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
5:7 Those survivors from 4 Jacob will live 5
in the midst of many nations. 6
They will be like the dew the Lord sends,
like the rain on the grass,
that does not hope for men to come
or wait around for humans to arrive. 7
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 Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).
5 tn Heb “will be.”
6 tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).
7 tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”
sn Men wait eagerly for the dew and the rain, not vice versa. Just as the dew and rain are subject to the