jerusalem: ³⁵ 

“Do not listen to what

those prophets are saying to you.

They are filling you with false hopes.

They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,

not something the Lord has given them to say. ³⁶ 

23:17 They continually say ³⁷  to those who reject what the Lord has said, ³⁸ 

‘Things will go well for you!’ ³⁹ 

They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,

‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’

23:18 Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle ⁴⁰ 

so they ⁴¹  could see and hear what he has to say? ⁴² 

Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?

23:19 But just watch! ⁴³  The wrath of the Lord

will come like a storm! ⁴⁴ 

Like a raging storm it will rage down ⁴⁵ 

on the heads of those who are wicked.

23:20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has fully carried out his intended purposes. ⁴⁶ 

In days to come ⁴⁷ 

you people will come to understand this clearly. ⁴⁸ 

23:21 I did not send those prophets.

Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. ⁴⁹ 

I did not tell them anything.

Yet they prophesied anyway.

23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle, ⁵⁰ 

they would have proclaimed my message to my people.

They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways

and stop doing the evil things they are doing.

23:23 Do you people think ⁵¹  that I am some local deity

and not the transcendent God?” ⁵²  the Lord asks. ⁵³ 

23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself

where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. ⁵⁴ 

“Do you not know that I am everywhere?” ⁵⁵ 

the Lord asks. ⁵⁶ 

23:25 The Lord says, ⁵⁷  “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ ⁵⁸  23:26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds. ⁵⁹  23:27 How long will they go on plotting ⁶⁰  to make my people forget who I am ⁶¹  through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors ⁶²  did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal. ⁶³  23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ⁶⁴  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁶⁵  23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! ⁶⁶  It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! ⁶⁷  I, the Lord, so affirm it! ⁶⁸ 

Lamentations 2:14

נ (Nun)

2:14 Your prophets saw visions for you

that were worthless lies. ⁶⁹ 

They failed to expose your sin

so as to restore your fortunes. ⁷⁰ 

They saw oracles for you

that were worthless ⁷¹  lies.

Zechariah 13:2-4

13:2 And also on that day,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will remove ⁷²  the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 13:3 Then, if anyone prophesies in spite of this, his father and mother to whom he was born will say to him, ‘You cannot live, for you lie in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and mother to whom he was born will run him through with a sword when he prophesies. ⁷³ 

13:4 “Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment ⁷⁴  of a prophet to deceive the people. ⁷⁵ 

Romans 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ⁷⁶  of the naive.

Romans 16:1

Personal Greetings

16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant ⁷⁷  of the church in Cenchrea,

Romans 2:5

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ⁷⁸  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ⁷⁹ 

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ⁸⁰  against those who practice such things.

Romans 2:2-3

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ⁸¹  against those who practice such things. 2:3 And do you think, ⁸²  whoever you are, when you judge ⁸³  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ⁸⁴  that you will escape God’s judgment?

[13:23]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb is feminine plural, indicating that it is the false prophetesses who are addressed here.

[22:11]  ² tn Heb “a man.”

[22:11]  ³ tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.

[22:11]  ⁴ sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.

[22:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.

[22:12]  ⁶ sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.

[22:12]  ⁷ tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.

[22:13]  ⁸ sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).

[22:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”

[26:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the tongue of deception.” The subject matter of this proverb is deceptive speech. The “tongue of deception” (using a metonymy of cause with an attributive genitive) means that what is said is false. Likewise the “smooth mouth” means that what is said is smooth, flattering.

[26:28]  ¹¹ sn The verse makes it clear that only pain and ruin can come from deception. The statement that the lying tongue “hates those crushed by it” suggests that the sentiments of hatred help the deceiver justify what he says about people. The ruin that he brings is probably on other people, but it could also be taken to include his own ruin.

[14:13]  ¹² tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.

[14:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “Behold.” See the translator’s note on usage of this particle in 1:6.

[14:13]  ¹⁴ tn The words “that you said” are not in the text but are implicit from the first person in the affirmation that follows. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “You will not see sword and you will not have starvation [or hunger].”

[14:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will give you unfailing peace in this place.” The translation opts for “peace and prosperity” here for the word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) because in the context it refers both to peace from war and security from famine and plague. The word translated “lasting” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is a difficult to render here because it has broad uses: “truth, reliability, stability, steadfastness,” etc. “Guaranteed” or “lasting” seem to fit the context the best.

[14:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).

[14:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.

[14:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.

[14:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord about.” The first person construction has been used in the translation for better English style.

[14:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my name and I did not send them [= whom I did not send] and they are saying [= who are saying], ‘Sword and famine…’, by sword and famine those prophets will be killed.” This sentence has been restructured to conform to contemporary English style.

[14:16]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[14:16]  ²³ tn Heb “And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will not be anyone to bury them, they, their wives, and their sons and their daughters.” This sentence has been restructured to break up a long Hebrew sentence and to avoid some awkwardness due to differences in the ancient Hebrew and contemporary English styles.

[14:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their evil.” Hebrew words often include within them a polarity of cause and effect. Thus the word for “evil” includes both the concept of wickedness and the punishment for it. Other words that function this way are “iniquity” = “guilt [of iniquity]” = “punishment [for iniquity].” Context determines which nuance is proper.

[23:14]  ²⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:14]  ²⁶ tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)

[23:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.

[23:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

[23:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…concerning the prophets.” The person is shifted to better conform with English style and the word “of Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation to avoid the possible misunderstanding that the judgment applies to the prophets of Samaria who had already been judged long before.

[23:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” For these same words of judgment on another group see 9:15 (9:14 HT). “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

[23:15]  ³² tn The compound preposition מֵאֵת (me’et) expresses source or origin (see BDB 86 s.v. אֵת 4.c). Context shows that the origin is in their false prophesying which encourages people in their evil behavior.

[23:15]  ³³ sn A word that derives from this same Hebrew word is used in v. 11 at the beginning of the Lord’s criticism of the prophet and priest. This is a common rhetorical device for bracketing material that belongs together. The criticism has, however, focused on the false prophets and the judgment due them.

[23:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:16]  ³⁵ tn The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ³⁷ tn The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. GKC 343 §113.r).

[23:17]  ³⁸ tc The translation follows the Greek version. The Hebrew text reads, “who reject me, ‘The Lord has spoken, “Things…”’” The Greek version is to be preferred here because of (1) the parallelism of the lines “reject what the Lord has said” // “follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts;” (2) the preceding context which speaks of “visions of their own imaginations not of what the Lord has given them;” (3) the following context which denies that they have ever had access to the Lord’s secrets; (4) the general contexts earlier regarding false prophecy where rejection of the Lord’s word is in view (6:14 [see there v. 10]; 8:11 [see there v. 9]); (5) the meter of the poetic lines (the Hebrew meter is 3/5/4/3; the meter presupposed by the translation is 5/3/4/3 with the 3’s being their words). The difference is one of vocalization of the same consonants. The vocalization of the MT is יְהוָה מְנַאֲצַי דִּבֶּר [mÿna’atsay dibber yÿhvah]; the Hebrew Vorlage behind the Greek would be vocalized as מְנַאֲצֵי דְּבַר יְהוָה (mÿna’atsey dÿvar yÿhvah).

[23:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on 14:13. See also 6:14 and 8:11.

[23:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “has been the Lord’s confidant.”

[23:18]  ⁴¹ tn The form here is a jussive with a vav of subordination introducing a purpose after a question (cf. GKC 322 §109.f).

[23:18]  ⁴² tc Heb “his word.” In the second instance (“what he has said” at the end of the verse) the translation follows the suggestion of the Masoretes (Qere) and many Hebrew mss rather than the consonantal text (Kethib) of the Leningrad Codex.

[23:19]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Behold!”

[23:19]  ⁴⁴ tn The syntax of this line has generally been misunderstood, sometimes to the point that some want to delete the word wrath. Both here and in 30:23 where these same words occur the word “anger” stands not as an accusative of attendant circumstance but an apposition, giving the intended referent to the figure. Comparison should be made with Jer 25:15 where “this wrath” is appositional to “the cup of wine” (cf. GKC 425 §131.k).

[23:19]  ⁴⁵ tn The translation is deliberate, intending to reflect the repetition of the Hebrew root which is “swirl/swirling.”

[23:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “until he has done and until he has carried out the purposes of his heart.”

[23:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “in the latter days.” However, as BDB 31 s.v. אַחֲרִית b suggests, the meaning of this idiom must be determined from the context. Sometimes it has remote, even eschatological, reference and other times it has more immediate reference as it does here and in Jer 30:23 where it refers to the coming days of Babylonian conquest and exile.

[23:20]  ⁴⁸ tn The translation is intended to reflect a Hebrew construction where a noun functions as the object of a verb from the same root word (the Hebrew cognate accusative).

[23:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Yet they ran.”

[23:22]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “had been my confidant.” See the note on v. 18.

[23:23]  ⁵¹ tn The words “Do you people think” at the beginning of this verse and “Do you really think” at the beginning of the next verse are not in the text but are a way of trying to convey the nature of the rhetorical questions which expect a negative answer. They are also a way of trying to show that the verses are still connected with the preceding discussion addressed to the people (cf. 23:16, 20).

[23:23]  ⁵² tn Heb “Am I a god nearby and not a god far off?” The question is sometimes translated as though there is an alternative being given in v. 23, one that covers both the ideas of immanence and transcendence (i.e., “Am I only a god nearby and not also a god far off?”). However, the hey interrogative (הַ) at the beginning of this verse and the particle (אִם, ’im) at the beginning of the next show that the linkage is between the question in v. 23 and that in v. 24a. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.d both questions in this case expect a negative answer.

[23:23]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:24]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:24]  ⁵⁵ tn The words “Don’t you know” are not in the text. They are a way of conveying the idea that the question which reads literally “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” expects a positive answer. They follow the pattern used at the beginning of the previous two questions and continue that thought. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:24]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:25]  ⁵⁷ tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that the Lord continues speaking.

[23:25]  ⁵⁸ sn To have had a dream was not an illegitimate means of receiving divine revelation. God had revealed himself in the past to his servants through dreams (e.g., Jacob [Gen 31:10-11] and Joseph [Gen 37:6, 7, 9]) and God promised to reveal himself through dreams (Num 12:6; Joel 2:28 [3:1 HT]). What was illegitimate was to use the dream to lead people away from the Lord (Deut 13:1-5 [13:2-6 HT]). That was what the prophets were doing through their dreams which were “lies” and “the delusions of their own minds.” Through them they were making people forget who the Lord really was which was just like what their ancestors had done through worshiping Baal.

[23:26]  ⁵⁹ sn See the parallel passage in Jer 14:13-15.

[23:27]  ⁶⁰ tn The relation of the words to one another in v. 26 and the beginning of v. 27 has created difficulties for translators and commentators. The proper solution is reflected in the NJPS. Verses 26-27 read somewhat literally, “How long is there in the hearts of the prophets who are prophesying the lie and [in the hearts of] the prophets of the delusions of their [own] heart the plotting to cause my people to forget my name…” Most commentaries complain that the text is corrupt, that there is no subject for “is there.” However, the long construct qualification “in the hearts of” has led to the lack of observation that the proper subject is “the plotting to make my people forget.” There are no exact parallels but Jer 14:22; Neh 5:5 follow the same structure. The “How long” precedes the other means of asking a question for the purpose of emphasis (cf. BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.b and compare for example the usage in 2 Sam 7:7). There has also been a failure to see that “the prophets of the delusion of…” is a parallel construct noun after “heart of.” Stripping the syntax down to its barest minimum and translating literally, the sentence would read “How long will the plotting…continue in the hearts of the prophets who…and [in hearts of] the prophets of…” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform to contemporary English style but attempt has been made to maintain the same subordinations.

[23:27]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “my name.”

[23:27]  ⁶² tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 39).

[23:27]  ⁶³ tn Heb “through Baal.” This is an elliptical expression for the worship of Baal. See 11:17; 12:16; 19:5 for other references to their relation to Baal. There is a deliberate paralleling in the syntax here between “through their dreams” and “through Baal.”

[23:28]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).

[23:28]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:29]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:29]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.

[23:29]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[2:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “emptiness and whitewash.” The nouns שָׁוְא וְתָפֵל (shv’ vÿtafel) form a nominal hendiadys. The first noun functions adjectivally, modifying the second noun that retains its full nominal sense: “empty whitewash” or “empty deceptions” (see following translation note on meaning of תָּפֵל [tafel]). The noun תָּפֵל (tafel, “whitewash”) is used literally in reference to a white-washed wall (Ezek 13:10, 11, 14, 15) and figuratively in reference to false prophets (Ezek 22:28).

[2:14]  ⁷⁰ tc The Kethib שְׁבִיתֵךְ (shÿvitekh) and Qere שְׁבוּתֵךְ (shÿvutekh), which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew mss here and elsewhere (Ps 85:1 Heb 85:2; 126:4; Job 42:10), are struggling with the root. The ancient versions take it from ָָשׁבָה (shavah) meaning “captivity.” Such a meaning is not tenable for the Job passage, which along with a similar phrase in the Sefire inscription suggest that the proper meaning is “to restore someone’s fortunes.”

[2:14]  ⁷¹ tn The nouns שָׁוְא וּמַדּוּחִים (shav’ umaddukhim, lit., “emptiness and enticements”) form a nominal hendiadys. The first functions adjectivally, modifying the second noun that retains its nominal sense: “empty enticements” or “false deceptions.” The noun מַדּוּחַ (madduakh), meaning “enticement” or “transgression” is a hapax legomenon (term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT). It is related to the verb נָדָח (nadakh, “to entice, lead astray”) which is often used in reference to idolatry.

[13:2]  ⁷² tn Heb “cut off” (so NRSV); NAB “destroy”; NIV “banish.”

[13:3]  ⁷³ sn Death (in this case being run…through with a sword) was the penalty required in the OT for prophesying falsely (Deut 13:6-11; 18:20-22).

[13:4]  ⁷⁴ tn The “hairy garment of a prophet” (אַדֶּרֶת שֵׁעָר, ’adderet she’ar) was the rough clothing of Elijah (1 Kgs 19:13), Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19; 2 Kgs 2:14), and even John the Baptist (Matt 3:4). Yet, אַדֶּרֶת alone suggests something of beauty and honor (Josh 7:21). The prophet’s attire may have been simple the image it conveyed was one of great dignity.

[13:4]  ⁷⁵ tn The words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation from context (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).

[16:18]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “hearts.”

[16:1]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.

[2:5]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[2:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “based on truth.”

[2:2]  ⁸¹ tn Or “based on truth.”

[2:3]  ⁸² tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.

[2:3]  ⁸³ tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”

[2:3]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.