Isaiah 30:10

30:10 They ¹  say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! ² 

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages. ³ 

Isaiah 30:1

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious ⁴  children are as good as dead,” ⁵  says the Lord,

“those who make plans without consulting me, ⁶ 

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, ⁷ 

and thereby compound their sin. ⁸ 

Isaiah 9:9

9:9 All the people were aware ⁹  of it,

the people of Ephraim and those living in Samaria. ¹⁰ 

Yet with pride and an arrogant attitude, they said, ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 26:8-11

26:8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some ¹²  of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die! ¹³  26:9 How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things! How dare you claim his authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabited ruin!” ¹⁴  Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah.

26:10 However, some of the officials ¹⁵  of Judah heard about what was happening ¹⁶  and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court ¹⁷  at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁸  26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, ¹⁹  “This man should be condemned to die ²⁰  because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so ²¹  with your own ears.”

Amos 7:12-13

7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! ²²  Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living ²³  and prophesy there! 7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel ²⁴  any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!” ²⁵ 

[30:10]  ¹ tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:10]  ² tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”

[30:10]  ³ tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”

[30:1]  ⁴ tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”

[30:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”

[30:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”

[30:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.

[30:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”

[9:9]  ⁹ tn The translation assumes that vv. 9-10 describe the people’s response to a past judgment (v. 8). The perfect is understood as indicating simple past and the vav (ו) is taken as conjunctive. Another option is to take the vav on the perfect as consecutive and translate, “all the people will know.”

[9:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the people, all of them, knew; Ephraim and the residents of Samaria.”

[9:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with pride and arrogance of heart, saying.”

[26:8]  ¹² tn The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that…the priests…grabbed him and said…” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation, because obviously it was not all the priests, the prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche where all is put for a part – all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 614-19, and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)

[26:8]  ¹³ tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).

[26:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Why have you prophesied in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘This house will become like Shiloh and this city will become a ruin without inhabitant?’” It is clear from the context here and in 7:1-15 that the emphasis is on “in the Lord’s name” and that the question is rhetorical. The question is not a quest for information but an accusation, a remonstrance. (For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 953-54, who calls a question like this a rhetorical question of remonstrance or expostulation. For good examples see Pss 11:1; 50:16.) For the significance of “prophesying in the Lord’s name” see the study note on 14:14. The translation again utilizes the indirect quote to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.

[26:10]  ¹⁵ sn These officials of Judah were officials from the royal court. They may have included some of the officials mentioned in Jer 36:12-25. They would have been concerned about any possible “illegal” proceedings going on in the temple.

[26:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “these things.”

[26:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial.

[26:10]  ¹⁸ tn The translation follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the word “house” (= temple) here. The majority of Hebrew mss do not have this word. It is, however, implicit in the construction “the New Gate of the Lord.”

[26:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”

[26:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”

[26:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “it.”

[7:12]  ²² tn Traditionally, “seer.” The word is a synonym for “prophet,” though it may carry a derogatory tone on the lips of Amaziah.

[7:12]  ²³ tn Heb “Eat bread there.”

[7:13]  ²⁴ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “for it is a temple of a king and it is a royal house.” It is possible that the phrase “royal house” refers to a temple rather than a palace. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 243.