Ezekiel 14:9-10

14:9 “‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word – I, the Lord, have made a fool of ¹  that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 14:10 They will bear their punishment; ²  the punishment of the one who sought an oracle will be the same as the punishment of the prophet who gave it ³ 

Ezekiel 22:25

22:25 Her princes ⁴  within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows ⁵  within it.

Ezekiel 22:28

22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ⁶  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

Ezekiel 22:2

22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, ⁷  are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? ⁸  Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

Ezekiel 18:18-24

18:18 As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.

18:19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer ⁹  for his father’s iniquity?’ When the son does what is just and right, and observes all my statutes and carries them out, he will surely live. 18:20 The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer ¹⁰  for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer ¹¹  for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. ¹² 

18:21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:22 None of the sins he has committed will be held ¹³  against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live. 18:23 Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?

18:24 “But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 9:15

9:15 The leaders and the highly respected people ¹⁵  are the head,

the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Isaiah 56:9-12

The Lord Denounces Israel’s Paganism

56:9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,

all you wild animals in the forest!

56:10 All their watchmen ¹⁶  are blind,

they are unaware. ¹⁷ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ¹⁸  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ¹⁹ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ²⁰ 

56:12 Each one says, ²¹ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ²² 

Jeremiah 5:31

5:31 The prophets prophesy lies.

The priests exercise power by their own authority. ²³ 

And my people love to have it this way.

But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 6:13-14

6:13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

Prophets and priests alike,

all of them practice deceit.

6:14 They offer only superficial help

for the harm my people have suffered. ²⁵ 

They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’

But everything is not all right! ²⁶ 

Jeremiah 8:10

8:10 ²⁷ So I will give their wives to other men

and their fields to new owners.

For from the least important to the most important of them,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

Prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

Jeremiah 14:13-15

14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, ²⁸  look! ²⁹  The prophets are telling them that you said, ³⁰  ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. ³¹  I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’” ³² 

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ³³  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ³⁴  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ³⁵  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 ³⁶  them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ ³⁷ 

Jeremiah 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ³⁸  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ³⁹  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁰ 

Jeremiah 23:11-22

23:11 Moreover, ⁴¹  the Lord says, ⁴² 

“Both the prophets and priests are godless.

I have even found them doing evil in my temple!

23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.

They will stumble and fall headlong.

For I will bring disaster on them.

A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ⁴³ 

The Lord affirms it! ⁴⁴ 

23:13 The Lord says, ⁴⁵  “I saw the prophets of Samaria ⁴⁶ 

doing something that was disgusting. ⁴⁷ 

They prophesied in the name of the god Baal

and led my people Israel astray. ⁴⁸ 

23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem ⁴⁹ 

doing something just as shocking.

They are unfaithful to me

and continually prophesy lies. ⁵⁰ 

So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,

with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. ⁵¹ 

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

and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. ⁵² 

23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, ⁵³ 

have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ⁵⁴ 

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

and drink the poison water of judgment. ⁵⁵ 

For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason ⁵⁶ 

that ungodliness ⁵⁷  has spread throughout the land.’”

23:16 The Lord who rules over all ⁵⁸  says to the people of Jerusalem: ⁵⁹ 

“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. ⁶⁰ 

23:17 They continually say ⁶¹  to those who reject what the Lord has said, ⁶² 

‘Things will go well for you!’ ⁶³ 

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 ⁶⁴ 

so they ⁶⁵  could see and hear what he has to say? ⁶⁶ 

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

23:19 But just watch! ⁶⁷  The wrath of the Lord

will come like a storm! ⁶⁸ 

Like a raging storm it will rage down ⁶⁹ 

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. ⁷⁰ 

In days to come ⁷¹ 

you people will come to understand this clearly. ⁷² 

23:21 I did not send those prophets.

Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. ⁷³ 

I did not tell them anything.

Yet they prophesied anyway.

23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle, ⁷⁴ 

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.

Jeremiah 23:25-26

23:25 The Lord says, ⁷⁵  “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!’ ⁷⁶  23:26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds. ⁷⁷ 

Jeremiah 27:14

27:14 Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve ⁷⁸  the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you.

Jeremiah 27:18

27:18 I also told them, ⁷⁹  “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, ⁸⁰  let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. ⁸¹  Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away ⁸²  to Babylon.

Jeremiah 28:12-17

28:12 But shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 28:13 “Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says, ⁸³  ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have ⁸⁴  only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one! ⁸⁵  28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁸⁶  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ⁸⁷  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ⁸⁸  28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! ⁸⁹  28:16 So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove ⁹⁰  you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’” ⁹¹ 

28:17 In the seventh month of that very same year ⁹²  the prophet Hananiah died.

Jeremiah 29:8-9

29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁹³  says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination ⁹⁴  deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream. 29:9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ⁹⁵  But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’ ⁹⁶ 

Jeremiah 37:19

37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that ⁹⁷  the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

Lamentations 4:13

מ (Mem)

4:13 But it happened ⁹⁸  due to the sins of her prophets ⁹⁹ 

and the iniquities of her priests,

who poured out in her midst

the blood of the righteous.

Micah 3:6

3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; ¹⁰⁰ 

it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. ¹⁰¹ 

The sun will set on these prophets,

and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. ¹⁰² 

Micah 3:11

3:11 Her ¹⁰³  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ¹⁰⁴ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ¹⁰⁵  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ¹⁰⁶ 

Disaster will not overtake ¹⁰⁷  us!”

Zephaniah 3:4

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ¹⁰⁸ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ¹⁰⁹ 

they break God’s laws. ¹¹⁰ 

Zephaniah 3:2

3:2 She is disobedient; ¹¹¹ 

she refuses correction. ¹¹² 

She does not trust the Lord;

she does not seek the advice of ¹¹³  her God.

Zephaniah 2:1-3

The Prophet Warns the People

2:1 Bunch yourselves together like straw, ¹¹⁴  you undesirable ¹¹⁵  nation,

2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality ¹¹⁶  and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, ¹¹⁷ 

before the Lord’s raging anger ¹¹⁸  overtakes ¹¹⁹  you –

before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ¹²⁰  all you humble people ¹²¹  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ¹²² 

Strive to do what is right! ¹²³  Strive to be humble! ¹²⁴ 

Maybe you will be protected ¹²⁵  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

[14:9]  ¹ tn The translation is uncertain due to difficulty both in determining the meaning of the verb’s stem and its conjugation in this context. In the Qal stem the basic meaning of the verbal root פָּתַה (patah) is “to be gullible, foolish.” The doubling stems (the Pual and Piel used in this verse) typically give such stative verbs a factitive sense, hence either “make gullible” (i.e., “entice”) or “make into a fool” (i.e., “to show to be a fool”). The latter represents the probable meaning of the term in Jer 20:7, 10 and is followed here (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:193; R. Mosis “Ez 14, 1-11 - ein Ruf zur Umkehr,” BZ 19 [1975]: 166-69 and ThWAT 4:829-31). In this view, if a prophet speaks when not prompted by God, he will be shown to be a fool, but this does not reflect negatively on the Lord because it is God who shows him to be a fool. Secondly, the verb is in the perfect conjugation and may be translated “I have made a fool of him” or “I have enticed him,” or to show determination (see IBHS 439-41 §27.2f and g), or in certain syntactical constructions as future. Any of these may be plausible if the doubling stems used are understood in the sense of “making a fool of.” But if understood as “to make gullible,” more factors come into play. As the Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, it is often translated as present perfect: “I have enticed.” In this case the Lord states that he himself enticed the prophet to cooperate with the idolaters. Such enticement to sin would seem to be a violation of God’s moral character, but sometimes he does use such deception and enticement to sin as a form of punishment against those who have blatantly violated his moral will (see, e.g., 2 Sam 24). If one follows this line of interpretation in Ezek 14:9, one would have to assume that the prophet had already turned from God in his heart. However, the context gives no indication of this. Therefore, it is better to take the perfect as indicating certitude and to translate it with the future tense: “I will entice.” In this case the Lord announces that he will judge the prophet appropriately. If a prophet allows himself to be influenced by idolaters, then the Lord will use deception as a form of punishment against that deceived prophet. A comparison with the preceding oracles also favors this view. In 14:4 the perfect of certitude is used for emphasis (see “I will answer”), though in v. 7 a participle is employed. For a fuller discussion of this text, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 23-25.

[14:10]  ² tn Or “They will bear responsibility for their iniquity.” The Hebrew term “iniquity” (three times in this verse) often refers by metonymy to the consequence of sin (see Gen 4:13).

[14:10]  ³ tn Or “As is the guilt of the inquirer so is the guilt of the prophet.”

[22:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.

[22:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.

[22:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

[22:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.

[22:2]  ⁸ tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.

[18:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ¹² tn Heb “the righteousness of the righteous one will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked one will be upon him.”

[18:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “remembered.”

[18:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “because of them he will die.”

[9:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the elder and the one lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.

[56:10]  ¹⁶ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[56:11]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ²¹ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ²² tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[5:31]  ²³ tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably mean “by their own hand/power/authority.”

[5:31]  ²⁴ tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”

[6:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “They heal [= bandage] the wound of my people lightly”; TEV “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches.”

[6:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[8:10]  ²⁷ sn See Jer 6:12-15 for parallels to 8:10-12. The words of Jeremiah to the people may have been repeated on more than one occasion or have been found appropriate to more than one of his collection of messages in written and edited form. See Jer 36:4 and Jer 36:28 for reference to at least two of these collections.

[14:13]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Behold.” See the translator’s note on usage of this particle in 1:6.

[14:13]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Heb “You will not see sword and you will not have starvation [or hunger].”

[14:13]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.

[14:14]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord about.” The first person construction has been used in the translation for better English style.

[14:15]  ³⁷ 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.

[23:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

[23:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

[23:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:11]  ⁴¹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) which begins this verse is parallel to the one at the beginning of the preceding verse. However, the connection is too distant to render it “for.” “Moreover” is intended to draw the parallel. The words “the Lord says” (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) have been drawn up to the front to introduce the shift in speaker from Jeremiah, who describes his agitated state, to God, who describes the sins of the prophets and priests and his consequent judgment on them.

[23:11]  ⁴² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:12]  ⁴³ tn For the last two lines see 11:23 and the notes there.

[23:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:13]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “The Lord says” are not in the text, but it is clear from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:13]  ⁴⁶ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[23:13]  ⁴⁷ tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.

[23:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[23:14]  ⁴⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:14]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

[23:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:15]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:16]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ⁶¹ tn The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. GKC 343 §113.r).

[23:17]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ tn Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on 14:13. See also 6:14 and 8:11.

[23:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “has been the Lord’s confidant.”

[23:18]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ 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]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Behold!”

[23:19]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ tn The translation is deliberate, intending to reflect the repetition of the Hebrew root which is “swirl/swirling.”

[23:20]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “until he has done and until he has carried out the purposes of his heart.”

[23:20]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² 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]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Yet they ran.”

[23:22]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “had been my confidant.” See the note on v. 18.

[23:25]  ⁷⁵ 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]  ⁷⁶ 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]  ⁷⁷ sn See the parallel passage in Jer 14:13-15.

[27:14]  ⁷⁸ tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.

[27:18]  ⁷⁹ tn The words “I also told them” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the fact that the Lord is spoken about in the third person in vv. 18, 19, 21 that he is not the speaker. This is part of Jeremiah’s own speech to the priests and the people (v. 16). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is with them.”

[27:18]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[27:18]  ⁸² tn Heb “…speaking to them, let them entreat the Lord…so that the valuable articles…will not go to Babylon.” The long original sentence has been broken up for the sake of English style.

[28:13]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord….” The translation uses an indirect quotation here used to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.

[28:13]  ⁸⁴ tn The Greek version reads “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.

[28:13]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “the yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in its stead yoke bars of iron.”

[28:14]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.

[28:14]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”

[28:14]  ⁸⁸ sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.

[28:15]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”

[28:16]  ⁹⁰ sn There is a play on words here in Hebrew between “did not send you” and “will…remove you.” The two verbs are from the same root word in Hebrew. The first is the simple active and the second is the intensive.

[28:16]  ⁹¹ sn In giving people false assurances of restoration when the Lord had already told them to submit to Babylon, Hananiah was really counseling rebellion against the Lord. What Hananiah had done was contrary to the law of Deut 13:6 and was punishable by death.

[28:17]  ⁹² sn Comparison with Jer 28:1 shows that this whole incident took place in the space of two months. Hananiah had prophesied that the captivity would be over before two years had past. However, before two months were past, Hananiah himself died in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of his death. His death was a validation of Jeremiah as a true prophet. The subsequent events of 588 b.c. would validate Jeremiah’s prophesies and invalidate those of Hananiah.

[29:8]  ⁹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[29:8]  ⁹⁴ sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.

[29:9]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”

[29:9]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[37:19]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.

[4:13]  ⁹⁸ tn These words do not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied to make sense of the line. The introductory causal preposition מִן (min) (“because”) indicates that this phrase – or something like it – is implied through elision.

[4:13]  ⁹⁹ tn There is no main verb in the verse; it is an extended prepositional phrase. One must either assume a verbal idea such as “But it happened due to…” or connect it to the following verses, which themselves are quite difficult. The former option was employed in the present translation.

[3:6]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”

[3:6]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”

[3:6]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰³ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[3:4]  ¹⁰⁸ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

[3:4]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “defile the temple.”

[3:4]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

[3:2]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.

[3:2]  ¹¹² tn Heb “she does not receive correction.” The Hebrew phrase, when negated, refers elsewhere to rejecting verbal advice (Jer 17:23; 32:33; 35:13) and refusing to learn from experience (Jer 2:30; 5:3).

[3:2]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “draw near to.” The present translation assumes that the expression “draw near to” refers to seeking God’s will (see 1 Sam 14:36).

[2:1]  ¹¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text combines a Hitpolel imperative of קָשַׁשׁ (qashash) with a Qal imperative of the same root. Elsewhere this root appears in the polel stem with the meaning “gather stubble.” Zephaniah’s command is ironic, implying the people are like stubble or straw. As such, they are vulnerable to the Lord’s fiery judgment that will quickly consume them (see 1:18). See Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 96.

[2:1]  ¹¹⁵ tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.”

[2:2]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “before the giving birth of a decree.” For various alternative readings, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 187-88.

[2:2]  ¹¹⁷ tn The second half of the line reads literally, “like chaff it passes by a day.” The translation above assumes the “day” is the brief time God is giving the nation to repent. The comparison of this quickly passing opportunity to chaff is consistent with the straw imagery of v. 1.

[2:2]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the Lord.” The synonyms are combined to emphasize the extreme degree of the Lord’s anger.

[2:2]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.

[2:3]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ¹²¹ tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.

[2:3]  ¹²² tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”

[2:3]  ¹²³ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”