Month: March 2024

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday March 21, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 32:1-33:39

The Petition of the Reubenites and Gadites

32 [a] Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle,[b] 2 the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam,[c] Nebo, and Beon,[d] 4 the land that the Lord subdued[e] before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle.” 5 So they said, “If we have found favor in your sight,[f] let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross[g] the Jordan River.”[h]

Moses’ Response

6 Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, “Must your brothers go to war while you[i] remain here? 7 Why do you frustrate the intent[j] of the Israelites to cross over into the land that the Lord has given them? 8 Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. 9 When[k] they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter[l] the land that the Lord had given[m] them. 10 So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, 11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly,[n] not[o] one of the men twenty years old and upward[p] who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give[q] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’ 13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before[r] the Lord was finished.[s] 14 Now look, you are standing in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. 15 For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon[t] them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction.”[u]

The Offer of the Reubenites and Gadites

16 Then they came very close to him and said, “We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families,[v] 17 but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness[w] and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against[x] the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. 19 For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River[y] and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”

20 Then Moses replied,[z] “If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, 21 and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord’s sight.

23 “But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned[aa] against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. 24 So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said[ab] you would do.”

25 So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, 27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord’s presence, just as my lord says.”

28 So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. 29 Moses said to them: “If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord’s presence, and you conquer the land,[ac] then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. 30 But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan.” 31 Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken.[ad] 32 We will cross armed in the Lord’s presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River.”[ae]

Land Assignment

33 So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them.[af] 34 The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and constructed pens for their flocks. 37 The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal Meon (with a change of name), and Sibmah. They renamed[ag] the cities they built.

39 The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir, son of Manasseh, and he lived there.[ah] 41 Now Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their small towns and named them Havvoth Jair.[ai] 42 Then Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.

Wanderings from Egypt to Sinai

33 [aj] These are the journeys of the Israelites, who went out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the authority[ak] of Moses and Aaron. 2 Moses recorded their departures[al] according to their journeys, by the commandment[am] of the Lord; now these are their journeys according to their departures. 3 They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after[an] the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly[ao] in plain sight[ap] of all the Egyptians. 4 Now the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them; the Lord also executed judgments on their gods.

5 The Israelites traveled from Rameses and camped in Sukkoth.

6 They traveled from Sukkoth, and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the desert. 7 They traveled from Etham, and turned again to Pi Hahiroth, which is before Baal Zephon; and they camped before Migdal. 8 They traveled from Pi Hahiroth,[aq] and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped in Marah. 9 They traveled from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim there are twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there.

10 They traveled from Elim, and camped by the Red Sea. 11 They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. 12 They traveled from the wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah. 13 And they traveled from Dophkah, and camped in Alush.

14 They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 15 They traveled from Rephidim and camped in the desert of Sinai.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

16 They traveled from the desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah. 17 They traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 18 They traveled from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah. 19 They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez. 20 They traveled from Rimmon Perez and camped in Libnah. 21 They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 They traveled from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. 23 They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah. 25 They traveled from Haradah and camped in Makheloth. 26 They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 They traveled from Terah and camped in Mithcah. 29 They traveled from Mithcah and camped in Hashmonah. 30 They traveled from Hashmonah and camped in Moseroth. 31 They traveled from Moseroth and camped in Bene Jaakan. 32 They traveled from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad. 33 They traveled from Hor Haggidgad and camped in Jotbathah. 34 They traveled from Jotbathah and camped in Abronah. 35 They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber. 36 They traveled from Ezion Geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh.

Wanderings from Kadesh to Moab

37 They traveled from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor at the edge of the land of Edom. 38 Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command[ar] of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month. 39 Now Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

Footnotes:

  1. Numbers 32:1 sn While the tribes are on the other side of Jordan, the matter of which tribes would settle there has to be discussed. This chapter begins the settlement of Israel into the tribal territories, something to be continued in Joshua. The chapter has the petitions (vv. 1-5), the response by Moses (vv. 6-15), the proposal (vv. 16-27), and the conclusion of the matter (vv. 28-42). For literature on this subject, both critical and conservative, see S. E. Loewenstein, “The Relation of the Settlement of Gad and Reuben in Numbers 32:1-38, Its Background and Its Composition,” Tarbiz 42 (1972): 12-26; J. Mauchline, “Gilead and Gilgal, Some Reflections on the Israelite Occupation of Palestine,” VT 6 (1956): 19-33; and A. Bergmann, “The Israelite Tribe of Half-Manasseh,” JPOS 16 (1936): 224-54.
  2. Numbers 32:1 tn Heb “the place was a place of/for cattle.”
  3. Numbers 32:3 tc Smr and the LXX have Sibmah. Cf. v. 38.
  4. Numbers 32:3 tn Cf. Baal Meon in v. 38.
  5. Numbers 32:4 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of נָכָה (nakhah), a term that can mean “smite, strike, attack, destroy.”
  6. Numbers 32:5 tn Heb “eyes.”
  7. Numbers 32:5 tn The verb is the Hiphil jussive from עָבַר (ʿavar, “to cross over”). The idea of “cause to cross” or “make us cross” might be too harsh, but “take across” with the rest of the nation is what they are trying to avoid.
  8. Numbers 32:5 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  9. Numbers 32:6 tn The vav (ו) is a vav disjunctive prefixed to the pronoun; it fits best here as a circumstantial clause, “while you stay here.”
  10. Numbers 32:7 tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 9.
  11. Numbers 32:9 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the parallel yet chronologically later verb in the next clause.
  12. Numbers 32:9 tn The infinitive construct here with ל (lamed) is functioning as a result clause.
  13. Numbers 32:9 tn The Lord had not given it yet, but was going to give it. Hence, the perfect should be classified as a perfect of resolve.
  14. Numbers 32:11 tn The clause is difficult; it means essentially that “they have not made full [their coming] after” the Lord.
  15. Numbers 32:11 tn The sentence begins with “if they see….” This is the normal way for Hebrew to express a negative oath—“they will by no means see….” The sentence is elliptical; it is saying something like “[May God do so to me] if they see,” meaning they won’t see. Of course here God is taking the oath, which is an anthropomorphic act. He does not need to take an oath, and certainly could not swear by anyone greater, but it communicates to people his resolve.
  16. Numbers 32:11 tc The LXX adds “those knowing bad and good.”
  17. Numbers 32:11 tn The words “to give” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  18. Numbers 32:13 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  19. Numbers 32:13 tn The verb is difficult to translate, since it has the idea of “complete, finish” (תָּמָם, tamam). It could be translated “consumed” in this passage (so KJV, ASV); NASB “was destroyed.”
  20. Numbers 32:15 tn The construction uses a verbal hendiadys with the verb “to add” serving to modify the main verb.
  21. Numbers 32:15 tn Heb “and you will destroy all this people.”
  22. Numbers 32:16 tn Heb “our little ones.”
  23. Numbers 32:17 tn The MT has חֻשִׁים (khushim); the verbal root is חוּשׁ (khush, “to make haste” or “hurry”). But in light of the Greek and Latin Vulgate the Hebrew should probably be emended to חֲמֻשִׁים (hamushim), a qal passive participle meaning “in battle array.” See further BDB 301 s.v. I חוּשׁ, BDB 332 s.v. חֲמֻשִׁים; HALOT 300 s.v. I חושׁ, חישׁ; HALOT 331 s.v. I חמשׁ.
  24. Numbers 32:17 tn Heb “from before.”
  25. Numbers 32:19 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  26. Numbers 32:20 tn Heb “said to them.”
  27. Numbers 32:23 tn The nuance of the perfect tense here has to be the future perfect.
  28. Numbers 32:24 tn Heb “that which goes out/has gone out of your mouth.”
  29. Numbers 32:29 tn Heb “and the land is subdued before you.”
  30. Numbers 32:31 tn Heb “that which the Lord has spoken to your servants, thus we will do.”
  31. Numbers 32:32 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  32. Numbers 32:33 tn Heb “the land with its cities in the borders of the cities of the land all around.”
  33. Numbers 32:38 tn Heb “called names.”
  34. Numbers 32:40 tn Heb “in it.”
  35. Numbers 32:41 sn Havvoth Jair. The Hebrew name means “villages of Jair.”
  36. Numbers 33:1 sn This material can be arranged into four sections: from Egypt to Sinai (vv. 1-15), the wilderness wanderings (vv. 16-36), from Kadesh to Moab (vv. 37-49), and final orders for Canaan (vv. 50-56).
  37. Numbers 33:1 tn Heb “hand.”
  38. Numbers 33:2 tn Heb “their goings out.”
  39. Numbers 33:2 tn Heb “mouth.”
  40. Numbers 33:3 tn Heb “morrow.”
  41. Numbers 33:3 tn Heb “with a high hand”; the expression means “defiantly; boldly” or “with confidence.” The phrase is usually used for arrogant sin and pride, the defiant fist, as it were. The image of the high hand can also mean the hand raised to deliver the blow (Job 38:15).
  42. Numbers 33:3 tn Heb “in the eyes.”
  43. Numbers 33:8 tc So many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, Smr, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate. Other witnesses have “from before Hahiroth.”
  44. Numbers 33:38 tn Heb “mouth.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Luke 4:31-5:11

Ministry in Capernaum

31 So[a] he went down to Capernaum,[b] a town[c] in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people.[d] 32 They[e] were amazed[f] at his teaching, because he spoke[g] with authority.[h]

33 Now[i] in the synagogue[j] there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean[k] demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! Leave us alone,[l] Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One[m] of God.” 35 But[n] Jesus rebuked him:[o] “Silence! Come out of him!”[p] Then, after the demon threw the man[q] down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him.[r] 36 They[s] were all amazed and began to say[t] to one another, “What’s happening here?[u] For with authority and power[v] he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 So[w] the news[x] about him spread into all areas of the region.[y]

38 After Jesus left[z] the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house.[aa] Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus[ab] to help her.[ac] 39 So[ad] he stood over her, commanded[ae] the fever, and it left her. Immediately[af] she got up and began to serve[ag] them.

40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives[ah] sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus.[ai] He placed[aj] his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 Demons also came out[ak] of many, crying out,[al] “You are the Son of God!”[am] But he rebuked[an] them, and would not allow them to speak,[ao] because they knew that he was the Christ.[ap]

42 The next morning[aq] Jesus[ar] departed and went to a deserted place. Yet[as] the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But Jesus[at] said to them, “I must[au] proclaim the good news of the kingdom[av] of God to the other towns[aw] too, for that is what I was sent[ax] to do.”[ay] 44 So[az] he continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.[ba]

The Call of the Disciples

5 Now[bb] Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[bc] and the crowd was pressing around him[bd] to hear the word of God. 2 He[be] saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into[bf] one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then[bg] Jesus[bh] sat down[bi] and taught the crowds from the boat.[bj] 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower[bk] your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon[bl] answered,[bm] “Master,[bn] we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word[bo] I will lower[bp] the nets.” 6 When[bq] they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.[br] 7 So[bs] they motioned[bt] to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.[bu] 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord,[bv] for I am a sinful man!”[bw] 9 For[bx] Peter[by] and all who were with him were astonished[bz] at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners.[ca] Then[cb] Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on[cc] you will be catching people!”[cd] 11 So[ce] when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed[cf] him.

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 4:31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the continuation of the topic; in light of his rejection at Nazareth, Jesus went on to Capernaum.
  2. Luke 4:31 sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It existed since Hasmonean times and was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. The population in the first century is estimated to be around 1,500. Capernaum became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt 4:13; Mark 2:1). In modern times the site was discovered in 1838 by the American explorer E. Robinson, and major excavations began in 1905 by German archaeologists H. Kohl and C. Watzinger. Not until 1968, however, were remains from the time of Jesus visible; in that year V. Corbo and S. Loffreda began a series of annual archaeological campaigns that lasted until 1985. This work uncovered what is thought to be the house of Simon Peter as well as ruins of the first century synagogue beneath the later synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D. Today gently rolling hills and date palms frame the first century site, a favorite tourist destination of visitors to the Galilee.
  3. Luke 4:31 tn Or “city.”
  4. Luke 4:31 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. Luke 4:32 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  6. Luke 4:32 sn They were amazed. The astonishment shown here is like that in Luke 2:48.
  7. Luke 4:32 tn Grk “because his word was.”
  8. Luke 4:32 sn Jesus’ teaching impressed the hearers with the directness of its claim (with authority). A study of Jewish rabbinic interpretation shows that it was typical to cite a list of authorities to make one’s point. Apparently Jesus addressed the issues in terms of his own understanding.
  9. Luke 4:33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a specific example of how Jesus spoke with authority (v. 32).
  10. Luke 4:33 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
  11. Luke 4:33 tn Grk “having an unclean, demonic spirit,” that is, an evil spirit. This is the only place Luke uses this lengthy phrase. Normally he simply says an “unclean spirit.”
  12. Luke 4:34 tn Grk “What to us and to you?” This is an idiom meaning, “We have nothing to do with one another,” or “Why bother us!” The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti hēmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12; 2 Chr 35:21; 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13; Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) merely implies disengagement. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….” For a very similar expression, see Luke 8:28 and (in a different context) John 2:4.
  13. Luke 4:34 sn The confession of Jesus as the Holy One here is significant, coming from an unclean spirit. Jesus, as the Holy One of God, who bears God’s Spirit and is the expression of holiness, comes to deal with uncleanness and unholiness.
  14. Luke 4:35 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast involved in Jesus’ reply.
  15. Luke 4:35 tn Grk “rebuked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
  16. Luke 4:35 sn The command Come out of him! is an example of Jesus’ authority (see v. 32). Unlike other exorcists, Jesus did not use magical incantations nor did he invoke anyone else’s name.
  17. Luke 4:35 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Luke 4:35 sn The departure of the evil spirit from the man without hurting him shows Jesus’ total deliverance and protection of this individual.
  19. Luke 4:36 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  20. Luke 4:36 tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
  21. Luke 4:36 tn Grk “What is this word?” The Greek term λόγος (logos) has a wide range of meaning. Here it seems to mean, “What is this matter?” More idiomatically it would be, “What’s going on here?!”
  22. Luke 4:36 sn The phrase with authority and power is in an emphatic position in the Greek text. Once again the authority of Jesus is the point, but now it is not just his teaching that is emphasized, but his ministry. Jesus combined word and deed into a powerful testimony in Capernaum.
  23. Luke 4:37 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate resultative nature of the action.
  24. Luke 4:37 tn That is, “information concerning a person or an event—‘report, news, word, information’” (L&N 33.211).
  25. Luke 4:37 sn Given Luke 4:31, the phrase the region is a reference to Galilee.
  26. Luke 4:38 tn Grk “Arising from the synagogue, he entered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been taken temporally here, and the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. Luke 4:38 sn There is now significant agreement among scholars that the house of Simon Peter in Capernaum has been found beneath the ruins of a fifth-century Byzantine church some 84 ft south of the synagogue. At the bottom of several layers of archaeological remains is a first-century house that apparently was designated for public viewing sometime in the mid-first century, and continued to be so in subsequent centuries. For details see S. Loffreda, “Capernaum—Jesus’ Own City,” Bible and Spade 10.1 (1981): 1-17.
  28. Luke 4:38 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  29. Luke 4:38 tn Grk “they asked him about her.” It is clear from the context that they were concerned about her physical condition. The verb “to help” in the translation makes this explicit.
  30. Luke 4:39 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the resultative nature of Jesus’ actions.
  31. Luke 4:39 tn Or “rebuked,” but “rebuke” implies strong disapproval, while the usage here involves more of a command with perhaps the implication of a threat (L&N 33.331).sn The language here (commanded) almost treats the illness as a personal force (see vv. 35, 41), but this is not the case. This healing shows Jesus’ power over sickness and should not be construed as an exorcism.
  32. Luke 4:39 tn Grk “and immediately.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here. Instead a new sentence is started in the translation.sn The note that this happened immediately shows the speed and totality of the recovery.
  33. Luke 4:39 tn The imperfect verb has been translated ingressively.
  34. Luke 4:40 tn Grk “everyone, as many as had those being sick.” The use of εἶχον (eichon, “had”) suggests that the subject of the accusative participle ἀσθενοῦντας (asthenountas, “those being sick”) is not simply acquaintances, but rather relatives, perhaps immediate family, and certainly close friends.
  35. Luke 4:40 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  36. Luke 4:40 tn Or “laid.” The participle ἐπιτεθείς (epitetheis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  37. Luke 4:41 sn Demons also came out. Note how Luke distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.
  38. Luke 4:41 tn Grk “crying out and saying.” The participle λέγοντα (legonta) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.
  39. Luke 4:41 tc Most mss (A Q Θ Ψ 0102 ƒ1,13 M) read “the Christ, the Son of God.” But the earliest and best mss, along with several other witnesses (א B C D L W Ξ 33 579 700 1241 2542 lat sa), lack “the Christ” here. It is likely that later scribes wished to bring the demons’ confession in line with what Luke says they knew later in the verse.
  40. Luke 4:41 tn Or “commanded,” but “rebuke” implies strong disapproval, which seems to be more in keeping with the context here (L&N 33.419).
  41. Luke 4:41 sn Jesus would not allow the demons to speak because the time for such disclosure was not yet at hand, and such a revelation would have certainly been misunderstood by the people. In all likelihood, if the people had understood him early on to be the Son of God, or Messiah, they would have reduced his mission to one of political deliverance from Roman oppression (cf. John 6:15). Jesus wanted to avoid, as much as possible, any premature misunderstanding about who he was and what he was doing. However, at the end of his ministry, he did not deny such a title when the high priest asked him (22:66-71).
  42. Luke 4:41 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn Note how Luke associates Son of God with Messiah (Christ) in this context, a regal connection with OT roots (Ps 2:7). Also, see the note on Christ in 2:11.
  43. Luke 4:42 tn Grk “When it became day.”
  44. Luke 4:42 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  45. Luke 4:42 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that the crowds still sought Jesus in spite of his withdrawal.
  46. Luke 4:43 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  47. Luke 4:43 tn Here δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) indicates divine commission (cf. Luke 2:49).
  48. Luke 4:43 sn The good news of the kingdom, the kingdom of the rule of God through the Messiah, is the topic of Jesus’ preaching.
  49. Luke 4:43 tn Or “cities.”
  50. Luke 4:43 sn Jesus was sent by God for this purpose. This is the language of divine commission.
  51. Luke 4:43 tn Grk “because for this purpose I was sent.”
  52. Luke 4:44 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the summarization.
  53. Luke 4:44 tc Most mss (A D Θ Ψ ƒ13 33 M latt) have “of Galilee”; others, “of the Jews” (W). “Judea” (read by P75 א B Q 579 892 sa, and [with minor variation] C L ƒ1 1241) is probably the earlier reading since it is both the harder reading and supported by the best witnesses. “Galilee” is an assimilation to Mark 1:39 and Matt 4:23.
  54. Luke 5:1 tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  55. Luke 5:1 sn The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Cf. the parallel in Matt 4:18.
  56. Luke 5:1 sn The image of the crowd pressing around him suggests the people leaning forward to catch Jesus’ every word.
  57. Luke 5:2 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  58. Luke 5:3 tn Grk “Getting into”; the participle ἐμβάς (embas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  59. Luke 5:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  60. Luke 5:3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  61. Luke 5:3 tn Grk “sitting down”; the participle καθίσας (kathisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  62. Luke 5:3 sn In 1986 following a period of drought and low lake levels, a fishing boat from the first century was discovered on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was excavated and preserved and can now be seen in the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar north of Tiberias. The remains of the boat are 27 ft (8.27 m) long and 7.5 ft (2.3 m) wide; it could be rowed by four rowers and had a mast for a sail. The boat is now known as the “Jesus boat” or the “Sea of Galilee boat” although there is no known historical connection of any kind with Jesus or his disciples. However, the boat is typical for the period and has provided archaeologists with much information about design and construction of boats on the Sea of Galilee in the first century.
  63. Luke 5:4 tn Or “let down.” The verb here is plural, so this is a command to all in the boat, not just Peter.
  64. Luke 5:5 tn Grk “And Simon.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  65. Luke 5:5 tn Grk “answering, Simon said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation to “Simon answered.”
  66. Luke 5:5 tn The word ἐπιστάτης is a term of respect for a person of high status (see L&N 87.50).
  67. Luke 5:5 tn The expression “at your word,” which shows Peter’s obedience, stands first in the Greek clause for emphasis.
  68. Luke 5:5 tn Or “let down.”
  69. Luke 5:6 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  70. Luke 5:6 tn In context, this imperfect verb is best taken as an ingressive imperfect.
  71. Luke 5:7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate consequential nature of the action.
  72. Luke 5:7 tn That is, “they signaled by making gestures” (L&N 33.485).
  73. Luke 5:7 tn This infinitive conveys the idea that the boats were at the point of sinking (BDF §338.1).
  74. Luke 5:8 sn Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.
  75. Luke 5:8 sn Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.
  76. Luke 5:9 sn An explanatory conjunction (For) makes it clear that Peter’s exclamation is the result of a surprising set of events. He speaks, but the others feel similarly.
  77. Luke 5:9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  78. Luke 5:9 sn In the Greek text, this term is in an emphatic position.
  79. Luke 5:10 tn Or “business associates.”
  80. Luke 5:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  81. Luke 5:10 sn From now on is a common Lukan expression, see Luke 1:48.
  82. Luke 5:10 tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net—not line—fishing, which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:461). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life. With the statement “You will be catching people” Jesus turns the miracle into a metaphor for mission.
  83. Luke 5:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ pronouncement.
  84. Luke 5:11 sn The expression left everything and followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 64

Psalm 64[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

64 Listen to me,[b] O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect[c] my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks.[d]
2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,
from the crowd of evildoers.[e]
3 They[f] sharpen their tongues like swords;
they aim their arrows, a slanderous charge,[g]
4 in order to shoot down the innocent[h] in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation.[i]
5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed.[j]
They plan how to hide[k] snares,
and boast,[l] “Who will see them?”[m]
6 They devise[n] unjust schemes;
they disguise[o] a well-conceived plot.[p]
Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered.[q]
7 But God will shoot[r] at them;
suddenly they will be[s] wounded by an arrow.[t]
8 Their slander will bring about their demise.[u]
All who see them will shudder,[v]
9 and all people will fear.[w]
They will proclaim what God has done,[x]
and reflect on his deeds.
10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and take shelter in him.
All the morally upright[y] will boast.[z]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 64:1 sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.
  2. Psalm 64:1 tn Heb “my voice.”
  3. Psalm 64:1 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.
  4. Psalm 64:1 tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.
  5. Psalm 64:2 tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”
  6. Psalm 64:3 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  7. Psalm 64:3 tn Heb “a bitter word.”
  8. Psalm 64:4 tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.
  9. Psalm 64:4 tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  10. Psalm 64:5 tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”
  11. Psalm 64:5 tn Heb “they report about hiding.”
  12. Psalm 64:5 tn Heb “they say.”
  13. Psalm 64:5 tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).
  14. Psalm 64:6 tn Heb “search out, examine,” which here means (by metonymy) “devise.”
  15. Psalm 64:6 tc The MT has תַּמְנוּ (tamnu, “we are finished”), a Qal perfect first common plural form from the verbal root תָּמַם (tamam). Some understand this as the beginning of a quotation of the enemies’ words and translate, “we have completed,” but the Hiphil would seem to be required in this case. The present translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading טָמְנוּ (tamenu, “they hide”), a Qal perfect third common plural form from the verbal root טָמַן (taman).
  16. Psalm 64:6 tn Heb “a searched-out search,” which is understood as referring here to a thoroughly planned plot to destroy the psalmist.
  17. Psalm 64:6 tn Heb “and the inner part of man, and a heart [is] deep.” The point seems to be that a man’s inner thoughts are incapable of being discovered. No one is a mind reader! Consequently the psalmist is vulnerable to his enemies’ well-disguised plots.
  18. Psalm 64:7 tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive is normally used in narrative contexts to describe completed past actions. It is possible that the conclusion to the psalm (vv. 7-10) was added to the lament after God’s judgment of the wicked in response to the psalmist’s lament (vv. 1-6). The translation assumes that these verses are anticipatory and express the psalmist’s confidence that God would eventually judge the wicked. The psalmist uses a narrative style as a rhetorical device to emphasize his certitude. See GKC 329-30 §111.w.
  19. Psalm 64:7 tn The perfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s certitude about the coming demise of the wicked.
  20. Psalm 64:7 tn The translation follows the traditional accentuation of the MT. Another option is to translate, “But God will shoot them down with an arrow, suddenly they will be wounded” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
  21. Psalm 64:8 tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him [or it] to stumble upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (ʿal) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ʿale leshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. Perhaps a better option is that the third singular pronominal suffix “it” refers to the following noun “tongue” translated “they caused it, their tongue, to stumble on themselves” (see GKC 425-26 §131.m, o).
  22. Psalm 64:8 tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.
  23. Psalm 64:9 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read וַיִּרְאוּ (vayyirʾu, “and they will see”) instead of וַיִּירְאוּ (vayyireʾu, “and they will fear”).
  24. Psalm 64:9 tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.
  25. Psalm 64:10 tn Heb “upright in heart.”
  26. Psalm 64:10 tn That is, about the Lord’s accomplishments on their behalf.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 11:22

22 Like[a] a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman who rejects[b] discretion.[c]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 11:22 tn The proverb makes a comparison by means of a verbless clause; the words “like… is…” are added in English for the sake of style.
  2. Proverbs 11:22 tn Heb “turns away [from].”
  3. Proverbs 11:22 tn Heb “taste.” The term can refer to physical taste (Exod 16:31), intellectual discretion (1 Sam 25:33), or ethical judgment (Ps 119:66). Here it probably means that she has no moral sensibility, no propriety, no good taste.sn By means of the parallelism, one who rejects discretion is like a swine. If that person has beauty, its value is wasted on and overshadowed by their “piggishness.”
New English Translation (NET)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday March 20, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 30-31

Vows Made by Men

30 [a] Moses told the leaders[b] of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what[c] the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man[d] makes a vow[e] to the Lord or takes an oath[f] of binding obligation on himself,[g] he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.[h]

Vows Made by Single Women

3 “If a young[i] woman who is still living[j] in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation, 4 and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her,[k] then all her vows will stand,[l] and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand. 5 But if her father overrules her when he hears[m] about it, then none[n] of her vows or her obligations that she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release[o] her from it, because her father overruled her.

Vows Made by Married Women

6 “And if she marries a husband while under a vow,[p] or she uttered anything impulsively[q] by which she has pledged herself, 7 and her husband hears about it but remains silent about her when he hears about it, then her vows will stand and her obligations that she has pledged for herself will stand. 8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify[r] the vow she has taken,[s] and whatever she uttered impulsively that she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.

Vows Made by Widows

9 “But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact.[t] 10 If she made the vow in her husband’s house or put herself under obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband heard about it, but remained silent about her, and did not overrule her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation which she pledged for herself will stand. 12 But if her husband clearly nullifies[u] them when he hears them, then whatever she says[v] by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

13 “Any vow or sworn obligation that would bring affliction to her,[w] her husband can confirm or nullify.[x] 14 But if her husband remains completely silent[y] about her from day to day, he thus confirms all her vows or all her obligations which she is under; he confirms them because he remained silent about her when he heard them. 15 But if he should nullify them after he has heard them, then he will bear her iniquity.”[z]

16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses, relating to[aa] a man and his wife, and a father and his young daughter who is still living in her father’s house.

The Midianite War

31 [ab] The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Exact vengeance[ac] for the Israelites from the Midianites[ad]—after that you will be gathered to your people.”[ae]

3 So Moses spoke to the people: “Arm[af] men from among you for the war, to attack the Midianites and to execute[ag] the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4 You must send to the battle 1,000 men from every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel.”[ah] 5 So 1,000 from every tribe, 12,000 armed for battle in all, were provided out of the thousands of Israel.

Campaign Against the Midianites

6 So Moses sent them to the war, 1,000 from every tribe, with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who was in charge[ai] of the holy articles[aj] and the signal trumpets. 7 They fought against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed every male.[ak] 8 They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—five Midianite kings.[al] They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.[am]

9 The Israelites took the women of Midian captive along with their little ones, and took all their herds, all their flocks, and all their goods as plunder. 10 They burned[an] all their towns[ao] where they lived and all their encampments. 11 They took all the plunder and all the spoils, both people and animals. 12 They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the Israelite community, to the camp on the rift valley plains[ap] of Moab, along the Jordan River[aq] across from Jericho.[ar] 13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.

The Death of the Midianite Women

14 But Moses was furious with the officers of the army, the commanders over thousands and commanders over hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live?[as] 16 Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor—which resulted in the plague among the community of the Lord! 17 Now therefore kill every boy,[at] and kill every woman who has been intimate with a man in bed.[au] 18 But all the young women[av] who have not experienced a man’s bed[aw] will be yours.[ax]

Purification After Battle

19 “Any of you who has killed anyone or touched any of the dead, remain outside the camp for seven days; purify yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. 20 You must purify each garment and everything that is made of skin, everything made of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”[ay]

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone into the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord commanded Moses: 22 ‘Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that may stand the fire, you are to pass through the fire,[az] and it will be ceremonially clean, but it must still be purified with the water of purification. Anything that cannot withstand the fire you must pass through the water. 24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you will be ceremonially clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.’”

The Distribution of Spoils

25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 26 “You and Eleazar the priest, and all the family leaders of the community, take the sum[ba] of the plunder that was captured, both people and animals. 27 Divide the plunder into two parts, one for those who took part in the war—who went out to battle—and the other for all the community.

28 “You must exact[bb] a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of 500, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep. 29 You are to take it from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest for a raised offering to the Lord. 30 From the Israelites’ half share you are to take one portion out of fifty of the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep—from every kind of animal—and you are to give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32 The spoil that remained of the plunder that the fighting men[bc] had gathered[bd] was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000[be] young women who had not experienced a man’s bed.[bf]

36 The half portion of those who went to war numbered 337,500 sheep; 37 the Lord’s tribute from the sheep was 675. 38 The cattle numbered[bg] 36,000; the Lord’s tribute was 72. 39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61. 40 The people were 16,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 32 people.[bh]

41 So Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord’s raised offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

42 From the Israelites’ half share that Moses had separated from the fighting men,[bi] 43 there were 337,500 sheep from the portion belonging to the community, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 people.

47 From the Israelites’ share Moses took one of every fifty people and animals and gave them to the Levites who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders over thousands and the commanders over hundreds, approached Moses 49 and said to him,[bj] “Your servants have taken a count[bk] of the men who were in the battle, who were under our authority,[bl] and not one is missing. 50 So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves[bm] before the Lord.”[bn] 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all of it in the form of ornaments. 52 All the gold of the offering they offered up to the Lord from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds weighed 16,750 shekels.[bo] 53 Each soldier had taken plunder for himself. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders[bp] of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial[bq] for the Israelites before the Lord.

Footnotes:

  1. Numbers 30:1 sn Num 30 deals with vows that are different than the vows discussed in Lev 27 and Num 6. The material is placed here after all the rulings of the offerings, but it could have been revealed to Moses at any time, such as the Nazirite vows, or the question of the daughters’ inheritance. The logic of placing it here may be that a festival was the ideal place for discharging a vow. For additional material on vows, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 465-66.
  2. Numbers 30:1 tn Heb “heads.”
  3. Numbers 30:1 tn Heb “This is the word which.”
  4. Numbers 30:2 tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man]—if….”
  5. Numbers 30:2 tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”
  6. Numbers 30:2 tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishavaʿ shevuʿah). The vow (נֵדֶר, neder) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).
  7. Numbers 30:2 tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (leʾsor ʾissar), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The נֶדֶר (neder) may have been more for religious matters, and the אִסָּר more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.
  8. Numbers 30:2 tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”
  9. Numbers 30:3 tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”
  10. Numbers 30:3 tn The Hebrew text just has “in her father’s house” and not “who is still living,” but that is the meaning of the line.
  11. Numbers 30:4 tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.
  12. Numbers 30:4 tn The verb קוּם (qum) is best translated “stand” here, but the idea with it is that what she vows is established as a genuine oath with the father’s approval (or acquiescence).
  13. Numbers 30:5 tn The idiom is “in the day of,” but it is used in place of a preposition before the infinitive construct with its suffixed subjective genitive. The clause is temporal.
  14. Numbers 30:5 tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”
  15. Numbers 30:5 tn The verb has often been translated “forgive” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but that would suggest a sin that needed forgiving. The idea of “release from obligation” is better; the idea is like that of having a debt “forgiven” or “retired.” In other words, she is free from the vow she had made. The Lord will not hold the woman responsible to do what she vowed.
  16. Numbers 30:6 tn Heb “and her vows are upon her.” It may be that the woman gets married while her vows are still unfulfilled.
  17. Numbers 30:6 tn The Hebrew text indicates that this would be some impetuous vow that she uttered with her lips, a vow that her husband, whether new or existing, would not approve of. Several translate it “a binding obligation rashly uttered.”
  18. Numbers 30:8 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb פָּרַר (parar, “to annul”). The verb functions here as the equivalent of an imperfect tense; here it is the apodosis following the conditional clause—if this is the case, then this is what will happen.
  19. Numbers 30:8 tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”
  20. Numbers 30:9 tn The Hebrew text says her vow “shall stand against her.” In other words, she must fulfill, or bear the consequences of, whatever she vowed.
  21. Numbers 30:12 tn The verb is the imperfect tense in the conditional clause. It is intensified with the infinitive absolute, which would have the force of saying that he nullified them unequivocally, or he made them null and void.
  22. Numbers 30:12 tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”
  23. Numbers 30:13 tn The sentence uses the infinitive construct לְעַנֹּת (leʿannot, “to afflict”), which is the same word used in the instructions for the day of atonement in which people are to afflict themselves (their souls). The case here may be that the woman would take a religious vow on such an occasion to humble herself, to mortify her flesh, to abstain from certain things, perhaps even sexual relations within marriage.
  24. Numbers 30:13 tn Heb “or her husband can nullify.”
  25. Numbers 30:14 tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.
  26. Numbers 30:15 sn In other words, he will pay the penalty for making her break her vows if he makes her stop what she vowed. It will not be her responsibility.
  27. Numbers 30:16 tn Heb “between.”
  28. Numbers 31:1 sn This lengthy chapter records the mobilization of the troops (vv. 1-5), the war itself (vv. 6-13), the death of the captive women (vv. 14-18), the purification of the nations (vv. 19-24), and the distribution of the spoils (vv. 25-54). For more detail, see G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; and W. J. Dumbrell, “Midian—a Land or a League?” VT 25 (1975): 323-37.
  29. Numbers 31:2 tn The imperative is followed by its cognate accusative to stress this vengeance. The Midianites had attempted to destroy Israel with their corrupt pagan practices, and now will be judged. The accounts indicate that the effort by Midian was calculated and evil.
  30. Numbers 31:2 sn The war was commanded by the Lord and was to be divine vengeance on the Midianites. So it was holy war. No Israelites then could take spoils in this—it was not a time for plunder and aggrandizement. It was part of the judgment of God upon those who would destroy or pervert his plan and his people.
  31. Numbers 31:2 sn This would be the last major enterprise that Moses would have to undertake. He would soon die and “be gathered to his people” as Aaron was.
  32. Numbers 31:3 tn The Niphal imperative, literally “arm yourselves,” is the call to mobilize the nation for war. It is followed by the jussive, “and they will be,” which would then be subordinated to say “that they may be.” The versions changed the verb to a Hiphil, but that is unnecessary: “arm some of yourselves.”
  33. Numbers 31:3 tn Heb “give.”
  34. Numbers 31:4 sn Some commentators argue that given the size of the nation (which they reject) the small number for the army is a sign of the unrealistic character of the story. The number is a round number, but it is also a holy war, and God would give them the victory. They are beginning to learn here, and at Jericho, and later against these Midianites under Gideon, that God does not want or need a large army in order to obtain victory.
  35. Numbers 31:6 tn The Hebrew text uses the idiom that these “were in his hand,” meaning that he had the responsibility over them.
  36. Numbers 31:6 sn It is not clear what articles from the sanctuary were included. Tg. Ps.-J. adds (interpretively) “the Urim and Thummim.”
  37. Numbers 31:7 sn Many modern biblical scholars assume that this passage is fictitious. The text says that they killed every male, but Judges accounts for the Midianites. The texts can be harmonized rather simply—they killed every Midianite who was in the battle. Midianite tribes and cities dotted the whole region, but that does not mean Israel went and killed every single one of them. There apparently was a core of Midianites whom Balaam had influenced to pervert Israel.
  38. Numbers 31:8 sn Here again we see that there was no unified empire, but Midianite tribal groups.
  39. Numbers 31:8 sn And what was Balaam doing among the Midianites? The implication is strong. This pagan diviner had to submit to the revealed will of God in the oracles, but he nonetheless could be hired. He had been a part of the attempt to destroy Israel that failed; he then apparently became part of the plan, if not the adviser, to destroy them with sexual immorality and pagan ritual.
  40. Numbers 31:10 tn Heb “burned with fire.”
  41. Numbers 31:10 tn The ban applied to the encampments and forts of this group of Midianite tribes living in the region of Moab.
  42. Numbers 31:12 sn This is the area of the rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. See the note at Num 21:1.
  43. Numbers 31:12 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  44. Numbers 31:12 tn Again this expression, “the Jordan of Jericho,” is used. It describes the intended location along the Jordan River, the Jordan next to or across from Jericho.
  45. Numbers 31:15 tn The verb is the Piel perfect of the word חָיָה (khayah, “to live”). In the Piel stem it must here mean “preserve alive,” or “allow to live,” rather than make alive.
  46. Numbers 31:17 tn Heb “every male among the little ones.”sn The command in holy war to kill women and children seems in modern times a terrible thing to do (and it was), and something they ought not to have done. But this criticism fails to understand the situation in the ancient world. The entire life of the ancient world was tribal warfare. God’s judgment is poured out on whole groups of people who act with moral abandonment and in sinful pursuits. See E. J. Young, My Servants, the Prophets, 24; and J. W. Wenham, The Enigma of Evil.
  47. Numbers 31:17 tn Heb “every woman, who is a knower of a man by the bed of a male.”
  48. Numbers 31:18 tn Or “girls.” The Hebrew indicates they would be female children, making the selection easy.
  49. Numbers 31:18 tn Heb “who have not known a man’s bed.” The verb יָדָע (yadaʿ) “to know,” “be intimate with,” is used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
  50. Numbers 31:18 sn Many contemporary scholars see this story as fictitious, composed by the Jews during the captivity. According to this interpretation, the spoils of war here indicate the wealth of the Jews in captivity, which was to be given to the Levites and priests for the restoration of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. The conclusion drawn from this interpretation is that returning Jews had the same problem as the earlier ones: to gain a foothold in the land. Against this interpretation of the account is a lack of hard evidence, a lack which makes this interpretation appear contrived and subjective. If this was the intent of a later writer, he surely could have stated this more clearly than by making up such a story.
  51. Numbers 31:20 sn These verses are a reminder that taking a life, even if justified through holy war, still separates one from the holiness of God. It is part of the violation of the fallen world, and only through the ritual of purification can one be once again made fit for the presence of the Lord.
  52. Numbers 31:23 sn Purification by fire is unique to this event. Making these metallic objects “pass through the fire” was not only a way of purifying (burning off impurities), but it seems to be a dedicatory rite as well to the Lord and his people. The aspect of passing through the fire is one used by these pagans for child sacrifice.
  53. Numbers 31:26 tn The idiom here is “take up the head,” meaning take a census, or count the totals.
  54. Numbers 31:28 tn The verb is the Hiphil, “you shall cause to be taken up.” The perfect with vav (ו) continues the sequence of the instructions. This raised offering was to be a tax of one-fifth of one percent for the Lord.
  55. Numbers 31:32 tn Heb “people.”
  56. Numbers 31:32 tn Heb “had plundered.”
  57. Numbers 31:35 sn Here again we encounter one of the difficulties of the book, the use of the large numbers. Only 12,000 soldiers fought the Midianites, but they brought back this amount of plunder, including 32,000 girls. Until a solution for numbers in the book can be found, or the current translation confirmed, one must remain cautious in interpretation.
  58. Numbers 31:35 tn Heb “who have not known a man’s bed.” The verb יָדָע (yadaʿ) “to know,” “be intimate with,” is used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
  59. Numbers 31:38 tn The word “numbered” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  60. Numbers 31:40 tn Heb “soul.”
  61. Numbers 31:42 tn Heb “the men who were fighting.”
  62. Numbers 31:49 tn Heb “to Moses”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  63. Numbers 31:49 tn Heb “lifted up the head.”
  64. Numbers 31:49 tn Heb “in our hand.”
  65. Numbers 31:50 tn Heb “our souls.”
  66. Numbers 31:50 sn The expression here may include the idea of finding protection from divine wrath, which is so common to Leviticus, but it may also be a thank offering for the fact that their lives had been spared.
  67. Numbers 31:52 sn Or about 420 imperial pounds.
  68. Numbers 31:54 tn The Hebrew text does not repeat the word “commanders” here, but it is implied.
  69. Numbers 31:54 tn The purpose of the offering was to remind the Lord to remember Israel. But it would also be an encouragement for Israel as they remembered the great victory.
New English Translation (NET)

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Luke 4:1-30

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Then[a] Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River[b] and was led by the Spirit[c] in[d] the wilderness,[e] 2 where for forty days he endured temptations[f] from the devil. He[g] ate nothing[h] during those days, and when they were completed,[i] he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If[j] you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”[k] 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man[l] does not live by bread alone.’”[m]

5 Then[n] the devil[o] led him up[p] to a high place[q] and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he[r] said to him, “To you[s] I will grant this whole realm[t]—and the glory that goes along with it,[u] for it has been relinquished[v] to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 7 So then, if[w] you will worship[x] me, all this will be[y] yours.” 8 Jesus[z] answered him,[aa] “It is written, ‘You are to worship[ab] the Lord[ac] your God and serve only him.’”[ad]

9 Then[ae] the devil[af] brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand[ag] on the highest point of the temple,[ah] and said to him, “If[ai] you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’[aj] 11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”[ak] 12 Jesus[al] answered him,[am] “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”[an] 13 So[ao] when the devil[ap] had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.[aq]

The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee

14 Then[ar] Jesus, in the power of the Spirit,[as] returned to Galilee, and news about him spread[at] throughout the surrounding countryside.[au] 15 He[av] began to teach[aw] in their synagogues[ax] and was praised[ay] by all.

Rejection at Nazareth

16 Now[az] Jesus[ba] came to Nazareth,[bb] where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue[bc] on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.[bd] He[be] stood up to read,[bf] 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He[bg] unrolled[bh] the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed[bi] me to proclaim good news[bj] to the poor.[bk]
He has sent me[bl] to proclaim release[bm] to the captives
and the regaining of sight[bn] to the blind,
to set free[bo] those who are oppressed,[bp]
19 to proclaim the year[bq] of the Lord’s favor.”[br]

20 Then[bs] he rolled up[bt] the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on[bu] him. 21 Then[bv] he began to tell them, “Today[bw] this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”[bx] 22 All[by] were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They[bz] said, “Isn’t this[ca] Joseph’s son?” 23 Jesus[cb] said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’[cc] and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum,[cd] do here in your hometown too.’” 24 And he added,[ce] “I tell you the truth,[cf] no prophet is acceptable[cg] in his hometown. 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days,[ch] when the sky[ci] was shut up three and a half years, and[cj] there was a great famine over all the land. 26 Yet[ck] Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.[cl] 27 And there were many lepers[cm] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha,[cn] yet[co] none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”[cp] 28 When they heard this, all the people[cq] in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, forced[cr] him out of the town,[cs] and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that[ct] they could throw him down the cliff.[cu] 30 But he passed through the crowd[cv] and went on his way.[cw]

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 4:1 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.
  2. Luke 4:1 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
  3. Luke 4:1 sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.
  4. Luke 4:1 tc Most mss (A Θ Ξ Ψ 0102 ƒ1,13 33 M lat) read εἰς τὴν ἔρημον (eis tēn erēmon, “into the wilderness”), apparently motivated by the parallel in Matt 4:1. However, the reading behind the translation (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, en tē erēmō) is found in overall better witnesses (P4vid,7, 75vid א B D L W 579 892 1241 it).
  5. Luke 4:1 tn Or “desert.”sn The Judean Wilderness (or Judean Desert) is a geographical feature extending from the mountains of Judea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. It is a relatively small desert, covering only about 600 square miles (roughly 1,500 square km). The Judean Wilderness is characterized by breathtaking panoramas: mountains, cliffs, chalk hills, and plateaus are interrupted by riverbeds and canyons, some of which are up to 1,500 feet (500 m) deep. Some of the rivers are seasonal streams and some have water all year round. The tall cliffs on the eastern edge of the desert reach a height of 1,000 feet (300 m) above the shore of the Dead Sea. The Judean Wilderness is close to Jerusalem and sparsely populated with few settlements around its edges. It is known for its rugged and desolate landscape, which has provided a refuge and hiding place for rebels and zealots throughout history, as well as solitude for monks and hermits.
  6. Luke 4:2 tn Grk “in the desert, for forty days being tempted.” The participle πειραζόμενος (peirazomenos) has been translated as an adverbial clause in English to avoid a run-on sentence with a second “and.” Here the present participle suggests a period of forty days of testing. Three samples of the end of the testing are given in the following verses.
  7. Luke 4:2 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  8. Luke 4:2 sn The reference to Jesus eating nothing could well be an idiom meaning that he ate only what the desert provided; see Exod 34:28. A desert fast simply meant eating only what one could obtain in the desert. The parallel in Matt 4:2 speaks only of Jesus fasting.
  9. Luke 4:2 tn The Greek word here is συντελεσθείσων (suntelestheisōn) from the verb συντελέω (sunteleō).sn This verb and its cognate noun, sunteleia, usually implies not just the end of an event, but its completion or fulfillment. The noun is always used in the NT in eschatological contexts; the verb is often so used (cf. Matt 13:39, 40; 24:3; 28:20; Mark 13:4; Rom 9:28; Heb 8:8; 9:26). The idea here may be that the forty-day period of temptation was designed for a particular purpose in the life of Christ (the same verb is used in v. 13). The cognate verb teleioō is a key NT term for the completion of God’s plan: See Luke 12:50; 22:37; John 19:30; and (where it has the additional component of meaning “to perfect”) Heb 2:10; 5:8-9; 7:28.
  10. Luke 4:3 tn This is a first class condition: “If (and let’s assume that you are) the Son of God…”
  11. Luke 4:3 tn Grk “say to this stone that it should become bread.”
  12. Luke 4:4 tn Or “a person.” The Greek word ὁ ἄνθρωπος (ho anthrōpos) is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.
  13. Luke 4:4 tc Most mss (A [D] Θ Ψ [0102] ƒ1,13 33 M latt) complete the citation with ἀλλ᾿ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι θεοῦ (all’ epi panti rhēmati theou, “but by every word from God”), an assimilation to Matt 4:4 (which is a quotation of Deut 8:3). The shorter reading is found in א B L W 1241 sa. There is no good reason why scribes would omit the rest of the quotation here. The shorter reading, on both internal and external grounds, should be considered the autographic wording in Luke.sn A quotation from Deut 8:3. Jesus will live by doing God’s will, and will take no shortcuts.
  14. Luke 4:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. sn The order of Luke’s temptations differs from Matthew’s at this point as numbers two and three are reversed. It is slightly more likely that Luke has made the change to put the Jerusalem temptation last, as Jerusalem is so important to Luke’s later account. The temporal markers in Matthew’s account are also slightly more specific.
  15. Luke 4:5 tn Grk “he.”
  16. Luke 4:5 tc Most mss (א1 A [D W] Θ Ψ 0102 ƒ1,[13] 33 700 2542 M it) refer to Jesus being taken up “to a high mountain” (with many of these also explicitly adding “the devil”) here in parallel with Matt 4:8, but both scribal harmonization to that text and the pedigree of the witnesses for the shorter reading (א* B L 1241) is the reason it should be omitted from Luke.
  17. Luke 4:5 tn “A high place” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied for clarity.
  18. Luke 4:6 tn Grk “And the devil.”
  19. Luke 4:6 sn In Greek, this phrase is in an emphatic position. In effect, the devil is tempting Jesus by saying, “Look what you can have!”
  20. Luke 4:6 tn Or “authority.” BDAG 353 s.v. ἐξουσία 6 suggests, concerning this passage, that the term means “the sphere in which the power is exercised, domain.” Cf. also Luke 22:53; 23:7; Acts 26:18; Eph 2:2.
  21. Luke 4:6 tn The addendum referring to the glory of the kingdoms of the world forms something of an afterthought, as the following pronoun (“it”) makes clear, for the singular refers to the realm itself.
  22. Luke 4:6 tn For the translation of παραδέδοται (paradedotai) see L&N 57.77. The devil is erroneously implying that God has given him such authority with the additional capability of sharing the honor.
  23. Luke 4:7 tn This is a third class condition: “If you worship me (and I am not saying whether you will or will not)…”
  24. Luke 4:7 tn Or “will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskuneō) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.
  25. Luke 4:7 tn One could translate this phrase “it will all be yours.” The sense is the same, but the translation given is a touch more emphatic and more likely to catch the force of the offer.
  26. Luke 4:8 tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  27. Luke 4:8 tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A Θ Ψ 0102 ƒ13 M it), have “Get behind me, Satan!” at the beginning of the quotation. This roughly parallels Matt 4:10 (though the Lukan mss add ὀπίσω μου to read ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ [hupage opisō mou, satana]); for this reason the words are suspect as a later addition to make the two accounts agree more precisely. A similar situation occurred in v. 5.
  28. Luke 4:8 tn Or “You will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskuneō) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.
  29. Luke 4:8 tc Most later mss (A Θ 0102 M) alter the word order by moving the verb forward in the quotation. This alteration removes the emphasis from “the Lord your God” as the one to receive worship (as opposed to Satan) by moving it away from the beginning of the quotation.sn In the form of the quotation in the Greek text found in the best mss, it is the unique sovereignty of the Lord that has the emphatic position.
  30. Luke 4:8 sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.
  31. Luke 4:9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  32. Luke 4:9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  33. Luke 4:9 tn Grk “and stood him.”
  34. Luke 4:9 sn What the highest point of the temple refers to is unclear. Perhaps the most popular suggestion is that the word refers to the point on the temple’s southeast corner where it looms directly over a cliff some 450 ft (135 m) high. Others have suggested the reference could be to the roof of the temple or a projection of the roof; still others see a reference to the lintel of the temple’s high gate, or a tower in the temple courts. The Greek word itself could be literally translated “winglet” (a diminutive of the Greek word for “wing”) which may have been chosen as a wordplay on the reference to safety under the “wings” of God in Ps 91:4, the same psalm quoted by the devil in the following verse.
  35. Luke 4:9 tn This is another first class condition, as in v. 3.
  36. Luke 4:10 sn A quotation from Ps 91:11 by the devil. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage).
  37. Luke 4:11 sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.
  38. Luke 4:12 tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  39. Luke 4:12 tn Grk “Jesus, answering, said to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered him.”
  40. Luke 4:12 sn A quotation from Deut 6:16 used by Jesus in reply to the devil. The point is that God’s faithfulness should not be put to the test, but is rather a given.
  41. Luke 4:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a summary.
  42. Luke 4:13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  43. Luke 4:13 tn Grk “until a favorable time.”sn Until a more opportune time. Though some have argued that the devil disappears until Luke 22:3, this is unlikely since the cosmic battle with Satan and all the evil angels is consistently mentioned throughout Luke (8:26-39; 11:14-23).
  44. Luke 4:14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  45. Luke 4:14 sn Once again Jesus is directed by the Spirit. Luke makes a point about Jesus’ association with the Spirit early in his ministry (3:22; 4:1 [2x]; 4:18).
  46. Luke 4:14 tn Grk “went out.”
  47. Luke 4:14 tn Grk “all the surrounding region.”
  48. Luke 4:15 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  49. Luke 4:15 tn The imperfect verb has been translated ingressively.
  50. Luke 4:15 sn The next incident in Luke 4:16-30 is probably to be seen as an example of this ministry of teaching in their synagogues in Galilee. Synagogues were places for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).
  51. Luke 4:15 tn Grk “being glorified.” The participle δοξαζόμενος (doxazomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This is the only place Luke uses the verb δοξάζω (doxazō) of Jesus.
  52. Luke 4:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
  53. Luke 4:16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  54. Luke 4:16 sn Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown (which is why he is known as Jesus of Nazareth) about 20 miles (30 km) southwest from Capernaum.
  55. Luke 4:16 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
  56. Luke 4:16 tn Grk “according to his custom.”
  57. Luke 4:16 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  58. Luke 4:16 sn In normative Judaism of the period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2. First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Normally one stood up to read out of respect for the scriptures, and then sat down (v. 20) to expound them.
  59. Luke 4:17 tn Grk “And unrolling the scroll he found.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead a new sentence has been started in the translation.
  60. Luke 4:17 tn Grk “opening,” but a scroll of this period would have to be unrolled. The participle ἀναπτύξας (anaptuxas) has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
  61. Luke 4:18 sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.
  62. Luke 4:18 tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”
  63. Luke 4:18 sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.
  64. Luke 4:18 tc The majority of mss, especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 ƒ1 M). The phrase is lacking in several weighty mss (א B D L W Ξ ƒ13 33 579 700 892* lat sys co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western text-forms. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely what the initial text read. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the initial text.
  65. Luke 4:18 sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).
  66. Luke 4:18 sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).
  67. Luke 4:18 sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message—he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, aphesis) translated release earlier in the verse.
  68. Luke 4:18 sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).
  69. Luke 4:19 sn The year of the Lord’s favor (Grk “the acceptable year of the Lord”) is a description of the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:10). The year of the total forgiveness of debt is now turned into a metaphor for salvation. Jesus had come to proclaim that God was ready to forgive sin totally.
  70. Luke 4:19 sn A quotation from Isa 61:1-2a. Within the citation is a line from Isa 58:6, with its reference to setting the oppressed free.
  71. Luke 4:20 tn Grk “And closing.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
  72. Luke 4:20 tn Grk “closing,” but a scroll of this period would have to be rolled up. The participle πτύξας (ptuxas) has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
  73. Luke 4:20 tn Or “gazing at,” “staring at.”
  74. Luke 4:21 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  75. Luke 4:21 sn See the note on today in 2:11.
  76. Luke 4:21 tn Grk “in your hearing.”
  77. Luke 4:22 tn Grk “And all.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  78. Luke 4:22 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  79. Luke 4:22 sn The form of the question assumes a positive reply. It really amounts to an objection, as Jesus’ response in the next verses shows. Jesus spoke smoothly and impressively. He made a wonderful declaration, but could a local carpenter’s son make such an offer? That was their real question.
  80. Luke 4:23 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  81. Luke 4:23 sn The proverb Physician, heal yourself! means that Jesus should prove his claims. It is a “Prove it to us!” mentality that Jesus says the people have.
  82. Luke 4:23 sn The remark “What we have heard that you did at Capernaum” makes many suspect that Luke has moved this event forward in sequence to typify what Jesus’ ministry was like, since the ministry in Capernaum follows in vv. 31-44. The location of this event in the parallel of Mark 6:1-6 also suggests this transposition. On Capernaum itself, see the note at Luke 4:31.
  83. Luke 4:24 tn Grk “said,” but since this is a continuation of previous remarks, “added” is used here.
  84. Luke 4:24 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
  85. Luke 4:24 sn Jesus argues that he will get no respect in his own hometown. There is a wordplay here on the word acceptable (δεκτός, dektos), which also occurs in v. 19: Jesus has declared the “acceptable” year of the Lord (here translated year of the Lord’s favor), but he is not “accepted” by the people of his own hometown.
  86. Luke 4:25 sn Elijah’s days. Jesus, by discussing Elijah and Elisha, pictures one of the lowest periods in Israel’s history. These examples, along with v. 24, also show that Jesus is making prophetic claims as well as messianic ones. See 1 Kgs 17-18.
  87. Luke 4:25 tn Or “the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. Since the context here refers to a drought (which produced the famine), “sky” is preferable.
  88. Luke 4:25 tn Grk “as.” The particle ὡς can also function temporally (see BDAG 1105-6 s.v. 8).
  89. Luke 4:26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.
  90. Luke 4:26 sn Zarephath in Sidon was Gentile territory (see 1 Kgs 17:9-24). Jesus’ point was that he would be forced to minister elsewhere, and the implication is that this ministry would ultimately extend (through the work of his followers) to those outside the nation.
  91. Luke 4:27 sn The ancient term for leprosy covers a wider array of conditions than what is called leprosy today (Hansen’s disease). In the OT the Hebrew term generally referred to a number of exfoliative (scaly) skin diseases (when applied to humans). A person with one of these diseases was totally ostracized from society until he was declared cured (Lev 13:45-46). In the NT the Greek term also refers to a number of skin diseases, but there is some evidence that true leprosy (Hansen’s disease) could be referred to, since that disease began to be described by Greek physicians in Alexandria, Egypt around 300 B.C. and thus might have been present in Judea and Galilee just before the time of Jesus.
  92. Luke 4:27 sn On Elisha see 2 Kgs 5:1-14.
  93. Luke 4:27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.
  94. Luke 4:27 sn The reference to Naaman the Syrian (see 2 Kgs 5:1-24) is another example where an outsider and Gentile was blessed. The stress in the example is the missed opportunity of the people to experience God’s work, but it will still go on without them.
  95. Luke 4:28 tn The words “the people” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied.
  96. Luke 4:29 tn Grk “cast.”
  97. Luke 4:29 tn Or “city.”
  98. Luke 4:29 tn The Greek conjunction ὥστε (hōste) here indicates their purpose.
  99. Luke 4:29 sn The attempt to throw him down the cliff looks like “lynch law,” but it may really be an indication that Jesus was regarded as a false prophet who was worthy of death (Deut 13:5). Such a sentence meant being thrown into a pit and then stoned.
  100. Luke 4:30 tn Grk “their midst.”
  101. Luke 4:30 tn The verb πορεύομαι (poreuomai) in Luke often suggests divine direction, “to go in a led direction” (4:42; 7:6, 11; 9:51, 52, 56, 57; 13:33; 17:11; 22:22, 29; 24:28). It could suggest that Jesus is on a journey, a theme that definitely is present later in Luke 9-19.
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 63

Psalm 63[a]

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness.[b]

63 O God, you are my God. I long for you.[c]
My soul thirsts[d] for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and parched[e] land where there is no water.
2 Yes,[f] in the sanctuary I have seen you,[g]
and witnessed[h] your power and splendor.
3 Because[i] experiencing[j] your loyal love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.
4 For this reason[k] I will praise you while I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.[l]
5 As with choice meat[m] you satisfy my soul.[n]
My mouth joyfully praises you,[o]
6 whenever[p] I remember you on my bed,
and think about you during the nighttime hours.
7 For you are my deliverer;[q]
under your wings[r] I rejoice.
8 My soul[s] pursues you;[t]
your right hand upholds me.
9 Enemies seek to destroy my life,[u]
but they will descend into the depths of the earth.[v]
10 Each one will be handed over to the sword;[w]
their corpses will be eaten by jackals.[x]
11 But the king[y] will rejoice in God;
everyone who takes oaths in his name[z] will boast,
for the mouths of those who speak lies will be shut up.[aa]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 63:1 sn Psalm 63. The psalmist expresses his intense desire to be in God’s presence and confidently affirms that God will judge his enemies.
  2. Psalm 63:1 sn According to the psalm superscription David wrote the psalm while in the “wilderness of Judah.” Perhaps this refers to the period described in 1 Sam 23-24 or to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam 15:23.
  3. Psalm 63:1 tn Or “I will seek you.”
  4. Psalm 63:1 tn Or “I thirst.”
  5. Psalm 63:1 tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” This may picture the land as “faint” or “weary,” or it may allude to the effect this dry desert has on those who are forced to live in it.
  6. Psalm 63:2 tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).
  7. Psalm 63:2 tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”
  8. Psalm 63:2 tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.
  9. Psalm 63:3 tn This line is understood as giving the basis for the praise promised in the following line. Another option is to take the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) as asseverative/emphasizing, “Indeed, your loyal love is better” (cf. NEB, which leaves the particle untranslated).
  10. Psalm 63:3 tn The word “experiencing” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist does not speak here of divine loyal love in some abstract sense, but of loyal love revealed and experienced.
  11. Psalm 63:4 tn Or perhaps “then.”
  12. Psalm 63:4 sn I will lift up my hands. Lifting up one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19) or respect (Ps 119:48).
  13. Psalm 63:5 tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”
  14. Psalm 63:5 tn Or “me.”
  15. Psalm 63:5 tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”
  16. Psalm 63:6 tn The Hebrew term אִם (ʾim) is used here in the sense of “when; whenever,” as in Ps 78:34.
  17. Psalm 63:7 tn Or “[source of] help.”
  18. Psalm 63:7 tn Heb “in the shadow of your wings.”
  19. Psalm 63:8 tn Or “I.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
  20. Psalm 63:8 tn Heb “clings after.” The expression means “to pursue with determination” (see Judg 20:45; 1 Sam 14:22; 1 Chr 10:2; Jer 42:16).
  21. Psalm 63:9 tn Heb “but they for destruction seek my life.” The pronoun “they” must refer here to the psalmist’s enemies, referred to at this point for the first time in the psalm.
  22. Psalm 63:9 sn The depths of the earth refers here to the underworld dwelling place of the dead (see Ezek 26:20; 31:14, 16, 18; 32:18, 24). See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 167.
  23. Psalm 63:10 tn Heb “they will deliver him over to the sword.” The third masculine plural subject must be indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f) and the singular pronominal suffix either representative or distributive (emphasizing that each one will be so treated). Active verbs with indefinite subjects may be translated as passives with the object (in the Hebrew text) as subject (in the translation).
  24. Psalm 63:10 tn Heb “they will be [the] portion of jackals”; traditionally, “of foxes.”
  25. Psalm 63:11 sn The psalmist probably refers to himself in the third person here.
  26. Psalm 63:11 tn Heb “who swears [an oath] by him.”
  27. Psalm 63:11 tn The Niphal of this verb occurs only here and in Gen 8:2, where it is used of God “stopping” or “damming up” the great deep as he brought the flood to an end.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 11:20-21

20 The Lord abhors[a] those who are perverse in heart,[b]
but those who are blameless in their ways[c] are his delight.[d]
21 Be assured that[e] the evil person will not be unpunished,[f]
but the descendants of the righteous[g] have escaped harm.[h]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 11:20 tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive. Cf. NIV “detests”; NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “hates.”
  2. Proverbs 11:20 sn The word עִקְּשֵׁי (ʿiqqeshe, “crooked; twisted; perverted”) describes the wicked as having “twisted minds.” Their mentality is turned toward evil things.
  3. Proverbs 11:20 tn Heb “those who are blameless of way.” The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is a genitive of specification: “blameless in their way.”
  4. Proverbs 11:20 sn The noun means “goodwill, favor, acceptance, will”; it is related to the verb רָצַה (ratsah) which means “to be pleased with; to accept favorably.” These words are used frequently in scripture to describe what pleases the Lord, meaning, what he accepts. In particular, sacrifices offered properly find acceptance with God (Ps 51:19). Here the lifestyle that is blameless pleases him.
  5. Proverbs 11:21 tn The expression “hand to hand” refers the custom of striking hands to confirm an agreement (M. Anbar, “Proverbes 11:21; 16:15; יד ליד, «sur le champ»,” Bib 53 [1972]: 537-38). Tg. Prov 11:21 interprets it differently: “he who lifts up his hand against his neighbor will not go unpunished.”
  6. Proverbs 11:21 tn Heb The verb נָקָה (naqah) means “to be clean; to be empty.” In the Niphal it means “to be free of guilt; to be clean; to be innocent,” and therefore “to be exempt from punishment” (BDB 667 s.v. Niph). The phrase “will not go unpunished” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) is an example of tapeinosis (a negative statement that emphasizes the positive opposite statement): “will certainly be punished” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
  7. Proverbs 11:21 tn Heb “the seed of the righteous.” This is an idiom that describes a class of people who share the nature of righteousness (e.g., Isa 1:4; 65:23). The word “seed” (hypocatastasis) means “offspring.” Some take it literally, as if it meant that the children of the righteous will escape judgment (Saadia, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 882-942). The LXX translates it in a different sense: “he that sows righteousness will receive a faithful reward.”
  8. Proverbs 11:21 tn The verb נִמְלָט (nimlat) is a Niphal, which usually has a reflexive meaning “to escape,” but can also have a passive meaning “to be delivered.” By implication the person escapes from harm, whether the threat of harm or the harmful situation he or she is already in. The verb form could be either a perfect or a participle (because the pausal accent makes them look identical). The perfect means “have escaped/been delivered,” while the participle would be present tense, “escape/are delivered.”sn This proverb uses antithetic parallelism, presenting opposite people with opposite outcomes described by opposite verb forms. In contrast to how things may look at the moment, the sage assures the student about the future of the wicked using the imperfect verb. They may look like they are getting away free, but in the end they will not. On the other hand, using the perfect verb, he assures the student of the benefit that he has seen for the righteous—they have escaped. This is something that really has occurred and is prototypical of what can be expected. Further, by contrasting the evil person with the descendants of the righteous, the sage expands the range of benefit received from righteous living.
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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday March 19, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 28:16-29:40

The Passover

16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover. 17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten. 18 And on the first day there is to be a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work[a] on it.

19 “‘But you must offer to the Lord an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs one year old; they must all be unblemished.[b] 20 And their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull you must offer three-tenths of an ephah, and two-tenths for the ram. 21 For each of the seven lambs you are to offer one-tenth of an ephah, 22 as well as one goat for a purification offering, to make atonement for you. 23 You must offer these in addition to the burnt offering in the morning that is for a continual burnt offering. 24 In this manner you must offer daily throughout the seven days the food of the sacrifice made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord. It is to be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. 25 On the seventh day you are to have a holy assembly, you must do no regular work.

Firstfruits

26 “‘Also, on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord during your Feast of Weeks, you are to have a holy assembly. You must do no ordinary work. 27 But you must offer as the burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord, two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs one year old, 28 with their grain offering of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29 with one-tenth for each of the seven lambs, 30 as well as one male goat to make an atonement for you. 31 You are to offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the continual burnt offering and its grain offering—they must be unblemished.

Blowing Trumpets

29 “‘On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a holy assembly. You must not do your ordinary work, for it is a day of blowing trumpets for you. 2 You must offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old without blemish.

3 “‘Their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths of an ephah for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs, 5 with one male goat for a purification offering to make an atonement for you; 6 this is in addition to the monthly burnt offering and its grain offering, and the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings as prescribed, as a sweet aroma, a sacrifice made by fire to the Lord.

The Day of Atonement

7 “‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you are to have a holy assembly. You must humble yourselves;[c] you must not do any work on it. 8 But you must offer a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish.[d] 9 Their grain offerings must be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 10 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs, 11 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the purification offering for atonement and the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings.

The Feast of Temporary Shelters

12 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you are to have a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work, and you must keep a festival to the Lord for seven days. 13 You must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs each one year old, all of them without blemish. 14 Their grain offerings must be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths of an ephah for each of the two rams, 15 and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs, 16 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

17 “‘On the second day you must offer twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 18 and their grain offerings and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 19 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings.

20 “‘On the third day you must offer[e] eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 21 and their grain offerings and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 22 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

23 “‘On the fourth day you must offer ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 24 and their grain offerings and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 25 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

26 “‘On the fifth day you must offer nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 27 and their grain offerings and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 28 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

29 “‘On the sixth day you must offer eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 30 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 31 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

32 “‘On the seventh day you must offer seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 33 and their grain offerings and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 34 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

35 “‘On the eighth day you are to have a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work on it. 36 But you must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one bull, one ram, seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish, 37 and with their grain offerings and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 38 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

39 “‘These things you must present to the Lord at your appointed times, in addition to your vows and your freewill offerings, as your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your drink offerings, and your peace offerings.’” 40 (30:1)[f] So Moses told the Israelites everything, just as the Lord had commanded him.[g]

Footnotes:

  1. Numbers 28:18 tn Heb “any work [of] service”; this means any occupational work, that is, the ordinary service.
  2. Numbers 28:19 tn Heb “unblemished they will be to you.” So also in v. 31.
  3. Numbers 29:7 tn Heb “afflict yourselves”; NAB “mortify yourselves”; NIV, NRSV “deny yourselves.”sn The verb seems to mean “humble yourself.” There is no explanation given for it. In the days of the prophets fasting seems to be associated with it (see Isa 58:3-5), and possibly the symbolic wearing of ashes.
  4. Numbers 29:8 tn Heb “they shall be to you without blemish.”
  5. Numbers 29:20 tn The words “you must offer” are implied.
  6. Numbers 29:40 sn Beginning with 29:40, the verse numbers through 30:16 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:40 ET = 30:1 HT, 30:1 ET = 30:2 HT, etc., through 30:16 ET = 30:17 HT. With 31:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
  7. Numbers 29:40 tn Heb “Moses.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
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Luke 3:23-38

The Genealogy of Jesus

23 So[a] Jesus, when he began his ministry,[b] was about thirty years old. He was[c] the son (as was supposed)[d] of Joseph, the son[e] of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel,[f] the son of Shealtiel,[g] the son of Neri,[h] 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,[i] the son of David,[j] 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala,[k] the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni,[l] the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah,[m] the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan,[n] the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,[o] the son of Kenan,[p] 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.[q]

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 3:23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the summary nature of the statement.
  2. Luke 3:23 tn The words “his ministry” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.
  3. Luke 3:23 tn Grk “of age, being.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ὤν (ōn) has been translated as a finite verb with the pronoun “he” supplied as subject, and a new sentence begun in the translation at this point.
  4. Luke 3:23 sn The parenthetical remark as was supposed makes it clear that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. But a question still remains whose genealogy this is. Mary is nowhere mentioned, so this may simply refer to the line of Joseph, who would have functioned as Jesus’ legal father, much like stepchildren can have when they are adopted by a second parent.
  5. Luke 3:23 tc Several of the names in the list have alternate spellings in the ms tradition, but most of these are limited to a few mss. Only significant differences are considered in the notes through v. 38.tn The construction of the genealogy is consistent throughout as a genitive article (τοῦ, tou) marks sonship. Unlike Matthew’s genealogy, this one runs from Jesus down. It also goes all the way to Adam, not stopping at Abraham as Matthew’s does. Jesus has come for all races of humanity. Both genealogies go through David.
  6. Luke 3:27 sn On Zerubbabel see Ezra 2:2.
  7. Luke 3:27 sn Grk and KJV Salathiel. Most modern English translations use the OT form of the name (Shealtiel, Ezra 3:2).
  8. Luke 3:27 sn Shealtiel, the son of Neri. 1 Chr 3:17 identifies Jeconiah as the father of Shealtiel. The judgment on Jeconiah’s line (Jer 22:30) may be reflected here.
  9. Luke 3:31 sn The use of Nathan here as the son of David is different than Matthew, where Solomon is named. Nathan was David’s third son. It is not entirely clear what causes the difference. Some argue Nathan stresses a prophetic connection, but it is not clear how (through confusion with the prophet Nathan?). Others note the absence of a reference to Jeconiah later, so that here there is a difference to show the canceling out of this line. The differences appear to mean that Matthew’s line is a “royal and physical” line, while Luke has a “royal and legal” line.
  10. Luke 3:31 sn The mention of David begins a series of agreements with Matthew’s line. The OT background is 1 Chr 2:1-15 and Ruth 4:18-22.
  11. Luke 3:32 tc The reading Σαλά (Sala, “Sala”) is found in the best and earliest witnesses (P4 א* B sys sa). Almost all the rest of the mss (א2 A D L Θ Ψ 0102 [ƒ1,13] 33 M latt syp,h bo) have Σαλμών (Salmōn, “Salmon”), an assimilation to Matt 1:4-5 and 1 Chr 2:11 (LXX). “In view of the early tradition that Luke was a Syrian of Antioch it is perhaps significant that the form Σαλά appears to embody a Syriac tradition” (TCGNT 113).
  12. Luke 3:33 tc The number and order of the first few names in this verse varies greatly in the mss. The variants which are most likely to be authentic based upon external evidence are Amminadab, Aram (A D 33 565 [1424] pm lat); Amminadab, Aram, Joram (K Δ Ψ 700 2542 pm); Adam, Admin, Arni (P4vid א* 1241 sa); and Amminadab, Admin, Arni (א2 L X [Γ] ƒ13). Deciding between these variants is quite difficult. The reading “Amminadab, Aram” is the strongest externally since it is represented by Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine witnesses, although it is significantly weaker internally because it disrupts the artistic balance of the number of generations and their groups that three names would preserve (see TCGNT 113, fn. 1 for discussion). In this case, the subtle intrinsic arguments that would most likely be overlooked by scribes argues for the reading “Amminadab, Admin, Arni,” although a decision is quite difficult because of the lack of strong external support.
  13. Luke 3:34 sn The list now picks up names from Gen 11:10-26; 5:1-32; 1 Chr 1:1-26, especially 1:24-26.
  14. Luke 3:36 tc It is possible that the name Καϊνάμ (Kainam) should be omitted, since two key mss, P75vid and D, lack it. But the omission may be a motivated reading: This name is not found in the editions of the Hebrew OT, though it is in the LXX, at Gen 11:12 and 10:24. But the witnesses with this reading (or a variation of it) are substantial: א B L ƒ1 33 (Καϊνάμ), A Θ Ψ 0102 ƒ13 M (Καϊνάν, Kainan). The translation above has adopted the more common spelling “Cainan,” although it is based on the reading Καϊνάμ.
  15. Luke 3:37 sn Here the Greek text reads Mahalaleel. Some modern English translations follow the Greek spelling (NASB, NRSV) while others (NIV) use the OT form of the name (Gen 5:12, 15).
  16. Luke 3:37 sn The Greek text has Kainam here. Some modern English translations follow the Greek spelling more closely (NASB, NRSV Cainan) while others (NIV) use the OT form of the name (Kenan in Gen 5:9, 12).
  17. Luke 3:38 sn The reference to the son of God here is not to a divine being, but to one directly formed by the hand of God. He is made in God’s image, so this phrase could be read as appositional (“Adam, that is, the son of God”). See Acts 17:28-29.
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Psalm 62

Psalm 62[a]

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

62 For God alone I patiently wait;[b]
he is the one who delivers me.[c]
2 He alone is my protector[d] and deliverer.
He is my refuge;[e] I will not be upended.[f]
3 How long will you threaten[g] a man like me?
All of you are murderers,[h]
as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence.[i]
4 They[j] spend all their time planning how to bring their victim[k] down.[l]
They love to use deceit;[m]
they pronounce blessings with their mouths,
but inwardly they utter curses.[n] (Selah)
5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul![o]
For he is the one who gives me hope.[p]
6 He alone is my protector[q] and deliverer.
He is my refuge;[r] I will not be shaken.
7 God delivers me and exalts me;
God is my strong protector and my shelter.[s]
8 Trust in him at all times, you people!
Pour out your hearts before him.[t]
God is our shelter. (Selah)
9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;
human beings are unreliable.[u]
When they are weighed in the scales,
all of them together are lighter than air.[v]
10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression.[w]
Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery.[x]
If wealth increases, do not become attached to it.[y]
11 God has declared one principle;
two principles I have heard:[z]
God is strong,[aa]
12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love.[ab]
For you repay men for what they do.[ac]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 62:1 sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.
  2. Psalm 62:1 tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”
  3. Psalm 62:1 tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”
  4. Psalm 62:2 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
  5. Psalm 62:2 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
  6. Psalm 62:2 tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be shaken, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly shaken” meaning “I will not be upended.”
  7. Psalm 62:3 tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת (hut) occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.” Here “man” is a generic reference to the victim of the psalmist’s enemies, but in context it ultimately refers to the psalmist himself. To clarify this, the words “like me” have been supplied in the translation.
  8. Psalm 62:3 tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.
  9. Psalm 62:3 tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).
  10. Psalm 62:4 tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.
  11. Psalm 62:4 tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse. The words “their victim” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.
  12. Psalm 62:4 tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”
  13. Psalm 62:4 tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”
  14. Psalm 62:4 sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.
  15. Psalm 62:5 tn Heb “only for God be silent, my soul.” The wording is similar to that of v. 1a. Here an imperatival form, דּוֹמִּי (dommi, “be silent”), appears instead of the noun דּוּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”). The psalmist is encouraging himself to maintain his trust in God.
  16. Psalm 62:5 tn Heb “for from him [is] my hope.”
  17. Psalm 62:6 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
  18. Psalm 62:6 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
  19. Psalm 62:7 tn Heb “upon God [is] my deliverance and my glory, the high rocky summit of my strength, my shelter [is] in God.”
  20. Psalm 62:8 tn To “pour out one’s heart” means to offer up to God intense, emotional lamentation and petitionary prayers (see Lam 2:19).
  21. Psalm 62:9 tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bene ʾadam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bene ʾish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.
  22. Psalm 62:9 tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.
  23. Psalm 62:10 tn Heb “do not trust in oppression.” Here “oppression” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by oppressive measures, as the final line of the verse indicates.
  24. Psalm 62:10 tn Heb “and in robbery do not place vain hope.” Here “robbery” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by theft, as the next line of the verse indicates.
  25. Psalm 62:10 tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”
  26. Psalm 62:11 tn Heb “one God spoke, two which I heard.” This is a numerical saying utilizing the “x” followed by “x + 1” pattern to facilitate poetic parallelism. (See W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament [VTSup], 55-56.) As is typical in such sayings, a list corresponding to the second number (in this case “two”) follows. Another option is to translate, “God has spoken once, twice [he has spoken] that which I have heard.” The terms אַחַת (ʾakhat, “one; once”) and שְׁתַיִם (shetayim, “two; twice”) are also juxtaposed in 2 Kgs 6:10 (where they refer to an action that was done more than “once or twice”) and in Job 33:14 (where they refer to God speaking “one way” and then in “another manner”).
  27. Psalm 62:11 tn Heb “that strength [belongs] to God.”
  28. Psalm 62:12 tn Heb “and to you, O Master, [is] loyal love.”
  29. Psalm 62:12 tn Heb “for you pay back to a man according to his deed.” Another option is to understand vv. 11b and 12a as the first principle and v. 12b as the second. In this case one might translate, “God has declared one principle, two principles I have heard, namely, that God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love, and that you repay men for what they do.”sn You repay men for what they do. The psalmist views God’s justice as a demonstration of both his power (see v. 11c) and his loyal love (see v. 12a). When God judges evildoers, he demonstrates loyal love to his people.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 11:18-19

18 The wicked person[a] earns[b] deceitful wages,[c]
but the one who sows[d] righteousness reaps[e] a genuine[f] reward.[g]
19 True[h] righteousness leads to[i] life,
but the one who pursues evil pursues it[j] to his own death.[k]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 11:18 tn The form is the masculine singular adjective used as a substantive.
  2. Proverbs 11:18 tn Heb “makes” (so NAB).
  3. Proverbs 11:18 tn Heb “wages of deception.”sn Whatever recompense or reward the wicked receive will not last, hence, it is deceptive (R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 88).
  4. Proverbs 11:18 sn The participle “sowing” provides an implied comparison (the figure is known as hypocatastasis) with the point of practicing righteousness and inspiring others to do the same. What is sown will yield fruit (1 Cor 9:11; 2 Cor 9:6; Jas 3:18).
  5. Proverbs 11:18 tn The term “reaps” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation from context for the sake of smoothness.
  6. Proverbs 11:18 tn Heb “true” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, NAB, NIV “sure.”
  7. Proverbs 11:18 sn A wordplay (paronomasia) occurs between “deceptive” (שָׁקֶר, shaqer) and “reward” (שֶׂכֶר, sekher), underscoring the contrast by the repetition of sounds. The wages of the wicked are deceptive; the reward of the righteous is sure.
  8. Proverbs 11:19 tn Heb “the veritable of righteousness.” The adjective כֵּן (ken, “right; honest; veritable”) functions substantivally as an attributive genitive, meaning “veritable righteousness” = true righteousness (BDB 467 s.v. 2; HALOT 482 s.v. I כֵּן 2.b). One medieval Hebrew ms, LXX, and Syriac read בֵּן (ben), “son of righteousness.” That idiom, however, usually introduces bad qualities (“son of worthlessness”). Others interpret it as “righteousness is the foundation of life.” KB identifies the form as a participle and reads it as “steadfast in righteousness,” but the verb does not otherwise exist in the Qal. W. McKane reads it as כָּן (kan, from כּוּן, kun) and translates it “strive after” life (Proverbs [OTL], 435).
  9. Proverbs 11:19 tn Heb “is to life.” The expression “leads to” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but the idiom implies it; it is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
  10. Proverbs 11:19 tn The phrase “pursues it” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation from context.
  11. Proverbs 11:19 sn “Life” and “death” describe the vicissitudes of this life but can also refer to the situation beyond the grave. The two paths head in opposite directions.
New English Translation (NET)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday March 18, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 26:52-28:15

52 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 53 “To these the land must be divided as an inheritance according to the number of the names. 54 To a larger group you will give a larger inheritance,[a] and to a smaller group you will give a smaller inheritance.[b] To each one its inheritance must be given according to the number of people in it.[c] 55 The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes. 56 Their inheritance must be apportioned[d] by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”

57 And these are the Levites who were numbered according to their families: from Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; from Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58 These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram. 59 Now the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, daughter of Levi, who was born[e] to Levi in Egypt. And to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60 And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire[f] before the Lord. 62 Those of the Levites[g] who were numbered were 23,000, all males from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the Israelites; no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.

63 These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the Israelites in the rift valley plains[h] of Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho. 64 But there was not a man among these who had been[i] among those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the desert of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had said of them, “They will surely die in the wilderness.” And there was not left a single man of them, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Special Inheritance Laws

27 [j] Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh,[k] the son of Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness, although[l] he was not part of[m] the company of those that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin,[n] and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be lost from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession[o] among the relatives[p] of our father.”

5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 The Lord said to Moses: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad have a valid claim.[q] You must indeed[r] give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives, and you must transfer[s] the inheritance of their father to them. 8 And you must tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies[t] and has no son, then you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter; 9 and if he has no daughter, then you are to give his inheritance to his brothers; 10 and if he has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers; 11 and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement,[u] as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Leadership Change

12 [v] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range,[w] and see[x] the land I have given[y] to the Israelites. 13 When you have seen it, you will be gathered[z] to your ancestors,[aa] as Aaron your brother was gathered to his ancestors.[ab] 14 For[ac] in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you[ad] rebelled against my command[ae] to show me as holy[af] before their eyes over the water—the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”

15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humankind,[ag] appoint[ah] a man over the community, 17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them,[ai] and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that[aj] the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

18 The Lord replied[ak] to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit,[al] and lay your hand on him;[am] 19 set him[an] before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission[ao] him publicly.[ap] 20 Then you must delegate[aq] some of your authority[ar] to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient.[as] 21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who[at] will seek counsel[au] for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim.[av] At his command[aw] they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and set[ax] him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community. 23 He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord commanded,[ay] by the authority[az] of Moses.

Daily Offerings

28 [ba] The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Command the Israelites:[bb] ‘With regard to my offering,[bc] be sure to offer[bd] my food for my offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to me at its appointed time.’[be] 3 You will say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire that you must offer to the Lord: two unblemished lambs one year old each day for a continual[bf] burnt offering. 4 The first lamb you must offer in the morning, and the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon,[bg] 5 with one-tenth of an ephah[bh] of finely ground flour as a grain offering mixed with one-quarter of a hin[bi] of pressed olive oil. 6 It is a continual burnt offering that was instituted on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

7 “‘And its drink offering must be one-quarter of a hin for each lamb.[bj] You must pour out the strong drink[bk] as a drink offering to the Lord in the Holy Place. 8 And the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon; just as you offered the grain offering and drink offering in the morning,[bl] you must offer it as an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Weekly Offerings

9 “‘On the Sabbath day, you must offer[bm] two unblemished lambs a year old, and two-tenths of an ephah[bn] of finely ground flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with its drink offering. 10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath,[bo] besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Monthly Offerings

11 “‘On the first day of each month[bp] you must offer as a burnt offering to the Lord two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old, 12 with three-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each bull, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for the ram, 13 and one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 14 For their drink offerings, include[bq] half a hin of wine with each bull, one-third of a hin for the ram, and one-fourth of a hin for each lamb. This is the burnt offering for each month[br] throughout the months of the year. 15 And one male goat[bs] must be offered to the Lord as a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Footnotes:

  1. Numbers 26:54 tn Heb “to many you will multiply his inheritance.”
  2. Numbers 26:54 tn Heb “to a few you will lessen his inheritance.”
  3. Numbers 26:54 tn Heb “according to those that were numbered of him,” meaning, in accordance with the number of people in his clan.
  4. Numbers 26:56 tn Heb “divided.”
  5. Numbers 26:59 tn Heb “who she bore him to Levi.” The verb has no expressed subject. Either one could be supplied, such as “her mother,” or it could be treated as a passive.
  6. Numbers 26:61 tn The expression אֵשׁ זָרָה (ʾesh zarah, “strange fire”) seems imprecise and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC 4], 132-33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from some place other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” [אִישׁ זָר, ʾish zar] in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” [קְטֹרֶת זָרָה, qetoret zarah] on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).sn This event is narrated in Lev 10:1-7.
  7. Numbers 26:62 tn Heb “them”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Numbers 26:63 sn This is the area of the rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. See the note at Num 21:1.
  9. Numbers 26:64 tn “who had been” is added to clarify the text.
  10. Numbers 27:1 sn For additional information on this section, see N. H. Snaith, “The Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 124-27; and J. Weingreen, “The Case of the Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 518-22.
  11. Numbers 27:1 tc The phrase “of the families of Manasseh” is absent from the Latin Vulgate.
  12. Numbers 27:3 tn This clause begins with a vav (ו) on a pronoun, marking it out as a disjunctive vav. In this context it fits best to take it as a circumstantial clause introducing concession.
  13. Numbers 27:3 tn Heb “in the midst of.”
  14. Numbers 27:3 tn The word order is emphatic: “but in/on account of his own sins he died.”
  15. Numbers 27:4 tn That is, the possession of land, or property, among the other families of their tribe.
  16. Numbers 27:4 tn The word is “brothers,” but this can be interpreted more loosely to relatives. So also in v. 7.
  17. Numbers 27:7 tn Heb “[the daughters of Zelophehad] speak right” (using the participle דֹּבְרֹת [doverot] with כֵּן [ken]).
  18. Numbers 27:7 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense. The imperfect is functioning as the imperfect of instruction, and so the infinitive strengthens the force of the instruction.
  19. Numbers 27:7 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive, from the root עָבַר (ʿavar, “to pass over”). Here it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of instruction: “and you shall cause to pass,” meaning, “transfer.”
  20. Numbers 27:8 tn Heb “a man, if he dies.”
  21. Numbers 27:11 tn The expression is חֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט (khuqqat mishpat, “a statute of judgment”), which means it is a fixed enactment that determines justice. It is one which is established by God.
  22. Numbers 27:12 sn See further J. Lindblom, “Lot Casting in the Old Testament,” VT 12 (1962): 164-78; E. Lipiński, “Urim and Thummim,” VT 20 (1970): 495-96; and S. E. Loewenstamm, “The Death of Moses,” Tarbiz 27 (1957/58): 142-57.
  23. Numbers 27:12 tc The Greek version adds “which is Mount Nebo.” This is a typical scribal change to harmonize two passages.sn The area is in the mountains of Moab; Deut 34:1 more precisely identifies it as Mount Nebo.
  24. Numbers 27:12 tn The imperative could be subordinated to the first to provide a purpose clause, although a second instruction fits well enough.
  25. Numbers 27:12 tn This perfect tense would best be classified as a perfect of resolve: “which I have decided to give.” God had not yet given the land to them, but it was certain he would.
  26. Numbers 27:13 tn The first verb is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, and the second verb is also. In such parallel clauses, the first may be subordinated, here as a temporal clause.
  27. Numbers 27:13 tn Heb “people.”
  28. Numbers 27:13 tn Heb “was gathered.” The phrase “to his ancestors” is elided in the Hebrew text, but is an implied repetition from the beginning of the verse, and has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  29. Numbers 27:14 tn The preposition on the relative pronoun has the force of “because of the fact that.”
  30. Numbers 27:14 tn The verb is the second masculine plural form.
  31. Numbers 27:14 tn Heb “mouth.”
  32. Numbers 27:14 sn Using the basic meaning of the word קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be separate, distinct, set apart”), we can understand better what Moses failed to do. He was supposed to have acted in a way that would have shown God to be distinct, different, holy. Instead, he gave the impression that God was capricious and hostile—very human. The leader has to be aware of what image he is conveying to the people.
  33. Numbers 27:16 tn Heb “flesh”; cf. NAB, NIV “all mankind”; NCV “all people”; NLT “all living things.”
  34. Numbers 27:16 tn This is the same verb פָּקַד (paqad) that is used throughout the book for the aspect of “numbering” the people.
  35. Numbers 27:17 sn This is probably technical terminology for a military leader (Josh 14:11; 1 Sam 18:13-16; 1 Kgs 3:7; 2 Kgs 11:9). The image of a shepherd can also be military in nature (1 Kgs 22:17).
  36. Numbers 27:17 tn The Hebrew text has the conjunction with the negated imperfect tense, “and it will not be.” This clause should be subordinated to the preceding to form a result clause, and the imperfect then function as a final imperfect.
  37. Numbers 27:18 tn Or “said.”
  38. Numbers 27:18 sn The word “spirit” probably refers to the Holy Spirit. This would likely be a permanent endowment for Joshua. But it is also possible to take it to refer to a proper spirit to do all the things required of such a leader (which ultimately is a gift from the Spirit of God). The Hebrew text simply says “in whom is a spirit.”
  39. Numbers 27:18 sn This symbolic act would indicate the transfer of leadership to Joshua.
  40. Numbers 27:19 tn This could be translated “position him,” or “have him stand,” since it is the causative stem of the verb “to stand.”
  41. Numbers 27:19 tn The verb is the Piel perfect of צִוָּה (tsivvah, literally “to command”). The verb has a wide range of meanings, and so here in this context the idea of instructing gives way to a more general sense of commissioning for duty. The verb in sequence is equal to the imperfect of instruction.
  42. Numbers 27:19 tn Heb “in their eyes.”
  43. Numbers 27:20 tn The verb is simply “give,” but in this context giving some of Moses’ honor to Joshua in the presence of the people is essentially passing the leadership to him, or delegating the authority to him with the result that people would follow him.
  44. Numbers 27:20 tc The Greek, Syriac, and Vulgate read “glory” for this form that occurs only here in the Pentateuch. Elsewhere it is rendered “majesty, splendor” (see Ps 96:6). It could even be “vitality” here. The authority being transferred here is both spiritual and civil.
  45. Numbers 27:20 tn Heb “hear.”
  46. Numbers 27:21 tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.
  47. Numbers 27:21 tn Heb “ask.”
  48. Numbers 27:21 sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face-to-face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.
  49. Numbers 27:21 tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.
  50. Numbers 27:22 tn Heb “stood.”
  51. Numbers 27:23 tn Heb “spoke.”
  52. Numbers 27:23 tn Heb “hand.”
  53. Numbers 28:1 sn For additional reading on these chapters, see G. B. Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testament; A. F. Rainey, “The Order of Sacrifices in the Old Testament Ritual Texts,” Bib 51 (1970): 485-98; N. H. Snaith, The Jewish New Year Festival.
  54. Numbers 28:2 tn Heb “and say to them.” These words have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  55. Numbers 28:2 tn The sentence begins with the accusative “my offering.” It is suspended at the beginning as an independent accusative to itemize the subject matter. The second accusative is the formal object of the verb. It could also be taken in apposition to the first accusative.
  56. Numbers 28:2 tn The construction uses the imperfect tense expressing instruction, followed by the infinitive construct used to express the complement of direct object.
  57. Numbers 28:2 sn See L. R. Fisher, “New Ritual Calendar from Ugarit,” HTR 63 (1970): 485-501.
  58. Numbers 28:3 sn The sacrifice was to be kept burning, but each morning the priests would have to clean the grill and put a new offering on the altar. So the idea of a continual burnt offering is more that of a regular offering.
  59. Numbers 28:4 tn Heb “between the evenings” meaning between dusk and dark.
  60. Numbers 28:5 sn That is about two quarts.
  61. Numbers 28:5 sn That is about one quart.
  62. Numbers 28:7 tn Heb “the one lamb,” but it is meant to indicate for “each lamb.”
  63. Numbers 28:7 tn The word שֵׁכָר (shekhar) is often translated “strong drink.” It can mean “barley beer” in the Akkadian cognate, and also in the Hebrew Bible when joined with the word for wine. English versions here read “wine” (NAB, TEV, CEV); “strong wine” (KJV); “fermented drink” (NIV, NLT); “strong drink” (ASV, NASB, NRSV).
  64. Numbers 28:8 tn Heb “as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering.”
  65. Numbers 28:9 tn The words “you must offer” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. They have been supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.
  66. Numbers 28:9 sn That is, about 4 quarts.
  67. Numbers 28:10 tn Heb “the burnt offering of the Sabbath by its Sabbath.”
  68. Numbers 28:11 tn Heb “of your months.”
  69. Numbers 28:14 tn The word “include” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied. It is supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.
  70. Numbers 28:14 tn Heb “a month in its month.”
  71. Numbers 28:15 tn Heb “one kid of the goats.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Luke 3:1-22

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,[a] when Pontius Pilate[b] was governor of Judea, and Herod[c] was tetrarch[d] of Galilee, and his brother Philip[e] was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias[f] was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood[g] of Annas and Caiaphas, the word[h] of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.[i] 3 He[j] went into all the region around the Jordan River,[k] preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.[l]

4 As it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice[m] of one shouting in the wilderness:[n]
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make[o] his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled,[p]
and every mountain and hill will be brought low,
and the crooked will be made straight,
and the rough ways will be made smooth,
6 and all humanity[q] will see the salvation of God.’”[r]

7 So John[s] said to the crowds[t] that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers![u] Who warned you to flee[v] from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce[w] fruit[x] that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say[y] to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’[z] For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones![aa] 9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees,[ab] and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be[ac] cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 So[ad] the crowds were asking[ae] him, “What then should we do?” 11 John[af] answered them,[ag] “The person who has two tunics[ah] must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors[ai] also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He told them, “Collect no more[aj] than you are required to.”[ak] 14 Then some soldiers[al] also asked him, “And as for us—what should we do?”[am] He told them, “Take money from no one by violence[an] or by false accusation,[ao] and be content with your pay.”

15 While the people were filled with anticipation[ap] and they all wondered[aq] whether perhaps John[ar] could be the Christ,[as] 16 John answered them all,[at] “I baptize you with water,[au] but one more powerful than I am is coming—I am not worthy[av] to untie the strap[aw] of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.[ax] 17 His winnowing fork[ay] is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse,[az] but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.”[ba]

18 And in this way,[bb] with many other exhortations, John[bc] proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But when John rebuked Herod[bd] the tetrarch[be] because of Herodias, his brother’s wife,[bf] and because of all the evil deeds[bg] that he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now when[bh] all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying,[bi] the heavens[bj] opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.[bk] And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son;[bl] in you I take great delight.”[bm]

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 3:1 tn Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).sn Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, who ruled from a.d. 14-37.
  2. Luke 3:1 sn The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, J. W. 2.9.2-4 (2.169-177) and Ant. 18.3.1 (18.55-59).
  3. Luke 3:1 sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4 b.c.-a.d. 39, sharing the rule of his father’s realm with his two brothers. One brother, Archelaus (Matt 2:22) was banished in a.d. 6 and died in a.d. 18; the other brother, Herod Philip (mentioned next) died in a.d. 34.
  4. Luke 3:1 sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.
  5. Luke 3:1 sn Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4 b.c.-a.d. 34.
  6. Luke 3:1 sn Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.
  7. Luke 3:2 sn Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6-15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.
  8. Luke 3:2 tn The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rhēma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.
  9. Luke 3:2 tn Or “desert.”
  10. Luke 3:3 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  11. Luke 3:3 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
  12. Luke 3:3 sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it (Luke 3:10-14).
  13. Luke 3:4 tn Or “A voice.”
  14. Luke 3:4 tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).
  15. Luke 3:4 tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poieō) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.
  16. Luke 3:5 sn The figurative language of this verse speaks of the whole creation preparing for the arrival of a major figure, so all obstacles to his approach are removed.
  17. Luke 3:6 tn Grk “all flesh.”
  18. Luke 3:6 sn A quotation from Isa 40:3-5. Though all the synoptic gospels use this citation from Isaiah, only Luke cites the material of vv. 5-6. His goal may well be to get to the declaration of v. 6, where all humanity (i.e., all nations) see God’s salvation (see also Luke 24:47).
  19. Luke 3:7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. Luke 3:7 sn The crowds. It is interesting to trace references to “the crowd” in Luke. It is sometimes noted favorably, other times less so. The singular appears 25 times in Luke while the plural occurs 16 times. Matt 3:7 singles out the Sadducees and Pharisees here.
  21. Luke 3:7 tn Or “snakes.”
  22. Luke 3:7 sn The rebuke “Who warned you to flee…?” compares the crowd to snakes who flee their desert holes when the heat of a fire drives them out.
  23. Luke 3:8 tn The verb here is ποιέω (poieō; see v. 4).
  24. Luke 3:8 tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit” (so NIV; cf. Matt 3:8 where the singular καρπός is found). Some other translations render the plural καρπούς as “fruits” (e.g., NRSV, NASB, NAB, NKJV).
  25. Luke 3:8 tn In other words, “do not even begin to think this.”
  26. Luke 3:8 sn We have Abraham as our father. John’s warning to the crowds really assumes two things: (1) A number of John’s listeners apparently believed that simply by their physical descent from Abraham, they were certain heirs of the promises made to the patriarch, and (2) God would never judge his covenant people lest he inadvertently place the fulfillment of his promises in jeopardy. In light of this, John tells these people two things: (1) they need to repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance, for only that saves from the coming wrath, and (2) God will raise up “children for Abraham from these stones” if he wants to. Their disobedience will not threaten the realization of God’s sovereign purposes.
  27. Luke 3:8 sn The point of the statement God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham is that ancestry or association with a tradition tied to the great founder of the Jewish nation is not an automatic source of salvation.
  28. Luke 3:9 sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).
  29. Luke 3:9 tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.
  30. Luke 3:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the people’s response.
  31. Luke 3:10 tn Though this verb is imperfect, in this context it does not mean repeated, ongoing questions, but simply a presentation in vivid style as the following verbs in the other examples are aorist.
  32. Luke 3:11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  33. Luke 3:11 tn Grk “Answering, he said to them.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “answered them.”
  34. Luke 3:11 tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, chitōn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.
  35. Luke 3:12 sn The Roman system of taxation was frequently characterized by “tax farming” where an individual would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government throughout an entire district and then add a surcharge or commission (often exorbitant) which they kept for themselves as their profit. The tax collectors referred to in the NT were generally not the holders of these tax contracts themselves, but hired subordinates who were often local residents. Since these tax collectors worked for Rome (even indirectly), they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked. In addition, the system offered many opportunities for dishonesty and greed, both of which were often associated with local tax collectors. Yet even they were moved by John’s call.
  36. Luke 3:13 tn In the Greek text μηδὲν πλέον (mēden pleon, “no more”) is in an emphatic position.sn By telling the tax collectors to collect no more than…required John was calling for honesty and integrity in a business that was known for greed and dishonesty.
  37. Luke 3:13 tn Or “than you are ordered to.”
  38. Luke 3:14 tn Grk “And soldiers.”
  39. Luke 3:14 tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”
  40. Luke 3:14 tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseisēte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.
  41. Luke 3:14 tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukophantēsēte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.
  42. Luke 3:15 tn Or “with expectation.” The participle προσδοκῶντος (prosdokōntos) is taken temporally.sn The people were filled with anticipation because they were hoping God would send someone to deliver them.
  43. Luke 3:15 tn Grk “pondered in their hearts.”
  44. Luke 3:15 tn Grk “in their hearts concerning John, (whether) perhaps he might be the Christ.” The translation simplifies the style here.
  45. Luke 3:15 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.
  46. Luke 3:16 tn Grk “answered them all, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
  47. Luke 3:16 tc A few mss (C D 892 1424 it) add εἰς μετάνοιαν (eis metanoian, “for repentance”). Although two of the mss in support are early and significant, it is an obviously motivated reading to add clarification, probably representing a copyist’s attempt to harmonize Luke’s version with Matt 3:11.
  48. Luke 3:16 tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet!
  49. Luke 3:16 tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.
  50. Luke 3:16 sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.
  51. Luke 3:17 sn A winnowing fork is a pitchfork-like tool used to toss threshed grain in the air so that the wind blows away the chaff, leaving the grain to fall to the ground. The note of purging is highlighted by the use of imagery involving sifting though threshed grain for the useful kernels.
  52. Luke 3:17 tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building for housing livestock).
  53. Luke 3:17 sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.
  54. Luke 3:18 tn On construction μὲν οὖν καί (men oun kai), see BDF §451.1.
  55. Luke 3:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  56. Luke 3:19 sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.
  57. Luke 3:19 sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.
  58. Luke 3:19 tc Several mss (A C K W Ψ 33 565 579 1424 2542 al bo) read τῆς γυναικὸς Φιλίππου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ (tēs gunaikos Philippou tou adelphou autou, “the wife of his brother Philip”), specifying whose wife Herodias was. The addition of “Philip,” however, is an assimilation to Matt 14:3 and is lacking in the better witnesses.sn This marriage to his brother’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left previous marriages to enter into this union.
  59. Luke 3:19 tn Or “immoralities.”
  60. Luke 3:21 tn Grk “Now it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  61. Luke 3:21 tn Grk “and while Jesus was being baptized and praying.” The first of these participles has been translated as a finite verb to be more consistent with English style.
  62. Luke 3:21 tn Or “the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. In this context, although the word is singular, the English plural “heavens” connotes the Greek better than the singular “heaven” would, for the singular does not normally refer to the sky.
  63. Luke 3:22 tn This phrase is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descends like one in some type of bodily representation.
  64. Luke 3:22 tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agapētos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).
  65. Luke 3:22 tc Instead of “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight,” one Greek ms and several Latin mss and church fathers (D it Ju [Cl] Meth Hil Aug) quote Ps 2:7 outright with “You are my Son; today I have fathered you.” But the weight of the ms testimony is against this reading.tn Or “with you I am well pleased.”sn The allusions in the remarks of the text recall Ps 2:7a; Isa 42:1 and either Isa 41:8 or, less likely, Gen 22:12, 16. God is marking out Jesus as his chosen one (the meaning of “[in you I take] great delight”), but it may well be that this was a private experience that only Jesus and John saw and heard (cf. John 1:32-33).
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 61

Psalm 61[a]

For the music director, to be played on a stringed instrument; written by David.

61 O God, hear my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer.
2 From the remotest place on earth[b]
I call out to you in my despair.[c]
Lead me[d] up to a rocky summit where I can be safe.[e]
3 Indeed,[f] you are[g] my shelter,
a strong tower that protects me from the enemy.[h]
4 I will be a permanent guest in your home;[i]
I will find shelter in the protection of your wings.[j] (Selah)
5 For you, O God, hear my vows;
you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers.[k]
6 Give the king long life.
Make his lifetime span several generations.[l]
7 May he reign[m] forever before God.
Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him.[n]
8 Then I will sing praises to your name continually,[o]
as I fulfill[p] my vows day after day.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 61:1 sn Psalm 61. The psalmist cries out for help and expresses his confidence that God will protect him.
  2. Psalm 61:2 tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).
  3. Psalm 61:2 tn Heb “while my heart faints.”
  4. Psalm 61:2 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
  5. Psalm 61:2 tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”
  6. Psalm 61:3 tn Or “for.”
  7. Psalm 61:3 tn Or “have been.”
  8. Psalm 61:3 tn Heb “a strong tower from the face of an enemy.”
  9. Psalm 61:4 tn Heb “I will live as a resident foreigner in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
  10. Psalm 61:4 sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.
  11. Psalm 61:5 tn Heb “you grant the inheritance of those who fear your name.” “Inheritance” is normally used of land which is granted as an inheritance; here it refers metaphorically to the blessings granted God’s loyal followers. To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).
  12. Psalm 61:6 tn Heb “days upon days of the king add, his years like generation and generation.”sn It is not certain if the (royal) psalmist is referring to himself in the third person in this verse, or if an exile is praying on behalf of the king.
  13. Psalm 61:7 tn Heb “sit [enthroned].” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive here, expressing the psalmist’s prayer.
  14. Psalm 61:7 tn Heb “loyal love and faithfulness appoint, let them protect him.”
  15. Psalm 61:8 tn Or “forever.”
  16. Psalm 61:8 tn Or perhaps, “and thereby fulfill.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 11:16-17

16 A generous woman[a] gains honor,
and ruthless men[b] seize wealth.[c]
17 A kind person[d] benefits[e] himself,[f]
but a cruel person brings himself trouble.[g]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 11:16 tn Heb “a woman of grace.” The genitive חֵן (khen, “grace”) functions as an attributive adjective. The contrast is between “a gracious woman” (אֵשֶׁת־חֵן, ʾeshet khen), a woman who is not only graceful but generous, and “powerful men,” a term usually having a bad sense, such as tyrants or ruthless men.
  2. Proverbs 11:16 tn Heb “those who are terrifying.” The term עָרִיץ (ʿarits) refers to a person who strikes terror into the hearts of his victims. The term refers to a ruthless person who uses violence to overcome his victims (BDB 792 s.v.). Cf. ASV, NASB, NLT “violent men”; NRSV “the aggressive.”
  3. Proverbs 11:16 tc The LXX adds: “She who hates virtue makes a throne for dishonor; the idle will be destitute of means.” This reading is followed by several English versions (e.g., NAB, NEB, NRSV, TEV). C. H. Toy concludes that MT provides remnants of the original, but that the LXX does not provide the full meaning (Proverbs [ICC], 229).sn The implication is that the ruthless men will obtain wealth without honor, and therefore this is not viewed as success by the writer.
  4. Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “man of kindness,” “of loyalty,” or “of loyal love.”sn This contrasts the “kind person” and the “cruel person” (one who is fierce, cruel), showing the consequences of their dispositions.
  5. Proverbs 11:17 tn The term גֹּמֶל (gomel) means “to deal fully [or “adequately”] with” someone or something. The kind person will benefit himself.
  6. Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “his own soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person): “himself” (BDB 660 s.v. 4).
  7. Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “brings trouble to his flesh.”sn There may be a conscious effort by the sage to contrast “soul” and “body”: He contrasts the benefits of kindness for the “soul” (translated “himself”) with the trouble that comes to the “flesh/body” (translated “himself”) of the cruel.
New English Translation (NET)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday March 17, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 26:1-51

A Second Census Required

26 [a] After the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,[b] 2 “Take a census of the whole community of Israelites, from twenty years old and upward, by their clans,[c] everyone who can serve in the army of Israel.”[d] 3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the rift valley plains[e] of Moab, along the Jordan River[f] across from Jericho. They said, 4 “Number the people[g] from twenty years old and upward, just as the Lord commanded Moses and the Israelites who went out from the land of Egypt.”

Reuben

5 Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The Reubenites: from[h] Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; from Pallu, the family of the Palluites; 6 from Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; from Carmi, the family of the Carmites. 7 These were the families of the Reubenites; and those numbered of them were 43,730. 8 Pallu’s descendant[i] was Eliab. 9 Eliab’s descendants were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram who as leaders of the community rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers[j] of Korah when they rebelled against the Lord. 10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and Korah at the time that company died, when the fire consumed 250 men. So they became a warning. 11 But the descendants of Korah did not die.

Simeon

12 The Simeonites by their families: from Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; from Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; from Jakin, the family of the Jakinites; 13 from Zerah,[k] the family of the Zerahites; and from Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. 14 These were the families of the Simeonites, 22,200.

Gad

15 The Gadites by their families: from Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; from Haggi, the family of the Haggites; from Shuni, the family of the Shunites; 16 from Ozni,[l] the family of the Oznites; from Eri,[m] the family of the Erites; 17 from Arod,[n] the family of the Arodites; and from Areli, the family of the Arelites. 18 These were the families of the Gadites according to those numbered of them, 40,500.

Judah

19 The descendants of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20 And the Judahites by their families were: from Shelah, the family of the Shelahites; from Perez, the family of the Perezites; and from Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. 21 And the Perezites were: from Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; from Hamul,[o] the family of the Hamulites. 22 These were the families of Judah according to those numbered of them, 76,500.

Issachar

23 The Issacharites by their families: from Tola, the family of the Tolaites; from Puah, the family of the Puites; 24 from Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; and from Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. 25 These were the families of Issachar, according to those numbered of them, 64,300.

Zebulun

26 The Zebulunites by their families: from Sered, the family of the Sardites; from Elon, the family of the Elonites; from Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. 27 These were the families of the Zebulunites, according to those numbered of them, 60,500.

Manasseh

28 The descendants of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. 29 The Manassehites: from Machir, the family of the Machirites (now Machir became the father of Gilead); from Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. 30 These were the Gileadites: from Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; from Helek, the family of the Helekites; 31 from Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; from Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; 32 from Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; from Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 33 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 34 These were the families of Manasseh; those numbered of them were 52,700.

Ephraim

35 These are the Ephraimites by their families: from Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; from Beker, the family of the Bekerites; from Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. 36 Now these were the Shuthelahites: from Eran, the family of the Eranites. 37 These were the families of the Ephraimites, according to those numbered of them, 32,500. These[p] were the descendants of Joseph by their families.

Benjamin

38 The Benjaminites by their families: from Bela, the family of the Belaites; from Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; from Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; 39 from Shupham,[q] the family of the Shuphamites; from Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. 40 The descendants of Bela were Ard[r] and Naaman. From Ard,[s] the family of the Ardites; from Naaman, the family of the Naamanites. 41 These are the Benjaminites, according to their families, and according to those numbered of them, 45,600.

Dan

42 These are the Danites by their families: from Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These were the families of Dan, according to their families. 43 All the families of the Shuhamites according to those numbered of them were 64,400.

Asher

44 The Asherites by their families: from Imnah, the family of the Imnahites; from Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; from Beriah, the family of the Beriahites. 45 From the Beriahites: from Heber, the family of the Heberites; from Malkiel, the family of the Malkielites. 46 Now the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.[t] 47 These are the families of the Asherites, according to those numbered of them, 53,400.

Naphtali

48 The Naphtalites by their families: from Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; from Guni, the family of the Gunites; 49 from Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; from Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. 50 These were the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those numbered of them were 45,400.

Total Number and Division of the Land

51 These were those numbered of the Israelites, 601,730.

Footnotes:

  1. Numbers 26:1 sn The breakdown of ch. 26 for outlining purposes will be essentially according to the tribes of Israel. The format and structure is similar to the first census, and so less comment is necessary here.
  2. Numbers 26:1 tc The MT has also “saying.”
  3. Numbers 26:2 tn Heb “house of their fathers.”
  4. Numbers 26:2 tn Heb “everyone who goes out in the army in Israel.”
  5. Numbers 26:3 tn The term עַרְבוֹת (ʿarevot) refers to the sloping plain of the rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. See the note at Num 21:1.
  6. Numbers 26:3 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in v. 62).
  7. Numbers 26:4 tn “Number the people” is added here to the text for a smooth reading.
  8. Numbers 26:5 tc The Hebrew text has no preposition here, but one has been supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. vv. 23, 30, 31, 32.
  9. Numbers 26:8 tc The MT has “and the sons of Pallu.”
  10. Numbers 26:9 tn Or “company” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); Heb “congregation.”
  11. Numbers 26:13 tc This is “Zohar” in Exod 6:15 and Gen 46:10.
  12. Numbers 26:16 tc The MT of Gen 46:16 reads this as “Ezbon.”
  13. Numbers 26:16 tc The Greek version and Smr have “Ad[d]i,” probably by confusion of letters.
  14. Numbers 26:17 tc Gen 46:16 and the LXX here read “Arodi.”
  15. Numbers 26:21 tc Smr and the Greek version have “Hamuel.”
  16. Numbers 26:37 sn This is a significant reduction from the first count of 40,500.
  17. Numbers 26:39 tc With the exception of a few manuscripts the MT has Shephupham. The spelling in the translation above is supported by Smr and the ancient versions.
  18. Numbers 26:40 tc The LXX has Adar. Cf. 1 Chr 8:3.
  19. Numbers 26:40 tc “From Ard” is not in the Hebrew text.
  20. Numbers 26:46 tn Also mentioned in 1 Chr 7:30.
New English Translation (NET)

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Luke 2:36-52

The Testimony of Anna

36 There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old,[a] having been married to her husband for seven years until his death. 37 She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years.[b] She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.[c] 38 At that moment,[d] she came up to them[e] and began to give thanks to God and to speak[f] about the child[g] to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.[h]

39 So[i] when Joseph and Mary[j] had performed[k] everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town[l] of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong,[m] filled with wisdom,[n] and the favor[o] of God[p] was upon him.

Jesus in the Temple

41 Now[q] Jesus’[r] parents went to Jerusalem every[s] year for the Feast of the Passover.[t] 42 When[u] he was twelve years old,[v] they went up[w] according to custom. 43 But[x] when the feast was over,[y] as they were returning home,[z] the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His[aa] parents[ab] did not know it, 44 but (because they assumed that he was in their group of travelers)[ac] they went a day’s journey. Then[ad] they began to look for him among their relatives and acquaintances.[ae] 45 When[af] they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem[ag] to look for him. 46 After[ah] three days[ai] they found him in the temple courts,[aj] sitting among the teachers,[ak] listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Jesus[al] were astonished[am] at his understanding and his answers. 48 When[an] his parents[ao] saw him, they were overwhelmed. His[ap] mother said to him, “Child,[aq] why have you treated[ar] us like this? Look, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.”[as] 49 But[at] he replied,[au] “Why were you looking for me?[av] Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”[aw] 50 Yet[ax] his parents[ay] did not understand[az] the remark[ba] he made[bb] to them. 51 Then[bc] he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient[bd] to them. But[be] his mother kept all these things[bf] in her heart.[bg]

52 And Jesus increased[bh] in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 2:36 tn Her age is emphasized by the Greek phrase here, “she was very old in her many days.”
  2. Luke 2:37 tn Grk “living with her husband for seven years from her virginity and she was a widow for eighty four years.” The chronology of the eighty-four years is unclear, since the final phrase could mean “she was widowed until the age of eighty-four” (so BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.α). However, the more natural way to take the syntax is as a reference to the length of her widowhood, the subject of the clause, in which case Anna was about 105 years old (so D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:251-52; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 123-24).
  3. Luke 2:37 sn The statements about Anna worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day make her extreme piety clear.
  4. Luke 2:38 tn Grk “at that very hour.”
  5. Luke 2:38 tn Grk “And coming up.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The participle ἐπιστᾶσα (epistasa) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  6. Luke 2:38 tn The imperfect ἐλάλει (elalei) here looks at a process of declaration, not a single moment. She clearly was led by God to address men and women about the hope Jesus was. The testimony of Luke 1–2 to Jesus has involved all types of people.
  7. Luke 2:38 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the child) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Luke 2:38 tc A few mss (5 16 348 1071 1216) read ᾿Ισραήλ (Israēl, “Israel”) or ἐν τῷ ᾿Ισραήλ (en tō Israēl, “in Israel”), but this reading does not have enough ms support to be considered authentic. More substantial is the reading ἐν ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ (en Ierousalēm, “in Jerusalem”; found in A D L Θ Ψ 0130 ƒ13 33 M), though the preposition was almost surely added to clarify (and perhaps alter) the meaning of the original. The simple ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ, without preposition, is found in א B W Ξ 1 565* lat co.
  9. Luke 2:39 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.
  10. Luke 2:39 tn Grk “when they”; the referents (Joseph and Mary) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. Luke 2:39 tn Or “completed.”
  12. Luke 2:39 tn Or “city.”
  13. Luke 2:40 tc Most mss (A Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 33 M) read πνεύματι (pneumati, “in spirit”) after “became strong,” but this looks like an assimilation to Luke 1:80. The better witnesses (א B D L N W lat co) lack the word.
  14. Luke 2:40 sn With the description grew and became strong, filled with wisdom Luke emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and his growth toward maturity.
  15. Luke 2:40 tn Or “grace.”
  16. Luke 2:40 sn On the phrase the favor of God see Luke 1:66.
  17. Luke 2:41 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
  18. Luke 2:41 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. Luke 2:41 tn On the distributive use of the term κατά (kata), see BDF §305.
  20. Luke 2:41 sn The custom of Jesus and his family going to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Passover shows their piety in obeying the law (Exod 23:14-17).
  21. Luke 2:42 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  22. Luke 2:42 sn According to the Mishnah, the age of twelve years old is one year before a boy becomes responsible for his religious commitments (m. Niddah 5.6).
  23. Luke 2:42 tc Most mss, especially later ones (A Cvid Θ Ψ 0130 ƒ1,13 33 M lat) have εἰς ῾Ιεροσόλυμα (eis hierosoluma, “to Jerusalem”) here, but the ms support for the omission is much stronger (א B D L W 579 1241 co); further, the longer reading clarifies what they went up to and thus looks like a motivated reading.
  24. Luke 2:43 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated contrastively in keeping with the context. This outcome is different from what had happened all the times before.
  25. Luke 2:43 tn Grk “when the days ended.”
  26. Luke 2:43 tn The word “home” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied for clarity.
  27. Luke 2:43 tn Grk “And his.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  28. Luke 2:43 tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C Ψ 0130 ƒ13 M it), read ᾿Ιωσὴφ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ (Iōsēph kai hē mētēr autou, “[both] Joseph and his mother”), a reading evidently intended to insulate the doctrine of the virgin conception of our Lord. But א B D L W Θ ƒ1 33 579 1241 lat sa read οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ (hoi goneis autou, “his parents”) as in the translation. Such motivated readings as the former lack credibility, especially since the better witnesses affirm the virgin conception of Christ in Luke 1:34-35.
  29. Luke 2:44 sn An ancient journey like this would have involved a caravan of people who traveled together as a group for protection and fellowship.
  30. Luke 2:44 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  31. Luke 2:44 tn Or “and friends.” See L&N 28.30 and 34.17.
  32. Luke 2:45 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  33. Luke 2:45 sn The return to Jerusalem would have taken a second day, since they were already one day’s journey away.
  34. Luke 2:46 tn Grk “And it happened that after.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  35. Luke 2:46 sn Three days means there was one day out, another day back, and a third day of looking in Jerusalem.
  36. Luke 2:46 tn Grk “the temple.”
  37. Luke 2:46 tn This is the only place in Luke’s Gospel where the term διδάσκαλος (didaskalos, “teacher”) is applied to Jews.
  38. Luke 2:47 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  39. Luke 2:47 sn There was wonder (all who heard…were astonished) that Jesus at such a young age could engage in such a discussion. The fact that this story is told of a preteen hints that Jesus was someone special.
  40. Luke 2:48 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  41. Luke 2:48 tn Grk “when they”; the referent (his parents) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  42. Luke 2:48 tn Grk “And his.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  43. Luke 2:48 tn The Greek word here is τέκνον (teknon) rather than υἱός (huios, “son”).
  44. Luke 2:48 tn Or “Child, why did you do this to us?”
  45. Luke 2:48 tn Or “your father and I have been terribly worried looking for you.”
  46. Luke 2:49 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
  47. Luke 2:49 tn Grk “he said to them.”
  48. Luke 2:49 tn Grk “Why is it that you were looking for me?”
  49. Luke 2:49 tn Or “I must be about my Father’s business” (so KJV, NKJV); Grk “in the [things] of my Father,” with an ellipsis. This verse involves an idiom that probably refers to the necessity of Jesus being involved in the instruction about God, given what he is doing. The most widely held view today takes this as a reference to the temple as the Father’s house. Jesus is saying that his parents should have known where he was.
  50. Luke 2:50 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.
  51. Luke 2:50 tn Grk “they”; the referent (his parents) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  52. Luke 2:50 sn This was the first of many times those around Jesus did not understand what he was saying at the time (9:45; 10:21-24; 18:34).
  53. Luke 2:50 tn Or “the matter.”
  54. Luke 2:50 tn Grk “which he spoke.”
  55. Luke 2:51 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  56. Luke 2:51 tn Or “was submitting.”
  57. Luke 2:51 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
  58. Luke 2:51 tn Or “all these words.”
  59. Luke 2:51 sn On the phrase his mother kept all these things in her heart compare Luke 2:19.
  60. Luke 2:52 tn Or “kept increasing.” The imperfect tense suggests something of a progressive force to the verb.
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 60

Psalm 60[a]

For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a prayer[c] of David written to instruct others.[d] It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down[e] 12,000 Edomites[f] in the Valley of Salt.[g]

60 O God, you have rejected us.[h]
You suddenly turned on us in your anger.[i]
Please restore us![j]
2 You made the earth quake; you split it open.[k]
Repair its breaches, for it is ready to fall.[l]
3 You have made your people experience hard times;[m]
you have made us drink intoxicating wine.[n]
4 You have given your loyal followers[o] a rallying flag,
so that they might seek safety from the bow.[p] (Selah)
5 Deliver by your power[q] and answer me,[r]
so that the ones you love may be safe.[s]
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[t]
“I will triumph. I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.[u]
7 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.[v]
Ephraim is my helmet,[w]
Judah my royal scepter.[x]
8 Moab is my washbasin.[y]
I will make Edom serve me.[z]
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”[aa]
9 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?[ab]
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
11 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.[ac]
12 By God’s power we will conquer;[ad]
he will trample down[ae] our enemies.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 60:1 sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.
  2. Psalm 60:1 tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.
  3. Psalm 60:1 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
  4. Psalm 60:1 tn Heb “to teach.”
  5. Psalm 60:1 tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.
  6. Psalm 60:1 tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).
  7. Psalm 60:1 sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.
  8. Psalm 60:1 sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.
  9. Psalm 60:1 tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”
  10. Psalm 60:1 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
  11. Psalm 60:2 tn The verb פָּצַם (patsam, “split open”) occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “crack,” and an Aramaic cognate is used in Tg. Jer 22:14 with the meaning “break open, frame.” See BDB 822 s.v. and Jastrow 1205 s.v. פְּצַם.sn You made the earth quake; you split it open. The psalmist uses the imagery of an earthquake to describe the nation’s defeat.
  12. Psalm 60:2 sn It is ready to fall. The earth is compared to a wall that has been broken by the force of the earthquake (note the preceding line) and is ready to collapse.
  13. Psalm 60:3 tn Heb “you have caused your people to see [what is] hard.”
  14. Psalm 60:3 tn Heb “wine of staggering,” that is, intoxicating wine that makes one stagger in drunkenness. Intoxicating wine is here an image of divine judgment that makes its victims stagger like drunkards. See Isa 51:17-23.
  15. Psalm 60:4 tn Heb “those who fear you.”
  16. Psalm 60:4 tn There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” (HALOT 681 s.v. נוס) or “take flight for oneself” (BDB 630-31 s.v. נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” (BDB 651 s.v. II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” (HALOT 704 s.v. II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; BDB 905-6 s.v. קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qoshet, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. NASB). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”
  17. Psalm 60:5 tn Heb “right hand.”
  18. Psalm 60:5 tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”
  19. Psalm 60:5 tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”
  20. Psalm 60:6 tn Heb “in his holy place.”
  21. Psalm 60:6 sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Sukkoth for the region east of the Jordan.
  22. Psalm 60:7 sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
  23. Psalm 60:7 tn Heb “the protection of my head.”sn Ephraim, named after one of Joseph’s sons, was one of two major tribes located west of the Jordan. By comparing Ephraim to a helmet, the Lord suggests that the Ephraimites played a primary role in the defense of his land.
  24. Psalm 60:7 sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.
  25. Psalm 60:8 sn The metaphor of the washbasin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 6-7), would be reduced to the status of a servant.
  26. Psalm 60:8 tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of,” i.e., “I will take possession of Edom.” Others translate עַל (ʿal) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.
  27. Psalm 60:8 tc Heb “over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph.” The translation follows the text of Ps 108:9. When the initial עֲלֵיוֹ (ʿaleyo, “over”) was misread as עָלַי (ʿalay, “over me”), the first person verb form was probably altered to an imperative to provide better sense to the line.
  28. Psalm 60:9 sn In v. 9 the psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 8, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation (v. 10, see also v. 1).
  29. Psalm 60:11 tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”
  30. Psalm 60:12 tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 108:13; 118:15-16).
  31. Psalm 60:12 sn Trample down. On this expression see Ps 44:5.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 11:15

15 The one who has put up security for a stranger[a] will surely have trouble,[b]
but whoever avoids[c] shaking hands[d] is secure.[e]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 11:15 sn The “stranger” could refer to a person from another country or culture, as it often does, but it could also refer to an unknown Israelite, with the idea that the individual stands outside the known and respectable community.
  2. Proverbs 11:15 tn The sentence begins with the Niphal imperfect and the cognate (רַע־יֵרוֹעַ, raʿ yeroaʿ), stressing that whoever does this “will certainly suffer hurt.” The hurt in this case will be financial responsibility for a bad risk.
  3. Proverbs 11:15 tn Heb “hates.” The term שֹׂנֵא (soneʾ) means “to reject,” and here “to avoid.” The participle is substantival, functioning as the subject of the clause. The next participle, תֹקְעִים (toqeʿim, “striking hands”), is its object, telling what is hated. The third participle בּוֹטֵחַ (boteach, “is secure”) functions verbally.
  4. Proverbs 11:15 tn Heb “striking.” The term “hands” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied. The imagery here is shaking hands to seal a contract. It does not refer to greeting people with a handshake or exclude all business agreements.
  5. Proverbs 11:15 tn The participle בּוֹטֵחַ (boteakh) means to “be secure, confident, safe, or care free.” In this verse it applies specifically to the issue of putting up security for another, not all the rest of life. A person who avoids this bad decision has no worries about its consequences.
New English Translation (NET)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday March 16, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 24-25

Balaam’s Third Oracle

24 Now Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, so he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens but set his face toward the wilderness.(A) 2 Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. Then the spirit of God came upon him,(B) 3 and he uttered his oracle, saying,

“The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eye is clear,[a](C)
4 the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,[b]
who falls down but with eyes uncovered:(D)
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
your encampments, O Israel!
6 Like palm groves that stretch far away,
like gardens beside a river,
like aloes that the Lord has planted,
like cedar trees beside the waters.(E)
7 Water shall flow from his buckets,
and his seed shall have abundant water;
his king shall be higher than Agag,
and his kingdom shall be exalted.(F)
8 God, who brings him out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for him;
he shall devour the nations that are his foes
and break their bones.
He shall strike with his arrows.[c](G)
9 He crouched; he lay down like a lion
and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
and cursed is everyone who curses you.”(H)

10 Then Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but instead you have blessed them these three times. 11 Now be off with you! Go home! I said, ‘I will reward you richly,’ but the Lord has denied you any reward.”(I) 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will; what the Lord says, that is what I will say’?(J) 14 So now, I am going to my people; let me advise you what this people will do to your people in days to come.”(K)

Balaam’s Fourth Oracle

15 So he uttered his oracle, saying,

“The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eye is clear,[d]
16 the oracle of one who hears the words of God
and knows the knowledge of the Most High,[e]
who sees the vision of the Almighty,[f]
who falls down but with eyes uncovered:
17 I see him but not now;
I behold him but not near—
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the foreheads[g] of Moab
and the heads[h] of all the Shethites.(L)
18 Edom will become a possession,
Seir a possession of its enemies,
while Israel does valiantly.(M)
19 One out of Jacob shall rule
and destroy the survivors of Ir.”(N)

20 Then he looked on Amalek and uttered his oracle, saying,

“First among the nations was Amalek,
but its end is to perish forever.”(O)

21 Then he looked on the Kenite and uttered his oracle, saying,

“Enduring is your dwelling place,
and your nest is set in the rock,
22 yet Kain is destined for burning.
How long shall Asshur take you away captive?”

23 Again he uttered his oracle, saying,

“Alas, who shall live when God does this?[i]
24 But ships shall come from Kittim
and shall afflict Asshur and Eber,
and he also shall perish forever.”(P)

25 Then Balaam got up and went back to his place, and Balak also went his way.(Q)

Worship of Baal of Peor

25 While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab.(R) 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.(S) 3 Thus Israel yoked itself to the Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel.(T) 4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”(U) 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you shall kill any of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”

6 Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand,(V) 8 he went after the Israelite man into the tent and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the Israelites. 9 Nevertheless those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.(W)

10 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by manifesting such zeal among them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did not consume the Israelites.(X) 12 Therefore say, ‘I hereby grant him my covenant of peace.(Y) 13 It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.’ ”(Z)

14 The name of the slain Israelite man who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, head of an ancestral house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the head of a clan, an ancestral house in Midian.(AA)

16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites, and defeat them,(AB) 18 for they have harassed you by the trickery with which they deceived you in the affair of Peor, and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister; she was killed on the day of the plague that resulted from Peor.”(AC)

Footnotes:

  1. 24.3 Or closed or open
  2. 24.4 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  3. 24.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  4. 24.15 Or closed or open
  5. 24.16 Or of Elyon
  6. 24.16 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  7. 24.17 Or borderlands
  8. 24.17 Or territory
  9. 24.23 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Cross references:

  1. 24.1 : Num 23.3, 15
  2. 24.2 : Num 11.25, 26; 1 Sam 10.10; 2 Chr 15.1
  3. 24.3 : Num 23.7, 18
  4. 24.4 : Num 12.6; 22.20
  5. 24.6 : Ps 1.3; 104.16
  6. 24.7 : v 20; 1 Sam 15.8, 9; 2 Sam 5.12; 1 Chr 14.2
  7. 24.8 : Num 23.22, 24; Ps 2.9; 45.5; Jer 50.9, 17
  8. 24.9 : Gen 12.3; 27.29; 49.9
  9. 24.11 : Num 22.17, 37
  10. 24.13 : Num 22.18, 20
  11. 24.14 : Gen 49.1; Dan 2.28; Mic 6.5
  12. 24.17 : Gen 49.10; Mt 2.2; Rev 1.7
  13. 24.18 : 2 Sam 8.14
  14. 24.19 : Gen 49.10; Mic 5.2
  15. 24.20 : Ex 17.8, 14, 16
  16. 24.24 : v 20; Gen 10.4, 21
  17. 24.25 : Num 31.8
  18. 25.1 : Num 31.16; Mic 6.5; 1 Cor 10.8; Rev 2.14
  19. 25.2 : Ex 20.5; 34.15; 1 Cor 10.20
  20. 25.3 : Ps 106.28, 29; Hos 9.10
  21. 25.4 : Deut 4.3
  22. 25.7 : Ps 106.30
  23. 25.9 : Deut 4.3; 1 Cor 10.8
  24. 25.11 : Ex 20.5; Deut 32.16, 21; Ps 106.30
  25. 25.12 : Isa 54.10; Mal 2.4, 5
  26. 25.13 : Ex 40.15; Num 16.46; Heb 2.17
  27. 25.15 : Num 31.8
  28. 25.17 : Num 31.2
  29. 25.18 : Num 31.16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

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Luke 2:1-35

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.(A) 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.[a]

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:(B) 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,[b] the Lord.(C) 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”(D) 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[c] praising God and saying,(E)

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”[d](F)

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, 19 and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.(G) 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.(H)

Jesus Is Named

21 When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child,[e] and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.(I)

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord(J) 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),(K) 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.(L) 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.[f](M) 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon[g] came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law,(N) 28 Simeon[h] took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,(O)
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,(P)
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”(Q)

33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed(R) 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”

Footnotes:

  1. 2.7 Or their room
  2. 2.11 Or the Christ
  3. 2.13 Gk army
  4. 2.14 Other ancient authorities read peace, goodwill among people
  5. 2.21 Gk him
  6. 2.26 Or the Lord’s Christ
  7. 2.27 Gk In the Spirit, he
  8. 2.28 Gk he

Cross references:

  1. 2.4 : Lk 1.27
  2. 2.10 : Mt 14.27
  3. 2.11 : Mt 1.16; 16.16; Lk 1.43; Jn 4.42; Acts 2.36
  4. 2.12 : 1 Sam 2.34; 2 Kings 19.29; Isa 7.14
  5. 2.13 : Dan 7.10; Rev 5.11
  6. 2.14 : Isa 57.19; Lk 1.79; Rom 5.1; Eph 1.9; Phil 2.13
  7. 2.19 : v 51
  8. 2.20 : Mt 9.8
  9. 2.21 : Lk 1.31, 59
  10. 2.22 : Lev 12.2–6
  11. 2.23 : Ex 13.2, 12; Num 3.13
  12. 2.25 : v 38; Lk 23.51
  13. 2.26 : Ps 89.48; Heb 11.5
  14. 2.27 : v 22
  15. 2.29 : v 26
  16. 2.30 : Isa 52.10; Lk 3.6
  17. 2.32 : Isa 42.6; 49.6; Acts 13.47; 26.23
  18. 2.34 : Mt 21.44; 1 Cor 1.23, 24; 2 Cor 2.16; 1 Pet 2.7, 8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

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Psalm 59

Psalm 59

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.(A)
2 Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty, save me.(B)

3 Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,(C)
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!(D)
5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah(E)

6 Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.(F)
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words[a] on their lips,
for “Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”(G)

8 But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.(H)
9 O my strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.(I)
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.(J)

11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.(K)
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,(L)
13 consume them in wrath;
consume them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob. Selah(M)

14 Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.(N)
15 They roam about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.

16 But I will sing of your might;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
and a refuge in the day of my distress.(O)
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.(P)

Footnotes:

  1. 59.7 Heb with swords
  2. 59.7 Heb lacks they think

Cross references:

  1. 59.1 : Ps 143.9
  2. 59.2 : Ps 28.3; 139.19
  3. 59.3 : Ps 56.6
  4. 59.4 : Ps 35.19, 23
  5. 59.5 : Ps 9.5; Jer 18.23
  6. 59.6 : v 14
  7. 59.7 : Ps 10.11; 57.4
  8. 59.8 : Ps 2.4; 37.13
  9. 59.9 : Ps 9.9
  10. 59.10 : Ps 21.3; 54.7
  11. 59.11 : Deut 4.9; Ps 84.9; 106.27
  12. 59.12 : Ps 10.7; Prov 12.13; Zeph 3.11
  13. 59.13 : Ps 83.18; 104.35
  14. 59.14 : v 6
  15. 59.16 : v 9; Ps 21.13; 46.1; 88.13; 101.1
  16. 59.17 : vv 9, 10
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Proverbs 11:14

14 Where there is no guidance, a nation[a] falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.(A)

Footnotes:

  1. 11.14 Or an army

Cross references:

  1. 11.14 : Prov 15.22; 20.18; 24.6
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday March 15, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 22:21-23:30

21 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.(A)

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

22 God’s anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand, so the donkey turned off the road and went into the field, and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road.(B) 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side.(C) 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck it again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”(D) 29 Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”(E) 30 But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.”(F)

31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed down, falling on his face.(G) 32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary because your way is perverse[a] before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let it live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now therefore, if it is displeasing to you, I will return home.”(H) 35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you to speak.” So Balaam went on with the officials of Balak.(I)

36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at Ir-moab, on the boundary formed by the Arnon, at the farthest point of the boundary. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”(J) 38 Balaam said to Balak, “I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say.”(K) 39 Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep and sent them to Balaam and to the officials who were with him.

Balaam’s First Oracle

41 On the next day Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he could see part of the people of Israel.[b](L) 23 1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”(M) 2 Balak did as Balaam had said and offered[c] a bull and a ram on each altar.(N) 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offerings while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height.(O)

4 Then God met Balaam, and Balaam[d] said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”(P) 5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you must say.”(Q) 6 So he returned to Balak,[e] who was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. 7 Then Balaam[f] uttered his oracle, saying,

“Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, curse Jacob for me.
Come, denounce Israel!’(R)
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?(S)
9 For from the top of the crags I see him;
from the hills I behold him.
Here is a people living alone
and not reckoning itself among the nations!(T)
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob
or number the dust cloud[g] of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!”(U)

11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but bless them.”(V) 12 He answered, “Must I not take care to say what the Lord puts into my mouth?”(W)

Balaam’s Second Oracle

13 So Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only part of them and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(X) 15 Balaam[h] said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offerings, while I meet the Lord over there.” 16 The Lord met Balaam, put a word into his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say.”(Y) 17 When he came to him, he was standing beside his burnt offerings with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?” 18 Then Balaam[i] uttered his oracle, saying,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not a human being, that he should lie,
or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?(Z)
20 See, I received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.(AA)
21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
acclaimed as a king among them.(AB)
22 God, who brings them out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for them.(AC)
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
‘See what God has done!’
24 Look, a people rising up like a lioness
and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”(AD)

25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” 26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do’?”(AE)

27 So Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”(AF) 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.[j] 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”(AG) 30 So Balak did as Balaam had said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Footnotes:

  1. 22.32 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 22.41 Heb lacks of Israel
  3. 23.2 Heb mss Gk: MT reads Balak and Balaam offered
  4. 23.4 Heb he
  5. 23.6 Heb him
  6. 23.7 Heb he
  7. 23.10 Or fourth part
  8. 23.15 Heb he
  9. 23.18 Heb he
  10. 23.28 Or overlooks Jeshimon

Cross references:

  1. 22.21 : 2 Pet 2.15
  2. 22.23 : 2 Pet 2.16
  3. 22.24 : Judg 6.12
  4. 22.28 : 2 Pet 2.16
  5. 22.29 : Prov 12.10
  6. 22.30 : 2 Pet 2.16
  7. 22.31 : Josh 5.13–15
  8. 22.34 : Num 14.40; 1 Sam 15.24, 30; 2 Sam 12.13
  9. 22.35 : v 20
  10. 22.37 : v 17; Num 24.11
  11. 22.38 : v 18; Num 23.26; 24.13
  12. 22.41 : Deut 12.2
  13. 23.1 : v 29
  14. 23.2 : vv 14, 30
  15. 23.3 : v 15
  16. 23.4 : v 16
  17. 23.5 : v 16; Num 22.35; Deut 18.18; Jer 1.9
  18. 23.7 : v 18; Num 22.6; 24.3, 15, 23; Job 27.1; 29.1; Ps 78.2
  19. 23.8 : Num 22.12
  20. 23.9 : Ex 33.16; Deut 32.8; 33.28
  21. 23.10 : Gen 13.16; Ps 116.15
  22. 23.11 : Num 24.10
  23. 23.12 : Num 22.20, 38
  24. 23.14 : vv 1, 2
  25. 23.16 : Num 22.20
  26. 23.19 : 1 Sam 15.29; Mal 3.6; Rom 11.29; Titus 1.2; Jas 1.17
  27. 23.20 : Isa 43.13
  28. 23.21 : Ex 29.45, 46; Ps 32.2, 5; 89.15; Isa 40.2; Rom 4.7, 8
  29. 23.22 : Num 24.8
  30. 23.24 : Gen 49.9, 27
  31. 23.26 : v 12; Num 22.38
  32. 23.27 : v 13
  33. 23.29 : v 1
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Luke 1:57-80

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.(A)

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.(B) 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.(C)

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:(D)

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on[a] his people and redeemed them.(E)
69 He has raised up a mighty savior[b] for us
in the house of his child David,(F)
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,(G)
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,(H)
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,(I) 75 in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.(J)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,(K)
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.(L)
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break[c] upon[d] us,
79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”(M)

80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.(N)

Footnotes:

  1. 1.68 Or has visited
  2. 1.69 Gk a horn of salvation
  3. 1.78 Other ancient authorities read has broken
  4. 1.78 Gk will visit

Cross references:

  1. 1.58 : Gen 19.19
  2. 1.59 : Gen 17.12; Lev 12.3
  3. 1.66 : Gen 39.2; Lk 2.19, 51; Acts 11.21
  4. 1.67 : v 41; Joel 2.28
  5. 1.68 : Ps 72.18; 111.9; Lk 7.16
  6. 1.69 : Ps 18.2; 89.17; 132.17; Ezek 29.21
  7. 1.70 : Jer 23.5; Dan 9.24; Acts 3.21; Rom 1.2
  8. 1.72 : Ps 105.8, 9; 106.45; Ezek 16.60; Mic 7.20
  9. 1.74 : Rom 6.18; Heb 9.14
  10. 1.75 : Eph 4.24; Titus 2.12
  11. 1.76 : Mal 3.1; 4.5; Mt 11.9, 10
  12. 1.77 : Mk 1.4
  13. 1.79 : Mt 9.2; Mk 4.16; Acts 26.18
  14. 1.80 : Lk 2.40, 52
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Psalm 58

Psalm 58

Prayer for Vengeance

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.

1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge people fairly?(A)
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.(B)

3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
they err from their birth, speaking lies.(C)
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,(D)
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.(E)

6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!(F)
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down[a] and wither.(G)
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.(H)
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!(I)

10 The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.(J)
11 People will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges[b] on earth.”(K)

Footnotes:

  1. 58.7 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 58.11 Or there are gods who judge

Cross references:

  1. 58.1 : Ps 82.2
  2. 58.2 : Ps 94.20; Mal 3.15
  3. 58.3 : Ps 51.5; 53.3; Isa 48.8
  4. 58.4 : Ps 140.3; Eccl 10.11
  5. 58.5 : Ps 81.11
  6. 58.6 : Job 4.10; Ps 3.7
  7. 58.7 : Josh 7.5; Ps 64.3; 112.10
  8. 58.8 : Job 3.16
  9. 58.9 : Ps 118.12; Prov 10.25
  10. 58.10 : Ps 64.10; 68.23; 91.8
  11. 58.11 : Ps 9.8; 18.20
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Proverbs 11:12-13

12 Whoever belittles another lacks sense,
but an intelligent person remains silent.(A)
13 A gossip goes about telling secrets,
but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence.(B)

Cross references:

  1. 11.12 : Prov 10.19; 14.21
  2. 11.13 : Lev 19.6; Prov 19.11; 20.19; 1 Tim 5.13
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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday March 14, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 21:1-22:20

The Bronze Serpent

21 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive.(A) 2 Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns.” 3 The Lord listened to the voice of Israel and handed over the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their towns; so the place was called Hormah.[a]

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea,[b] to go around the land of Edom, but the people became discouraged on the way.(B) 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”(C) 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous[c] serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.(D) 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.(E) 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous[d] serpent, and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole, and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.(F)

The Journey to Moab

10 The Israelites set out and camped in Oboth.(G) 11 They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness bordering Moab toward the sunrise.(H) 12 From there they set out and camped in the Wadi Zered.(I) 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in[e] the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Wherefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

“Waheb in Suphah and the wadis.
The Arnon 15 and the slopes of the wadis
that extend to the seat of Ar
and lie along the border of Moab.”[f](J)

16 From there they continued to Beer;[g] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
18 the well that the leaders sank,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter, with the staff.”

From the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that overlooks the wasteland.[h]

King Sihon Defeated

21 Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying,(K) 22 “Let me pass through your land; we will not turn aside into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of any well; we will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”(L) 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness; he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.(M) 24 Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the boundary of the Ammonites was strong.(N) 25 Israel took all these towns, and Israel settled in all the towns of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and captured all his land as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore the singers say,

“Come to Heshbon; let it be built;
let the city of Sihon be established.
28 For fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab
and swallowed up[i] the heights of the Arnon.(O)
29 Woe to you, O Moab!
You are undone, O people of Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives
and his daughters captives
to an Amorite king, Sihon.(P)
30 So their posterity perished
from Heshbon[j] to Dibon,
and we laid waste until fire spread to Medeba.”[k](Q)

31 Thus Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. 32 Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.(R)

King Og Defeated

33 Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and King Og of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.(S) 34 But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have given him into your hand, with all his people and his land. You shall do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”(T) 35 So they killed him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left, and they took possession of his land.

Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel

22 The Israelites set out and camped in the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho.(U) 2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were so numerous; Moab was overcome with fear of the Israelites.(V) 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Now Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.(W) 5 He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is on the Euphrates,[l] in the land of Amaw,[m] to summon him, saying, “A people has come out of Egypt; they have spread over the face of the earth, and they have settled next to me.(X) 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are stronger than I; perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”(Y)

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand, and they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message.(Z) 8 He said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, just as the Lord speaks to me”; so the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.(AA) 9 God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God, “King Balak son of Zippor of Moab has sent me this message: 11 ‘Look, a people has come[n] out of Egypt and has spread over the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”(AB) 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the officials of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the officials of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

15 Once again Balak sent officials, more numerous and more distinguished than these. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: Do not let anything hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do; come, curse this people for me.”(AC) 18 But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Although Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God, to do less or more.(AD) 19 You also stay here overnight, so that I may learn what more the Lord may say to me.” 20 That night God came to Balaam and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but do only what I tell you to do.”(AE)

Footnotes:

  1. 21.3 That is, destruction
  2. 21.4 Or Sea of Reeds
  3. 21.6 Or fiery
  4. 21.8 Or fiery
  5. 21.13 Gk: Heb which is in
  6. 21.15 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  7. 21.16 That is, well
  8. 21.20 Or Jeshimon
  9. 21.28 Gk: Heb and the lords of
  10. 21.30 Gk: Heb we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished
  11. 21.30 Compare Sam Gk: Meaning of MT uncertain
  12. 22.5 Heb the river
  13. 22.5 Or land of his kinsfolk
  14. 22.11 Heb ms Sam Q ms Gk: MT The people that is coming

Cross references:

  1. 21.1 : Num 13.21; 33.40; Judg 1.16
  2. 21.4 : Num 20.22
  3. 21.5 : Ex 16.3; 17.3; Num 11.6; Ps 78.19
  4. 21.6 : Deut 8.15; 1 Cor 10.9
  5. 21.7 : Ps 78.34
  6. 21.9 : 2 Kings 18.4; Jn 3.14, 15
  7. 21.10 : Num 33.43
  8. 21.11 : Num 33.44
  9. 21.12 : Deut 2.13
  10. 21.15 : v 28; Deut 2.18, 29
  11. 21.21 : Deut 2.26, 27
  12. 21.22 : Num 20.16, 17
  13. 21.23 : Num 20.21; Deut 2.32
  14. 21.24 : Deut 2.33; Josh 12.1, 2; Ps 135.10, 11
  15. 21.28 : Deut 2.9, 18; Isa 15.1; Jer 48.45, 46
  16. 21.29 : Judg 11.24; 1 Kings 11.7, 33; 2 Kings 23.13; Jer 48.7, 13
  17. 21.30 : Num 32.3, 34; Jer 48.18, 22
  18. 21.32 : Num 32.1; Jer 48.32
  19. 21.33 : Deut 3.1–7; Josh 13.12
  20. 21.34 : v 24; Deut 3.2
  21. 22.1 : Num 33.48
  22. 22.3 : Ex 15.15
  23. 22.4 : Num 31.1–3, 8
  24. 22.5 : Num 23.7; Deut 23.4; Josh 24.9
  25. 22.6 : v 17; Num 23.7
  26. 22.7 : Num 23.23; 24.1
  27. 22.8 : v 19
  28. 22.12 : Num 23.20
  29. 22.17 : v 6
  30. 22.18 : Num 24.13; 1 Kings 22.14; 2 Chr 18.13
  31. 22.20 : v 35; Num 23.12, 26; 24.13
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Luke 1:26-56

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,(A) 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.(B) 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[a](C) 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.(D) 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.(E) 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”(F) 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[b] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[c] will be holy; he will be called Son of God.(G) 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”(H) 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.(I) 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?(J) 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[d] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise

46 And Mary[e] said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,(K)
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(L)
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,(M)
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;(N)
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.(O)
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.(P)
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;(Q)
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.(R)
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,(S)
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(T)

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Footnotes:

  1. 1.28 Other ancient authorities add Blessed are you among women
  2. 1.34 Gk I do not know a man
  3. 1.35 Other ancient authorities add of you
  4. 1.45 Or believed, for there will be
  5. 1.46 Other ancient authorities read Elizabeth

Cross references:

  1. 1.26 : Mt 2.23
  2. 1.27 : v 19; Mt 1.16
  3. 1.28 : Dan 9.23; 10.19
  4. 1.31 : Isa 7.14
  5. 1.32 : Isa 9.6, 7; Mk 5.7
  6. 1.33 : Dan 2.44; 7.14, 27; Mt 28.18; Heb 1.8
  7. 1.35 : v 32; Mt 4.3; Mk 1.24
  8. 1.37 : Gen 18.14; Jer 32.17; Mt 19.26; Mk 10.27; Lk 18.27; Rom 4.21
  9. 1.42 : Judg 5.24; Lk 11.27, 28
  10. 1.43 : Lk 2.11
  11. 1.46 : 1 Sam 2.1–10; Ps 34.2, 3
  12. 1.47 : Ps 35.9; 1 Tim 1.1; 2.3; Titus 2.10; Jude 25
  13. 1.48 : Ps 138.6; Lk 11.27
  14. 1.49 : Ps 71.19; 111.9
  15. 1.50 : Ps 103.17
  16. 1.51 : Ps 33.10; 98.1; Isa 40.10; 1 Pet 5.5
  17. 1.52 : Job 5.11
  18. 1.53 : Ps 34.10
  19. 1.54 : Ps 98.3
  20. 1.55 : Gen 17.19; Ps 132.11; Gal 3.16
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Psalm 57

Psalm 57

Praise and Assurance under Persecution

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

1 Be merciful to me, O God; be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
until the destroying storms pass by.(A)
2 I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.(B)
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.(C)

4 I lie down among lions
that greedily devour[a] human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.(D)

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(E)

6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah(F)
7 My heart is steadfast, O God;
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.(G)
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.(H)
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(I)
10 For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the clouds.(J)

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(K)

Footnotes:

  1. 57.4 Cn: Heb are aflame for

Cross references:

  1. 57.1 : Ps 2.12; 17.8; Isa 26.20
  2. 57.2 : Ps 138.8
  3. 57.3 : Ps 18.16; 40.11; 56.2
  4. 57.4 : Ps 35.17; 55.21; Prov 30.14
  5. 57.5 : Ps 108.5
  6. 57.6 : Ps 7.15; 35.7; 145.14; Prov 28.10
  7. 57.7 : Ps 108.1
  8. 57.8 : Ps 16.9; 30.12; 150.3
  9. 57.9 : Ps 108.3
  10. 57.10 : Ps 36.5
  11. 57.11 : v 5
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Proverbs 11:9-11

9 With their mouths the godless would destroy their neighbors,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.(A)
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.(B)

Cross references:

  1. 11.10 : Prov 28.12
  2. 11.11 : Prov 29.8
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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday March 13, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 19-20

Ceremony of the Red Heifer

19 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is a statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish and on which no yoke has been laid.(A) 3 You shall give it to the priest Eleazar, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.(B) 4 The priest Eleazar shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.(C) 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its entrails,[a] shall be burned. 6 The priest shall take cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson material and throw them into the fire in which the heifer is burning.(D) 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp, but the priest shall remain unclean until evening.(E) 8 The one who burns the heifer[b] shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water; he shall remain unclean until evening. 9 Then someone who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and they shall be kept for the congregation of the Israelites for the water for cleansing. It is a purification offering.(F) 10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

“This shall be a perpetual statute for the Israelites and for the alien residing among them. 11 Those who touch the dead body of any human being shall be unclean seven days.(G) 12 They shall purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day and so be clean, but if they do not purify themselves on the third day and on the seventh day, they will not become clean.(H) 13 All who touch a corpse, the body of a human being who has died, and do not purify themselves defile the tabernacle of the Lord; such persons shall be cut off from Israel. Since water for cleansing was not dashed on them, they remain unclean; their uncleanness is still on them.(I)

14 “This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. 15 And every open vessel with no cover fastened on it is unclean. 16 Whoever in the open field touches one who has been killed by a sword or who has died naturally,[c] or a human bone, or a grave shall be unclean seven days.(J) 17 For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt purification offering, and running water shall be added in a vessel;(K) 18 then a clean person shall take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the furnishings, on the persons who were there, and on whoever touched the bone, the slain, the corpse, or the grave. 19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean ones on the third day and on the seventh day, thus purifying them on the seventh day. Then they shall wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water, and at evening they shall be clean.(L) 20 Any who are unclean but do not purify themselves, those persons shall be cut off from the assembly, for they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Since the water for cleansing has not been dashed on them, they are unclean.(M)

21 “It shall be a perpetual statute for them. The one who sprinkles the water for cleansing shall wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for cleansing shall be unclean until evening. 22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening.”(N)

The Waters of Meribah

20 The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there.(O)

2 Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron.(P) 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had died when our kindred died before the Lord!(Q) 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here?(R) 5 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.(S) 7 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”(T)

9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he had commanded him. 10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”(U) 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank.(V) 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”(W) 13 These are the waters of Meribah,[d] where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and through which he showed himself to be holy.(X)

Passage through Edom Refused

14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the adversity that has befallen us,(Y) 15 how our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians oppressed us and our ancestors,(Z) 16 and when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt, and here we are in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(AA) 17 Now let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard or drink water from any well; we will go along the King’s Highway, not turning aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

18 But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, or we will come out with the sword against you.” 19 The Israelites said to him, “We will stay on the highway, and if we drink of your water, we and our livestock, then we will pay for it. It is only a small matter; just let us pass through on foot.”(AB) 20 But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large force, heavily armed. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through their territory, so Israel turned away from them.(AC)

The Death of Aaron

22 They set out from Kadesh, and the Israelites, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.(AD) 23 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, 24 “Let Aaron be gathered to his people. For he shall not enter the land that I have given to the Israelites, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.(AE) 25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar, and bring them up Mount Hor;(AF) 26 strip Aaron of his vestments, and put them on his son Eleazar. But Aaron shall be gathered to his people[e] and shall die there.” 27 Moses did as the Lord had commanded; they went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole congregation. 28 Moses stripped Aaron of his vestments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.(AG) 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

Footnotes:

  1. 19.5 Or dung
  2. 19.8 Heb it
  3. 19.16 Heb lacks naturally
  4. 20.13 That is, quarrel
  5. 20.26 Heb lacks to his people

Cross references:

  1. 19.2 : Deut 21.3
  2. 19.3 : Lev 4.12, 21; 16.27
  3. 19.4 : Lev 4.6; Heb 9.13
  4. 19.6 : Lev 14.4, 6
  5. 19.7 : Lev 11.25; 16.26, 28; 22.6
  6. 19.9 : vv 13, 20, 21; Heb 9.13
  7. 19.11 : Lev 21.1; Num 5.2; Acts 21.26, 27
  8. 19.12 : v 19; Num 31.19
  9. 19.13 : vv 9, 20; Lev 7.20; 15.31; 22.3; Num 8.7
  10. 19.16 : v 11
  11. 19.17 : v 9
  12. 19.19 : Heb 10.22
  13. 19.20 : v 13
  14. 19.22 : Hag 2.13, 14
  15. 20.1 : Num 33.36
  16. 20.2 : Ex 17.1
  17. 20.3 : Ex 17.2; Num 14.2, 3; 16.31–35
  18. 20.4 : Ex 17.3
  19. 20.6 : Num 14.5, 10
  20. 20.8 : Ex 17.5; Neh 9.15; Isa 43.20; 48.21
  21. 20.10 : Ps 106.32, 33
  22. 20.11 : Ps 78.16; Isa 48.21; 1 Cor 10.4
  23. 20.12 : Lev 10.3; Num 27.14; Deut 1.37; 3.26, 27
  24. 20.13 : Deut 33.8; Ps 95.8
  25. 20.14 : Deut 2.4
  26. 20.15 : Gen 46.6; Ex 12.40; Deut 26.6; Acts 7.15, 19
  27. 20.16 : Ex 2.23; 14.19
  28. 20.19 : Deut 2.6, 28
  29. 20.21 : Deut 2.8; Judg 11.17
  30. 20.22 : Num 21.4; 33.37
  31. 20.24 : v 12; Gen 25.8
  32. 20.25 : Num 33.38; Deut 32.50
  33. 20.28 : Num 33.38; Deut 10.6
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Luke 1:1-25

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,(A) 3 I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start,[a] to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus,(B) 4 so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.(C) 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.(D) 7 But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

8 Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty,(E) 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense.(F) 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.(G) 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.(H) 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,(I) 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.(J) 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.(K) 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(L) 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”(M) 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.(N) 20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”(O)

21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he returned to his home.

24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”(P)

Footnotes:

  1. 1.3 Or for a long time

Cross references:

  1. 1.2 : Jn 15.27; Heb 2.3; 1 Pet 5.1; 2 Pet 1.16; 1 Jn 1.1
  2. 1.3 : Acts 1.1; 11.4; 18.23
  3. 1.5 : 1 Chr 24.10; Mt 2.1
  4. 1.6 : Gen 7.1; 1 Kings 9.4; 2 Kings 20.3
  5. 1.8 : 1 Chr 24.19; 2 Chr 8.14
  6. 1.9 : Ex 30.7, 8; 1 Chr 23.13; 2 Chr 29.11
  7. 1.10 : Lev 16.17
  8. 1.13 : vv 30, 60, 63
  9. 1.14 : v 58
  10. 1.15 : Num 6.3; Judg 13.4; Gal 1.15
  11. 1.16 : Mal 4.5, 6
  12. 1.17 : Mt 11.14; 17.13
  13. 1.18 : Gen 17.17
  14. 1.19 : Mt 18.10
  15. 1.20 : Ezek 3.26; 24.27
  16. 1.25 : Gen 30.23; Isa 4.1
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Psalm 56

Psalm 56

Trust in God under Persecution

To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many fight against me.
O Most High,(A) 3 when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.(B)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?(C)

5 All day long they seek to injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.(D)
6 They stir up strife; they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they hoped to take my life.(E)
7 Do not deliver them for any reason;[a]
in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!(F)

8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?(G)
9 Then my enemies will retreat
in the day when I call.
This I know, that[b] God is for me.(H)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?

12 My vows to you I must perform, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.(I)
13 For you have delivered my soul from death
and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
in the light of life.(J)

Footnotes:

  1. 56.7 Gk Compare Syr Jerome: Heb deliver them because of their iniquity
  2. 56.9 Or because

Cross references:

  1. 56.2 : Ps 35.1; 57.3
  2. 56.3 : Ps 11.1; 55.4, 5
  3. 56.4 : Ps 118.6; Heb 13.6
  4. 56.5 : Ps 41.7
  5. 56.6 : Ps 19.10, 11; 59.3; 140.2
  6. 56.7 : Ps 36.12; 55.23
  7. 56.8 : Ps 139.3
  8. 56.9 : Ps 9.3; 102.2; Rom 8.31
  9. 56.12 : Ps 50.14
  10. 56.13 : Job 33.30; Ps 116.8
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Proverbs 11:8

8 The righteous are delivered from trouble,
and the wicked come into it instead.(A)

Cross references:

  1. 11.8 : Prov 21.18
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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday March 12, 2024 (NIV)

Numbers 16:41-18:32

41 On the next day, however, the whole congregation of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”(A) 42 And when the congregation had assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting; the cloud had covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.(B) 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.(C) 46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, put fire on it from the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.”(D) 47 So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense and made atonement for the people.(E) 48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.(F) 49 Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.(G) 50 When the plague was stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

The Budding of Aaron’s Rod

17 [a]The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites, and get twelve staffs from them, one for each ancestral house, from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man’s name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each ancestral house. 4 Place them in the tent of meeting before the covenant, where I meet with you.(H) 5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout; thus I will put a stop to the complaints of the Israelites that they continually make against you.”(I) 6 Moses spoke to the Israelites, and all their leaders gave him staffs, one for each leader, according to their ancestral houses, twelve staffs; and the staff of Aaron was among theirs. 7 So Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant.(J)

8 When Moses went into the tent of the covenant on the next day, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted. It put forth buds, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites, and they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the covenant, to be kept as a warning to rebels, so that you may make an end of their complaints against me, or else they will die.”(K) 11 Moses did so; just as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We are perishing; we are lost; all of us are lost! 13 Everyone who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all to perish?”(L)

Responsibility of Priests and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your ancestral house with you shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, while you and your sons alone shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood.(M) 2 So bring with you also your brothers of the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, in order that they may be joined to you and serve you while you and your sons with you are in front of the tent of the covenant.(N) 3 They shall perform duties for you and for the whole tent. But they must not approach either the utensils of the sanctuary or the altar, or else both they and you will die.(O) 4 They are attached to you in order to perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; no outsider shall approach you.(P) 5 You yourselves shall perform the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, so that wrath may never again come upon the Israelites.(Q) 6 It is I who now take your brother Levites from among the Israelites; they are now yours as a gift, dedicated to the Lord, to perform the service of the tent of meeting.(R) 7 But you and your sons with you shall diligently perform your priestly duties in all that concerns the altar and the area behind the curtain. I give your priesthood as a gift;[b] any outsider who approaches shall be put to death.”(S)

The Priests’ Portion

8 The Lord spoke to Aaron, “I have given you charge of the offerings made to me, all the holy gifts of the Israelites; I have given them to you and your sons as a priestly portion due you in perpetuity.(T) 9 This shall be yours from the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs that they render to me as a most holy thing, whether grain offering, purification offering, or guilt offering, shall belong to you and your sons.(U) 10 As a most holy thing you shall eat it; every male may eat it; it shall be holy to you.(V) 11 This also is yours: I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due, whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the elevation offerings of the Israelites; everyone who is clean in your house may eat them.(W) 12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the choice produce that they give to the Lord, I have given to you.(X) 13 The first fruits of all that is in their land that they bring to the Lord shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your house may eat of it.(Y) 14 Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.(Z) 15 The first issue of the womb of all creatures, human and animal, that is offered to the Lord shall be yours, but the firstborn of human beings you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.(AA) 16 Their redemption price, reckoned from one month of age, you shall fix at five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary (that is, twenty gerahs).(AB) 17 But the firstborn of a cow or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall dash their blood on the altar and turn their fat into smoke as an offering by fire[c] for a pleasing odor to the Lord,(AC) 18 but their flesh shall be yours, just as the breast that is elevated and as the right thigh are yours. 19 All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the Lord I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and your descendants as well.”(AD) 20 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites.(AE)

21 “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for a possession in return for the service that they perform, the service in the tent of meeting.(AF) 22 From now on the Israelites shall no longer approach the tent of meeting, or else they will incur guilt and die.(AG) 23 But the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear responsibility for their own offenses; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. But among the Israelites they shall have no allotment,(AH) 24 because I have given to the Levites as their portion the tithe of the Israelites, which they set apart as an offering to the Lord. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no allotment among the Israelites.”

25 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “You shall say to the Levites: When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them for your portion, you shall set apart an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.(AI) 27 It shall be reckoned to you as your gift, the same as the grain of the threshing floor and the fullness of the winepress. 28 Thus you also shall set apart an offering to the Lord from all the tithes that you receive from the Israelites, and from them you shall give the Lord’s offering to the priest Aaron.(AJ) 29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall set apart every offering due to the Lord; the best of all of them is the part to be consecrated. 30 Say also to them: When you have set apart the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor and as produce of the winepress. 31 You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your payment for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 You shall incur no guilt by reason of it, when you have offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the Israelites, on pain of death.”(AK)

Footnotes:

  1. 17.1 17.16 in Heb
  2. 18.7 Heb as a service of gift
  3. 18.17 Or a gift

Cross references:

  1. 16.41 : v 3
  2. 16.42 : v 19; Ex 40.34; Num 20.6
  3. 16.45 : vv 21, 24
  4. 16.46 : Num 8.19; Ps 106.29
  5. 16.47 : Num 25.7, 8, 13
  6. 16.48 : Ps 106.30
  7. 16.49 : vv 32, 35
  8. 17.4 : Ex 25.22; 29.42, 43
  9. 17.5 : Num 16.5, 11
  10. 17.7 : Num 18.2; Acts 7.44
  11. 17.10 : v 5; Heb 9.4
  12. 17.13 : Num 1.51, 53
  13. 18.1 : Ex 28.38
  14. 18.2 : Num 3.5–10
  15. 18.3 : Num 3.25; 4.15; 31.36
  16. 18.4 : Num 3.10
  17. 18.5 : Num 16.46
  18. 18.6 : Num 3.9, 12, 45
  19. 18.7 : Num 3.10; Heb 9.3, 6
  20. 18.8 : Ex 29.29; 40.13, 15; Lev 6.16, 18; 7.6, 32
  21. 18.9 : Lev 2.2, 3; 6.25, 26; 7.7; 10.12, 13
  22. 18.10 : Lev 6.16, 26
  23. 18.11 : Ex 29.27; Lev 22.1–16
  24. 18.12 : Ex 22.29; 23.19; Deut 18.4; Neh 10.35
  25. 18.13 : Ex 22.29; 23.19; 34.26
  26. 18.14 : Lev 27.28
  27. 18.15 : Ex 13.2, 13; Lev 27.26
  28. 18.16 : Lev 27.6
  29. 18.17 : Lev 3.2, 5
  30. 18.19 : v 11; 2 Chr 13.5
  31. 18.20 : Deut 10.9; 12.12; 14.27, 29; Josh 13.33; Ezek 44.28
  32. 18.21 : Lev 27.30–33
  33. 18.22 : Num 1.51
  34. 18.23 : vv 1, 20; Num 3.7
  35. 18.26 : Neh 10.38
  36. 18.28 : Ex 29.27
  37. 18.32 : Lev 19.8; 22.2, 15, 16
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Mark 16

The Resurrection of Jesus

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.(A) 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”(B) 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.(C) 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.(D) 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”(E) 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.[a]

The Intermediate Ending of Mark

[[And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.[b]]]

The Long Ending of Mark

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

[[9 Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Jesus Commissions the Disciples

14 Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table, and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.[c] 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news[d] to the whole creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes,[e] and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Ascension of Jesus

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.[f]]]

Footnotes:

  1. 16.8 Some of the most ancient authorities bring the book to a close at the end of 16.8. One authority concludes the book with the intermediate ending; others include the intermediate ending and then continue with 16.9–20. In most authorities 16.9–20 follow immediately after 16.8; in some of these authorities the passage is marked as being doubtful.
  2. 16.8 Other ancient authorities lack Amen
  3. 16.14 Other ancient authorities add, in whole or in part, And they excused themselves, saying, “This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things of the spirits. Therefore reveal your righteousness now”—thus they spoke to Christ. And Christ replied to them, “The term of years of Satan’s power has been fulfilled, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who have sinned I was handed over to death, that they may return to the truth and sin no more, that they may inherit the spiritual and imperishable glory of righteousness that is in heaven.”
  4. 16.15 Or gospel
  5. 16.18 Other ancient authorities add in their hands
  6. 16.20 Other ancient authorities add Amen

Cross references:

  1. 16.1 : Lk 23.56; Jn 19.39
  2. 16.3 : Mk 15.46
  3. 16.5 : Mk 9.15
  4. 16.6 : v 5; Mk 1.24
  5. 16.7 : Mk 14.28; Jn 21.1–23
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Psalm 55

Psalm 55

Complaint about a Friend’s Treachery

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God;
do not hide yourself from my supplication.(A)
2 Attend to me and answer me;
I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught(B) 3 by the noise of the enemy,
because of the clamor of the wicked.
For they bring[a] trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.(C)

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.(D)
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.(E)
6 And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;(F)
7 truly, I would flee far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
from the raging wind and tempest.”(G)

9 Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.(H)
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.(I)

12 It is not enemies who taunt me—
I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me—
I could hide from them.(J)
13 But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend,(K)
14 with whom I kept pleasant company;
we walked in the house of God with the throng.(L)
15 Let death come upon them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,
for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.(M)

16 But I call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.(N)
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he will hear my voice.(O)
18 He will redeem me unharmed
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.(P)
19 God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah
will hear and will humble them,
because they do not change
and do not fear God.(Q)

20 My companion laid hands on a friend
and violated a covenant with me[b](R)
21 with speech smoother than butter
but with a heart set on war,
with words that were softer than oil
but in fact were drawn swords.(S)

22 Cast your burden[c] on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.(T)

23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.(U)

Footnotes:

  1. 55.3 Cn Compare Gk: Heb they cause to totter
  2. 55.20 Heb lacks with me
  3. 55.22 Or Cast what he has given you

Cross references:

  1. 55.1 : Ps 27.9; 61.1
  2. 55.2 : Ps 66.19; 77.3; Isa 38.14
  3. 55.3 : 2 Sam 16.7, 8; Ps 17.9; 71.11
  4. 55.4 : Ps 116.3
  5. 55.5 : Job 21.6; Ps 119.120
  6. 55.6 : Job 3.13
  7. 55.8 : Isa 4.6
  8. 55.9 : Jer 6.7
  9. 55.11 : Ps 5.9; 10.7
  10. 55.12 : Ps 41.9
  11. 55.13 : 2 Sam 15.12; Jer 9.4
  12. 55.14 : Ps 42.4
  13. 55.15 : Num 16.30, 33; Ps 64.7
  14. 55.16 : Ps 57.2, 3
  15. 55.17 : Ps 141.2; Dan 6.10
  16. 55.18 : 2 Chr 32.7, 8; Ps 103.4
  17. 55.19 : Deut 33.27; Ps 78.59
  18. 55.20 : Ps 7.4; 89.34
  19. 55.21 : Ps 59.7; Prov 5.3
  20. 55.22 : Ps 37.24; Mt 6.25
  21. 55.23 : Job 15.32; Ps 5.6; 73.18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Proverbs 11:7

7 When the wicked die, hope perishes,
and the expectation of strength comes to nothing.(A)

Cross references:

  1. 11.7 : Prov 10.28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.