5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 1 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 2
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 3 of the Holy One of Israel. 4
30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,
so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. 5
Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough 6
to scoop a hot coal from a fire 7
or to skim off water from a cistern.” 8
44:19 No one thinks to himself,
nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:
‘I burned half of it in the fire –
yes, I baked bread over the coals;
I roasted meat and ate it.
With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?
Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 9
1 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
2 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
3 tn Heb “the word.”
4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
5 tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”
6 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
7 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
8 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
9 tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.