Psalms 119:53

119:53 Rage takes hold of me because of the wicked,

those who reject your law.

Proverbs 4:2

4:2 Because I give ¹  you good instruction, ² 

do not forsake my teaching.

Proverbs 28:4

28:4 Those who forsake the law ³  praise the wicked, ⁴ 

but those who keep the law contend ⁵  with them.

Jeremiah 9:13-16

9:13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws. ⁶  9:14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to ⁷  the gods called Baal, ⁸  as their fathers ⁹  taught them to do. 9:15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, ¹⁰  say. ¹¹  ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. ¹²  9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors ¹³  have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords ¹⁴  until I have destroyed them.’” ¹⁵ 

[4:2]  ¹ tn The perfect tense has the nuance of instantaneous perfect; the sage is now calling the disciples to listen. It could also be a perfect of resolve, indicating what he is determined to do.

[4:2]  ² tn The word לֶקַח (leqakh, “instruction”) can be subjective (instruction acquired) or objective (the thing being taught). The latter fits best here.

[28:4]  ³ sn Some commentators do not think that the word refers to the Mosaic law, but to “instruction” or “teaching” in general (cf. NCV “who disobey what they have been taught”). However, the expression “keep the law” in the second line indicates that it is binding, which would not be true of teaching in general (J. Bright, “The Apodictic Prohibition: Some Observations,” JBL 92 [1973]: 185-204). Moreover, Proverbs 28:9 and 29:18 refer to the law, and this chapter has a stress on piety.

[28:4]  ⁴ sn The proverb gives the outcome and the evidence of those who forsake the law – they “praise the wicked.” This may mean (1) calling the wicked good or (2) justifying what the wicked do, for such people are no longer sensitive to evil.

[28:4]  ⁵ tn The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of גָּרָה (garah), which means “to stir up strife” but in this stem means “to engage in strife” (cf. NIV “resist them”). Tg. Prov 28:4 adds an explanatory expansion, “so as to induce them to repent.”

[9:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they have not walked in it (with “it” referring to “my law”).

[9:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[9:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).

[9:14]  ⁹ tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.

[9:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[9:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…” The person is shifted from third to first to better conform with English style.

[9:15]  ¹² tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

[9:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “fathers.”

[9:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

[9:16]  ¹⁵ sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.