3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people
are as good as dead. 1
If someone gives them enough to eat,
they offer an oracle of peace. 2
But if someone does not give them food,
they are ready to declare war on him. 3
4:3 He will arbitrate 4 between many peoples
and settle disputes between many 5 distant nations. 6
They will beat their swords into plowshares, 7
and their spears into pruning hooks. 8
Nations will not use weapons 9 against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
1 tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the
2 tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.
3 tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”
4 tn Or “judge.”
5 tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”
6 tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”
7 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
8 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
9 tn Heb “take up the sword.”