Discovery BoxIsaiah 48:4
Context48:4 I did this 1 because I know how stubborn you are.
Your neck muscles are like iron
and your forehead like bronze. 2
Jeremiah 5:3
Context5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. 3
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. 4
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock. 5
They refuse to change their ways. 6
Zechariah 7:12
Context7:12 Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, 7 so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the Lord who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord who rules over all had poured out great wrath.
[48:4] 1 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
[48:4] 2 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
[5:3] 3 tn Heb “O
[5:3] 4 tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.
[5:3] 5 tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”
[5:3] 6 tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”
[7:12] 7 tn The Hebrew term שָׁמִיר (shamir) means literally “hardness” and since it is said in Ezek 3:9 to be harder than flint, many scholars suggest that it refers to diamond. It is unlikely that diamond was known to ancient Israel, however, so probably a hard stone like emery or corundum is in view. The translation nevertheless uses “diamond” because in modern times it has become proverbial for its hardness. A number of English versions use “flint” here (e.g., NASB, NIV).
