Hosea 7:16

7:16 They turn to Baal; ¹ 

they are like an unreliable bow.

Their leaders will fall by the sword

because their prayers to Baal ²  have made me angry.

So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt. ³ 

Hosea 12:1

12:1 Ephraim continually feeds on the wind;

he chases the east wind all day;

he multiplies lies and violence.

They make treaties ⁴  with Assyria,

and send olive oil as tribute ⁵  to Egypt.

Hosea 12:7

The Lord Refutes Israel’s False Claim of Innocence

12:7 The businessmen love to cheat; ⁶ 

they use dishonest scales. ⁷ 

Psalms 78:36

78:36 But they deceived him with their words, ⁸ 

and lied to him. ⁹ 

Isaiah 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ¹⁰  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ¹¹ 

they say wonderful things about me, ¹² 

but they are not really loyal to me. ¹³ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 44:20

44:20 He feeds on ashes; ¹⁵ 

his deceived mind misleads him.

He cannot rescue himself,

nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 59:3-4

59:3 For your hands are stained with blood

and your fingers with sin;

your lips speak lies,

your tongue utters malicious words.

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ¹⁷ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ¹⁸  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ¹⁹ 

and give birth to sin.

Micah 6:12

6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; ²⁰ 

her inhabitants lie, ²¹ 

their tongues speak deceptive words. ²² 

[7:16]  ¹ tc The MT reads the enigmatic יָשׁוּבוּ לֹא עָל (yashuvu lo’ ’al) which is taken variously: “they turn, but not upward” (NASB); “they do not turn to the Most High” (NIV); “they return, but not to the most High” (KJV). The BHS editors suggest יָשׁוּבוּ לַבַּעַל (yashuvu labba’al, “they turn to Baal”; so RSV) or יָשׁוּבוּ לַבְּלִיַּעַל (yashuvu labbÿliyya’al, “they turn to Belial”) which is reflected by the LXX.

[7:16]  ² tn Heb “because their tongue.” The term “tongue” is used figuratively, as a metonymy of cause (tongue) for the effect (prayers to Baal).

[7:16]  ³ tn Heb “this [will] be for scorn in the land of Egypt”; NIV “they will be ridiculed (NAB shall be mocked) in the land of Egypt.”

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “a treaty” (so NIV, NRSV); KJV, NASB “a covenant”; NAB “comes to terms.”

[12:1]  ⁵ tn The phrase “as tribute” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. NCV “send a gift of olive oil.”

[12:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the merchant…loves to cheat.” The Hebrew has singular forms (noun and verb) which are used generically to refer to all Israelite merchants and traders in general. The singular noun II כְּנַעַן (kÿna’an, “a merchant; a trader”; BDB 488 s.v. II כְּנַעַן) is used in a generic sense to refer to the merchant class of Israel as a whole (e.g., Ezek 16:29; 17:4; Zeph 1:11).

[12:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “The merchant – in his hand are scales of deceit – loves to cheat.” The present translation rearranges the Hebrew line division to produce a smoother English rendering.

[78:36]  ⁸ tn Heb “with their mouth.”

[78:36]  ⁹ tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”

[29:13]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[44:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”

[44:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”

[59:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”

[6:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”

[6:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “speak lies.”

[6:12]  ²² tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”