Exodus 33:3
New English Translation
3 Go up[a] to a land flowing with milk and honey. But[b] I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you[c] on the way.”
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Exodus 33:3 tn This verse seems to be a continuation of the command to “go up” since it begins with “to a land….” The intervening clauses are therefore parenthetical or relative. But the translation is made simpler by supplying the verb.
- Exodus 33:3 tn This is a strong adversative here, “but.”
- Exodus 33:3 tn The clause is “lest I consume you.” It would go with the decision not to accompany them: “I will not go up with you…lest I consume (destroy) you in the way.” The verse is saying that because of the people’s bent to rebellion, Yahweh would not remain in their midst as he had formerly said he would do. Their lives would be at risk if he did.
Exodus 33:5
New English Translation
5 For[a] the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up among you for a moment,[b] I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments[c] that I may know[d] what I should do to you.’”[e]
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Exodus 33:5 tn The verse simply begins “And Yahweh said.” But it is clearly meant to be explanatory for the preceding action of the people.
- Exodus 33:5 tn The construction is formed with a simple imperfect in the first half and a perfect tense with vav (ו) in the second half. Heb “[in] one moment I will go up in your midst and I will destroy you.” The verse is certainly not intended to say that God was about to destroy them. That, plus the fact that he has announced he will not go in their midst, leads most commentators to take this as a conditional clause: “If I were to do such and such, then….”
- Exodus 33:5 tn The Hebrew text also has “from on you.”
- Exodus 33:5 tn The form is the cohortative with a vav (ו) following the imperative; it therefore expresses the purpose or result: “strip off…that I may know.” The call to remove the ornaments must have been perceived as a call to show true repentance for what had happened. If they repented, then God would know how to deal with them.
- Exodus 33:5 tn This last clause begins with the interrogative “what,” but it is used here as an indirect interrogative. It introduces a noun clause, the object of the verb “know.”
Exodus 34:9
New English Translation
9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord[a] go among us, for we[b] are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Exodus 34:9 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Exodus 34:9 tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”
Isaiah 48:4
New English Translation
4 I did this[a] because I know how stubborn you are.
Your neck muscles are like iron
and your forehead like bronze.[b]
Notas al pie
- Isaiah 48:4 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
- Isaiah 48:4 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
Ezekiel 2:4
New English Translation
4 The people[a] to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted,[b] and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’[c]
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Ezekiel 2:4 tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.
- Ezekiel 2:4 tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.
- Ezekiel 2:4 tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).
Ezekiel 3:7
New English Translation
7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you,[a] because they are not willing to listen to me,[b] for the whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hardhearted.[c]
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Ezekiel 3:7 sn Moses (Exod 3:19) and Isaiah (Isa 6:9-10) were also told that their messages would not be received.
- Ezekiel 3:7 sn A similar description of Israel’s disobedience is given in 1 Sam 8:7.
- Ezekiel 3:7 tn Heb “hard of forehead and stiff of heart.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.