14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.
You have saved them when they were in trouble.
Why have you become like a resident foreigner 1 in the land?
Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?
14:22 Do any of the worthless idols 2 of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? 3
So we put our hopes in you 4
because you alone do all this.”
23:16 The Lord who rules over all 5 says to the people of Jerusalem: 6
“Do not listen to what
those prophets are saying to you.
They are filling you with false hopes.
They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,
not something the Lord has given them to say. 7
1 tn It would be a mistake to translate this word as “stranger.” This word (גֵּר, ger) refers to a resident alien or resident foreigner who stays in a country not his own. He is accorded the privilege of protection through the common rights of hospitality but he does not have the rights of the native born or citizen. The simile here is particularly effective. The land was the
2 tn The word הֶבֶל (hevel), often translated “vanities”, is a common pejorative epithet for idols or false gods. See already in 8:19 and 10:8.
3 tn Heb “Is it not you, O
4 tn The rhetorical negatives are balanced by a rhetorical positive.
5 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.
6 tn The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the