Isaiah 28:21-22

28:21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, ¹ 

he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, ² 

to accomplish his work,

his peculiar work,

to perform his task,

his strange task. ³ 

28:22 So now, do not mock,

or your chains will become heavier!

For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,

from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 5:12-13

5:12 “These people have denied what the Lord says. ⁵ 

They have said, ‘That is not so! ⁶ 

No harm will come to us.

We will not experience war and famine. ⁷ 

5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. ⁸ 

The Lord has not spoken through them. ⁹ 

So, let what they say happen to them.’”

Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ¹⁰  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ¹¹  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ¹²  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ¹³  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Ezekiel 12:22-28

12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’? 12:23 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. ¹⁴  12:24 For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel. 12:25 For I, the Lord, will speak. Whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will not be delayed any longer. Indeed in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

12:26 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:27 “Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’ 12:28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Zephaniah 1:2

The Lord’s Day of Judgment is Approaching

1:2 “I will destroy ¹⁵  everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

Acts 6:13-14

6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ¹⁶  and the law. ¹⁷  6:14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs ¹⁸  that Moses handed down to us.”

[28:21]  ¹ sn This probably alludes to David’s victory over the Philistines at Baal Perazim. See 2 Sam 5:20.

[28:21]  ² sn This probably alludes to the Lord’s victory over the Canaanites at Gibeon, during the days of Joshua. See Josh 10:10-11.

[28:21]  ³ sn God’s judgment of his own people is called “his peculiar work” and “his strange task,” because he must deal with them the way he treated their enemies in the past.

[28:22]  ⁴ tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “have denied the Lord.” The words “What…says” are implicit in what follows.

[5:12]  ⁶ tn Or “he will do nothing”; Heb “Not he [or it]!”

[5:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “we will not see the sword and famine.”

[5:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “will be wind.”

[5:13]  ⁹ tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew ms the article on the noun (הַדָּבָר, haddavar).

[18:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

[18:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

[18:18]  ¹² tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

[18:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

[12:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text combines the infinitive absolute of אָסַף (’asaf, “gather up, sweep away”) with a Hiphil prefixed first person form of סוּף (suf, “come to an end”; see Jer 8:13 for the same combination). This can be translated literally, “Sweeping away, I will bring to an end.” Some prefer to emend the text so that the infinitive and finite form of the verb are from the same root (“I will certainly sweep away,” if from אָסַף [cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV]; “I will certainly bring to an end,” if from סוּף). For a discussion of proposals see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, 169.

[6:13]  ¹⁶ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ¹⁷ sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.

[6:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “practices.”