2 Raja-raja 17:13-23

17:13 The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” ¹  17:14 But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, ²  who had not trusted the Lord their God. 17:15 They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. ³  They paid allegiance to ⁴  worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. ⁵  They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. ⁶  17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, ⁷  and worshiped ⁸  Baal. 17:17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, ⁹  and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. ¹⁰ 

17:18 So the Lord was furious ¹¹  with Israel and rejected them; ¹²  only the tribe of Judah was left. 17:19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the Lord their God; they followed Israel’s example. ¹³  17:20 So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated ¹⁴  them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence. 17:21 He tore Israel away from David’s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king. ¹⁵  Jeroboam drove Israel away ¹⁶  from the Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin. ¹⁷  17:22 The Israelites followed in the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and did not repudiate ¹⁸  them. 17:23 Finally ¹⁹  the Lord rejected Israel ²⁰  just as he had warned he would do ²¹  through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day.

2 Raja-raja 17:2

17:2 He did evil in the sight of ²²  the Lord, but not to the same degree as the Israelite kings who preceded him.

2 Raja-raja 1:15-16

1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down ²³  with him to the king.

1:16 Elijah ²⁴  said to the king, ²⁵  “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! ²⁶  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” ²⁷ 

Nehemia 9:29-30

9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances – those by which an individual, if he obeys them, ²⁸  will live. They boldly turned from you; ²⁹  they rebelled ³⁰  and did not obey. 9:30 You prolonged your kindness ³¹  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ³²  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ³³ 

Yeremia 25:3-7

25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ³⁴  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ³⁵  what he said. ³⁶  But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again ³⁷  the Lord has sent ³⁸  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ³⁹  25:5 He said through them, ⁴⁰  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ⁴¹  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ⁴²  25:6 Do not pay allegiance to ⁴³  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ⁴⁴  Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, ⁴⁵  ‘You have not listened to me. But ⁴⁶  you have made me angry by the things that you have done. ⁴⁷  Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

Yeremia 35:15

35:15 I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, “Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right. ⁴⁸  Do not pay allegiance to other gods ⁴⁹  and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay any attention or listen to me.

Zakharia 1:3-6

1:3 Therefore say to the people: ⁵⁰  The Lord who rules over all ⁵¹  says, “Turn ⁵²  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? ⁵³  Then they paid attention ⁵⁴  and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”

Zakharia 7:9-13

7:9 “The Lord who rules over all said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other. 7:10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.’

7:11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. 7:12 Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, ⁵⁵  so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the Lord who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord who rules over all had poured out great wrath.

7:13 “‘It then came about that just as I ⁵⁶  cried out, but they would not obey, so they will cry out, but I will not listen,’ the Lord Lord who rules over all had said.

Markus 12:2-5

12:2 At harvest time he sent a slave ⁵⁷  to the tenants to collect from them ⁵⁸  his portion of the crop. ⁵⁹  12:3 But ⁶⁰  those tenants ⁶¹  seized his slave, ⁶²  beat him, ⁶³  and sent him away empty-handed. ⁶⁴  12:4 So ⁶⁵  he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 12:5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed.

Lukas 20:10-19

20:10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave ⁶⁶  to the tenants so that they would give ⁶⁷  him his portion of the crop. ⁶⁸  However, the tenants beat his slave ⁶⁹  and sent him away empty-handed. 20:11 So ⁷⁰  he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him outrageously, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁷¹  20:12 So ⁷²  he sent still a third. They even wounded this one, and threw him out. 20:13 Then ⁷³  the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son; ⁷⁴  perhaps they will respect him.’ 20:14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’ 20:15 So ⁷⁵  they threw him out of the vineyard and killed ⁷⁶  him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 20:16 He will come and destroy ⁷⁷  those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ⁷⁸  When the people ⁷⁹  heard this, they said, “May this never happen!” ⁸⁰  20:17 But Jesus ⁸¹  looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? ⁸²  20:18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, ⁸³  and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” ⁸⁴  20:19 Then ⁸⁵  the experts in the law ⁸⁶  and the chief priests wanted to arrest ⁸⁷  him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But ⁸⁸  they were afraid of the people.

[17:13]  ¹ tn Heb “obey my commandments and rules according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.”

[17:14]  ² tn Heb and they stiffened their neck like the neck of their fathers.”

[17:15]  ³ tn Or “and his warnings he had given them.”

[17:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “They went [or, ‘followed’] after.” This idiom probably does not mean much if translated literally. It is found most often in Deuteronomy or in literature related to the covenant. It refers in the first instance to loyalty to God and to His covenant or His commandments (1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:31) with the metaphor of a path or way underlying it (Deut 11:28; 28:14). To “follow other gods” was to abandon this way and this loyalty (to “abandon” or “forget” God, Judg 2:12; Hos 2:13) and to follow the customs or religious traditions of the pagan nations (2 Kgs 17:15). The classic text on “following” God or another god is 1 Kgs 18:18, 21 where Elijah taunts the people with “halting between two opinions” whether the Lord was the true God or Baal was. The idiom is often found followed by “to serve and to worship” or “they served and worshiped” such and such a god or entity (Jer 8:2; 11:10; 13:10; 16:11; 25:6; 35:15).

[17:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “they followed after the worthless thing/things and became worthless.” The words “to the Lord” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. There is an obvious wordplay on the verb “became worthless” and the noun “worthless thing”, which is probably to be understood collectively and to refer to idols as it does in Jer 8:19; 10:8; 14:22; Jonah 2:8.

[17:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [they walked] after the nations which were around them, concerning which the Lord commanded them not to do like them.”

[17:16]  ⁷ tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsÿva’ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.

[17:16]  ⁸ tn Or “served.”

[17:17]  ⁹ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.

[17:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they sold themselves to doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering him.”

[17:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “very angry.”

[17:18]  ¹² tn Heb “turned them away from his face.”

[17:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “they walked in the practices of Israel which they did.”

[17:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “afflicted.”

[17:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.”

[17:21]  ¹⁶ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) assumes the verb is נָדָא (nada’), an alternate form of נָדָה (nadah), “push away.” The marginal reading (Qere) assumes the verb נָדָח (nadakh), “drive away.”

[17:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a great sin.”

[17:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “turn away from.”

[17:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “until.”

[17:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the Lord turned Israel away from his face.”

[17:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “just as he said.”

[17:2]  ²² tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[1:15]  ²³ sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.

[1:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

[1:16]  ²⁷ sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

[9:29]  ²⁸ tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

[9:29]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”

[9:29]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”

[9:30]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:30]  ³² tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

[9:30]  ³³ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[25:3]  ³⁴ sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ³⁵ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ³⁶ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:4]  ³⁷ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:4]  ³⁸ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

[25:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

[25:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”

[25:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.

[25:5]  ⁴² tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.

[25:6]  ⁴³ tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.

[25:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[25:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:7]  ⁴⁶ tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).

[25:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[35:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Turn, each of you, from his [= your] wicked way and make good your deeds.” Compare 18:11 where the same idiom occurs with the added term of “make good your ways.”

[35:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Don’t go after/follow other gods.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom and see 11:10; 13:10; 25:6 for the same idiom.

[1:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “to them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁵¹ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Zechariah (53 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV, NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:3]  ⁵² tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv) is common in covenant contexts. To turn from the Lord is to break the covenant and to turn to him (i.e., to repent) is to renew the covenant relationship (cf. 2 Kgs 17:13).

[1:6]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “they turned” (so ASV). Many English versions have “they repented” here; cf. CEV “they turned back to me.”

[7:12]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew term שָׁמִיר (shamir) means literally “hardness” and since it is said in Ezek 3:9 to be harder than flint, many scholars suggest that it refers to diamond. It is unlikely that diamond was known to ancient Israel, however, so probably a hard stone like emery or corundum is in view. The translation nevertheless uses “diamond” because in modern times it has become proverbial for its hardness. A number of English versions use “flint” here (e.g., NASB, NIV).

[7:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “he.” Since the third person pronoun refers to the Lord, it has been translated as a first person pronoun (“I”) to accommodate English style, which typically does not exhibit switches between persons of pronouns in the same immediate context as Hebrew does.

[12:2]  ⁵⁷ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[12:2]  sn This slave (along with the others) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

[12:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.

[12:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”

[12:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:3]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:3]  ⁶² tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.

[12:3]  ⁶³ sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[12:3]  ⁶⁴ sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

[12:4]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

[20:10]  ⁶⁶ sn This slave (along with the next two) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

[20:10]  ⁶⁷ tc Instead of the future indicative δώσουσιν (dwsousin, “they will give”), most witnesses (C D W Θ Ψ Ë¹ Ï) have the aorist subjunctive δῶσιν (dwsin, “they might give”). The aorist subjunctive is expected following ἵνα ({ina, “so that”), so it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, early and excellent witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B ˹³ 33 579 1241 2542 al), have δώσουσιν. It is thus more likely that the future indicative is authentic. For a discussion of this construction, see BDF §369.2.

[20:10]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “from the fruit of the vineyard.”

[20:10]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[20:11]  ⁷⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

[20:11]  ⁷¹ sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

[20:12]  ⁷² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first two slaves.

[20:13]  ⁷³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:13]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “my beloved son.” See comment at Luke 3:22.

[20:13]  sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.

[20:15]  ⁷⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son.

[20:15]  ⁷⁶ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[20:16]  ⁷⁷ sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.

[20:16]  ⁷⁸ sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.

[20:16]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:16]  ⁸⁰ sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.

[20:17]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:17]  ⁸² tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[20:17]  sn The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The use of Ps 118:22-23 and the “stone imagery” as a reference to Christ and his suffering and exaltation is common in the NT (see also Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:6-8; cf. also Eph 2:20). The irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 here is that in the OT, Israel was the one rejected (or perhaps her king) by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.

[20:18]  ⁸³ tn On this term, see BDAG 972 s.v. συνθλάω.

[20:18]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

[20:18]  sn This proverb basically means that the stone crushes, without regard to whether it falls on someone or someone falls on it. On the stone as a messianic image, see Isa 28:16 and Dan 2:44-45.

[20:19]  ⁸⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:19]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “The scribes” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[20:19]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “tried to lay hands on him.”

[20:19]  ⁸⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.