Isaiah 9:15-16

9:15 The leaders and the highly respected people ¹  are the head,

the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

9:16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,

and the people being led were destroyed. ² 

Jeremiah 2:8

2:8 Your priests ³  did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ ⁴ 

Those responsible for teaching my law ⁵  did not really know me. ⁶ 

Your rulers rebelled against me.

Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. ⁷ 

They all worshiped idols that could not help them. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 5:31

5:31 The prophets prophesy lies.

The priests exercise power by their own authority. ⁹ 

And my people love to have it this way.

But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 6:13-14

6:13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

Prophets and priests alike,

all of them practice deceit.

6:14 They offer only superficial help

for the harm my people have suffered. ¹¹ 

They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’

But everything is not all right! ¹² 

Jeremiah 8:10-11

8:10 ¹³ So I will give their wives to other men

and their fields to new owners.

For from the least important to the most important of them,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

Prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

8:11 They offer only superficial help

for the hurt my dear people ¹⁴  have suffered. ¹⁵ 

They say, “Everything will be all right!”

But everything is not all right! ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 14:13-15

14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, ¹⁷  look! ¹⁸  The prophets are telling them that you said, ¹⁹  ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. ²⁰  I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’” ²¹ 

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ²²  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ²³  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ²⁴  and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about ²⁵  them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ ²⁶ 

Jeremiah 23:11-17

23:11 Moreover, ²⁷  the Lord says, ²⁸ 

“Both the prophets and priests are godless.

I have even found them doing evil in my temple!

23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.

They will stumble and fall headlong.

For I will bring disaster on them.

A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ²⁹ 

The Lord affirms it! ³⁰ 

23:13 The Lord says, ³¹  “I saw the prophets of Samaria ³² 

doing something that was disgusting. ³³ 

They prophesied in the name of the god Baal

and led my people Israel astray. ³⁴ 

23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem ³⁵ 

doing something just as shocking.

They are unfaithful to me

and continually prophesy lies. ³⁶ 

So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,

with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. ³⁷ 

I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,

and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. ³⁸ 

23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, ³⁹ 

have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ⁴⁰ 

‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering

and drink the poison water of judgment. ⁴¹ 

For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason ⁴² 

that ungodliness ⁴³  has spread throughout the land.’”

23:16 The Lord who rules over all ⁴⁴  says to the people of Jerusalem: ⁴⁵ 

“Do not listen to what

those prophets are saying to you.

They are filling you with false hopes.

They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,

not something the Lord has given them to say. ⁴⁶ 

23:17 They continually say ⁴⁷  to those who reject what the Lord has said, ⁴⁸ 

‘Things will go well for you!’ ⁴⁹ 

They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,

‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’

Jeremiah 27:14-16

27:14 Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve ⁵⁰  the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you. 27:15 For I, the Lord, affirm ⁵¹  that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you ⁵²  listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” ⁵³ 

27:16 I also told the priests and all the people, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to what your prophets are saying. They are prophesying to you that ⁵⁴  the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon very soon. ⁵⁵  But they are prophesying a lie to you.

Jeremiah 28:15

28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! ⁵⁶ 

Jeremiah 29:8-9

29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁵⁷  says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination ⁵⁸  deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream. 29:9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ⁵⁹  But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’ ⁶⁰ 

Jeremiah 37:19

37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that ⁶¹  the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

Ezekiel 13:2-16

13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ⁶²  ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. 13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. ⁶³  They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; ⁶⁴  yet they expect their word to be confirmed. ⁶⁵  13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “the Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?

13:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, ⁶⁶  I am against you, ⁶⁷  declares the sovereign Lord. 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council ⁶⁸  of my people, nor be written in the registry ⁶⁹  of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” ⁷⁰  when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, ⁷¹  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 ⁷²  will fall and a violent wind will break out. ⁷³  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, ⁷⁴  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 ⁷⁵  and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’

Micah 2:11

2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, ⁷⁶ 

‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ⁷⁷ 

he would be just the right preacher for these people! ⁷⁸ 

Micah 3:5-7

3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people

are as good as dead. ⁷⁹ 

If someone gives them enough to eat,

they offer an oracle of peace. ⁸⁰ 

But if someone does not give them food,

they are ready to declare war on him. ⁸¹ 

3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; ⁸² 

it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. ⁸³ 

The sun will set on these prophets,

and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. ⁸⁴ 

3:7 The prophets ⁸⁵  will be ashamed;

the omen readers will be humiliated.

All of them will cover their mouths, ⁸⁶ 

for they will receive no divine oracles.” ⁸⁷ 

Micah 3:2

3:2 yet you ⁸⁸  hate what is good, ⁸⁹ 

and love what is evil. ⁹⁰ 

You flay my people’s skin ⁹¹ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ⁹² 

Micah 2:1-3

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ⁹³ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ⁹⁴ 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ⁹⁵ 

because they have the power to do so.

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ⁹⁶ 

They defraud people of their homes, ⁹⁷ 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ⁹⁸ 

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ⁹⁹ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ¹⁰⁰ 

You will no longer ¹⁰¹  walk proudly,

for it will be a time of catastrophe.

[9:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the elder and the one lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.

[9:16]  ² tn Heb “and the ones being led were swallowed up.” Instead of taking מְבֻלָּעִים (mÿbulla’im) from בָּלַע (bala’, “to swallow”), HALOT 134 s.v. בלע proposes a rare homonymic root בלע (“confuse”) here.

[2:8]  ³ tn Heb “The priests…the ones who grasp my law…the shepherds…the prophets…they…”

[2:8]  ⁴ sn See the study note on 2:6.

[2:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “those who handle my law.”

[2:8]  ⁶ tn Or “were not committed to me.” The Hebrew verb rendered “know” refers to more than mere intellectual knowledge. It carries also the ideas of emotional and volitional commitment as well intimacy. See for example its use in contexts like Hos 4:1; 6:6.

[2:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they followed after those things [the word is plural] which do not profit.” The poetic structure of the verse, four lines in which a distinct subject appears at the beginning followed by a fifth line beginning with a prepositional phrase and no distinct subject, argues that this line is climactic and refers to all four classes enumerated in the preceding lines. See W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:88-89. There may be a play or pun in the Hebrew text on the name for the god Baal (בַּעַל, ba’al) and the verb “cannot help you” (Heb “do not profit”) which is spelled יַעַל (ya’al).

[5:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably mean “by their own hand/power/authority.”

[5:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”

[6:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “They heal [= bandage] the wound of my people lightly”; TEV “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches.”

[6:14]  ¹² tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[8:10]  ¹³ sn See Jer 6:12-15 for parallels to 8:10-12. The words of Jeremiah to the people may have been repeated on more than one occasion or have been found appropriate to more than one of his collection of messages in written and edited form. See Jer 36:4 and Jer 36:28 for reference to at least two of these collections.

[8:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “They heal the wound of my people lightly.”

[8:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[14:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.

[14:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Behold.” See the translator’s note on usage of this particle in 1:6.

[14:13]  ¹⁹ tn The words “that you said” are not in the text but are implicit from the first person in the affirmation that follows. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “You will not see sword and you will not have starvation [or hunger].”

[14:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will give you unfailing peace in this place.” The translation opts for “peace and prosperity” here for the word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) because in the context it refers both to peace from war and security from famine and plague. The word translated “lasting” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is a difficult to render here because it has broad uses: “truth, reliability, stability, steadfastness,” etc. “Guaranteed” or “lasting” seem to fit the context the best.

[14:14]  ²² tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).

[14:14]  ²³ tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.

[14:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.

[14:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord about.” The first person construction has been used in the translation for better English style.

[14:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my name and I did not send them [= whom I did not send] and they are saying [= who are saying], ‘Sword and famine…’, by sword and famine those prophets will be killed.” This sentence has been restructured to conform to contemporary English style.

[23:11]  ²⁷ tn The particle כִּי (ki) which begins this verse is parallel to the one at the beginning of the preceding verse. However, the connection is too distant to render it “for.” “Moreover” is intended to draw the parallel. The words “the Lord says” (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) have been drawn up to the front to introduce the shift in speaker from Jeremiah, who describes his agitated state, to God, who describes the sins of the prophets and priests and his consequent judgment on them.

[23:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:12]  ²⁹ tn For the last two lines see 11:23 and the notes there.

[23:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:13]  ³¹ tn The words “The Lord says” are not in the text, but it is clear from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:13]  ³² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[23:13]  ³³ tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.

[23:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[23:14]  ³⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:14]  ³⁶ tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)

[23:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.

[23:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

[23:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…concerning the prophets.” The person is shifted to better conform with English style and the word “of Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation to avoid the possible misunderstanding that the judgment applies to the prophets of Samaria who had already been judged long before.

[23:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” For these same words of judgment on another group see 9:15 (9:14 HT). “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

[23:15]  ⁴² tn The compound preposition מֵאֵת (me’et) expresses source or origin (see BDB 86 s.v. אֵת 4.c). Context shows that the origin is in their false prophesying which encourages people in their evil behavior.

[23:15]  ⁴³ sn A word that derives from this same Hebrew word is used in v. 11 at the beginning of the Lord’s criticism of the prophet and priest. This is a common rhetorical device for bracketing material that belongs together. The criticism has, however, focused on the false prophets and the judgment due them.

[23:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:16]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ⁴⁷ tn The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. GKC 343 §113.r).

[23:17]  ⁴⁸ tc The translation follows the Greek version. The Hebrew text reads, “who reject me, ‘The Lord has spoken, “Things…”’” The Greek version is to be preferred here because of (1) the parallelism of the lines “reject what the Lord has said” // “follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts;” (2) the preceding context which speaks of “visions of their own imaginations not of what the Lord has given them;” (3) the following context which denies that they have ever had access to the Lord’s secrets; (4) the general contexts earlier regarding false prophecy where rejection of the Lord’s word is in view (6:14 [see there v. 10]; 8:11 [see there v. 9]); (5) the meter of the poetic lines (the Hebrew meter is 3/5/4/3; the meter presupposed by the translation is 5/3/4/3 with the 3’s being their words). The difference is one of vocalization of the same consonants. The vocalization of the MT is יְהוָה מְנַאֲצַי דִּבֶּר [mÿna’atsay dibber yÿhvah]; the Hebrew Vorlage behind the Greek would be vocalized as מְנַאֲצֵי דְּבַר יְהוָה (mÿna’atsey dÿvar yÿhvah).

[23:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on 14:13. See also 6:14 and 8:11.

[27:14]  ⁵⁰ tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.

[27:15]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[27:15]  ⁵² sn The verbs are again plural referring to the king and his royal advisers.

[27:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “…drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying lies.”

[27:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “don’t listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you….” The sentence has been broken up for the sake of English style and one level of embedded quotes has been eliminated to ease complexity.

[27:16]  ⁵⁵ sn This refers to the valuable articles of the temple treasury which were carried off by Nebuchadnezzar four years earlier when he carried off Jeconiah, his family, some of his nobles, and some of the cream of Judean society (2 Kgs 24:10-16, especially v. 13 and see also vv. 19-20 in the verses following).

[28:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”

[29:8]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[29:8]  ⁵⁸ sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.

[29:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”

[29:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[37:19]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.

[13:2]  ⁶² tn Heb “from their mind.”

[13:6]  ⁶³ sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.

[13:6]  ⁶⁴ sn The Lord has not sent them. A similar concept is found in Jer 14:14; 23:21.

[13:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”

[13:8]  ⁶⁶ tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[13:8]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.

[13:9]  ⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the Lord (Jer 23:18; Job 15:8), but here it more likely refers to a human council comprised of civic leaders (Gen 49:6; Jer 6:11; 15:17 Ps 64:3; 111:1).

[13:9]  ⁶⁹ tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).

[13:10]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “peace.”

[13:10]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”

[13:11]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.

[13:16]  ⁷⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:11]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”

[2:11]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”

[2:11]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”

[3:5]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the Lord. For this reason some prefer to begin the quotation after “the Lord says” (cf. NIV), but this leaves “concerning the prophets” hanging very awkwardly at the beginning of the quotation. It is preferable to add הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) at the beginning of the quotation, right after the graphically similar יְהוָה (yÿhvah; see D. R. Hillers, Micah [Hermeneia], 44). The phrase הוֹי עַל (hoy ’al, “woe upon”) occurs in Jer 50:27 and Ezek 13:3 (with “the prophets” following the preposition in the latter instance).

[3:5]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.

[3:5]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”

[3:6]  ⁸² tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”

[3:6]  ⁸³ tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”

[3:6]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”

[3:7]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “seers.”

[3:7]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”

[3:7]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”

[3:2]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁹² tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[2:1]  ⁹³ tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.

[2:1]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”

[2:2]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:3]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:3]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “you will not.”