Micah 2:11

2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, ¹ 

‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ² 

he would be just the right preacher for these people! ³ 

Isaiah 56:9-12

The Lord Denounces Israel’s Paganism

56:9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,

all you wild animals in the forest!

56:10 All their watchmen ⁴  are blind,

they are unaware. ⁵ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ⁶  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ⁷ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ⁸ 

56:12 Each one says, ⁹ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 13:18-19

13:18 and say ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to those who sew bands ¹¹  on all their wrists ¹²  and make headbands ¹³  for heads of every size to entrap people’s lives! ¹⁴  Will you entrap my people’s lives, yet preserve your own lives? 13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people ¹⁵  who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!

Matthew 7:15

A Tree and Its Fruit

7:15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. ¹⁶ 

Romans 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ¹⁷  of the naive.

[2:11]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”

[2:11]  ³ tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”

[56:10]  ⁴ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[56:11]  ⁷ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ⁹ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[13:18]  ¹¹ sn The wristbands mentioned here probably represented magic bands or charms. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:413.

[13:18]  ¹² tn Heb “joints of the hands.” This may include the elbow and shoulder joints.

[13:18]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term occurs in the Bible only here and in v. 21. It has also been understood as a veil or type of head covering. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:414) suggests that given the context of magical devices, the expected parallel to the magical arm bands, and the meaning of this Hebrew root (סָפַח [safakh, “to attach” or “join”]), it may refer to headbands or necklaces on which magical amulets were worn.

[13:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls” (three times in v. 18 and twice in v. 19).

[13:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”

[7:15]  ¹⁶ sn Sheep’s clothing…voracious wolves. Jesus uses a metaphor here to point out that these false prophets appear to be one thing, but in reality they are something quite different and dangerous.

[16:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “hearts.”