Jeremiah 7:24

7:24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. ¹ 

Jeremiah 7:2

7:2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim ²  this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. ³  Hear what the Lord has to say.

Jeremiah 36:16

36:16 When they had heard it all, ⁴  they expressed their alarm to one another. ⁵  Then they said to Baruch, “We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read!” ⁶ 

Psalms 81:11-13

81:11 But my people did not obey me; ⁷ 

Israel did not submit to me. ⁸ 

81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ⁹ 

they did what seemed right to them. ¹⁰ 

81:13 If only my people would obey me! ¹¹ 

If only Israel would keep my commands! ¹² 

Isaiah 48:4

48:4 I did this ¹³  because I know how stubborn you are.

Your neck muscles are like iron

and your forehead like bronze. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 48:18

48:18 If only you had obeyed my ¹⁵  commandments,

prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, ¹⁶ 

deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. ¹⁷ 

Zechariah 7:11-12

7:11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. 7:12 Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, ¹⁸  so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the Lord who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord who rules over all had poured out great wrath.

Revelation 2:21-22

2:21 I ¹⁹  have given her time to repent, but ²⁰  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, ²¹  and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, ²²  unless they repent of her deeds.

[7:24]  ¹ tn Or “They went backward and not forward”; Heb “They were to the backward and not to the forward.” The two phrases used here appear nowhere else in the Bible and the latter preposition plus adverb elsewhere is used temporally meaning “formerly” or “previously.” The translation follows the proposal of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 57. Another option is “they turned their backs to me, not their faces,” understanding the line as a variant of a line in 2:27.

[7:2]  ² tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.

[7:2]  ³ sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.

[36:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the words.”

[36:16]  ⁵ tn According to BDB 808 s.v. פָּחַד Qal.1 and 40 s.v. אֶל 3.a, this is an example of the “pregnant” use of a preposition where an implied verb has to be supplied in the translation to conform the normal range of the preposition with the verb that is governing it. The Hebrew text reads: “they feared unto one another.” BDB translates “they turned in dread to each other.” The translation adopted seems more appropriate in this context.

[36:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “We must certainly report to the king all these things.” Here the word דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim) must mean “things” (cf. BDB 183 s.v. דָּבָר IV.3) rather than “words” because a verbatim report of all the words in the scroll is scarcely meant. The present translation has chosen to use a form that suggests a summary report of all the matters spoken about in the scroll rather than the indefinite “things.”

[81:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “did not listen to my voice.”

[81:11]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew expression אָבָה לִי (’avah liy) means “submit to me” (see Deut 13:8).

[81:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”

[81:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).

[81:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).

[81:13]  ¹² tn Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”

[48:4]  ¹³ tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.

[48:4]  ¹⁴ sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.

[48:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”

[48:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.

[48:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.

[7:12]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term שָׁמִיר (shamir) means literally “hardness” and since it is said in Ezek 3:9 to be harder than flint, many scholars suggest that it refers to diamond. It is unlikely that diamond was known to ancient Israel, however, so probably a hard stone like emery or corundum is in view. The translation nevertheless uses “diamond” because in modern times it has become proverbial for its hardness. A number of English versions use “flint” here (e.g., NASB, NIV).

[2:21]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[2:22]  ²¹ tn Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).

[2:22]  ²² tn Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.