Psalms 78:70-72

78:70 He chose David, his servant,

and took him from the sheepfolds.

78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, ¹ 

and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,

and of Israel, his chosen nation. ² 

78:72 David ³  cared for them with pure motives; ⁴ 

he led them with skill. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 17:16

17:16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster. ⁶ 

I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation. ⁷ 

You know that.

You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 45:5

45:5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm ⁹  that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. ¹⁰  But I will allow you to escape with your life ¹¹  wherever you go.”’”

Amos 7:14-15

7:14 Amos replied ¹²  to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. ¹³  No, ¹⁴  I was a herdsman who also took care of ¹⁵  sycamore fig trees. ¹⁶  7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending ¹⁷  flocks and gave me this commission, ¹⁸  ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’

Romans 12:16

12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. ¹⁹  Do not be conceited. ²⁰ 

[78:71]  ¹ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

[78:71]  ² tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

[78:72]  ³ tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[78:72]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”

[78:72]  ⁵ tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”

[17:16]  ⁶ tc Heb “I have not run after you for the sake of disaster.” The translation follows the suggestion of some ancient versions. The Hebrew text reads “I have not run from being a shepherd after you.” The translation follows two Greek versions (Aquila and Symmachus) and the Syriac in reading the word “evil” or “disaster” here in place of the word “shepherd” in the Hebrew text. The issue is mainly one of vocalization. The versions mentioned are reading a form מֵרָעָה (mera’ah) instead of מֵרֹעֶה (mero’eh). There does not appear to be any clear case of a prophet being called a shepherd, especially in Jeremiah where it is invariably used of the wicked leaders/rulers of Judah, the leaders/rulers of the enemy that he brings to punish them, or the righteous ruler that he will bring in the future. Moreover, there are no cases where the preposition “after” is used with the verb “shepherd.” Parallelism also argues for the appropriateness of this reading; “disaster” parallels the “incurable day.” The thought also parallels the argument thus far. Other than 11:20; 12:3; 15:15 where he has prayed for vindication by the Lord punishing his persecutors as they deserve, he has invariably responded to the Lord’s word of disaster with laments and prayers for his people (see 4:19-21; 6:24; 8:18; 10:19-25; 14:7-9, 19-22).

[17:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “the incurable day.” For the use of this word see the note on 17:9.

[17:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “that which goes out of my lip is right in front of your face.”

[45:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[45:5]  ¹⁰ sn Compare Jer 25:31, 33. The reference here to universal judgment also forms a nice transition to the judgments on the nations that follow in Jer 46-51 which may be another reason for the placement of this chapter here, out of its normal chronological order (see also the study note on v. 1).

[45:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will give you your life for a spoil.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on 21:9 and compare the usage in 21:9; 38:2; 39:18.

[7:14]  ¹² tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.

[7:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.

[7:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for.”

[7:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”

[7:14]  ¹⁶ sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).

[7:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from [following] after.”

[7:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the Lord said to me.”

[12:16]  ¹⁹ tn Or “but give yourselves to menial tasks.” The translation depends on whether one takes the adjective “lowly” as masculine or neuter.

[12:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Do not be wise in your thinking.”