Isaiah 30:8-11

30:8 Now go, write it ¹  down on a tablet in their presence, ² 

inscribe it on a scroll,

so that it might be preserved for a future time

as an enduring witness. ³ 

30:9 For these are rebellious people –

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. ⁴ 

30:10 They ⁵  say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! ⁶ 

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages. ⁷ 

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path. ⁸ 

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” ⁹ 

Habakkuk 2:2

The Lord Assures Habakkuk

2:2 The Lord responded: ¹⁰ 

“Write down this message! ¹¹  Record it legibly on tablets,

so the one who announces ¹²  it may read it easily. ¹³ 

[30:8]  ¹ tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.

[30:8]  ² tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.

[30:8]  ³ sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.

[30:9]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”

[30:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”

[30:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”

[30:11]  ⁸ sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.

[30:11]  ⁹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord answered and said.” The redundant expression “answered and said” has been simplified in the translation as “responded.”

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[the] vision.”

[2:2]  ¹² tn Or “reads from.”

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “might run,” which here probably means “run [through it quickly with one’s eyes],” that is, read it easily.