Jeremiah 7:13

7:13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again. ¹  But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent! ² 

Jeremiah 7:25

7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, ³  I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, ⁴  day after day. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 11:7

11:7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors to obey me. ⁶  I warned them again and again, ⁷  ever since I delivered them out of Egypt until this very day.

Jeremiah 11:2

11:2 “Hear ⁸  the terms of the covenant ⁹  I made with Israel ¹⁰  and pass them on ¹¹  to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. ¹² 

Jeremiah 9:7

9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, ¹³ 

“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction ¹⁴  and test them.

The wickedness of my dear people ¹⁵  has left me no choice.

What else can I do? ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 17:13

17:13 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. ¹⁷ 

All who leave you will suffer shame.

Those who turn away from you ¹⁸  will be consigned to the nether world. ¹⁹ 

For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life. ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 17:23

17:23 Your ancestors, ²¹  however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused ²²  to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’

Jeremiah 24:2

24:2 One basket had very good-looking figs in it. They looked like those that had ripened early. ²³  The other basket had very bad-looking figs in it, so bad they could not be eaten.

Ezra 9:11

9:11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ²⁴  ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! ²⁵  With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.

Ezekiel 38:17

38:17 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants ²⁶  the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days ²⁷  that I would bring you against them?

Daniel 9:6-10

9:6 We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority ²⁸  to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, ²⁹  and to all the inhabitants ³⁰  of the land as well.

9:7 “You are righteous, ³¹  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ³²  – the people ³³  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. 9:8 O LORD, we have been humiliated ³⁴  – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you. 9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, ³⁵  even though we have rebelled against him. 9:10 We have not obeyed ³⁶  the LORD our God by living according to ³⁷  his laws ³⁸  that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

Amos 3:7

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

Zechariah 1:6

1:6 But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? ³⁹  Then they paid attention ⁴⁰  and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”

Revelation 10:7

10:7 But in the days ⁴¹  when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, ⁴²  just as he has ⁴³  proclaimed to his servants ⁴⁴  the prophets.”

Revelation 11:18

11:18 The ⁴⁵  nations ⁴⁶  were enraged,

but ⁴⁷  your wrath has come,

and the time has come for the dead to be judged,

and the time has come to give to your servants, ⁴⁸ 

the prophets, their reward,

as well as to the saints

and to those who revere ⁴⁹  your name, both small and great,

and the time has come ⁵⁰  to destroy those who destroy ⁵¹  the earth.”

[7:13]  ¹ tn This reflects a Hebrew idiom (e.g., 7:25; 11:7; 25:3, 4), i.e., an infinitive of a verb meaning “to do something early [or eagerly]” followed by an infinitive of another verb of action. Cf. HALOT 1384 s.v. שָׁכַם Hiph.2.

[7:13]  ² tn Heb “I called to you and you did not answer.” The words “to repent” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:25]  ³ tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”

[7:25]  ⁴ tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.

[7:25]  ⁵ tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).

[11:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “warned them…saying, ‘Obey me.’” However, it allows the long sentence to be broken up easier if the indirect quote is used.

[11:7]  ⁷ tn For the explanation for this rendering see the note on 7:13.

[11:2]  ⁸ tn The form is a second masculine plural which is followed in the MT of vv. 2-3 by second masculine singulars. This plus the fact that the whole clause “listen to the terms of this covenant” is nearly repeated at the end of v. 3 has led many modern scholars to delete the whole clause (cf., e.g. W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:236-37). However, this only leads to further adjustments in the rest of the verse which are difficult to justify. The form has also led to a good deal of speculation about who these others were that are initially addressed here. The juxtaposition of second plural and singular forms has a precedent in Deuteronomy, where the nation is sometimes addressed with the plural and at other times with a collective singular.

[11:2]  ⁹ sn The covenant I made with Israel. Apart from the legal profession and Jewish and Christian tradition the term “covenant” may not be too familiar. There were essentially three kinds of “covenants” that were referred to under the Hebrew term used here: (1) “Parity treaties” or “covenants” between equals in which each party pledged itself to certain agreed upon stipulations and took an oath to it in the name of their god or gods (cf. Gen 31:44-54); (2) “Suzerain-vassal treaties” or “covenants” in which a great king pledged himself to protect the vassal’s realm and his right to rule over his own domain in exchange for sovereignty over the vassal, including the rendering of absolute loyalty and submission to the great king’s demands spelled out in detailed stipulations; (3) “Covenants of grant” in which a great king granted to a loyal servant or vassal king permanent title to a piece of land or dominion over a specified realm in recognition of past service. It is generally recognized that the Mosaic covenant which is being referred to here is of the second type and that it resembles in kind the ancient Near Eastern suzerain-vassal treaties. These treaties typically contained the following elements: (1) a preamble identifying the great king (cf. Exod 20:2a; Deut 1:1-4); (2) a historical prologue summarizing the great king’s past benefactions as motivation for future loyalty (cf. Exod 20:2b; Deut 1:5–4:43); (3) the primary stipulation of absolute and unconditional loyalty (cf. Exod 20:3-8; Deut 5:1–11:32); (4) specific stipulations governing future relations between the vassal and the great king and the vassal’s relation to other vassals (cf. Exod 20:22–23:33; Deut 12:1–26:15); (5) the invoking of curses on the vassal for disloyalty and the pronouncing of blessing on him for loyalty (cf. Lev 26; Deut 27-28); (6) the invoking of witnesses to the covenant, often the great king’s and the vassal’s gods (cf. Deut 30:19; 31:28 where the reference is to the “heavens and the earth” as enduring witnesses). It is also generally agreed that the majority of the threats of punishment by the prophets refer to the invocation of these covenant curses for disloyalty to the basic stipulation, that of absolute loyalty.

[11:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “this covenant.” The referent of “this” is left dangling until it is further defined in vv. 3-4. Leaving it undefined in the translation may lead to confusion hence the anticipatory nature of the demonstrative is spelled out explicitly in the translation.

[11:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and speak/tell them.” However, the translation chosen is more appropriate to modern idiom.

[11:2]  ¹² tn Or “those living in Jerusalem”; Heb “inhabitants of.”

[9:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[9:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[9:7]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, ra’at) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-’ammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne ra’at) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.

[17:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “O glorious throne, O high place from the beginning, O hope of Israel, O Lord.” Commentators and translators generally understand these four lines (which are three in the Hebrew original) as two predications, one eulogizing the temple and the other eulogizing God. However, that does not fit the context very well and does not take into account the nature of Jeremiah’s doxology in Jeremiah 16:19-20 (and compare also 10:6-7). There the doxology is context motivated, focused on God, and calls on relevant attributes in the form of metaphorical epithets. That fits nicely here as well. For the relevant parallel passages see the study note.

[17:13]  ¹⁸ tc The translation is based on an emendation suggested in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:500, n. b-b. The emendation involves following the reading preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere) and understanding the preposition with the following word as a corruption of the suffix on it. Thus the present translation reads וּסוּרֶיךָ אֶרֶץ (usurekha ’erets) instead of וּסוּרַי בָּאֶרֶץ (usuray ba’erets, “and those who leave me will be written in the earth”), a reading which is highly improbable since all the other pronouns are second singular.

[17:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “to the world of the dead.” An alternative interpretation is: “will be as though their names were written in the dust”; Heb “will be written in the dust.” The translation follows the nuance of “earth” listed in HALOT 88 s.v. אֶרֶץ 4 and found in Jonah 2:6 (2:7 HT); Job 10:21-22. For the nuance of “enrolling, registering among the number” for the verb translated here “consign” see BDB 507 s.v. כָּתַב Qal.3 and 508 s.v. Niph.2 and compare usage in Ezek 13:9 and Ps 69:28 (69:29 HT).

[17:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “The fountain of living water.” For an earlier use of this metaphor and the explanation of it see Jer 2:13 and the notes there. There does not appear to be any way to retain this metaphor in the text without explaining it. In the earlier text the context would show that literal water was not involved. Here it might still be assumed that the Lord merely gives life-giving water.

[17:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “They.” The antecedent is spelled out to avoid any possible confusion.

[17:23]  ²² tn Heb “They hardened [or made stiff] their neck so as not to.”

[24:2]  ²³ sn See Isa 28:4; Hos 9:10.

[9:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “through your servants the prophets, saying.”

[9:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[38:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “by the hand of my servants.”

[38:17]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:201.

[9:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate, “as your representatives.”

[9:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.

[9:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “people.”

[9:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ³² tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ³³ tn Heb “men.”

[9:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”

[9:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”

[9:10]  ³⁶ tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).

[9:10]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to walk in.”

[9:10]  ³⁸ tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.

[1:6]  ³⁹ tc BHS suggests אֶתְכֶם (’etkhem, “you”) for the MT אֲבֹתֵיכֶם (’avotekhem, “your fathers”) to harmonize with v. 4. In v. 4 the ancestors would not turn but in v. 6 they appear to have done so. The subject in v. 6, however, is to be construed as Zechariah’s own listeners.

[1:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “they turned” (so ASV). Many English versions have “they repented” here; cf. CEV “they turned back to me.”

[10:7]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.”

[10:7]  ⁴² tn The aorist ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh) has been translated as a proleptic (futuristic) aorist (ExSyn 564 cites this verse as an example).

[10:7]  ⁴³ tn The time of the action described by the aorist εὐηγγέλισεν (euhngelisen) seems to be past with respect to the aorist passive ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh). This does not require that the prophets in view here be OT prophets. They may actually refer to the martyrs in the church (so G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 129).

[10:7]  ⁴⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[11:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “The Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[11:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:18]  ⁴⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[11:18]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “who fear.”

[11:18]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “the time has come” do not occur except at the beginning of the verse; the phrase has been repeated for emphasis and contrast. The Greek has one finite verb (“has come”) with a compound subject (“your wrath,” “the time”), followed by three infinitive clauses (“to be judged,” “to give,” “to destroy”). The rhetorical power of the repetition of the finite verb in English thus emulates the rhetorical power of its lone instance in Greek.

[11:18]  ⁵¹ tn Or “who deprave.” There is a possible wordplay here on two meanings for διαφθείρω (diafqeirw), with the first meaning “destroy” and the second meaning either “to ruin” or “to make morally corrupt.” See L&N 20.40.