Nehemiah 9:26

9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. ¹  They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.

Deuteronomy 4:26

4:26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you ²  today that you will surely and swiftly be removed ³  from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be ⁴  annihilated.

Deuteronomy 31:21

31:21 Then when ⁵  many disasters and distresses overcome them ⁶  this song will testify against them, ⁷  for their ⁸  descendants will not forget it. ⁹  I know the ¹⁰  intentions they have in mind ¹¹  today, even before I bring them ¹²  to the land I have promised.”

Deuteronomy 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ¹³  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Deuteronomy 17:13

17:13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again.

Deuteronomy 17:2

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ¹⁴  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ¹⁵  and breaks his covenant

Deuteronomy 24:19

24:19 Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, ¹⁶  you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do. ¹⁷ 

Deuteronomy 1:15

1:15 So I chose ¹⁸  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials.

Jeremiah 25:3-7

25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ¹⁹  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ²⁰  what he said. ²¹  But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again ²²  the Lord has sent ²³  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ²⁴  25:5 He said through them, ²⁵  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ²⁶  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ²⁷  25:6 Do not pay allegiance to ²⁸  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ²⁹  Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, ³⁰  ‘You have not listened to me. But ³¹  you have made me angry by the things that you have done. ³²  Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

Hosea 6:5

6:5 Therefore, I will certainly cut ³³  you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; ³⁴ 

I will certainly kill you ³⁵  in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; ³⁶ 

for ³⁷  my judgment ³⁸  will come forth like the light of the dawn. ³⁹ 

[9:26]  ¹ tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”

[4:26]  ² sn I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you. This stock formula introduces what is known form-critically as a רִיב (riv) or controversy pattern. It is commonly used in the ancient Near Eastern world in legal contexts and in the OT as a forensic or judicial device to draw attention to Israel’s violation of the Lord’s covenant with them (see Deut 30:19; Isa 1:2; 3:13; Jer 2:9). Since court proceedings required the testimony of witnesses, the Lord here summons heaven and earth (that is, all creation) to testify to his faithfulness, Israel’s disobedience, and the threat of judgment.

[4:26]  ³ tn Or “be destroyed”; KJV “utterly perish”; NLT “will quickly disappear”; CEV “you won’t have long to live.”

[4:26]  ⁴ tn Or “be completely” (so NCV, TEV). It is not certain here if the infinitive absolute indicates the certainty of the following action (cf. NIV) or its degree.

[31:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”

[31:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”

[31:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “which he is doing.”

[31:21]  ¹² tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:2]  ¹³ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

[17:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

[24:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the field.”

[24:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “of your hands.” This law was later applied in the story of Ruth who, as a poor widow, was allowed by generous Boaz to glean in his fields (Ruth 2:1-13).

[1:15]  ¹⁸ tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

[25:3]  ¹⁹ sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ²⁰ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ²¹ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:4]  ²² tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:4]  ²³ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

[25:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

[25:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”

[25:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.

[25:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.

[25:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.

[25:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[25:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:7]  ³¹ tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).

[25:7]  ³² tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[6:5]  ³³ tn The two suffix conjugation verbs חָצַבְתִּי (khatsavti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular from חָצַב, khatsav, “to cut into pieces”) and הֲרַגְתִּים (haragtim, Qal perfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from הָרַג, harag, “to kill”) are used in reference to future-time events. These are examples of the so-called “prophetic perfect” which emphasizes the certainty of the future event (e.g., Num 24:17; Josh 10:19; Isa 8:23; 9:1). For this function of the perfect, see IBHS 480-81 §30.1d. Most English versions, however, render these as past tenses.

[6:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “by the prophets” (so KJV, NRSV). The prophets are pictured as the executioners of Israel and Judah because they announced their imminent destruction. The prophetic word was endowed with the power of fulfillment.

[6:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “them.” The shift from the 2nd person masculine singular referents (“your” and “you”) in 6:4-5 to the 3rd person masculine plural referent (“them”) is an example of enallage, a poetic device used for emphasis.

[6:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “with the words of my mouth” (so NIV); TEV “with my message of judgment and destruction.”

[6:5]  ³⁷ tn The disjunctive vav prefixed to the noun (וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, umishpatekha) has an explanatory function.

[6:5]  ³⁸ tc The MT reads וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ אוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpatekha ’or yetse’, “and your judgments [are] a light [which] goes forth”) which is enigmatic and syntactically awkward (cf. KJV, NASB). The LXX reads καὶ τὸ κρίμα μου ὡς φώς (kai to krima mou {ws fos, “my judgment goes forth like light”) which reflects וּמִשְׁפָּטִי כָאוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpati kha’or yetse’, “my judgment goes forth like the light”) and posits only a simple misdivision of words. This is reflected in the Syriac Peshitta and Aramaic Targum and is followed by the present translation (so also NCV, NRSV). See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:238.

[6:5]  ³⁹ tn The noun אוֹר (’or, “light”) is used here in reference to the morning light or dawn (e.g., Judg 16:2; 19:26; 1 Sam 14:36; 25:34, 36; 2 Sam 17:22; 23:4; 2 Kgs 7:9; Neh 8:3; Job 24:14; Prov 4:18; Mic 2:1; cf. CEV, NLT) rather than lightning (cf. NIV). This continues the early morning imagery used throughout 6:2-5.