Ezekiel 3:9

3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! ¹  Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, ²  for they are a rebellious house.”

Ezekiel 3:26-27

3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove ³  them, for they are a rebellious house. 3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue ⁴  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, ⁵  for they are a rebellious house.

Proverbs 30:13-14

30:13 There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, ⁶ 

and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully. ⁷ 

30:14 There is a generation whose teeth are like ⁸  swords ⁹ 

and whose molars ¹⁰  are like knives

to devour ¹¹  the poor from the earth

and the needy from among the human race.

Isaiah 51:7

51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who are aware of my law! ¹² 

Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;

don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!

Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ¹³  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ¹⁴  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ¹⁵  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ¹⁶  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Amos 7:10-17

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel ¹⁷  sent this message ¹⁸  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ¹⁹  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ²⁰  7:11 As a matter of fact, ²¹  Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile ²²  away from its land.’”

7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! ²³  Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living ²⁴  and prophesy there! 7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel ²⁵  any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!” ²⁶ 

7:14 Amos replied ²⁷  to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. ²⁸  No, ²⁹  I was a herdsman who also took care of ³⁰  sycamore fig trees. ³¹  7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending ³²  flocks and gave me this commission, ³³  ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’ 7:16 So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach ³⁴  against the family of Isaac!’

7:17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets ³⁵ 

and your sons and daughters will die violently. ³⁶ 

Your land will be given to others ³⁷ 

and you will die in a foreign ³⁸  land.

Israel will certainly be carried into exile ³⁹  away from its land.’”

Hebrews 11:27

11:27 By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible.

Hebrews 11:1

People Commended for Their Faith

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

Hebrews 3:14

3:14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence ⁴⁰  firm until the end.

[3:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.

[3:9]  ² tn Heb “of their faces.”

[3:26]  ³ tn Heb “you will not be to them a reprover.” In Isa 29:21 and Amos 5:10 “a reprover” issued rebuke at the city gate.

[3:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “open your mouth.”

[3:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “the listener will listen, the refuser will refuse.” Because the word for listening can also mean obeying, the nuance may be that the obedient will listen, or that the one who listens will obey. Also, although the verbs are not jussive as pointed in the MT, some translate them with a volitive sense: “the one who listens – let that one listen, the one who refuses – let that one refuse.”

[30:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “how high are its eyes!” This is a use of the interrogative pronoun in exclamatory sentences (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 25, §127).

[30:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “its eyelids are lifted up,” a gesture indicating arrogance and contempt or disdain for others. To make this clear, the present translation supplies the adverb “disdainfully” at the end of the verse.

[30:14]  ⁸ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[30:14]  ⁹ sn There are two figures used in each of these lines: teeth/great teeth and “swords/knives.” The term “teeth” is a metonymy for the process of chewing and eating. This goes with the figure of the second half of the verse that speaks about “devouring” the poor – so the whole image of eating and chewing refers to destroying the poor (an implied comparison). The figures of “swords/knives” are metaphors within this image. Comparing teeth to swords means that they are sharp and powerful. The imagery captures the rapacity of their power.

[30:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “teeth” (so NRSV) or “jaw teeth” (so KJV, ASV, NASB) or perhaps “jawbone.” This is a different Hebrew word for “teeth” than the one in the previous line; if it refers to “jaw teeth” then a translation like “molars” would be appropriate, although this image might not fit with the metaphor (“like knives”) unless the other teeth, the incisors or front teeth, are pictured as being even longer (“like swords”).

[30:14]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew form לֶאֱכֹל (le’ekhol) is the Qal infinitive construct; it indicates the purpose of this generation’s ruthless power – it is destructive. The figure is an implied comparison (known as hypocatastasis) between “devouring” and “destroying.”

[51:7]  ¹² tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”

[18:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

[18:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

[18:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

[18:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

[7:10]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:10]  ¹⁸ tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

[7:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “words.”

[7:11]  ²¹ tn Or “for.”

[7:11]  ²² tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.

[7:12]  ²³ tn Traditionally, “seer.” The word is a synonym for “prophet,” though it may carry a derogatory tone on the lips of Amaziah.

[7:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Eat bread there.”

[7:13]  ²⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “for it is a temple of a king and it is a royal house.” It is possible that the phrase “royal house” refers to a temple rather than a palace. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 243.

[7:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.

[7:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.

[7:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for.”

[7:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”

[7:14]  ³¹ sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).

[7:15]  ³² tn Heb “from [following] after.”

[7:15]  ³³ tn Heb “and the Lord said to me.”

[7:16]  ³⁴ tn The verb, which literally means “to drip,” appears to be a synonym of “to prophesy,” but it might carry a derogatory tone here, perhaps alluding to the impassioned, frenzied way in which prophets sometimes delivered their messages. If so, one could translate, “to drivel; to foam at the mouth” (see HALOT 694 s.v. נטף).

[7:17]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in the city,” that is, “in public.”

[7:17]  ³⁶ tn Heb “will fall by the sword.”

[7:17]  ³⁷ tn Heb “will be divided up with a [surveyor’s] measuring line.”

[7:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “[an] unclean”; or “[an] impure.” This fate would be especially humiliating for a priest, who was to distinguish between the ritually clean and unclean (see Lev 10:10).

[7:17]  ³⁹ tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.

[3:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the beginning of the confidence.”