Discovery BoxPsalms 74:9
Context74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; 1
there are no longer any prophets 2
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. 3
Isaiah 8:20-22
Context8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. 4 Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. 5 8:21 They will pass through the land 6 destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, 7 and they will curse their king and their God 8 as they look upward. 8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees 9 distress and darkness, gloom 10 and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land. 11
Jeremiah 13:16
Context13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. 12
Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. 13
Do it before you stumble 14 into distress
like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. 15
Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for
into the darkness and gloom of exile. 16
Ezekiel 13:22-23
Context13:22 This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life. 13:23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you 17 will know that I am the Lord.’”
Zechariah 13:2-4
Context13:2 And also on that day,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will remove 18 the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 13:3 Then, if anyone prophesies in spite of this, his father and mother to whom he was born will say to him, ‘You cannot live, for you lie in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and mother to whom he was born will run him through with a sword when he prophesies. 19
13:4 “Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment 20 of a prophet to deceive the people. 21
[74:9] 1 tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).
[74:9] 2 tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”
[74:9] 3 tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”
[8:20] 4 tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.
[8:20] 5 tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).
[8:21] 6 tn Heb “he will pass through it.” The subject of the collective singular verb is the nation. (See the preceding note.) The immediately preceding context supplies no antecedent for “it” (a third feminine singular suffix in the Hebrew text); the suffix may refer to the land, which would be a reasonable referent with a verb of motion. Note also that אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) does appear at the beginning of the next verse.
[8:21] 7 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[8:21] 8 tn Or “gods” (NAB, NRSV, CEV).
[8:22] 9 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
[8:22] 10 tn The precise meaning of מְעוּף (mÿ’uf) is uncertain; the word occurs only here. See BDB 734 s.v. מָעוּף.
[8:22] 11 tn Heb “ and darkness, pushed.” The word מְנֻדָּח (mÿnudakh) appears to be a Pual participle from נדח (“push”), but the Piel is unattested for this verb and the Pual occurs only here.
[13:16] 12 tn Heb “Give glory/respect to the
[13:16] 13 tn The words “of disaster” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to explain the significance of the metaphor to readers who may not be acquainted with the metaphorical use of light and darkness for salvation and joy and distress and sorrow respectively.
[13:16] 14 tn Heb “your feet stumble.”
[13:16] 15 tn Heb “you stumble on the mountains at twilight.” The added words are again supplied in the translation to help explain the metaphor to the uninitiated reader.
[13:16] 16 tn Heb “and while you hope for light he will turn it into deep darkness and make [it] into gloom.” The meaning of the metaphor is again explained through the addition of the “of” phrases for readers who are unacquainted with the metaphorical use of these terms.
[13:23] 17 tn The Hebrew verb is feminine plural, indicating that it is the false prophetesses who are addressed here.
[13:2] 18 tn Heb “cut off” (so NRSV); NAB “destroy”; NIV “banish.”
[13:3] 19 sn Death (in this case being run…through with a sword) was the penalty required in the OT for prophesying falsely (Deut 13:6-11; 18:20-22).
[13:4] 20 tn The “hairy garment of a prophet” (אַדֶּרֶת שֵׁעָר, ’adderet she’ar) was the rough clothing of Elijah (1 Kgs 19:13), Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19; 2 Kgs 2:14), and even John the Baptist (Matt 3:4). Yet, אַדֶּרֶת alone suggests something of beauty and honor (Josh 7:21). The prophet’s attire may have been simple the image it conveyed was one of great dignity.
[13:4] 21 tn The words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation from context (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).
