en_tn/zec/07/11.md

# set their shoulders stubbornly

This is an image of an ox refusing to allow its owner to put a yoke on its shoulders. This metaphor represents the people being stubborn. AT: "became stubborn" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# They stopped up their ears so they would not hear

This is an image of people putting something into their ears so they would not hear the message from Yahweh. This metaphor represents the people not being willing to hear and obey. AT: "They refused to listen" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# They made their hearts as hard as rock so they would not hear the law or the words of Yahweh of hosts

The people refusing to hear and obey Yahweh are compared to their being as unyielding as rock. Here the heart represents the will of a person. AT: "They stubbornly refused to hear the law or the words of Yahweh of hosts" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])

# in earlier times

"in the past"

# by the mouth of the prophets

Here the "mouth of the prophets" is a metonym for the words that the prophets speak. AT: "through the words of the prophets" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])