29:13 The sovereign master 1 says,
“These people say they are loyal to me; 2
they say wonderful things about me, 3
but they are not really loyal to me. 4
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual. 5
42:25 So he poured out his fierce anger on them,
along with the devastation 6 of war.
Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; 7
it burned against them, but they did notice. 8
59:9 For this reason deliverance 9 is far from us 10
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light, 11 but see only darkness; 12
we wait for 13 a bright light, 14 but live 15 in deep darkness. 16
1 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
2 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
3 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
4 tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
5 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
6 tn Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.”
7 tn Heb “and it blazed against him all around, but he did not know.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb “blazed” is the divine חֵמָה (khemah, “anger”) mentioned in the previous line.
8 tn Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”
9 tn מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), which refers to “justice” in the earlier verses, here refers to “justice from God,” or “vindication.” Because the people are unjust, God refuses to vindicate them before their enemies. See v. 11.
10 sn The prophet speaks on behalf of the sinful nation and confesses its sins.
11 sn Light here symbolizes prosperity and blessing.
12 tn Heb “but, look, darkness”; NIV “but all is darkness.”
13 tn The words “we wait for” are supplied in the translation; the verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
14 tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.
15 tn Or “walk about”; NCV “all we have is darkness.”
16 tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.