And I will make mere boys their leaders, and mischievous children will rule over them, and the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; the youth will assault the elder, and the contemptible person will assault the one honored. Isaiah 3:4-5 NASB Youth/ contemptible – These two verses in Isaiah could have been the inspiration for…
God of vengeance, O LORD, God of vengeance, shine forth. Psalm 94:1 Robert Alter Vengeance – Robert Alter’s translation comes with a footnote. “This boldly aggressive characterization of God, ‘el naqamot, which occurs only here, is fudged by the modern translations that render it in mitigating language as ‘God of retribution.’ As in many psalms…
Learn to do good, seek justice. Make the oppressed happy, defend the orphan, argue the widow’s case. Isaiah 1:17 Robert Alter Justice – andralamousia. Do you remember that Greek word? It is a summary description of the Flood. And a terrifying prediction of situation. God doesn’t ask for individual purity alone. He is a communal…
Wash, become pure, remove your evil acts from My eyes. Cease doing evil. Learn to do good . . . Isaiah 1:16-17a Robert Alter Cease – Yesterday we learned that God rejects all religious acts if the underlying principle of compassion for others is missing in society. Oh, perhaps you need to read that sentence…
and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 NASB 1995 Not be conformed – Paul’s exhortation might just be shy of impossible for us. Two thousand…
Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You are greatly despised. The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, Obadiah 1:2-3a NASB Arrogance – In a conversation with the Rabbi here in Parma, the topic of political arrogance came up. He directed me to the smallest of the prophetic books, Obadiah. The book is purportedly…
“Who is the wise man who would understand this, what the mouth of the LORD spoke to him, that he might tell it? Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the wilderness with none passing through? And the LORD said, “Because they forsook My teachings that I set before them and did not heed…
The wicked, in his haughtiness, does not seek Him. There is no God in all his schemes. Psalm 10:4 NASB electronic web edition Haughtiness – Haughty is not a common word in modern usage. We associate it with 19th Century English Romantic literature (like the book Pride and Prejudice). The synonym “proud” still finds a place in our speech, but…
The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Genesis 6:6 NASB Grieved – We’ve explored the theological bias that treats this verse as anthropomorphic. Hopefully, that’s settled. God really does feel. When the verb ʿāṣab is used to describe God’s reaction to the corruption of creation, the…
“It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’” Job 9:22 NASB Guiltless– You and I will be rewarded. We are followers of the King. We believe. Therefore, He will protect us. Right? All those terrible consequences that are destined to befall the wicked will not scratch us. We will emerge whole, perfected, saved. Right? …
