Jeremiah 17:15
Context17:15 Listen to what they are saying to me. 1
They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?
Come on! Let’s see them happen!” 2
Jeremiah 20:7-8
Context20:7 Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet,
and I allowed you to do it.
You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. 3
Now I have become a constant laughingstock.
Everyone ridicules me.
20:8 For whenever I prophesy, 4 I must cry out, 5
“Violence and destruction are coming!” 6
This message from the Lord 7 has made me
an object of continual insults and derision.
Isaiah 13:1
Context13:1 8 This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: 9
Isaiah 14:28
Context14:28 In the year King Ahaz died, 10 this message was revealed: 11
Nahum 1:1
Context1:1 The oracle against Nineveh; 12
the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite: 13
Habakkuk 1:1
Context1:1 The following is the message 14 which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: 15
Malachi 1:1
Context1:1 What follows is divine revelation. 16 The word of the Lord came to Israel through Malachi: 17
[17:15] 1 tn Heb “Behold, they are saying to me.”
[17:15] 2 tn Heb “Where is the word of the
[20:7] 3 tn The translation is admittedly interpretive but so is every other translation that tries to capture the nuance of the verb rendered here “coerced.” Here the Hebrew text reads: “You [ – ]ed me and I let myself be [ – ]ed. You overpowered me and prevailed.” The value one assigns to [ – ] is in every case interpretive based on what one thinks the context is referring to. The word is rendered “deceived” or “tricked” by several English versions (see, e.g., KJV, NASB, TEV, ICV) as though God had misled him. It is rendered “enticed” by some (see, e.g., NRSV, NJPS) as though God had tempted him with false hopes. Some go so far as to accuse Jeremiah of accusing God of metaphorically “raping” him. It is true that the word is used of “seducing” a virgin in Exod 22:15 and that it is used in several places to refer to “deceiving” someone with false words (Prov 24:28; Ps 78:36). It is also true that it is used of “coaxing” someone to reveal something he does not want to (Judg 14:15; 16:5) and of “enticing” someone to do something on the basis of false hopes (1 Kgs 22:20-22; Prov 1:10). However, it does not always have negative connotations or associations. In Hos 2:14 (2:16 HT) God “charms” or “woos” Israel, his estranged ‘wife,’ into the wilderness where he hopes to win her back to himself. What Jeremiah is alluding to here is crucial for translating and interpreting the word. There is no indication in this passage that Jeremiah is accusing God of misleading him or raising false hopes; God informed him at the outset that he would encounter opposition (1:17-19). Rather, he is alluding to his call to be a prophet, a call which he initially resisted but was persuaded to undertake because of God’s persistence (Jer 1:7-10). The best single word to translate ‘…’ with is thus “persuaded” or “coerced.” The translation spells out the allusion explicitly so the reader is not left wondering about what is being alluded to when Jeremiah speaks of being “coerced.” The translation “I let you do it” is a way of rendering the Niphal of the same verb which must be tolerative rather than passive since the normal passive for the Piel would be the Pual (See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g for discussion and examples.). The translation “you overcame my resistance” is based on allusion to the same context (1:7-10) and the parallel use of חָזַק (khazaq) as a transitive verb with a direct object in 1 Kgs 16:22.
[20:8] 4 tn Heb “speak,” but the speaking is in the context of speaking as a prophet.
[20:8] 5 tn Heb “I cry out, I proclaim.”
[20:8] 6 tn Heb “Violence and destruction.”
[20:8] 7 tn Heb “the word of the
[13:1] 8 sn Isa 13-23 contains a series of judgment oracles against various nations. It is likely that Israel, not the nations mentioned, actually heard these oracles. The oracles probably had a twofold purpose. For those leaders who insisted on getting embroiled in international politics, these oracles were a reminder that Judah need not fear foreign nations or seek international alliances for security reasons. For the righteous remnant within the nation, these oracles were a reminder that Israel’s God was indeed the sovereign ruler of the earth, worthy of his people’s trust.
[13:1] 9 tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] [about] Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.”
[14:28] 10 sn Perhaps 715
[14:28] 11 tn Heb “this oracle came.”
[1:1] 13 tn Or “Nahum of Elkosh” (NAB, NRSV).
[1:1] 14 tn Heb “The burden” (so KJV, ASV). The Hebrew term מַשָּׂא (masa’), usually translated “oracle” (NAB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “utterance” (BDB 672 s.v. III מַשָּׂא), in prophetic literature is a technical term introducing a message from the
[1:1] 15 tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] which Habakkuk the prophet saw.”
[1:1] 16 tn Heb “The burden.” The Hebrew term III מַשָּׂא (massa’), usually translated “oracle” or “utterance” (BDB 672 s.v. מַשָּׂא), is a technical term in prophetic literature introducing a message from the
[1:1] 17 tn Heb “The word of the