Proverbs 9:7-8

9:7 Whoever corrects ¹  a mocker is asking for ²  insult; ³ 

whoever reproves a wicked person receives ⁴  abuse.

9:8 Do not reprove ⁵  a mocker or ⁶  he will hate you;

reprove a wise person and he will love you.

Isaiah 30:10-11

30:10 They ⁷  say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! ⁸ 

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages. ⁹ 

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path. ¹⁰ 

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 29:26

29:26 “The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. ¹²  He has put you in charge in the Lord’s temple of controlling ¹³  any lunatic ¹⁴  who pretends to be a prophet. ¹⁵  And it is your duty to put any such person in the stocks ¹⁶  with an iron collar around his neck. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 29:2

29:2 He sent it after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials, ¹⁸  the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had been exiled from Jerusalem. ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 4:3

4:3 Yes, ²⁰  the Lord has this to say

to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,

you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;

just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,

you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. ²¹ 

Revelation 11:10

11:10 And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

[9:7]  ¹ tn The active participle יֹסֵר (yoser) describes one who tries to correct by means of instruction and discipline; it is paralleled by the Hiphil participle which refers to someone who rebukes or reproves another. Anyone trying this on these types of people would be inviting trouble.

[9:7]  ² tn Heb “receives for himself.”

[9:7]  ³ tn The word means “dishonor” or “disgrace.” It is paralleled with מוּמוֹ (mumo), translated “abuse.” The latter term means “blemish,” although some would emend the text to read “reproach.” The MT is figurative but not impossible to interpret: Whoever tries to rebuke a wicked person will receive only insults and perhaps physical attack.

[9:7]  ⁴ tn The verb “receives” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[9:8]  ⁵ tn In view of the expected response for reproof, the text now uses a negated jussive to advise against the attempt. This is paralleled antithetically by the imperative in the second colon. This imperative is in an understood conditional clause: “if you reprove a wise person.”

[9:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “lest he hate you.” The particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 79, §476). The antonyms “love” and “hate” suggest that the latter means “reject” and the former means “choosing and embracing.”

[30:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”

[30:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”

[30:11]  ¹⁰ sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.

[30:11]  ¹¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[29:26]  ¹² tn Heb “in place of Jehoiada the priest.” The word “the priest” is unnecessary to the English sentence.

[29:26]  ¹³ tc Heb “The Lord has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be overseer in the house of the Lord for/over.” The translation is based on a reading presupposed by several of the versions. The Hebrew text reads “The Lord has…to be overseers [in] the house of the Lord for/over.” The reading here follows that of the Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions in reading פָּקִיד בְּבֵית (paqid bÿvet) in place of פְּקִדִים בֵּית (pÿqidim bet). There has been a confusion of the ם (mem) and בּ (bet) and a transposition of the י (yod) and ד (dalet).

[29:26]  ¹⁴ sn The Hebrew term translated lunatic applies to anyone who exhibits irrational behavior. It was used for example of David who drooled and scratched on the city gate to convince Achish not to arrest him as a politically dangerous threat (1 Sam 21:14). It was often used contemptuously of the prophets by those who wanted to play down the significance of their words (2 Kgs 9:11; Hos 9:7 and here).

[29:26]  ¹⁵ tn The verb here is a good example of what IBHS 431 §26.2f calls the estimative-declarative reflexive where a person presents himself in a certain light. For examples of this usage see 2 Sam 13:5; Prov 13:7.

[29:26]  ¹⁶ tn See the translator’s note on 20:2 for this word which only occurs here and in 20:2-3.

[29:26]  ¹⁷ tn This word only occurs here in the Hebrew Bible. All the lexicons are agreed as seeing it referring to a collar placed around the neck. The basis for this definition are the cognate languages (see, e.g., HALOT 958-59 s.v. צִינֹק for the most complete discussion).

[29:2]  ¹⁸ tn This term is often mistakenly understood to refer to a “eunuch.” It is clear, however, in Gen 39:1 that “eunuchs” could be married. On the other hand it is clear from Isa 59:3-5 that some who bore this title could not have children. In this period, it is possible that the persons who bore this title were high officials like the rab saris who was a high official in the Babylonian court (cf. Jer 39:3, 13; 52:25). For further references see HALOT 727 s.v. סָרִיס 1.c.

[29:2]  ¹⁹ sn See 2 Kgs 24:14-16 and compare the study note on Jer 24:1.

[4:3]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew particle is obviously asseverative here since a causal connection appears to make little sense.

[4:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “Plow up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns.” The translation is an attempt to bring out the force of a metaphor. The idea seems to be that they are to plow over the thorns and make the ground ready for the seeds which will produce a new crop where none had been produced before.