Keluaran 32:6

32:6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, ¹  and they rose up to play. ² 

Keluaran 34:15

34:15 Be careful ³  not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when ⁴  they prostitute themselves ⁵  to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, ⁶  you will eat from his sacrifice;

Imamat 20:3-6

20:3 I myself will set my face ⁷  against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, ⁸  because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. ⁹  20:4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes ¹⁰  to that man ¹¹  when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death, 20:5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of their people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, ¹²  to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. ¹³ 

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums ¹⁴ 

20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits ¹⁵  to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face ¹⁶  against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.

Yudas 1:17-20

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ¹⁷  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸  1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ¹⁹  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ²⁰  1:19 These people are divisive, ²¹  worldly, ²²  devoid of the Spirit. ²³  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ²⁴ 

Mazmur 73:27

73:27 Yes, ²⁵  look! Those far from you ²⁶  die;

you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 106:39

106:39 They were defiled by their deeds,

and unfaithful in their actions. ²⁸ 

Yesaya 57:3-8

57:3 But approach, you sons of omen readers,

you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! ²⁹ 

57:4 At whom are you laughing?

At whom are you opening your mouth

and sticking out your tongue?

You are the children of rebels,

the offspring of liars, ³⁰ 

57:5 you who practice ritual sex ³¹  under the oaks and every green tree,

who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. ³² 

57:6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;

they, they are the object of your devotion. ³³ 

You pour out liquid offerings to them,

you make an offering.

Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ³⁴ 

57:7 On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed;

you go up there to offer sacrifices.

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ³⁵ 

Indeed, ³⁶  you depart from me ³⁷  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ³⁸ 

You purchase favors from them, ³⁹ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ⁴⁰  on their genitals. ⁴¹ 

Yeremia 3:1-3

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ⁴² 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ⁴³ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ⁴⁴ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ⁴⁵ 

says the Lord.

3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. ⁴⁶ 

You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. ⁴⁷ 

You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. ⁴⁸ 

You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. ⁴⁹ 

3:3 That is why the rains have been withheld,

and the spring rains have not come.

Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. ⁵⁰ 

You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.

Yehezkiel 16:15

16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty ⁵¹  became his.

Yehezkiel 16:25-36

16:25 At the head of every street you erected your pavilion and you disgraced ⁵²  your beauty when you spread ⁵³  your legs to every passerby and multiplied your promiscuity. 16:26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your sexually aroused neighbors, ⁵⁴  multiplying your promiscuity and provoking me to anger. 16:27 So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct. 16:28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied. 16:29 Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, ⁵⁵  but you were not satisfied there either.

16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute. 16:31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment. ⁵⁶ 

16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 16:33 All prostitutes receive payment, ⁵⁷  but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors! 16:34 You were different from other prostitutes ⁵⁸  because no one solicited you. When you gave payment and no payment was given to you, you became the opposite!

16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust ⁵⁹  was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them,

Yehezkiel 23:5-21

23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. ⁶⁰  She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians ⁶¹  – warriors ⁶²  23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired ⁶³  – with all their idols. 23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. ⁶⁴  23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians ⁶⁵  for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious ⁶⁶  among women, and they executed judgments against her.

23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, ⁶⁷  but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, ⁶⁸  23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians ⁶⁹  whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, ⁷⁰  she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ⁷¹  23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. ⁷²  They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she ⁷³  became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, ⁷⁴  I ⁷⁵  was disgusted with her, just as I ⁷⁶  had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, ⁷⁷  and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed ⁷⁸  the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled ⁷⁹  your nipples and squeezed ⁸⁰  your young breasts.

Hosea 2:2-5

Idolatrous Israel Will Be Punished Like a Prostitute

2:2 Plead earnestly ⁸¹  with your ⁸²  mother

(for ⁸³  she is not my wife, and I am not her husband),

so that ⁸⁴  she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, ⁸⁵ 

and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior. ⁸⁶ 

2:3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked,

and expose her like she was when she was born.

I will turn her land into a wilderness

and make her country a parched land,

so that I might kill ⁸⁷  her with thirst.

2:4 I will have no pity on her children, ⁸⁸ 

because they are children conceived in adultery. ⁸⁹ 

2:5 For their mother has committed adultery;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, “I will seek out ⁹⁰  my lovers; ⁹¹ 

they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,

my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. ⁹² 

Wahyu 17:2-5

17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.” ⁹³  17:3 So ⁹⁴  he carried me away in the Spirit ⁹⁵  to a wilderness, ⁹⁶  and there ⁹⁷  I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 Now ⁹⁸  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ⁹⁹  and adorned with gold, ¹⁰⁰  precious stones, and pearls. She held ¹⁰¹  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ¹⁰²  17:5 On ¹⁰³  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ¹⁰⁴  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

Wahyu 19:2

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ¹⁰⁵ 

For he has judged ¹⁰⁶  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ¹⁰⁷  poured out by her own hands!” ¹⁰⁸ 

[32:6]  ¹ tn The second infinitive is an infinitive absolute. The first is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition, expressing the purpose of their sitting down. The infinitive absolute that follows cannot take the preposition, but with the conjunction follows the force of the form before it (see GKC 340 §113.e).

[32:6]  ² tn The form is לְצַחֵק (lÿtsakheq), a Piel infinitive construct, giving the purpose of their rising up after the festal meal. On the surface it would seem that with the festival there would be singing and dancing, so that the people were celebrating even though they did not know the reason. W. C. Kaiser says the word means “drunken immoral orgies and sexual play” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:478). That is quite an assumption for this word, but is reflected in some recent English versions (e.g., NCV “got up and sinned sexually”; TEV “an orgy of drinking and sex”). The word means “to play, trifle.” It can have other meanings, depending on its contexts. It is used of Lot when he warned his sons-in-law and appeared as one who “mocked” them; it is also used of Ishmael “playing” with Isaac, which Paul interprets as mocking; it is used of Isaac “playing” with his wife in a manner that revealed to Abimelech that they were not brother and sister, and it is used by Potiphar’s wife to say that her husband brought this slave Joseph in to “mock” them. The most that can be gathered from these is that it is playful teasing, serious mocking, or playful caresses. It might fit with wild orgies, but there is no indication of that in this passage, and the word does not mean it. The fact that they were festive and playing before an idol was sufficient.

[34:15]  ³ tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.

[34:15]  ⁴ tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.

[34:15]  ⁵ tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.

[34:15]  ⁶ tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.

[20:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”

[20:3]  ⁸ sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.

[20:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”

[20:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And if shutting [infinitive absolute] they shut [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[20:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from that man” (so ASV); NASB “disregard that man.”

[20:5]  ¹² tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.

[20:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[20:6]  ¹⁴ sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.

[20:6]  ¹⁵ tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will give my faces.”

[1:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ¹⁸ sn This verse parallels 2 Pet 3:2 both conceptually and in much of the verbiage. There is one important difference, however: In 2 Pet 3:2 the prophets and apostles speak; here, just the apostles speak. This makes good sense if Jude is using 2 Peter as his main source and is urging his readers to go back to the authoritative writings, both OT and now especially NT.

[1:18]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

[1:18]  sn Jude cites 2 Pet 3:3, changing a few of the words among other things, cleaning up the syntax, conforming it to Hellenistic style.

[1:19]  ²¹ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ²² tn Or “natural,” that is, living on the level of instincts, not on a spiritual level (the same word occurs in 1 Cor 2:14 as a description of nonbelievers).

[1:19]  ²³ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:19]  sn The phrase devoid of the Spirit may well indicate Jude’s and Peter’s assessment of the spiritual status of the false teachers. Those who do not have the Spirit are clearly not saved.

[1:20]  ²⁴ tn The participles in v. 20 have been variously interpreted. Some treat them imperativally or as attendant circumstance to the imperative in v. 21 (“maintain”): “build yourselves up…pray.” But they do not follow the normal contours of either the imperatival or attendant circumstance participles, rendering this unlikely. A better option is to treat them as the means by which the readers are to maintain themselves in the love of God. This both makes eminently good sense and fits the structural patterns of instrumental participles elsewhere.

[73:27]  ²⁵ tn Or “for.”

[73:27]  ²⁶ sn The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.

[73:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”

[106:39]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and they committed adultery in their actions.” This means that they were unfaithful to the Lord (see Ps 73:27).

[57:3]  ²⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “offspring of an adulterer [masculine] and [one who] has committed adultery.” Perhaps the text has suffered from transposition of vav (ו) and tav (ת) and מְנָאֵף וַתִּזְנֶה (mÿna’ef vattizneh) should be emended to מְנָאֶפֶת וְזֹנָה (mÿna’efet vÿzonah, “an adulteress and a prostitute”). Both singular nouns would be understood in a collective sense. Most modern English versions render both forms as nouns.

[57:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Are you not children of rebellion, offspring of a lie?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course you are!”

[57:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “inflame yourselves”; NRSV “burn with lust.” This verse alludes to the practice of ritual sex that accompanied pagan fertility rites.

[57:5]  ³² sn This apparently alludes to the practice of child sacrifice (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[57:6]  ³³ tn Heb “among the smooth stones of the stream [is] your portion, they, they [are] your lot.” The next line indicates idols are in view.

[57:6]  ³⁴ tn The text reads literally, “Because of these am I relenting?” If the prefixed interrogative particle is retained at the beginning of the sentence, then the question would be rhetorical, with the Niphal of נָחָם (nakham) probably being used in the sense of “relent, change one’s mind.” One could translate: “Because of these things, how can I relent?” However, the initial letter he may be dittographic (note the final he [ה] on the preceding word). In this case one may understand the verb in the sense of “console oneself, seek vengeance,” as in 1:24.

[57:8]  ³⁵ tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ³⁶ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ³⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ³⁹ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

[3:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.

[3:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[3:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and see.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Where have you not been ravished?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which suggests she has engaged in the worship of pagan gods on every one of the hilltops.

[3:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.

[3:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”

[16:15]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “it” (so KJV, ASV); the referent (the beauty in which the prostitute trusted, see the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:25]  ⁵² tn Heb “treated as if abominable,” i.e., repudiated.

[16:25]  ⁵³ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew root is found in Prov 13:3 in reference to the talkative person who habitually “opens wide” his lips.

[16:26]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “your neighbors, large of flesh.” The word “flesh” is used here of the genitals. It may simply refer to the size of their genitals in general, or, as the translation suggests, depicts them as sexually aroused.

[16:29]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Chaldea.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon (“Chaldeans”) and the territory from which they originated (“Chaldea”) is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon.

[16:31]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew term, which also occurs in vv. 34 and 41 of this chapter, always refers to the payment of a prostitute (Deut 23:19; Isa 23:17; Hos 9:1; Mic 1:7).

[16:33]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[16:34]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “With you it was opposite of women in your prostitution.”

[16:36]  ⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[23:5]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.

[23:5]  sn Played the harlot refers to alliances with pagan nations in this context. In Ezek 16 harlotry described the sin of idolatry.

[23:5]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Assyria.”

[23:5]  ⁶² tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.

[23:7]  ⁶³ tn Heb “lusted after.”

[23:8]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

[23:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”

[23:10]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “name.”

[23:11]  ⁶⁷ tn The word “this” is not in the original text.

[23:14]  ⁶⁸ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.

[23:15]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”

[23:16]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”

[23:16]  ⁷¹ sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).

[23:17]  ⁷² tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”

[23:17]  ⁷³ tn Heb “her soul.”

[23:18]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”

[23:18]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “my soul.”

[23:18]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “my soul.”

[23:20]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.

[23:21]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.

[23:21]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

[23:21]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

[2:2]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “Plead with your mother, plead!” The imperative רִיבוּ (rivu, “plead!”) is repeated twice in this line for emphasis. This rhetorical expression is handled in a woodenly literal sense by most English translations: NASB “Contend…contend”; NAB “Protest…protest!”; NIV “Rebuke…rebuke”; NRSV “Plead…plead”; CEV “Accuse! Accuse your mother!”

[2:2]  ⁸² sn The suffix on the noun אִמְּכֶם (’immékhem, “your mother”) is a plural form (2nd person masculine). The children of Gomer represent the “children” (i.e., people) of Israel; Gomer represents the nation as a whole.

[2:2]  ⁸³ tn The particle כִּי (ki) introduces a parenthetical explanatory clause (however, cf. NCV “because”).

[2:2]  sn The reason that Hosea (representing the Lord) calls upon his children (representing the children of Israel) to plead with Gomer (representing the nation as a whole), rather than pleading directly with her himself, is because Hosea (the Lord) has turned his back on his unfaithful wife (Israel). He no longer has a relationship with her (“for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband”) because she abandoned him for her lovers.

[2:2]  ⁸⁴ tn The dependent volitive sequence of imperative followed by vav + jussive (רִיבוּ, rivu followed by וְתָסֵר, vétaser) creates a purpose clause: “so that she might turn away from” (= “put an end to”); cf. NRSV “that she put away”; KJV “let her therefore put away.” Many English translations begin a new sentence here, presumably to improve the English style (so NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT), but this obscures the connection with the preceding clause.

[2:2]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “put away her adulteries from her face.” The plural noun זְנוּנֶיהָ (zénuneha, “adulteries”) is an example of the plural of repeated (or habitual) action: she has had multiple adulterous affairs.

[2:2]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “[put away] her immoral behavior from between her breasts.” Cf. KJV “her adulteries”; NIV “the unfaithfulness.”

[2:3]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “and kill her with thirst.” The vav prefixed to the verb (וַהֲמִתִּיהָ, vahamittiha) introduces a purpose/result clause: “in order to make her die of thirst” (purpose) or “and thus make her die of thirst” (result).

[2:4]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “her sons.” English versions have long translated this as “children,” however; cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT.

[2:4]  sn The word order is rhetorical: the accusative וְאֶת־בָּנֶיהָ (vé’et-baneha, “her sons”) is moved forward for emphasis.

[2:4]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “sons of adulteries”; KJV “children of whoredoms.”

[2:4]  sn The word order is rhetorical: the construct clause בְנֵי זְנוּנִים (vÿne zÿnunim, “sons of adulteries”), which functions as the predicate nominative, is moved forward, before the independent personal pronoun הֵמָּה (hemma, “they”) which functions as the subject, to focus on the immoral character of her children.

[2:5]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “I will go after” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:5]  ⁹¹ sn This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods (note the following reference to wool, flax, olive oil, and wine).

[2:5]  ⁹² tn Heb “my drinks.” Many English versions use the singular “drink” here, but cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “wine.”

[17:2]  ⁹³ tn This is the same word translated “sexual immorality” earlier in the verse, but here the qualifier “sexual” has not been repeated for stylistic reasons.

[17:3]  ⁹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.

[17:3]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[17:3]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “desert.”

[17:3]  ⁹⁷ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[17:4]  ⁹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

[17:4]  ⁹⁹ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[17:4]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[17:4]  ¹⁰¹ tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[17:4]  ¹⁰² tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

[17:5]  ¹⁰³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).

[19:2]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

[19:2]  ¹⁰⁷ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).