Hosea 11:7

11:7 My people are obsessed ¹  with turning away from me; ² 

they call to Baal, ³  but he will never exalt them!

Deuteronomy 29:2-4

The Exodus, Wandering, and Conquest Reviewed

29:2 Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: “You have seen all that the Lord did ⁴  in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land. 29:3 Your eyes have seen the great judgments, ⁵  those signs and mighty wonders. 29:4 But to this very day the Lord has not given you an understanding mind, perceptive eyes, or discerning ears! ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 29:1

Narrative Interlude

29:1 (28:69) ⁷  These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. ⁸ 

Deuteronomy 8:7-9

8:7 For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of brooks, ⁹  springs, and fountains flowing forth in valleys and hills, 8:8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey, 8:9 a land where you may eat food ¹⁰  in plenty and find no lack of anything, a land whose stones are iron ¹¹  and from whose hills you can mine copper.

Deuteronomy 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ¹²  has brought you these forty years through the desert ¹³  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 17:13-15

17:13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again.

Provision for Kingship

17:14 When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” 17:15 you must select without fail ¹⁴  a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens ¹⁵  you must appoint a king – you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. ¹⁶ 

Deuteronomy 17:2

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ¹⁷  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ¹⁸  and breaks his covenant

Deuteronomy 1:15-16

1:15 So I chose ¹⁹  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ²⁰  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ²¹  and judge fairly, ²²  whether between one citizen and another ²³  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ²⁴ 

Nehemiah 9:30

9:30 You prolonged your kindness ²⁵  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ²⁶  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ²⁷ 

Isaiah 30:9-11

30:9 For these are rebellious people –

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. ²⁸ 

30:10 They ²⁹  say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! ³⁰ 

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages. ³¹ 

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path. ³² 

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” ³³ 

Jeremiah 35:13

35:13 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ³⁴  told him, “Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them, ³⁵  ‘I, the Lord, say: ³⁶  “You must learn a lesson from this ³⁷  about obeying what I say! ³⁸ 

Jeremiah 44:16-17

44:16 “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! ³⁹  44:17 Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. ⁴⁰  We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven ⁴¹  just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. ⁴² 

Zechariah 1:4

1:4 “Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Turn now from your evil wickedness,”’ but they would by no means obey me,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 7:11

7:11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear.

Luke 13:34

13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ⁴³  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ⁴⁴  How often I have longed ⁴⁵  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ⁴⁶  you would have none of it! ⁴⁷ 

John 3:19

3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ⁴⁸  that the light has come into the world and people ⁴⁹  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.

Acts 7:51

7:51 “You stubborn ⁵⁰  people, with uncircumcised ⁵¹  hearts and ears! ⁵²  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁵³  did!

Acts 7:2

7:2 So he replied, ⁵⁴  “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather ⁵⁵  Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

Colossians 2:15-16

2:15 Disarming ⁵⁶  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ⁵⁷ 

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

[11:7]  ¹ tn The term תְלוּאִים (tÿlu’im, Qal passive participle masculine plural from תָּלָא, tala’, “to hang”) literally means “[My people] are hung up” (BDB 1067 s.v. תָּלָא). The verb תָּלָא//תָּלָה (“to hang”) is often used in a concrete sense to describe hanging an item on a peg (Ps 137:2; Song 4:4; Isa 22:24; Ezek 15:3; 27:10) or the impaling of the body of an executed criminal (Gen 40:19, 22; 41:13; Deut 21:22, 23; Josh 8:29; 10:26; 2 Sam 21:12; Esth 2:23; 5:14; 6:4; 7:9, 10; 8:7; 9:13, 14, 25). It is used figuratively here to describe Israel’s moral inability to detach itself from apostasy. Several English versions capture the sense well: “My people are bent on turning away from me” (RSV, NASB), “My people are determined to turn from me” (NIV), “My people are determined to reject me” (CEV; NLT “desert me”), “My people persist in its defection from me” (NJPS), and “they insist on turning away from me” (TEV).

[11:7]  ² tn The 1st person common singular suffix on the noun מְשׁוּבָתִי (mÿshuvati; literally, “turning of me”) functions as an objective genitive: “turning away from me.”

[11:7]  ³ tc The meaning and syntax of the MT is enigmatic: וְאֶל־עַל יִקְרָאֻהוּ (vÿ’el-’al yiqra’uhu, “they call upwards to him”). Many English versions including KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT take the referent of “him” as the “most High.” The BHS editors suggest reading וְאֶל־בַּעַל יִקְרָא וְהוּא (vÿ’el-ba’al yiqra’ vehu’, “they call to Baal, but he…”), connecting the 3rd person masculine singular independent personal pronoun וְהוּא (vÿhu’, “but he…”) with the following clause. The early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus), as well as the Aramaic Targum and the Vulgate, vocalized עֹל (’ol) as “yoke” (as in 11:4): “they cry out because of [their] yoke” (a reading followed by TEV).

[29:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text includes “to your eyes,” but this is redundant in English style (cf. the preceding “you have seen”) and is omitted in the translation.

[29:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “testings.” This is a reference to the plagues; see note at 4:34.

[29:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear” (NASB similar); NAB, NRSV “a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear.”

[29:1]  ⁷ sn Beginning with 29:1, the verse numbers through 29:29 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:1 ET = 28:69 HT, 29:2 ET = 29:1 HT, 29:3 ET = 29:2 HT, etc., through 29:29 ET = 29:28 HT. With 30:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[29:1]  ⁸ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (which some English versions substitute here for clarity, cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[8:7]  ⁹ tn Or “wadis.”

[8:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. NASB, NCV, NLT) or “bread” in particular (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[8:9]  ¹¹ sn A land whose stones are iron. Since iron deposits are few and far between in Palestine, the reference here is probably to iron ore found in mines as opposed to the meteorite iron more commonly known in that area.

[8:2]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ¹³ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[17:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”

[17:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.

[17:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”

[17:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

[1:16]  ²⁰ tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.

[1:16]  ²² tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).

[1:16]  ²³ tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”

[1:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”

[9:30]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:30]  ²⁶ tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

[9:30]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[30:9]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”

[30:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”

[30:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”

[30:11]  ³² sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.

[30:11]  ³³ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[35:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

[35:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “35:12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of armies the God of Israel, “Go and say…‘Will you not learn…’”’” The use of the indirect introduction has been chosen here as in 34:1-2 to try to cut down on the confusion created by embedding quotations within quotations.

[35:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[35:13]  ³⁷ tn The words “from this” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[35:13]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Will you not learn a lesson…?” The rhetorical question here has the force of an imperative, made explicit in the translation.

[44:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the word [or message] you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord.” For an explanation of the rendering of “in the name of the Lord” see the study notes on 10:25 and 23:27.

[44:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “that went out of our mouth.” I.e., everything we said, promised, or vowed.

[44:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” The expressions have been combined to simplify and shorten the sentence. The same combination also occurs in vv. 18, 19.

[44:17]  ⁴² tn Heb “saw [or experienced] no disaster/trouble/harm.”

[13:34]  ⁴³ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[13:34]  ⁴⁴ tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

[13:34]  ⁴⁵ sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

[13:34]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:34]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “you were not willing.”

[3:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[7:51]  ⁵⁰ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ⁵¹ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ⁵² tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ⁵³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “said.”

[7:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁶ tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ⁵⁷ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).