Ezekiel 3:4-8

3:4 He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 3:5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech ¹  and difficult language, ²  but ³  to the house of Israel – 3:6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand ⁴  – surely if ⁵  I had sent you to them, they would listen to you! 3:7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, ⁶  because they are not willing to listen to me, ⁷  for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. ⁸ 

3:8 “I have made your face adamant ⁹  to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads.

Ezekiel 3:2

3:2 So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.

Ezekiel 36:15-16

36:15 I will no longer subject you to ¹⁰  the nations’ insults; no longer will you bear the shame of the peoples, and no longer will you bereave ¹¹  your nation, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

36:16 The word of the Lord came to me:

Isaiah 6:8-10

6:8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” ¹²  I answered, “Here I am, send me!” 6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:

‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!

Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

6:10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;

make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!

Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.” ¹³ 

Jeremiah 1:7

1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go ¹⁴  to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

Jeremiah 7:2

7:2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim ¹⁵  this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. ¹⁶  Hear what the Lord has to say.

Jeremiah 25:3-7

25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ¹⁷  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ¹⁸  what he said. ¹⁹  But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again ²⁰  the Lord has sent ²¹  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ²²  25:5 He said through them, ²³  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ²⁴  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ²⁵  25:6 Do not pay allegiance to ²⁶  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ²⁷  Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, ²⁸  ‘You have not listened to me. But ²⁹  you have made me angry by the things that you have done. ³⁰  Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

Jeremiah 26:2-6

26:2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. ³¹  Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word! 26:3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do. ³²  If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them ³³  as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing. ³⁴  26:4 Tell them that the Lord says, ³⁵  ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. ³⁶  26:5 You must pay attention to the exhortations of my servants the prophets. I have sent them to you over and over again. ³⁷  But you have not paid any attention to them. 26:6 If you do not obey me, ³⁸  then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh. ³⁹  And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth.’”

Jeremiah 36:2

36:2 “Get a scroll. ⁴⁰  Write on it everything I have told you to say ⁴¹  about Israel, Judah, and all the other nations since I began to speak to you in the reign of Josiah until now. ⁴² 

Mark 12:2-5

12:2 At harvest time he sent a slave ⁴³  to the tenants to collect from them ⁴⁴  his portion of the crop. ⁴⁵  12:3 But ⁴⁶  those tenants ⁴⁷  seized his slave, ⁴⁸  beat him, ⁴⁹  and sent him away empty-handed. ⁵⁰  12:4 So ⁵¹  he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 12:5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed.

Luke 24:47-48

24:47 and repentance ⁵²  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ⁵³  in his name to all nations, ⁵⁴  beginning from Jerusalem. ⁵⁵  24:48 You are witnesses ⁵⁶  of these things.

John 20:21-22

20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 20:22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, ⁵⁷  “Receive the Holy Spirit. ⁵⁸ 

Romans 10:15

10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely ⁵⁹  is the arrival ⁶⁰  of those who proclaim the good news.” ⁶¹ 

[3:5]  ¹ tn Heb “deep of lip” (in the sense of incomprehensible).

[3:5]  ² tn Heb “heavy of tongue.” Similar language occurs in Exod 4:10; Isa 33:19.

[3:5]  ³ tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied from the context.

[3:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “hear.”

[3:6]  ⁵ tc The MT reads “if not” but most ancient versions translate only “if.” The expression occurs with this sense in Isa 5:9; 14:24. See also Ezek 34:8; 36:5; 38:19.

[3:7]  ⁶ sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.

[3:7]  ⁷ sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”

[3:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “strong, resolute.”

[36:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cause you to hear.”

[36:15]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads תַכְשִׁלִי (takhshiliy), a metathesis for תַשְׁכִלִי (tashkhiliy) from the root שָׁכַל (shakhal) which is used in each of the previous verses.

[6:8]  ¹² tn Heb “for us.” The plural pronoun refers to the Lord, the seraphs, and the rest of the heavenly assembly.

[6:10]  ¹³ sn Do we take this commission at face value? Does the Lord really want to prevent his people from understanding, repenting, and being healed? Verse 9, which ostensibly records the content of Isaiah’s message, is clearly ironic. As far as we know, Isaiah did not literally proclaim these exact words. The Hebrew imperatival forms are employed rhetorically and anticipate the response Isaiah will receive. When all is said and done, Isaiah might as well preface and conclude every message with these ironic words, which, though imperatival in form, might be paraphrased as follows: “You continually hear, but don’t understand; you continually see, but don’t perceive.” Isaiah might as well command them to be spiritually insensitive, because, as the preceding and following chapters make clear, the people are bent on that anyway. (This ironic command is comparable to saying to a particularly recalcitrant individual, “Go ahead, be stubborn!”) Verse 10b is also clearly sarcastic. On the surface it seems to indicate Isaiah’s hardening ministry will prevent genuine repentance. But, as the surrounding chapters clearly reveal, the people were hardly ready or willing to repent. Therefore, Isaiah’s preaching was not needed to prevent repentance! Verse 10b reflects the people’s attitude and might be paraphrased accordingly: “Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their mind, repent, and be restored, and they certainly wouldn’t want that, would they?” Of course, this sarcastic statement may also reveal that the Lord himself is now bent on judgment, not reconciliation. Just as Pharaoh’s rejection of Yahweh’s ultimatum ignited judgment and foreclosed, at least temporarily, any opportunity for repentance, so the Lord may have come to the point where he has decreed to bring judgment before opening the door for repentance once more. The sarcastic statement in verse 10b would be an emphatic way of making this clear. (Perhaps we could expand our paraphrase: “Otherwise they might…repent, and be restored, and they certainly wouldn’t want that, would they? Besides, it’s too late for that!”) Within this sarcastic framework, verse 10a must also be seen as ironic. As in verse 9 the imperatival forms should be taken as rhetorical and as anticipating the people’s response. One might paraphrase: “Your preaching will desensitize the minds of these people, make their hearing dull, and blind their eyes.” From the outset the Lord might as well command Isaiah to harden the people, because his preaching will end up having that effect. Despite the use of irony, we should still view this as a genuine, albeit indirect, act of divine hardening. After all, God did not have to send Isaiah. By sending him, he drives the sinful people further from him, for Isaiah’s preaching, which focuses on the Lord’s covenantal demands and impending judgment upon covenantal rebellion, forces the people to confront their sin and then continues to desensitize them as they respond negatively to the message. As in the case of Pharaoh, Yahweh’s hardening is not arbitrarily imposed on a righteous or even morally neutral object. Rather his hardening is an element of his righteous judgment on recalcitrant sinners. Ironically, Israel’s rejection of prophetic preaching in turn expedites disciplinary punishment, and brings the battered people to a point where they might be ready for reconciliation. The prophesied judgment (cf. 6:11-13) was fulfilled by 701 b.c. when the Assyrians devastated the land (a situation presupposed by Isa 1:2-20; see especially vv. 4-9). At that time the divine hardening had run its course and Isaiah is able to issue an ultimatum (1:19-20), one which Hezekiah apparently took to heart, resulting in the sparing of Jerusalem (see Isa 36-39 and cf. Jer 26:18-19 with Mic 3:12).This interpretation, which holds in balance both Israel’s moral responsibility and the Lord’s sovereign work among his people, is consistent with other pertinent texts both within and outside the Book of Isaiah. Isa 3:9 declares that the people of Judah “have brought disaster upon themselves,” but Isa 29:9-10 indicates that the Lord was involved to some degree in desensitizing the people. Zech 7:11-12 looks back to the pre-exilic era (cf. v. 7) and observes that the earlier generations stubbornly hardened their hearts, but Ps 81:11-12, recalling this same period, states that the Lord “gave them over to their stubborn hearts.”

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”

[7:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.

[7:2]  ¹⁶ sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.

[25:3]  ¹⁷ sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ¹⁸ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ¹⁹ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:4]  ²⁰ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:4]  ²¹ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

[25:4]  ²² tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

[25:5]  ²³ tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”

[25:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.

[25:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.

[25:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.

[25:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[25:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:7]  ²⁹ tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).

[25:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[26:2]  ³¹ sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.

[26:3]  ³² tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”

[26:3]  ³³ tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.

[26:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”

[26:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “thus says the Lord, ‘…’.” The use of the indirect quotation in the translation eliminates one level of embedded quotation to avoid confusion.

[26:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “by walking in my law which I set before you.”

[26:5]  ³⁷ tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for the idiom here.

[26:6]  ³⁸ tn 26:4-6 are all one long sentence containing a long condition with subordinate clauses (vv. 4-5) and a compound consequence in v. 6: Heb “If you will not obey me by walking in my law…by paying attention to the words of the prophets which…and you did not pay heed, then I will make…and I will make…” The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to reflect all the subordinations in the English translation.

[26:6]  ³⁹ sn See the study note on Jer 7:13.

[36:2]  ⁴⁰ sn Heb “a roll [or scroll] of a document.” Scrolls consisted of pieces of leather or parchment sewn together and rolled up on wooden rollers. The writing was written from right to left and from top to bottom in columns and the scroll unrolled from the left roller and rolled onto the right one as the scroll was read. The scroll varied in length depending on the contents. This scroll was probably not all that long since it was read three times in a single day (vv. 10-11, 15-16, 21-23).

[36:2]  ⁴¹ sn The intent is hardly that of giving a verbatim report of everything that the Lord had told him to say or of everything that he had actually said. What the scroll undoubtedly contained was a synopsis of Jeremiah’s messages as constructed from his memory.

[36:2]  ⁴² sn This refers to the messages that Jeremiah delivered during the last eighteen years of Josiah, the three month reign of Jehoahaz and the first four years of Jehoiakim’s reign (the period between Josiah’s thirteenth year [cf. 1:2] and the fourth year of Jehoiakim [v. 1]). The exact content of this scroll is unknown since many of the messages in the present book are undated. It is also not known what relation this scroll had to the present form of the book of Jeremiah, since this scroll was destroyed and another one written that contained more than this one did (cf. v. 32). Since Jeremiah continued his ministry down to the fall of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (1:2) and beyond (cf. Jer 40-44) much more was added to those two scrolls even later.

[12:2]  ⁴³ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[12:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.

[12:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”

[12:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.

[12:3]  ⁴⁹ sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[12:3]  ⁵⁰ sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

[12:4]  ⁵¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

[24:47]  ⁵² sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47]  ⁵³ tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47]  ⁵⁴ sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47]  ⁵⁵ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[24:48]  ⁵⁶ sn You are witnesses. This becomes a key concept of testimony in Acts. See Acts 1:8.

[20:22]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “said to them.”

[20:22]  ⁵⁸ sn He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The use of the Greek verb breathed on (ἐμφυσάω, emfusaw) to describe the action of Jesus here recalls Gen 2:7 in the LXX, where “the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” This time, however, it is Jesus who is breathing the breath-Spirit of eternal life, life from above, into his disciples (cf. 3:3-10). Furthermore there is the imagery of Ezek 37:1-14, the prophecy concerning the resurrection of the dry bones: In 37:9 the Son of Man is told to prophesy to the “wind-breath-Spirit” to come and breathe on the corpses, so that they will live again. In 37:14 the Lord promised, “I will put my Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land.” In terms of ultimate fulfillment the passage in Ezek 37 looks at the regeneration of Israel immediately prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. The author saw in what Jesus did for the disciples at this point a partial and symbolic fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, much as Peter made use of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 in his sermon on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:17-21. What then did Jesus do for the disciples in John 20:22? It appears that in light of the symbolism of the new creation present here, as well as the regeneration symbolism from the Ezek 37 passage, that Jesus at this point breathed into the disciples the breath of eternal life. This was in the form of the Holy Spirit, who was to indwell them. It is instructive to look again at 7:38-39, which states, “Just as the scripture says, ‘Out from within him will flow rivers of living water.’ (Now he said this about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were going to receive; for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”) But now in 20:22 Jesus was glorified, so the Spirit could be given. Had the disciples not believed in Jesus before? It seems clear that they had, since their belief is repeatedly affirmed, beginning with 2:11. But it also seems clear that even on the eve of the crucifixion, they did not understand the necessity of the cross (16:31-33). And even after the crucifixion, the disciples had not realized that there was going to be a resurrection (20:9). Ultimate recognition of who Jesus was appears to have come to them only after the postresurrection appearances (note the response of Thomas, who was not present at this incident, in v. 28). Finally, what is the relation of this incident in 20:22 to the account of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2? It appears best to view these as two separate events which have two somewhat different purposes. This was the giving of life itself, which flowed out from within (cf. 7:38-39). The giving of power would occur later, on the day of Pentecost – power to witness and carry out the mission the disciples had been given. (It is important to remember that in the historical unfolding of God’s program for the church, these events occurred in a chronological sequence which, after the church has been established, is not repeatable today.)

[10:15]  ⁵⁹ tn The word in this context seems to mean “coming at the right or opportune time” (see BDAG 1103 s.v. ὡραῖος 1); it may also mean “beautiful, attractive, welcome.”

[10:15]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “the feet.” The metaphorical nuance of “beautiful feet” is that such represent timely news.

[10:15]  ⁶¹ sn A quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15.