Jeremiah 9:6

9:6 They do one act of violence after another,

and one deceitful thing after another. ¹ 

They refuse to pay attention to me,” ² 

says the Lord.

Proverbs 4:13

4:13 Hold on to instruction, ³  do not let it go;

protect it, ⁴  because it is your life.

Isaiah 30:10

30:10 They ⁵  say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! ⁶ 

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages. ⁷ 

Isaiah 44:20

44:20 He feeds on ashes; ⁸ 

his deceived mind misleads him.

He cannot rescue himself,

nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ⁹ 

Isaiah 44:1

The Lord Will Renew Israel

44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen!”

Isaiah 5:21

5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, ¹⁰ 

those who think they possess understanding. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 5:2

5:2 He built a hedge around it, ¹²  removed its stones,

and planted a vine.

He built a tower in the middle of it,

and constructed a winepress.

He waited for it to produce edible grapes,

but it produced sour ones instead. ¹³ 

Isaiah 2:9-12

2:9 Men bow down to them in homage,

they lie flat on the ground in worship. ¹⁴ 

Don’t spare them! ¹⁵ 

2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,

hide in the ground.

Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, ¹⁶ 

from his royal splendor!

2:11 Proud men will be brought low,

arrogant men will be humiliated; ¹⁷ 

the Lord alone will be exalted ¹⁸ 

in that day.

2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, ¹⁹ 

for ²⁰  all the high and mighty,

for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;

Revelation 2:25

2:25 However, hold on to what you have until I come.

[9:6]  ¹ tc An alternate reading for vv. 5d-6b is: “They wear themselves out doing wrong. Jeremiah, you live in the midst of deceitful people. They deceitfully refuse to take any thought of/acknowledge me.” The translation which has been adopted is based on a redivision of the lines, a redivision of some of the words, and a revocalization of some of the consonants. The MT reads literally “doing wrong they weary themselves. Your sitting in the midst of deceit; in deceit they refuse to know me” (הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ׃ שִׁבְתְּךָ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת־אוֹתִי). The Greek version reads literally “they do wrong and they do not cease to turn themselves around. Usury upon usury and deceit upon deceit. They do not want to know me.” This suggests that one should read the Hebrew text as שֻׁב׃ תֹּךְ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְ־מָה בְּמִרְ־מָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת אוֹתִי הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ, which translated literally yields “doing evil [= “they do evil” using the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ff)] they are not able [cf. KBL 468 s.v. לָאָה Niph.3 and see Exod 7:18 for parallel use] to repent. Oppression on oppression [cf. BDB 1067 s.v. תֹּךְ, II תּוֹךְ]; deceit on deceit. They refuse to know me.” This reading has ancient support and avoids the introduction of an unexpected second masculine suffix into the context. It has been adopted here along with a number of modern commentaries (cf., e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:201) and English versions as the more likely reading.

[9:6]  ² tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” See the note on the phrase “do not take any thought of me” in 9:3.

[4:13]  ³ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:13]  ⁴ tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsÿreha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).

[30:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”

[30:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”

[44:20]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”

[44:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”

[5:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.

[5:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”

[5:2]  ¹² tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.

[5:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “men bow down, men are low.” Since the verbs שָׁחָח (shakhakh) and שָׁפַל (shafal) are used later in this discourse to describe how God will humiliate proud men (see vv. 11, 17), some understand v. 9a as a prediction of judgment, “men will be brought down, men will be humiliated.” However, these prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive appear to carry on the description that precedes and are better taken with the accusation. They draw attention to the fact that human beings actually bow down and worship before the lifeless products of their own hands.

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “don’t lift them up.” The idiom “lift up” (נָשָׂא with לְ, nasa’ with preposition lamed) can mean “spare, forgive” (see Gen 18:24, 26). Here the idiom plays on the preceding verbs. The idolaters are bowed low as they worship their false gods; the prophet asks God not to “lift them up.”

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “get away” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the eyes of the pride of men will be brought low, and the arrogance of men will be brought down.” The repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “elevated”; CEV “honored.”

[2:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”

[2:12]  ²⁰ tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).