the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Hebrew Names Version
Zechariah 10:2
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People use their little statues and magic to learn what will happen in the future, but that is useless. They see visions and tell about their dreams, but it is nothing but worthless lies. So the people are like sheep wandering here and there crying for help, but there is no shepherd to lead them.
For the household idols speak deception, And the diviners see an illusion And tell deceitful dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are wretched because there is no shepherd.
Idols tell lies; fortune-tellers see false visions and tell about false dreams. The comfort they give is worth nothing. So the people are like lost sheep. They are abused, because there is no shepherd.
For the talismans have spoken vanity, and the fortune-tellers have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled because [there was] no shepherd.
For the teraphim (household idols) speak wickedness (emptiness, worthlessness), And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted and suffer because there is no shepherd.
For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; And they have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore they go their way like sheep. They are oppressed, because there is no shepherd.
For symylacris spaken vnprofitable thing, and diuynours saien leesyng; and dremeris spaken veynli, ydily thei coumfortiden; therfor thei ben led awei as a floc, thei schulen be turmentid, for a scheepherd is not to hem.
For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
You can't believe idols and fortunetellers, or depend on the hope you receive from witchcraft and interpreters of dreams. But you have tried all of these, and now you are like sheep without a shepherd.
For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
For the images have said what is not true, and the readers of signs have seen deceit; they have given accounts of false dreams, they give comfort to no purpose: so they go out of the way like sheep, they are troubled because they have no keeper.
For the household gods talk nonsense, the diviners have seen a lie; their dreams convey delusions, and the comfort they offer is in vain. Therefore they go their way like sheep in distress from lack of a shepherd.
For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams: they comfort in vain. Therefore they have gone away as a flock, they are in distress, because there is no shepherd.
For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and the dreams speak falsely, they comfort in vain; therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
For the idoles haue spoken vanitie, and the diuiners haue seene a lye, and haue told false dreames; they comfort in vaine: therefore they went their way as a flocke, they were troubled because there was no shepheard.
Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.
The false gods say what is not true. Those who use their secret ways tell lies about the false dreams they have seen. Their comfort means nothing. So the people go from place to place like sheep and are troubled because they have no shepherd.
For the teraphim utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; the dreamers tell false dreams, and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they suffer for lack of a shepherd.
Surely the idols haue spoken vanitie, and the southsayers haue seene a lye, and the dreamers haue tolde a vaine thing: they comfort in vaine: therefore they went away as sheepe: they were troubled, because there was no shepheard.
For the learned men have spoken iniquity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain; therefore the people went their way like a flock, they were afflicted because they had no shepherd.
For, the household gods, have spoken vanity, and, the diviners, have had vision of falsehood, and, deceitful dreams, do they relate, vainly, do they console, - for this reason, have they moved about like a flock, they suffer ill, because there is no shepherd.
For the idols have spoken what was unprofitable, and the diviners have seen a lie, and the dreamers have spoken vanity: they comforted in vain: therefore they were led away as a flock: they shall be afflicted, because they have no shepherd.
For the teraphim utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; the dreamers tell false dreams, and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for want of a shepherd.
For vaine is the aunswere of idols, the soothsayers see lyes, & the dreamers tell but vaine thinges, the comfort that they geue is nothing worth: therefore they went away lyke a flocke of sheepe, and were troubled, because they had no shephearde.
For the speakers have uttered grievous things, and the diviners have seen false visions, and they have spoken false dreams, they have given vain comfort: therefore have they fallen away like sheep, and been afflicted, because there was no healing.
People consult idols and fortunetellers, but the answers they get are lies and nonsense. Some interpret dreams, but only mislead you; the comfort they give is useless. So the people wander about like lost sheep. They are in trouble because they have no leader.
For the idols speak falsehood,and the diviners see illusions;they relate empty dreamsand offer empty comfort.Therefore the people wander like sheep;they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.
For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
For the family idols speak iniquity, and the divining ones have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. On account of this, they wandered like a flock. They were troubled because there was no shepherd.
Because the teraphim did speak iniquity, And the diviners have seen a falsehood, And dreams of the vanity they speak, [With] vanity they give comfort, Therefore they have journeyed as a flock, They are afflicted, for there is no shepherd.
For vayne is the answere of Idols. The soythsayers se lyes, and tell but vayne dreames: the comforth that they geue, is nothynge worth. Therfore go they astraye like a flocke of shepe, ad are troubled, because they haue no shepherde.
"Store-bought gods babble gibberish. Religious experts spout rubbish. They pontificate hot air. Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke. And so the people wander like lost sheep, poor lost sheep without a shepherd. I'm furious with the so-called shepherds. They're worse than billy goats, and I'll treat them like goats." God -of-the-Angel-Armies will step in and take care of his flock, the people of Judah. He'll revive their spirits, make them proud to be on God's side. God will use them in his work of rebuilding, use them as foundations and pillars, Use them as tools and instruments, use them to oversee his work. They'll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one, their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud, Courageous and vigorous because God is with them, undeterred by the world's thugs. "I'll put muscle in the people of Judah; I'll save the people of Joseph. I know their pain and will make them good as new. They'll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened. And why? Because I am their very own God , I'll do what needs to be done for them. The people of Ephraim will be famous, their lives brimming with joy. Their children will get in on it, too— oh, let them feel blessed by God ! I'll whistle and they'll all come running. I've set them free—oh, how they'll flourish! Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth, they'll remember me in the faraway places. They'll keep the story alive in their children, and they will come back. I'll bring them back from the Egyptian west and round them up from the Assyrian east. I'll bring them back to sweet Gilead, back to leafy Lebanon. Every square foot of land will be marked by homecoming. They'll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves. Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle. Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare, bully Egypt exposed as a fraud. But my people—oh, I'll make them strong, God -strong! and they'll live my way." God says so!
For the household gods have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and as for the dreamers, they have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd.
For the idols [fn] speak delusion;The diviners envision lies,And tell false dreams;They comfort in vain.Therefore the people wend their way like sheep;They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.
For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
For the teraphim speak wickedness,And the diviners behold false visionsAnd speak worthless dreams;They comfort in vain.Therefore the people journey like sheep;They are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the idols: Heb. the teraphims, Genesis 31:19, Judges 18:14, Isaiah 44:9, Isaiah 46:5, Jeremiah 10:8, Jeremiah 14:22, Hosea 3:4, Habakkuk 2:18
the diviners: Jeremiah 23:25-27, Jeremiah 27:9, Jeremiah 29:8, Jeremiah 29:21, Jeremiah 29:22, Lamentations 2:14, Ezekiel 13:6-16, Ezekiel 13:22, Ezekiel 13:23, Ezekiel 21:29, Micah 3:6-11
they comfort: Job 13:4, Job 21:34, Jeremiah 6:14, Jeremiah 8:11, Jeremiah 14:13, Jeremiah 23:17, Jeremiah 28:4-6, Jeremiah 28:15, Jeremiah 37:19
therefore: Jeremiah 13:17-20, Jeremiah 50:17, Jeremiah 51:23, Micah 2:12
troubled, because there: or, answered that there, Numbers 27:17, 1 Kings 22:17, Ezekiel 34:5, Ezekiel 34:8, Matthew 9:36
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 13:1 - a dreamer 2 Chronicles 18:16 - as sheep Isaiah 58:9 - speaking Jeremiah 14:14 - divination Ezekiel 21:21 - images Mark 6:34 - because
Cross-References
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
The sons of Kush: Seva, Havilah, Savtah, Ra`mah, and Savtekha. The sons of Ra`mah: Sheva and Dedan.
and Resen between Nineveh and Kelach (the same is the great city).
Patrusim, Kasluchim (which the Pelishtim descended from), and Kaftorim.
To Shem, the father of all the children of `Ever, the elder brother of Yefet, to him also were children born.
I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tuval and Yavan, to the isles afar off, who have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
Of fine linen with embroidered work from Mitzrayim was your sail, that it might be to you for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was your awning.
Dan and Yavan traded with yarn for your wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among your merchandise.
Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with you.
You shall come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army;
Gill's Notes on the Bible
For the idols have spoken vanity,.... The vanities of the Gentiles cannot give rain; if they promise it, they speak vain things; God only can give it, and therefore it must, be asked of him,
Jeremiah 14:22. The word for idols is "teraphim", the same as in
Genesis 31:19 and here signifies worshippers of idols, as the Targum interprets it; and may be understood of the idolatrous Papists who worship idols of gold, silver, brass, and wood, Revelation 9:20 and who speak lies in hypocrisy, great swelling words of vanity, and even blasphemy against God, his name, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven, 1 Timothy 4:1. Jarchi on 2 Kings 23:24, says, the teraphim are images that speak by sorcerers or sorceries; and to such evils the followers of the man of sin are addicted, Revelation 9:21 and the Jews l have a notion that those images were so formed, that they were capable of speaking and talking with men; see Hosea 3:4 they seem to confound them with the "talisman":
and the diviners have seen a lie; delivered it out, and others believed it, being given up to judicial blindness, because they received not the love of the truth, 2 Thessalonians 2:10. The Targum is,
"the diviners prophesy falsehood;''
or preach false doctrine, as the Romish clergy do, who are meant by the diviners:
and have told false dreams; about transubstantiation, purgatory, c. which are visionary things false doctrines are compared to dreams, Jeremiah 23:25:
they comfort in vain; by works of supererogation, by selling pardons, and praying souls out of purgatory:
therefore they went their way as a flock; as a flock of sheep straying from the fold. The Targum is,
"they are scattered as sheep are scattered;''
that is, the Jews, being hardened against the Christian religion, by the idolatry, lies, and dreams of the Papists, wander about in their mistakes and errors concerning the Messiah; which is their case to this day, and will be until the man of sin is destroyed:
they were troubled, because [there was] no shepherd; or, "no king", as the Targum paraphrases it; that is, the King Messiah, according to them, is not yet come; which is their affliction and trouble, that they are as sheep without a shepherd: or, "they answered", that there "is no shepherd" m; they replied to the diviners, the tellers of false dreams and idolaters, and affirmed that the Messiah is not come, and that the pope of Rome is not the shepherd and bishop of souls.
l Targum Jon. in Gen. xxxi. 19. R. Eliezer Pirke, c. 36. fol. 40. 1. m יענו כי אין רעה "testificati sunt nullum fuisse pastorem", Junius Tremellius, Heb. "responderunt", Piscator; "respondebunt quod non sit pastor", Burkius.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
For the teraphim have spoken vanity - Rather, “spake vanity.” He appeals to their former experience. Their father had sought of idols, not of God; therefore they went into captivity. The “teraphim” were used as instruments of divination. They are united with the “ephod,” as forbidden, over against the allowed, means of enquiry as to the future, in Hosea, “without an ephod and without teraphim” Hosea 3:4; they were united in the mingled worship of Micah Judges 17:5; Judges 18:14, Judges 18:17-18, Judges 18:20; Josiah “put” them “away” together with the “workers with familiar spirits and the wizards” 2 Kings 23:24, to which are added, “the idols.” It was probably, a superstition of Eastern origin. Rachel brought them with her from her father’s house, and Nebuchadnezzar used them for divination. Ezekiel 21:21. Samuel speaks of them, apparently, as things which Saul himself condemned. “Rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness as iniquity or idolatry, and teraphim” 1 Samuel 15:23. For it was probably in those his better days, that “Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits and wizards out of the land” 1 Samuel 28:3. Samuel then seems to tell him, that the sins to which he clave were as evil as those which he had, in an outward zeal, like Jehu, condemned. Anyhow, the “teraphim” stand united with the “divination” which was expressly condemned by the law Deuteronomy 18:13-14. The use of the teraphim by Rachel Genesis 31:19, Genesis 31:34-35 and Michal 1 Samuel 19:13, 1 Samuel 19:16 (for whatever purpose) implies that it was some less offensive form of false worship, though they were probably the “strange gods” Genesis 35:2, Genesis 35:4 which Jacob bade his household to put away, or, anyhow, among them, since Laban calls them, “my gods” Genesis 31:30, Genesis 31:32.
Zechariah uses anew the words of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, “Hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers” Jeremiah 27:9; and, “let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams, which ye cause to be dreamed” Jeremiah 29:8; and Ezekiel, “While they see vanity unto thee, while they divine a lie unto thee” (Ezekiel 21:29; add Ezekiel 22:28). The words not only joined on the prophet’s warning with the past, but reminded them of the sentence which followed on their neglect. The echo of the words of the former prophets came to them, floating, as it were, over the ruins of the former temple.
Therefore they went their way as a flock - Which, having no shepherd, or only such as would mislead them, removed, but into captivity. “They were troubled.” The trouble lasted on, though the captivity ended at the appointed time. Nehemiah speaks of the exactions of former governors, “The former governors which were before me, laid heavy weights upon the people, and took from them in bread and wine, after forty shekels of silver; also their servants used dominion over the people; and I did not so, because of the fear of God” Nehemiah 5:15.
Because there was no shepherd - As Ezekiel said of those times, “They were scattered, because there is no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered: My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth; and none did search or seek after them” Ezekiel 34:5-6.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Zechariah 10:2. The idols have spoken vanity — This is spoken of the Jews, and must refer to their idolatry practised before the captivity, for there were no idols after.
Therefore they went their way — They were like a flock that had no shepherd, shifting from place to place, and wandering about in the wilderness, seeking for pasture, wherever they might find it. Some think that the idols and diviners were those of the Seleucidae Greeks, who excited their masters with promises of success against the Maccabees. Others think that the Babylonish captivity is foretold; for a determined future event is frequently spoken of by the prophets as past.
