Isaiah 65:3

65:3 These people continually and blatantly offend me ¹ 

as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards ² 

and burn incense on brick altars. ³ 

Isaiah 66:17

66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ⁴  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ⁵  – they will all be destroyed together,” ⁶  says the Lord.

Jeremiah 2:20

The Lord Expresses His Exasperation at Judah’s Persistent Idolatry

2:20 “Indeed, ⁷  long ago you threw off my authority

and refused to be subject to me. ⁸ 

You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ ⁹ 

Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill

and under every green tree,

like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 3:6

3:6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. ¹¹  You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. ¹² 

[65:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the people who provoke me to anger to my face continually.”

[65:3]  ² tn Or “gardens” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[65:3]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “on tiles.”

[66:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.

[66:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”

[66:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Or “For.” The Hebrew particle (כִּי, ki) here introduces the evidence that they had no respect for him.

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “you broke your yoke…tore off your yoke ropes.” The metaphor is that of a recalcitrant ox or heifer which has broken free from its master.

[2:20]  ⁹ tc The MT of this verse has two examples of the old second feminine singular perfect, שָׁבַרְתִּי (shavarti) and נִתַּקְתִּי (nittaqti), which the Masoretes mistook for first singulars leading to the proposal to read אֶעֱבוֹר (’e’evor, “I will not transgress”) for אֶעֱבֹד (’e’evod, “I will not serve”). The latter understanding of the forms is accepted in KJV but rejected by almost all modern English versions as being less appropriate to the context than the reading accepted in the translation given here.

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you sprawled as a prostitute on….” The translation reflects the meaning of the metaphor.

[3:6]  ¹¹ tn “Have you seen…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:6]  ¹² tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.