“Yahweh said
To Satan.
‘Yahweh rebukes you!
O Satan!
Yahweh,
Who has chosen Jerusalem,
Rebukes you!
Is not this man
A brand
Plucked from the fire?’”
Yahweh then had a conversation with the adversarial Satan. Yahweh was rebuking him. Yahweh had chosen Jerusalem. Yet he still was going to rebuke Satan. Then he asked if this man Joshua was a hot brand from the fire. He wanted to know if Joshua was the representative of the Israelites of Jerusalem or from Satan.
“Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse.
Whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt.
A scoffer who is rebuked,
Will only hate you.
The wise man,
When rebuked,
Will love you.
Give instruction to the wise.
They will become wiser still.
Teach the righteous,
They will gain in learning.
The fear of Yahweh
Is the beginning of wisdom.
The knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
By me,
Your days will be multiplied.
By me,
Years will be added to your life.
If you are wise,
You are wise for yourself.
If you scoff,
You alone will bear it.”
If you mock or deride people as scoffers, there is no sense in rebuking you. You will only get hurt and abused because you are as if rebuking a wicked person. They will hate you. On the other hand, if you give instruction to the wise ones, they will become wiser still. If you teach the righteous, they will gain in learning. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Yahweh. The knowledge of the Holy One leads to insight. Wisdom will multiple your days and years. If you are wise, it will go well with you. If you are a scoffer or cynic, you will bear the whole burden alone.
“Hear!
O my people!
I will speak!
O Israel!
I will testify against you!
I am God!
I am your God!
Not for your sacrifices,
Do I rebuke you.
Your burnt offerings are continually before me.
I will not accept a bull from your house.
I will not accept goats from your folds.
Every wild animal of the forest is mine.
The cattle on a thousand hills are mine.
I know all the birds of the air.
I know that all that moves in the field is mine.”
This time the plea is for God asking the people of Israel to hear him, not the other way around. God was going to speak to Israel as he wanted to testify against them. He was rebuking them, but not for their sacrifices, which they had continually brought forth as burnt offerings. He was no longer going to accept bulls and goats as sacrifices. God claimed that all the wild animals were his anyhow. The cattle in the hills, the birds in the air, and all that moved in the fields belonged to God.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 