Numbers 14:27

14:27 “How long must I bear ¹  with this evil congregation ²  that murmurs against me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites that they murmured against me.

Exodus 10:3

10:3 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long do you refuse ³  to humble yourself before me? ⁴  Release my people so that they may serve me!

Exodus 16:28

16:28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse ⁵  to obey my commandments and my instructions?

Proverbs 1:22

1:22 “How long will you simpletons ⁶  love naiveté? ⁷ 

How long ⁸  will mockers ⁹  delight ¹⁰  in mockery ¹¹ 

and fools ¹²  hate knowledge?

Jeremiah 4:14

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil ¹³ 

so that you may yet be delivered.

How long will you continue to harbor up

wicked schemes within you?

Hosea 8:5

8:5 O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol!

My anger burns against them!

They will not survive much longer without being punished, ¹⁴ 

even though they are Israelites!

Zechariah 8:14

8:14 “For the Lord who rules over all says, ‘As I had planned to hurt ¹⁵  you when your fathers made me angry,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘and I was not sorry,

Matthew 17:17

17:17 Jesus answered, ¹⁶  “You ¹⁷  unbelieving ¹⁸  and perverse generation! How much longer ¹⁹  must I be with you? How much longer must I endure ²⁰  you? ²¹  Bring him here to me.”

[14:27]  ¹ tn The figure is aposiopesis, or sudden silence. The main verb is deleted from the line, “how long…this evil community.” The intensity of the emotion is the reason for the ellipsis.

[14:27]  ² sn It is worth mentioning in passing that this is one of the Rabbinic proof texts for having at least ten men to form a congregation and have prayer. If God called ten men (the bad spies) a “congregation,” then a congregation must have ten men. But here the word “community/congregation” refers in this context to the people of Israel as a whole, not just to the ten spies.

[10:3]  ³ tn The verb is מֵאַנְתָּ (me’anta), a Piel perfect. After “how long,” the form may be classified as present perfect (“how long have you refused), for it describes actions begun previously but with the effects continuing. (See GKC 311 §106.g-h). The use of a verb describing a state or condition may also call for a present translation (“how long do you refuse”) that includes past, present, and potentially future, in keeping with the question “how long.”

[10:3]  ⁴ tn The clause is built on the use of the infinitive construct to express the direct object of the verb – it answers the question of what Pharaoh was refusing to do. The Niphal infinitive construct (note the elision of the ה [hey] prefix after the preposition [see GKC 139 §51.l]) is from the verb עָנָה (’anah). The verb in this stem would mean “humble oneself.” The question is somewhat rhetorical, since God was not yet through humbling Pharaoh, who would not humble himself. The issue between Yahweh and Pharaoh is deeper than simply whether or not Pharaoh will let the Israelites leave Egypt.

[16:28]  ⁵ tn The verb is plural, and so it is addressed to the nation and not to Moses. The perfect tense in this sentence is the characteristic perfect, denoting action characteristic, or typical, of the past and the present.

[1:22]  ⁶ tn Wisdom addresses three types of people: simpletons (פְּתָיִם, pÿtayim), scoffers (לֵצִים, letsim) and fools (כְּסִילִים, kÿsilim). For the term “simpleton” see note on 1:4. Each of these three types of people is satisfied with the life being led and will not listen to reason. See J. A. Emerton, “A Note on the Hebrew Text of Proverbs 1:22-23,” JTS 19 (1968): 609-14.

[1:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “simplicity” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “inanity.” The noun פֶּתִי (peti) means “simplicity; lack of wisdom” (BDB 834 s.v.; HALOT 989 s.v. II פֶּתִי). It is related to the term פְּתָיִם (pÿtayim) “simpletons” and so forms a striking wordplay. This lack of wisdom and moral simplicity is inherent in the character of the naive person.

[1:22]  ⁸ tn The second instance of “How long?” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in the translation for smoothness and style.

[1:22]  ⁹ sn The term לֵצִים (leysim, “scoffers; mockers”) comes from the root לִיץ (lits, “to scorn; to mock; to speak indirectly” (BDB 539 s.v. לִיץ). They are cynical and defiant freethinkers who ridicule the righteous and all for which they stand (e.g., Ps 1:1).

[1:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “delight.” The verb (חָמַד, khamad) is often translated “to take pleasure; to delight” but frequently has the meaning of a selfish desire, a coveting of something. It is the term, for example, used for coveting in the Decalogue (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21) and for the covetous desire of Eve (Gen 3:6) and Achan (Josh 7:21). It is tempting to nuance it here as “illicit desire” for mockery.

[1:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for themselves.” The ethical dative לָהֶם (lahem, “for themselves”) is normally untranslated. It is a rhetorical device emphasizing that they take delight in mockery for their own self-interests.

[1:22]  ¹² sn The term “fool” (כְּסִיל, kÿsil) refers to the morally insensitive dullard (BDB 493 s.v.).

[4:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”

[8:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “How long will they be able to be free from punishment?” This rhetorical question affirms that Israel will not survive much longer until God punishes it.

[8:14]  ¹⁵ tn The verb זָמַם (zamam) usually means “to plot to do evil,” but with a divine subject (as here), and in light of v. 15 where it means to plan good, the meaning here has to be the implementation of discipline (cf. NCV, CEV “punish”). God may bring hurt but its purpose is redemptive and/or pedagogical.

[17:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

[17:17]  ¹⁸ tn Or “faithless.”

[17:17]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “how long.”

[17:17]  ²⁰ tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

[17:17]  ²¹ sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.