Ezekiel 8:17

8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! ¹ 

Genesis 6:11

6:11 The earth was ruined ²  in the sight of ³  God; the earth was filled with violence. ⁴ 

Amos 3:9

Samaria Will Fall

3:9 Make this announcement in ⁵  the fortresses of Ashdod

and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.

Say this:

“Gather on the hills around Samaria! ⁶ 

Observe the many acts of violence ⁷  taking place within the city, ⁸ 

the oppressive deeds ⁹  occurring in it.” ¹⁰ 

Micah 2:2

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ¹¹ 

They defraud people of their homes, ¹² 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ¹³ 

Micah 6:12

6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; ¹⁴ 

her inhabitants lie, ¹⁵ 

their tongues speak deceptive words. ¹⁶ 

Habakkuk 2:8

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, ¹⁷ 

all who are left among the nations ¹⁸  will rob you.

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ¹⁹  and those who live in them.

Habakkuk 2:17

2:17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; ²⁰ 

terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. ²¹ 

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

Zephaniah 1:9

1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ²² 

who fill the house of their master ²³  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ²⁴ 

[8:17]  ¹ tn It is not clear what the practice of “holding a branch to the nose” indicates. A possible parallel is the Syrian relief of a king holding a flower to his nose as he worships the stars (ANEP 281). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:145-46. The LXX glosses the expression as “Behold, they are like mockers.”

[6:11]  ² tn Apart from Gen 6:11-12, the Niphal form of this verb occurs in Exod 8:20 HT (8:24 ET), where it describes the effect of the swarms of flies on the land of Egypt; Jer 13:7 and 18:4, where it is used of a “ruined” belt and “marred” clay pot, respectively; and Ezek 20:44, where it describes Judah’s morally “corrupt” actions. The sense “morally corrupt” fits well in Gen 6:11 because of the parallelism (note “the earth was filled with violence”). In this case “earth” would stand by metonymy for its sinful inhabitants. However, the translation “ruined” works just as well, if not better. In this case humankind’s sin is viewed has having an adverse effect upon the earth. Note that vv. 12b-13 make a distinction between the earth and the living creatures who live on it.

[6:11]  ³ tn Heb “before.”

[6:11]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers elsewhere to a broad range of crimes, including unjust treatment (Gen 16:5; Amos 3:10), injurious legal testimony (Deut 19:16), deadly assault (Gen 49:5), murder (Judg 9:24), and rape (Jer 13:22).

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).

[3:9]  ⁶ sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”

[3:9]  ⁹ tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “within her.”

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ¹² tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[6:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”

[6:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “speak lies.”

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”

[2:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “nations.”

[2:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “peoples.”

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “because of the shed blood of humankind and violence against land, city.” The singular forms אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) and קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) are collective, referring to all the lands and cities terrorized by the Babylonians.

[2:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for the violence against Lebanon will cover you.”

[2:17]  ²¹ tc The Hebrew appears to read literally, “and the violence against the animals [which] he terrified.” The verb form יְחִיתַן (yÿkhitan) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect third masculine singular with third feminine plural suffix (the antecedent being the animals) from חָתַת (khatat, “be terrified”). The translation above follows the LXX and assumes a reading יְחִתֶּךָ (yÿkhittekha, “[the violence against the animals] will terrify you”; cf. NRSV “the destruction of the animals will terrify you”; NIV “and your destruction of animals will terrify you”). In this case the verb is a Hiphil imperfect third masculine singular with second masculine singular suffix (the antecedent being Babylon). This provides better symmetry with the preceding line, where Babylon’s violence is the subject of the verb “cover.”

[1:9]  ²² sn The point of the statement all who hop over the threshold is unclear. A ritual or superstition associated with the Philistine god Dagon may be in view (see 1 Sam 5:5).

[1:9]  ²³ tn The referent of “their master” is unclear. The king or a pagan god may be in view.

[1:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “who fill…with violence and deceit.” The expression “violence and deceit” refers metonymically to the wealth taken by oppressive measures.