Proverbs 28:14

28:14 Blessed is the one who is always cautious, ¹ 

but whoever hardens his heart ²  will fall into evil.

Proverbs 29:1

29:1 The one who stiffens his neck ³  after numerous rebukes ⁴ 

will suddenly be destroyed ⁵  without remedy. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 3:2-3

3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. ⁷ 

You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. ⁸ 

You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. ⁹ 

You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. ¹⁰ 

3:3 That is why the rains have been withheld,

and the spring rains have not come.

Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. ¹¹ 

You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.

Jeremiah 5:3

5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. ¹² 

But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. ¹³ 

Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.

They have become as hardheaded as a rock. ¹⁴ 

They refuse to change their ways. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 8:12

8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things?

No, they are not at all ashamed!

They do not even know how to blush!

So they will die just like others have died. ¹⁶ 

They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 44:16-17

44:16 “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! ¹⁷  44:17 Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. ¹⁸  We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven ¹⁹  just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. ²⁰ 

[28:14]  ¹ tn Most commentators (and some English versions, e.g., NIV) assume that the participle מְפַחֵד (mÿfakhed, “fears”) means “fears the Lord,” even though “the Lord” is not present in the text. Such an assumption would be more convincing if the word יִרְאַת (yir’at) had been used. It is possible that the verse refers to fearing sin or its consequences. In other words, the one who is always apprehensive about the nature and consequences of sin will avoid sin and find God’s blessing. Of course the assumption that the phrase means “fear the Lord” could be correct as well. There would be little difference in the outcome; in either case sin would be avoided.

[28:14]  ² sn The one who “hardens his heart” in this context is the person who refuses to fear sin and its consequences. The image of the “hard heart” is one of a stubborn will, unyielding and unbending (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT). This individual will fall into sin.

[29:1]  ³ tn The idiom “to harden the neck” (מַקְשֶׁה־עֹרֶף, maqsheh-’oref) is the idea of resisting the rebukes and persisting in obstinacy (e.g., Exod 32:9). The opposite of a “stiff neck” would be the bending back, i.e., submission.

[29:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew construction is אִישׁ תּוֹכָחוֹת (’ish tokhakhot, “a man of rebukes”), meaning “a man who has (or receives) many rebukes.” This describes a person who is deserving of punishment and who has been given many warnings. The text says, then, “a man of rebukes hardening himself.”

[29:1]  ⁵ sn The stubborn person refuses to listen; he will suddenly be destroyed when the calamity strikes (e.g., Prov 6:15; 13:18; 15:10).

[29:1]  ⁶ tn Or “healing” (NRSV).

[3:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and see.”

[3:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “Where have you not been ravished?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which suggests she has engaged in the worship of pagan gods on every one of the hilltops.

[3:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.

[3:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”

[5:3]  ¹² tn Heb “O Lord, are your eyes not to faithfulness?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[5:3]  ¹³ tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.

[5:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”

[5:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”

[8:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”

[44:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the word [or message] you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord.” For an explanation of the rendering of “in the name of the Lord” see the study notes on 10:25 and 23:27.

[44:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that went out of our mouth.” I.e., everything we said, promised, or vowed.

[44:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” The expressions have been combined to simplify and shorten the sentence. The same combination also occurs in vv. 18, 19.

[44:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “saw [or experienced] no disaster/trouble/harm.”