Isaiah 48:4

48:4 I did this ¹  because I know how stubborn you are.

Your neck muscles are like iron

and your forehead like bronze. ² 

Psalms 76:5

76:5 The bravehearted ³  were plundered; ⁴ 

they “fell asleep.” ⁵ 

All the warriors were helpless. ⁶ 

Zechariah 7:11-12

7:11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. 7:12 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.

Malachi 3:13-15

Resistance to the Lord through Self-sufficiency

3:13 “You have criticized me sharply,” ⁸  says the Lord, “but you ask, ‘How have we criticized you?’ 3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ⁹  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ¹⁰  3:15 So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. ¹¹  In fact, those who challenge ¹²  God escape!’”

Acts 7:51

7:51 “You stubborn ¹³  people, with uncircumcised ¹⁴  hearts and ears! ¹⁵  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ¹⁶  did!

[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.

[76:5]  ³ tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).

[76:5]  ⁴ tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).

[76:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”

[76:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”

[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).

[3:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “your words are hard [or “strong”] against me”; cf. NIV “said harsh things against me”; TEV, NLT “said terrible things about me.”

[3:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”

[3:14]  ¹⁰ sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.

[3:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “built up” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “prosper”; NLT “get rich.”

[3:15]  ¹² tn Or “test”; NRSV, CEV “put God to the test.”

[7:51]  ¹³ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ¹⁴ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ¹⁵ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ¹⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”