Isaiah 24:5-6

24:5 The earth is defiled by ¹  its inhabitants, ² 

for they have violated laws,

disregarded the regulation, ³ 

and broken the permanent treaty. ⁴ 

24:6 So a treaty curse ⁵  devours the earth;

its inhabitants pay for their guilt. ⁶ 

This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, ⁷ 

and are reduced to just a handful of people. ⁸ 

Isaiah 50:1

50:1 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

by which I divorced her?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? ⁹ 

Look, you were sold because of your sins; ¹⁰ 

because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 59:12-15

59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds, ¹² 

and our sins testify against us;

indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;

we know our sins all too well. ¹³ 

59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;

we turned back from following our God.

We stir up ¹⁴  oppression and rebellion;

we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ¹⁵ 

59:14 Justice is driven back;

godliness ¹⁶  stands far off.

Indeed, ¹⁷  honesty stumbles in the city square

and morality is not even able to enter.

59:15 Honesty has disappeared;

the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.

The Lord watches and is displeased, ¹⁸ 

for there is no justice.

Jeremiah 2:17

2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, ¹⁹ 

by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 2:19

2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.

Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. ²¹ 

Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful ²² 

it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, ²³ 

to show no respect for me,” ²⁴ 

says the Lord God who rules over all. ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 4:18

4:18 “The way you have lived and the things you have done ²⁶ 

will bring this on you.

This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. ²⁷ 

The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.” ²⁸ 

Lamentations 1:8

ח (Khet)

1:8 Jerusalem committed terrible sin; ²⁹ 

therefore she became an object of scorn. ³⁰ 

All who admired ³¹  her have despised her ³² 

because they have seen her nakedness. ³³ 

She groans aloud ³⁴ 

and turns away in shame. ³⁵ 

Lamentations 1:14

נ (Nun)

1:14 My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke; ³⁶ 

they are fastened together by his hand.

He has placed his yoke ³⁷  on my neck; ³⁸ 

he has sapped my strength. ³⁹ 

The Lord ⁴⁰  has handed me over ⁴¹ 

to those whom I cannot resist.

Lamentations 1:18

Jerusalem Speaks:

צ (Tsade)

1:18 The Lord is right to judge me! ⁴² 

Yes, I rebelled against his commands. ⁴³ 

Please listen, all you nations, ⁴⁴ 

and look at my suffering!

My young women and men

have gone into exile.

Lamentations 4:13-15

מ (Mem)

4:13 But it happened ⁴⁵  due to the sins of her prophets ⁴⁶ 

and the iniquities of her priests,

who poured out in her midst

the blood of the righteous.

נ (Nun)

4:14 They ⁴⁷  wander blindly ⁴⁸  through the streets,

defiled by the blood they shed, ⁴⁹ 

while no one dares ⁵⁰ 

to touch their garments.

ס (Samek)

4:15 People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean!

Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!”

So they have fled and wander about;

but the nations say, ⁵¹  “They may not stay here any longer.”

Lamentations 5:16-17

5:16 The crown has fallen from our head;

woe to us, for we have sinned!

5:17 Because of this, our hearts are sick; ⁵² 

because of these things, we can hardly see ⁵³  through our tears. ⁵⁴ 

Ezekiel 22:25-31

22:25 Her princes ⁵⁵  within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows ⁵⁶  within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, ⁵⁷  or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore ⁵⁸  my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ⁵⁹  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ⁶⁰ 

22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. ⁶¹  22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, ⁶²  declares the sovereign Lord.”

Daniel 9:5-19

9:5 we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards. 9:6 We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority ⁶³  to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, ⁶⁴  and to all the inhabitants ⁶⁵  of the land as well.

9:7 “You are righteous, ⁶⁶  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ⁶⁷  – the people ⁶⁸  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. 9:8 O LORD, we have been humiliated ⁶⁹  – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you. 9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, ⁷⁰  even though we have rebelled against him. 9:10 We have not obeyed ⁷¹  the LORD our God by living according to ⁷²  his laws ⁷³  that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

9:11 “All Israel has broken ⁷⁴  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ⁷⁵  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ⁷⁶  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ⁷⁷  9:12 He has carried out his threats ⁷⁸  against us and our rulers ⁷⁹  who were over ⁸⁰  us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ⁸¹  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ⁸²  from your reliable moral standards. ⁸³  9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ⁸⁴  in all he has done, ⁸⁵  and we have not obeyed him. ⁸⁶ 

9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power ⁸⁷  and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly. 9:16 O Lord, according to all your justice, ⁸⁸  please turn your raging anger ⁸⁹  away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

9:17 “So now, our God, accept ⁹⁰  the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to ⁹¹  your devastated sanctuary for your own sake. ⁹²  9:18 Listen attentively, ⁹³  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ⁹⁴  and the city called by your name. ⁹⁵  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ⁹⁶  but because your compassion is abundant. 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.” ⁹⁷ 

Micah 3:9-12

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ⁹⁸  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ⁹⁹  of Israel!

You ¹⁰⁰  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

3:10 You ¹⁰¹  build Zion through bloody crimes, ¹⁰² 

Jerusalem ¹⁰³  through unjust violence.

3:11 Her ¹⁰⁴  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ¹⁰⁵ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ¹⁰⁶  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ¹⁰⁷ 

Disaster will not overtake ¹⁰⁸  us!”

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ¹⁰⁹  Zion will be plowed up like ¹¹⁰  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ¹¹¹  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ¹¹² 

Micah 7:13

7:13 The earth will become desolate ¹¹³ 

because of what its inhabitants have done. ¹¹⁴ 

[24:5]  ¹ tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”

[24:5]  ² sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.

[24:5]  ³ tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”

[24:5]  ⁴ tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”

[24:6]  ⁵ sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.

[24:6]  ⁶ tn The verb אָשַׁם (’asham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).

[24:6]  ⁷ tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).

[24:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”

[50:1]  ⁹ sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.

[50:1]  ¹⁰ sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.

[50:1]  ¹¹ sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.

[59:12]  ¹² tn Heb “for many are our rebellious deeds before you.”

[59:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] our rebellious deeds (are) with us, and our sins, we know them.”

[59:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[59:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”

[59:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”

[59:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[59:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”

[2:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Are you not bringing this on yourself.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[2:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “at the time of leading you in the way.”

[2:19]  ²¹ tn Or “teach you a lesson”; Heb “rebuke/chide you.”

[2:19]  ²² tn Heb “how evil and bitter.” The reference is to the consequences of their acts. This is a figure of speech (hendiadys) where two nouns or adjectives joined by “and” introduce a main concept modified by the other noun or adjective.

[2:19]  ²³ tn Heb “to leave the Lord your God.” The change in person is intended to ease the problem of the rapid transition, which is common in Hebrew style but not in English, from third to first person between this line and the next.

[2:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and no fear of me was on you.”

[2:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh, [the God of] hosts.” For the title Lord God see the study note on 1:6. For the title “who rules over all” see the following study note. The title “the Lord who rules over all” is a way of rendering the title “Yahweh of armies.” It is an abbreviation of a longer title “Yahweh the God of armies” which occurs five times in Jeremiah (see, e.g., 44:7). The abbreviated title occurs seventy-seven times in the book of Jeremiah. On thirty-two occasions it is further qualified by the title “the God of Israel,” showing his special relation to Israel. On six occasions it is preceded by the title “Lord” (see, e.g., 46:10) and twice it is preceded by the title “the King” (see, e.g., 51:17). Both titles emphasize his sovereignty. Twice it is said that he is the maker of all things (10:16; 51:19), and once it is said that he made the earth and the people and animals on it and gives them into the control of whomever he wishes (27:4-5). On two occasions it is emphasized that he also made the heavenly elements and controls the natural elements of wind, rain, thunder, and hail (31:35; 51:14-16). All this is consistent with usage elsewhere where the “armies” over which he has charge are identified as (1) the angels which surround his throne (Isa 6:3, 5; 1 Kgs 22:19) and which he sends to protect his servants (2 Kgs 6:17), (2) the natural forces of thunder, rain, and hail (Isa 29:6; Josh 10:11; Judg 5:4, 5) through which he sends the enemy into panic and “gums” up their chariot wheels, (3) the armies of Israel (1 Sam 17:45) which he leads into battle (Num 10:34-35; Josh 5:14, 15) and for whom he fights as a mighty warrior (Exod 15:3; Isa 42:13; Ps 24:8), and even (4) the armies of the nations which he musters against his disobedient people (Isa 13:14). This title is most commonly found in the messenger formula “Thus says…” introducing both oracles of judgment (on Israel [e.g., 9:7, 15] and on the nations [e.g. 46:19; 50:18]; and see in general 25:29-32). It emphasizes his sovereignty as the king and creator, the lord of creation and of history, and the just judge who sees and knows all (11:20; 20:12) and judges each person and nation according to their actions (Jer 32:18-19). In the first instance (in the most dominant usage) this will involve the punishment of his own people through the agency of the Babylonians (cf., e.g., 25:8-9). But it will also include the punishment of all nations, including Babylon itself (cf. Jer 25:17-26, 32-38), and will ultimately result in the restoration of his people and a new relation with them (30:8; 31:35-37).

[4:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Your way and your deeds.”

[4:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “How bitter!”

[4:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Indeed, it reaches to your heart.” The subject must be the pain alluded to in the last half of the preceding line; the verb is masculine, agreeing with the adjective translated “painful.” The only other possible antecedent “punishment” is feminine.

[1:8]  ²⁹ tc The MT reads חֵטְא (khet’, “sin”), but the BHS editors suggest the vocalization חָטֹא (khato’, “sin”), Qal infinitive absolute.

[1:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “she has become an object of head-nodding” (לְנִידָה הָיָתָה, lÿniydah hayatah). This reflects the ancient Near Eastern custom of shaking the head in scorn (e.g., Jer 18:16; Ps 44:15 [HT 14]), hence the translation “object of scorn.” There is debate whether נִידָה (nidah) means (1) “object of head-shaking” from נוּד (nud, “to shake,” BDB 626-27 s.v. נוּד); (2) “unclean thing” from נָדַה (nadah, “to be impure”); or (3) “wanderer” from נָדַד (nadad, “to wander,” BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד). The LXX and Rashi connected it to נָדַד (nadad, “to wander”); however, several important early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus) and Syriac translated it as “unclean thing.” The modern English versions are split: (1) “unclean thing” (NASB); “unclean” (NIV); (2) “a mockery” (NRSV).

[1:8]  ³¹ sn The Piel participle of כָּבֵד (kaved) is infrequent and usually translated formulaically as those who honor someone. The feminine nuance may be best represented as “her admirers have despised her.”

[1:8]  ³² tn The verb הִזִּילוּהָ (hizziluha) is generally understood as a rare form of Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural + 3rd person feminine singular suffix from I זָלַל (zalal, “to despise”): “they despise her.” This follows the I nun (ן) pattern with daghesh (dot) in zayin (ז) rather than the expected geminate pattern הִזִילּוּהָ (hizilluha) with daghesh in lamed (ל) (GKC 178-79 §67.l).

[1:8]  ³³ sn The expression have seen her nakedness is a common metaphor to describe the plunder and looting of a city by a conquering army, probably drawn on the ignominious and heinous custom of raping the women of a conquered city as well.

[1:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “groan” or “sigh.” The verb אָנַח (’anakh, appearing only in Niphal) means “sigh” (BDB 58 s.v. 1) or “groan” (HALOT 70-71 s.v.) as an expression of grief (Prov 29:2; Isa 24:7; Lam 1:4, 8; Ezek 9:4; 21:11). The word גַּם (gam) is usually a particle meaning “also,” but has been shown from Ugaritic to have the meaning “aloud.” See T. McDaniel, “Philological Studies in Lamentations, I-II,” Bib 49 (1968): 31-32.

[1:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and turns backward.”

[1:14]  ³⁶ tc The consonantal text נשקד על פּשעי (nsqd ’l ps’y) is vocalized by the MT as נִשְׂקַד עֹל פְּשָׁעַי (nisqad ’ol pÿsha’ay, “my transgression is bound by a yoke”); but the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta) and many medieval Hebrew mss vocalize the text as נִשְׁקַד עַל פְּשָׁעַי (nishqad ’al pÿsha’ay, “watch is kept upon my transgression”). There are two textual deviations: (1) the MT vocalizes the verb as נִשְׂקַד (nisqad, Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine singular from שָׂקַד [saqad, “to bind”]), while the alternate tradition vocalizes it as נִשְׁקַד (nishqad, Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine singular from שָׁקַד [shaqad, “to keep watch”]); and (2) the MT vocalizes על (’l) as the noun עֹל (’ol, “yoke”), while the ancient versions and medieval Hebrew mss vocalize it as the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”). External evidence favors the alternate vocalization: all the early versions (LXX, Targum, Vulgate, Peshitta) and many medieval Hebrew mss versus the relatively late MT vocalization tradition. However, internal evidence favors the MT vocalization: (1) The MT verb שָׂקַד (saqar, “to bind”) is a hapax legomenon (BDB 974 s.v. שָׂקַד) which might have been easily confused for the more common verb שָׂקַד (saqar, “to keep watch”) which is well attested elsewhere (Job 21:32; Pss 102:8; 127:1; Prov 8:34; Isa 29:20; Jer 1:12; 5:6; 31:28; 44:27; Ezr 8:29; Dan 9:14) (BDB 1052 s.v. שָׂקַד Qal.2). (2) The syntax of the MT is somewhat awkward, which might have influenced a scribe toward the alternate vocalization. (3) The presence of the noun עֻלּוֹ (’ullo, “his yoke”) in the following line supports the presence of the same term in this line. (4) Thematic continuity of 1:14 favors the MT: throughout the verse, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are continually compared to yoked animals who are sold into the hands of cruel task-masters. The alternate vocalization intrudes into an otherwise unified stanza. In summary, despite strong external evidence in favor of the alternate vocalization tradition, even stronger internal evidence favors the MT.

[1:14]  ³⁷ tc The MT reads עָלוּ (’alu, “they went up”), Qal perfect 3rd person common plural from עָלָה (’alah, “to go up”). However, several important recensions of the LXX reflect an alternate vocalization tradition: Lucian and Symmachus both reflect a Vorlage of עֻלּוֹ (’ullo, “his yoke”), the noun עֹל (’ol, “yoke”) + 3rd person masculine singular suffix. The Lucianic recension was aimed at bringing the LXX into closer conformity to the Hebrew; therefore, this is an important textual witness. Internal evidence favors the readings of Lucian and Symmachus as well: the entire stanza focuses on the repeated theme of the “yoke” of the Lord. The MT reading is obscure in meaning, and the 3rd person common plural form violates the syntactical flow: “[my sins] are lashed together by his hand; they have gone up upon my neck, he has weakened my strength; the Lord has handed me over ….” On the other hand, the Lucian/Symmachus reflects contextual congruence: “My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke, they are lashed together by his hand; his yoke is upon my neck, he has weakened my strength; he has handed me over to those whom I am powerless to resist.”

[1:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “his yoke is upon my neck.”

[1:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “he has caused my strength to stumble.” The phrase הִכְשִׁיל כֹּחִי (hikhshil kokhi, “He has made my strength stumble”) is an idiom that means “to weaken, make feeble.”

[1:14]  ⁴⁰ tc Here the MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”), the perpetual Qere reading for יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), but a multitude of Hebrew mss read consonantal יהוה (YHWH, traditionally translated “the Lord”).

[1:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “The Lord has given me into the hands of.”

[1:18]  ⁴² tn Heb “The Lord himself is right.” The phrase “to judge me” is not in the Hebrew, but is added in the translation to clarify the expression.

[1:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “His mouth.” The term “mouth” (פֶּה, peh) is a metonymy of instrument (= mouth) for the product (= words). The term פֶּה (peh) often stands for spoken words (Ps 49:14; Eccl 10:3; Isa 29:13), declaration (Gen 41:40; Exod 38:21; Num 35:30; Deut 17:6; Ezra 1:1) and commands of God (Exod 17:1; Num 14:41; 22:18; Josh 15:13; 1 Sam 15:24; 1 Chr 12:24; Prov 8:29; Isa 34:16; 62:2). When the verb מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”) is used with the accusative direct object פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) to connote disobedience to God’s commandments (Num 20:24; 1 Sam 12:14, 15; 1 Kgs 13:21) (BDB 805 s.v. פֶּה 2.c).

[1:18]  ⁴⁴ tc The Kethib is written עַמִּים (’ammim, “peoples”), but the Qere, followed by many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions (LXX and Aramaic Targum), read הָעַמִּים (ha’ammim, “O peoples”). The Qere is probably the original reading.

[4:13]  ⁴⁵ tn These words do not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied to make sense of the line. The introductory causal preposition מִן (min) (“because”) indicates that this phrase – or something like it – is implied through elision.

[4:13]  ⁴⁶ tn There is no main verb in the verse; it is an extended prepositional phrase. One must either assume a verbal idea such as “But it happened due to…” or connect it to the following verses, which themselves are quite difficult. The former option was employed in the present translation.

[4:14]  ⁴⁷ tn “They” are apparently the people, rather than the prophets and priests mentioned in the preceding verse.

[4:14]  ⁴⁸ tc The Hebrew word עִוְרִים (’ivrim) appears to be an adjective based on the root I עִוֵּר (’ivver, “blind”). The LXX, using a rare perfect optative of ἐγείρω (egeirw), seems to have read a form of II עוּר (’ur, “to rise”), while the Syriac reads “her nobles,” possibly from reading שָׂרִים (sarim). The evidence is unclear.

[4:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “defiled with blood.”

[4:14]  ⁵⁰ tn The translation is conjecture. The MT has the preposition ב (bet, “in,” “by,” “with,” “when,” etc.), the negative particle לֹא (lo’), then a finite verb from יָכַל (yakhal, Qal impfect 3rd person masculine plural): “in not they are able.” Normally יָכַל (yakhal) would be followed by an infinitive, identifying what someone is or is not able to do, or by some other modifying clause. לֹא יָכַל (lo’ yakhal) on its own may mean “they do not prevail.” The preposition ב (bet) suggests possible dependence on another verb (cp. Jer 2:11, the only other verse with the sequence ב [bet] plus לֹא [lo’] plus finite verb). The following verb נָגַע (naga’, “touch”) regularly indicates its object with the preposition ב (bet), but the preposition ב (bet) is already used with “their garments.” If both are the object of נָגַע (naga’), the line would read “they touched what they could not, their garments.” As this makes no sense, one should note that any other verb on which the phrase would be dependent is not recoverable. The preposition ב (bet) can also introduce temporal clauses, though there are no examples with לֹא (lo’) plus a finite verb. A temporal understanding could yield “when they could not succeed, they touched [clutched?] their garments” or “while no one is able [to ?] they touch their garments.” In Jer 49:10 the meaning of יָכַל (yakhal) is completed by a finite verb (though it is not governed by the preposition ב [bet]). If so here, then we may understand “while (ב [bet]) no one dares (יָכַל, yakhal) to touch their garments.” This gives the picture of blind people stumbling about while others cannot help because they are afraid to touch them.

[4:15]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “They say among the nations.”

[5:17]  ⁵² tn Heb “are faint” or “are sick.” The adjective דַּוָּי (davvay, “faint”) is used in reference to emotional sorrow (e.g., Isa 1:5; Lam 1:22; Jer 8:18). The related adjective דָּוֶה (daveh) means “(physically) sick” and “(emotionally) sad,” while the related verb דָּוָה (davah) means “to be sad.” The cognate Aramaic term means “sorrow,” and the cognate Syriac term refers to “misery.”

[5:17]  ⁵³ tn Heb “our eyes are dim.” The physical description of losing sight is metaphorical, perhaps for being blinded by tears or more abstractly for being unable to see (= envision) any hope. The collocation “darkened eyes” is too rare to clarify the nuance.

[5:17]  ⁵⁴ tn The phrase “through our tears” is added in the translation for the sake of clarification.

[22:25]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.

[22:25]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.

[22:26]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”

[22:26]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).

[22:28]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

[22:29]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”

[22:30]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “I did not find.”

[22:31]  ⁶² tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”

[9:6]  ⁶³ tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate, “as your representatives.”

[9:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.

[9:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[9:7]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “men.”

[9:8]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”

[9:9]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”

[9:10]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).

[9:10]  ⁷² tn Heb “to walk in.”

[9:10]  ⁷³ tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.

[9:11]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “him.”

[9:12]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”

[9:12]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “our judges.”

[9:12]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “who judged.”

[9:13]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ⁸² tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ⁸³ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[9:14]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “righteous.”

[9:14]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”

[9:14]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”

[9:15]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”

[9:16]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “righteousness.”

[9:16]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).

[9:17]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “hear.” Here the verb refers to hearing favorably, accepting the prayer and responding positively.

[9:17]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “let your face shine.” This idiom pictures God smiling in favor. See Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19.

[9:17]  ⁹² tn Heb “for the sake of my Lord.” Theodotion has “for your sake.” Cf. v. 19.

[9:18]  ⁹³ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[9:19]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v 18.

[3:9]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[3:10]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “who.”

[3:10]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”

[3:10]  ¹⁰³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁴ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[3:12]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ¹¹² tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[7:13]  ¹¹³ tn Or “will be ruined.”

[7:13]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.”