Psalms 53:4

53:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹  do not understand ²  –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

Isaiah 3:15

3:15 Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?” ³ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies ⁴  has spoken.

Ezekiel 22:27

22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit.

Ezekiel 34:3

34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep!

Amos 8:4-6

8:4 Listen to this, you who trample ⁵  the needy,

and do away with ⁶  the destitute in the land.

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ⁷  be over, ⁸  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ⁹  so we can open up the grain bins? ¹⁰ 

We’re eager ¹¹  to sell less for a higher price, ¹² 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ¹³ 

8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, ¹⁴ 

a pair of sandals ¹⁵  for the needy!

We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” ¹⁶ 

Zephaniah 3:3

3:3 Her princes ¹⁷  are as fierce as roaring lions; ¹⁸ 

her rulers ¹⁹  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ²⁰ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ²¹ 

Zechariah 11:4-5

11:4 The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter. 11:5 Those who buy them ²²  slaughter them and are not held guilty; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them.

[53:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”

[53:4]  ² tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).

[3:15]  ³ sn The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s outrage at what the leaders have done to the poor. He finds it almost unbelievable that they would have the audacity to treat his people in this manner.

[3:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[8:4]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “trample” in 2:7.

[8:4]  ⁶ tn Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”

[8:5]  ⁷ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

[8:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “pass by.”

[8:5]  ⁹ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[8:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

[8:5]  ¹¹ tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:5]  ¹² tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.

[8:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

[8:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to buy the poor for silver.”

[8:6]  ¹⁵ tn See the note on the word “sandals” in 2:6.

[8:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “The chaff of the grain we will sell.”

[3:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “officials.”

[3:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally “judges.”

[3:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.

[11:5]  ²² sn The expression those who buy them appears to be a reference to the foreign nations to whom Israel’s own kings “sold” their subjects. Far from being good shepherds, then, they were evil and profiteering. The whole section (vv. 4-14) refers to the past when the Lord, the Good Shepherd, had in vain tried to lead his people to salvation and life.