Discovery BoxZechariah 1:3-6
Context1:3 Therefore say to the people: 1 The Lord who rules over all 2 says, “Turn 3 to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will turn to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. 1:4 “Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Turn now from your evil wickedness,”’ but they would by no means obey me,” says the Lord. 1:5 “As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever? 1:6 But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? 4 Then they paid attention 5 and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”
Isaiah 1:16-20
Context1:16 6 Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds 7
from my sight.
Stop sinning!
1:17 Learn to do what is right!
Promote justice!
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! 8
Take up the cause of the orphan!
Defend the rights of the widow! 9
1:18 10 Come, let’s consider your options,” 11 says the Lord.
“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become 12 white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become 13 white like wool. 14
1:19 If you have a willing attitude and obey, 15
then you will again eat the good crops of the land.
1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured 16 by the sword.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. 17
Jeremiah 7:5
Context7:5 You must change 18 the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. 19
Jeremiah 7:23
Context7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: 20 “Obey me. If you do, I 21 will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you 22 and things will go well with you.”
Jeremiah 36:2-3
Context36:2 “Get a scroll. 23 Write on it everything I have told you to say 24 about Israel, Judah, and all the other nations since I began to speak to you in the reign of Josiah until now. 25 36:3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them, they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. 26 If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done.” 27
Ezekiel 18:30-32
Context18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, 28 O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent 29 and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. 30 18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! 31 Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, 32 declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
Daniel 9:6-14
Context9:6 We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority 33 to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, 34 and to all the inhabitants 35 of the land as well.
9:7 “You are righteous, 36 O Lord, but we are humiliated this day 37 – the people 38 of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. 9:8 O LORD, we have been humiliated 39 – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you. 9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, 40 even though we have rebelled against him. 9:10 We have not obeyed 41 the LORD our God by living according to 42 his laws 43 that he set before us through his servants the prophets.
9:11 “All Israel has broken 44 your law and turned away by not obeying you. 45 Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened 46 in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. 47 9:12 He has carried out his threats 48 against us and our rulers 49 who were over 50 us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify 51 the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom 52 from your reliable moral standards. 53 9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just 54 in all he has done, 55 and we have not obeyed him. 56
Hosea 14:1-3
Context14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sin has been your downfall! 57
14:2 Return to the Lord and repent! 58
Say to him: “Completely 59 forgive our iniquity;
accept 60 our penitential prayer, 61
that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. 62
14:3 Assyria cannot save us;
we will not ride warhorses.
We will never again say, ‘Our gods’
to what our own hands have made.
For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!” 63
Amos 5:14-15
Context5:14 Seek good and not evil so you can live!
Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you,
as you claim he is.
5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right!
Promote 64 justice at the city gate! 65
Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on 66 those who are left from 67 Joseph. 68
Micah 6:6-8
Context6:6 With what should I 69 enter the Lord’s presence?
With what 70 should I bow before the sovereign God? 71
Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,
or ten thousand streams of olive oil?
Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,
my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? 72
6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,
and what the Lord really wants from you: 73
He wants you to 74 promote 75 justice, to be faithful, 76
and to live obediently before 77 your God.
Zephaniah 2:1-3
Context2:1 Bunch yourselves together like straw, 78 you undesirable 79 nation,
2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality 80 and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, 81
before the Lord’s raging anger 82 overtakes 83 you –
before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!
2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, 84 all you humble people 85 of the land who have obeyed his commands! 86
Strive to do what is right! 87 Strive to be humble! 88
Maybe you will be protected 89 on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
[1:3] 1 tn Heb “to them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:3] 2 sn The epithet
[1:3] 3 tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv) is common in covenant contexts. To turn from the
[1:6] 4 tc BHS suggests אֶתְכֶם (’etkhem, “you”) for the MT אֲבֹתֵיכֶם (’avotekhem, “your fathers”) to harmonize with v. 4. In v. 4 the ancestors would not turn but in v. 6 they appear to have done so. The subject in v. 6, however, is to be construed as Zechariah’s own listeners.
[1:6] 5 tn Heb “they turned” (so ASV). Many English versions have “they repented” here; cf. CEV “they turned back to me.”
[1:16] 6 sn Having demonstrated the people’s guilt, the Lord calls them to repentance, which will involve concrete action in the socio-economic realm, not mere emotion.
[1:16] 7 sn This phrase refers to Israel’s covenant treachery (cf. Deut 28:10; Jer 4:4; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; 44:22; Hos 9:15; Ps 28:4). In general, the noun ַמעַלְלֵיכֶם (ma’alleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).
[1:17] 8 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”
[1:17] 9 tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.
[1:18] 10 sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).
[1:18] 11 tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.
[1:18] 12 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 13 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 14 tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.
[1:19] 15 tn Heb “listen”; KJV “obedient”; NASB “If you consent and obey.”
[1:20] 16 sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [to’khelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [tÿ’ukkÿlu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.
[1:20] 17 tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).
[7:5] 18 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:5] 19 tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:23] 20 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
[7:23] 21 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
[7:23] 22 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
[36:2] 23 sn Heb “a roll [or scroll] of a document.” Scrolls consisted of pieces of leather or parchment sewn together and rolled up on wooden rollers. The writing was written from right to left and from top to bottom in columns and the scroll unrolled from the left roller and rolled onto the right one as the scroll was read. The scroll varied in length depending on the contents. This scroll was probably not all that long since it was read three times in a single day (vv. 10-11, 15-16, 21-23).
[36:2] 24 sn The intent is hardly that of giving a verbatim report of everything that the
[36:2] 25 sn This refers to the messages that Jeremiah delivered during the last eighteen years of Josiah, the three month reign of Jehoahaz and the first four years of Jehoiakim’s reign (the period between Josiah’s thirteenth year [cf. 1:2] and the fourth year of Jehoiakim [v. 1]). The exact content of this scroll is unknown since many of the messages in the present book are undated. It is also not known what relation this scroll had to the present form of the book of Jeremiah, since this scroll was destroyed and another one written that contained more than this one did (cf. v. 32). Since Jeremiah continued his ministry down to the fall of Jerusalem in 587/6
[36:3] 26 tn Heb “will turn each one from his wicked way.”
[36:3] 27 tn Heb “their iniquity and their sin.”
[18:30] 29 tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.
[18:30] 30 tn Or “leading to punishment.”
[18:31] 31 sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.
[18:32] 32 tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”
[9:6] 33 tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate, “as your representatives.”
[9:6] 34 tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.
[9:7] 36 tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”
[9:7] 37 tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”
[9:8] 39 tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”
[9:9] 40 tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”
[9:10] 41 tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).
[9:10] 42 tn Heb “to walk in.”
[9:10] 43 tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.
[9:11] 44 tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.
[9:11] 45 tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”
[9:11] 46 tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.
[9:12] 48 tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”
[9:12] 49 tn Heb “our judges.”
[9:12] 50 tn Heb “who judged.”
[9:13] 51 tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”
[9:13] 52 tn Or “by gaining insight.”
[9:13] 53 tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.
[9:14] 55 tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”
[9:14] 56 tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”
[14:1] 57 tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”
[14:2] 58 tn Heb “Take words with you and return to the
[14:2] 59 tn The word order כָּל־תִּשָּׂא עָוֹן (kol-tisa’ ’avon) is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest rearranging the word order: תִּשָּׂא כָּל־עוֹן (“Forgive all [our] iniquity!”). However, Gesenius suggests that כָּל (“all”) does not function as the construct in the genitive phrase כָּל־עוֹן (“all [our] iniquity”); it functions adverbially modifying the verb תִּשָּׂא (“Completely forgive!”; see GKC 415 §128.e).
[14:2] 60 sn The repetition of the root לָקַח (laqakh) creates a striking wordplay in 14:2. If Israel will bring (לָקַח) its confession to God, he will accept (לָקַח) repentant Israel and completely forgive its sin.
[14:2] 61 tn Heb “and accept [our] speech.” The word טוֹב (tov) is often confused with the common homonymic root I טוֹב (tov, “good”; BDB 373 s.v. I טוֹב). However, this is probably IV טוֹב (tov, “word, speech”; HALOT 372 s.v. IV טוֹב), a hapax legomenon that is related to the verb טבב (“to speak”; HALOT 367 s.v. טבב) and the noun טִבָּה (tibbah, “rumor”; HALOT 367 s.v. טִבָּה). The term טוֹב (“word; speech”) refers to the repentant prayer mentioned in 14:1-3. Most translations relate it to I טוֹב and treat it as (1) accusative direct object: “accept that which is good” (RSV, NJPS), “Accept our good sacrifices” (CEV), or (2) adverbial accusative of manner: “receive [us] graciously” (KJV, NASB, NIV). Note TEV, however, which follows the suggestion made here: “accept our prayer.”
[14:2] 62 tc The MT reads פָרִים (farim, “bulls”), but the LXX reflects פְּרִי (pÿri, “fruit”), a reading followed by NASB, NIV, NRSV: “that we may offer the fruit of [our] lips [as sacrifices to you].” Although the Greek expression in Heb 13:15 (καρπὸν χειλέων, karpon xeilewn, “the fruit of lips”) reflects this LXX phrase, the MT makes good sense as it stands; NT usage of the LXX should not be considered decisive in resolving OT textual problems. The noun פָרִים (parim, “bulls”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state.
[14:3] 63 tn Heb “For the orphan is shown compassion by you.” The present translation takes “orphan” as a figurative reference to Israel, which is specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:15] 64 tn Heb “set up, establish.” In the ancient Near East it was the responsibility especially of the king to establish justice. Here the prophet extends that demand to local leaders and to the nation as a whole (cf. 5:24).
[5:15] 65 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate (see the note in v. 12). This repetition of this phrase serves to highlight a deliberate contrast to the injustices cited in vv. 11-13.
[5:15] 66 tn Or “will show favor to.”
[5:15] 67 tn Or “the remnant of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “what’s left of your people.”
[5:15] 68 sn Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
[6:6] 69 sn With what should I enter the
[6:6] 70 tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.
[6:6] 71 tn Or “the exalted God.”
[6:7] 72 tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”
[6:8] 73 sn What the
[6:8] 74 tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”
[6:8] 75 tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”
[6:8] 76 tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”
[6:8] 77 tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”
[2:1] 78 tn The Hebrew text combines a Hitpolel imperative of קָשַׁשׁ (qashash) with a Qal imperative of the same root. Elsewhere this root appears in the polel stem with the meaning “gather stubble.” Zephaniah’s command is ironic, implying the people are like stubble or straw. As such, they are vulnerable to the Lord’s fiery judgment that will quickly consume them (see 1:18). See Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 96.
[2:1] 79 tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.”
[2:2] 80 tn Heb “before the giving birth of a decree.” For various alternative readings, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 187-88.
[2:2] 81 tn The second half of the line reads literally, “like chaff it passes by a day.” The translation above assumes the “day” is the brief time God is giving the nation to repent. The comparison of this quickly passing opportunity to chaff is consistent with the straw imagery of v. 1.
[2:2] 82 tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the
[2:2] 83 tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.
[2:3] 84 tn Heb “seek the
[2:3] 85 tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.
[2:3] 86 tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”
[2:3] 87 tn Heb “Seek what is right.”
[2:3] 88 tn Heb “Seek humility.”
[2:3] 89 tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”
