Isaiah 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ¹  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ² 

Isaiah 28:17

28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,

fairness the plumb line;

hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, ³ 

the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

Jeremiah 23:29

23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! ⁴  It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! ⁵  I, the Lord, so affirm it! ⁶ 

Ezekiel 13:10-16

13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” ⁷  when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, ⁸  they coat it with whitewash. 13:11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones ⁹  will fall and a violent wind will break out. ¹⁰  13:12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”

13:13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. 13:14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, ¹¹  and you will know that I am the Lord. 13:15 I will vent my rage against the wall, and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more – 13:16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem ¹²  and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’

Zechariah 13:9

13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;

I will refine them like silver is refined

and will test them like gold is tested.

They will call on my name and I will answer;

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” ¹³ 

Zechariah 13:1

The Refinement of Judah

13:1 “In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty ¹⁴  of David and the people of Jerusalem ¹⁵  to cleanse them from sin and impurity. ¹⁶ 

Zechariah 1:7

The Introduction to the Visions

1:7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in Darius’ second year, ¹⁷  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

Zechariah 4:12

4:12 Before he could reply I asked again, “What are these two extensions ¹⁸  of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?”

[8:20]  ¹ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ² tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

[28:17]  ³ tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.

[23:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.

[23:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[13:10]  ⁷ tn Or “peace.”

[13:10]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3) it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here comparing the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.

[13:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”

[13:11]  ¹⁰ sn A violent wind will break out. God’s judgments are frequently described in storm imagery (Pss 18:7-15; 77:17-18; 83:15; Isa 28:17; 30:30; Jer 23:19; 30:23).

[13:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.

[13:16]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:9]  ¹³ sn The expression I will say ‘It is my people,’ and they will say ‘the Lord is my God’ is reminiscent of the restoration of Israel predicted by Hosea, who said that those who had been rejected as God’s people would be reclaimed and once more become his sons and daughters (Hos 2:23).

[13:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house” (so NIV, NRSV), referring to dynastic descendants.

[13:1]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for sin and for impurity.” The purpose implied here has been stated explicitly in the translation for clarity.

[1:7]  ¹⁷ sn The twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month…in Darius’ second year was February 15, 519 b.c.

[4:12]  ¹⁸ tn The usual meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁבֹּלֶת (shÿbolet) is “ears” (as in ears of grain). Here it probably refers to the produce of the olive trees, i.e., olives. Many English versions render the term as “branches,” but cf. NAB “tufts.”