The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday January 31, 2025 (NIV)

Exodus 12:14-13:16

14 This day shall be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. Throughout your generations you must celebrate it as a permanent regulation. 15 For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you must be sure to remove all yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you are to have a holy convocation; also on the seventh day there is to be a holy convocation. You shall not do any work, except to prepare what everybody needs to eat. That is all you may do.

17 You shall observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your divisions out from the land of Egypt. You shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent regulation. 18 In the first month, you shall eat unleavened bread from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. 19 No yeast is to be found in your houses for seven days, for whoever eats something leavened must be cut off from the Israelite community, whether a foreigner or native-born of the land. 20 You shall not eat anything leavened. You shall eat unleavened bread in every place you live.

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take lambs for yourselves according to your family size, and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 You shall take a bundle of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and paint the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you are to go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.

24 “You shall observe these instructions as a perpetual regulation for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you just as he said he would, you shall observe this ceremony. 26 So when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 you will say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Passover to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. When he struck the Egyptians, he spared our houses.’”

The people bowed down and worshipped. 28 The Israelites went and did all this. They did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

The Exodus

29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, even all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 During the night Pharaoh got up—he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians—and there was a loud outcry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not someone dead. 31 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron that night and said, “Get up, get away from my people! Both you and the Israelites, go, serve the Lord, as you have said! 32 Take also your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go! But also bless me!”

33 The Egyptians urged the people to leave the land quickly, for the Egyptians said, “We are all going to die!” 34 The Israelites took their dough before it was leavened. They carried their kneading bowls, which were wrapped in their clothing, on their shoulders. 35 The Israelites did just as Moses had said, and they asked the Egyptians for articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that they let the Israelites have what they asked for. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.

37 The Israelites set out from Rameses to Sukkoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides their families. 38 A mixed group of non-Israelites also went up along with them, as well as a large amount of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 The Israelites baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, for it had not been leavened, because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay. They also had not prepared any provisions for themselves.

40 The amount of time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. 41 At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the very day, all of the Lord’s divisions went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night that the Lord kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is dedicated to the Lord. All the Israelites are to keep vigil throughout their generations.

Passover Restrictions

43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the regulation concerning the Passover: No foreigner may eat it. 44 But any slave whom you have purchased may eat it if you circumcise him. 45 A temporary resident or a hired servant may not eat it. 46 It must be eaten inside one house. You are not to carry any of the meat outside of the house. Do not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel shall do this. 48 If a resident alien among you wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, every male in his household must be circumcised. Then he may take part in it. He will be treated like a native-born of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. 49 The same law will apply to the native-born and to the alien who resides among you.” 50 So that is what all the Israelites did. They did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 That same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, lined up by their divisions.

Instructions for Remembering the Passover

13 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Set apart all the firstborn for me, the firstborn of every mother[a] among the Israelites, both people and animals. The firstborn belongs to me.”

Then Moses said this to the people:

Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, where you were slaves.[b] For by the strength of his hand the Lord brought you out from there. Nothing with leaven[c] may be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. So when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—the land he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to perform this ceremony during this month: Seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. Unleavened bread must be eaten throughout the seven days. No leavened bread is to be seen among you. No yeast is to be seen among you, anywhere in your entire territory. On that day you are to explain this to your son, “It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.” This will serve as a sign for you on your wrist and a reminder on your forehead[d] so that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 You must keep this regulation at its appointed time from year to year.

11 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites—just as he swore to you and to your fathers—and gives it to you, 12 then you must dedicate the firstborn of every mother to the Lord. Every firstborn of your livestock, the ones that are males, will belong to the Lord. 13 Every firstborn donkey you are to redeem with a lamb. But if you do not want to redeem it, then you are to break its neck. However, you must redeem all the firstborn among your sons.

14 In the future, when your son asks you, “What is this about?” you will say to him, “By the strength of his hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, where we were slaves. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord the firstborn of every mother, the males, but I redeem every firstborn of my sons.” 16 It will serve as a sign on your wrist and a symbol on your forehead. For by the strength of his hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.

Footnotes:

  1. Exodus 13:2 Literally the opener of every womb. Jewish tradition, however, focuses more on the firstborn sons of fathers. This verse seems to be a general statement of a principle, for which details are given later. It is not clear how the principle was to be applied to flocks.
  2. Exodus 13:3 Literally the house of slaves
  3. Exodus 13:3 Yeast is the most common kind of leaven, but the terms are not synonymous. Yeast is an organism. Leaven is any agent that causes bread to rise. Leaven in the Bible was frequently a clump of fermented dough that had been reserved.
  4. Exodus 13:9 Since the ceremony could not be literally worn on the wrist or forehead, this seems to mean that the ceremony would be a visual aid in the same way that objects worn on the wrist or forehead would be (Deuteronomy 6:8).
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Matthew 20:29-21:22

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be quiet. But they shouted even louder, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?”

33 They told him, “Lord, open our eyes.”

34 Jesus was moved with compassion and touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight, and they followed him.

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Immediately you will find a donkey tied there along with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.[a]

The disciples went and did just as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their outer clothing on them, and he sat on it. A very large crowd spread their outer clothing on the road. Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them out on the road. The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed kept shouting,

Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord![c]
Hosanna in the highest!

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, asking, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses His Father’s House

12 Jesus entered the temple courts[d] and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e] but you are making it a den of robbers!”[f]

14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the experts in the law saw the wonders he performed and heard the children calling out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant. 16 They said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?”

“Yes,” Jesus told them, “Have you never read,

From the lips of little children and nursing babies
you have prepared praise?”[g]
17 He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

The Withered Fig Tree

18 As he returned to the city early in the morning, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “May there never be fruit from you again!”

Immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

21 Jesus answered them, “Amen I tell you: If you have faith, and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it would be done. 22 Whatever you ask for in prayer, as you believe, you will receive.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 21:5 Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9
  2. Matthew 21:9 The Greek here simply transliterates the Hebrew Hosanna, which means save us now.
  3. Matthew 21:9 Psalm 118:25-26
  4. Matthew 21:12 Some witnesses to the text add of God.
  5. Matthew 21:13 Isaiah 56:7
  6. Matthew 21:13 Jeremiah 7:11
  7. Matthew 21:16 Psalm 8:2
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psalm 25:16-22

16 Turn toward me and be gracious to me,
because I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The distress of my heart increases.[a]
Bring me out of my anguish.
18 See my affliction and my trouble,
and take away all my sins.
19 See my enemies—
how they have increased,
and how violently they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me.
Do not let me be put to shame,
for I have taken refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because I wait for you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress!

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 25:17 Or, following an alternate reading of the Hebrew, relieve the distress of my heart
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 6:12-15

Dishonesty Leads to Disaster

12 A worthless, wicked scoundrel,
who goes around with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks with his eye, signals with his foot,
and gestures with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with a deceitful heart—
he always spreads conflict.
15 Therefore his disaster will come upon him suddenly.
All at once he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday January 30, 2025 (NIV)

Exodus 10:1-12:13

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart unyielding, and his officials’ hearts too, so that I may perform these signs of mine in their midst, and so that you may tell your children and your grandchildren how harshly I dealt with Egypt and about my signs which I did among them. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go so that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let my people go, watch out, because tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. They will cover the surface of the ground so that no one will be able to see the ground. The locusts will eat what little you have left after the hail. They will also eat every tree that you have growing in the field. Your houses, your officials’ houses, and every Egyptian’s house will be filled with them, something neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, from the day that they settled in this land up to this day.” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go so that they may serve the Lord, their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But who exactly would be going?”

Moses said, “We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters. We will go with our flocks and herds, for we are celebrating a festival to the Lord.”

10 But he said to them, “May the Lord be with you if I would ever let you and your families go! I see you are determined to do evil. 11 No! The men may go and serve the Lord, for that is what you have been asking for!” Then they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 So the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt so that locusts come up over the land and eat every plant in the land, everything left by the hail.”

13 Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow over the land all that day and all through the night. When morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over the entire land of Egypt and settled down in the entire territory of Egypt. There had never been such a large number of locusts before, and there would never be again. 15 They covered the surface of the ground so completely that the land was dark. They ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees—everything left after the hail. Nothing green was left on the trees or on the plants in the field throughout the entire land of Egypt.

16 Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now please forgive my sin once more, and plead to the Lord your God so that he may also remove this death from me.”

18 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 The Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind. That wind lifted up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not one locust remained in the entire territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart hard, and he did not let the Israelites go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness that can be felt.” 22 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else, and for three days none of them moved from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.

24 Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord. Even your families may also go with you. But you must leave your flocks and herds behind.”

25 But Moses said, “You must also let us take sacrifices with us and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock must also go with us. Not a hoof is to be left behind, for we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God. We will not know, however, what we will need to serve the Lord until we get there.”

27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die!”

29 Moses said, “Just as you have spoken: I will never see your face again.”

The Tenth Plague: The Death of the Firstborn

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will certainly drive you completely out of here. Now tell the people that both the men and the women are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” (The Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Even the man Moses was highly regarded in the land of Egypt in the sight of Pharaoh’s officials and the people.)

So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says. About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the hand mill, even all the firstborn of the livestock. There will be a loud outcry in the entire land of Egypt, unlike anything that happened before or anything that will take place again. But among all the Israelites, not a dog will bark[a] at a person or animal, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, went out from Pharaoh.

The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart hard, and he did not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Instructions for the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

12 The Lord told Moses and Aaron this in the land of Egypt: [b]

This month is to be the beginning of your calendar. It is to be the first month of the year for you. Tell the entire Israelite community that on the tenth day of this month, they are to take a lamb or a young goat[c] for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, one lamb per household. But if the household is too small for a whole lamb, then that person and his neighbor next door to him must select one, based on the number of people. Determine what size lamb is needed according to how much each person will eat.

Your lamb must be unblemished, a year-old male. You may take it from the sheep or the goats. You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month. Then the whole assembly of the Israelite community is to slaughter the lambs at sunset.[d] They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat the lamb. That night they shall eat the meat that has been roasted over a fire, along with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. Do not eat it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over a fire—with its head, its legs, and its internal organs. 10 You shall not leave any of it until the morning. Whatever remains until the morning, you shall burn in the fire. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt ready for travel,[e] your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.

12 For on that night I will pass through the land of Egypt. I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. There will be no plague among you to destroy you when I strike down the land of Egypt.

Footnotes:

  1. Exodus 11:7 Literally wag its tongue
  2. Exodus 12:1 Throughout the translation, long speeches, sets of instructions, and oracles are treated as single documents, not as sets of quotations. Such documents are not set off by quotation marks. Within these documents, regular rules for quotation marks apply.
  3. Exodus 12:3 One Hebrew word means both lamb and kid.
  4. Exodus 12:6 Literally between the evenings, very likely between sunset and darkness
  5. Exodus 12:11 Literally with your hips girded
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Matthew 20:1-28

The Workers in the Vineyard

20 “Indeed the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing to pay the workers a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. He also went out about the third hour[a] and saw others standing unemployed in the marketplace. To these he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same thing. When he went out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing unemployed. He said to them, ‘Why have you stood here all day unemployed?’

“They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“He told them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When it was evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group and ending with the first.’

“When those who were hired around the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10 When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But they each received a denarius too. 11 After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: 12 ‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not make an agreement with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last one hired the same as I also gave to you. 15 Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 In the same way, the last will be first, and the first, last.”

Again Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside; and on the way he said to them, 18 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law, and they will condemn him to death. 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, flog, and crucify him. On the third day he will be raised.”

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking something of him. 21 He said to her, “What do you want?”

She said to him, “Promise that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand.”

22 But Jesus answered, “You[b] do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

They said to him, “We are.”

23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not for me to give; rather these places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard this, they were angry with the two brothers.

25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It will not be that way among you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 20:3 9 am
  2. Matthew 20:22 Each you in this verse is plural.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psalm 25:1-15

Psalm 25

Teach Me Your Ways

Heading
By David.

A Prayer for Protection

To you, O Lord, I will lift up my soul.
In you I have trusted, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame.
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
All who hope in you will never be put to shame,
but those who are treacherous for no reason will be put to shame.

A Prayer for Forgiveness

Make known to me your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth and teach me,
because you are the God who saves me.
In you I hope all day long.
Remember, O Lord, your compassion and your mercy,
for they are from eternity.[a]
Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways.
According to your mercy remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord.
Therefore, he instructs sinners in the right way.
He directs the humble to what is just,
and he teaches the humble his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For the sake of your name, O Lord,
you forgive my guilt, although it is great.

A Prayer for a Godly Life

12 Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord?
The Lord will instruct him in the way he chooses.
13 That man will enjoy a good life,
and his descendants will possess the land.
14 The guidance[b] of the Lord is with those who fear him.
His covenant will give them knowledge.

A Second Prayer for Protection

15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
because he frees my feet from the net.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 25:6 Or from of old
  2. Psalm 25:14 The Hebrew word used here implies the kind of advice given by a close friend and confidant.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 6:6-11

Wisdom Warns Against Laziness

Go to the ant, you slacker![a]
Observe its ways and become wise.
Although it has no overseer, officer, or ruler,
it stores its food in summer.
It gathers its provisions at harvest time.
How long will you lie there, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of your hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come on you like a prowler,
and scarcity will come on you like a warrior.

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 6:6 Or you loafer or you lazybones
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday January 29, 2025 (NIV)

Exodus 8-9

The Second Plague: Frogs

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the Lord says: Let my people go so that they may serve me.[a] If you refuse to let them go, watch out. I will send a plague of frogs on your entire territory. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up and enter into your palace, into your bedroom, onto your bed, into your servants’ houses, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your servants.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, streams, and ponds, and bring frogs up onto the land of Egypt.’” So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “I give you the honor of setting the time when I should plead for you, your servants, and your people so that the Lord will rid you and your houses of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile.”

10 Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.”

Moses replied, “It will take place just as you have said, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your servants, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile.”

12 Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs, which he had brought upon Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did as Moses said: The frogs from the houses, courtyards, and fields died. 14 The people piled them up into heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he made his heart unyielding and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Lice

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: ‘Stretch out your staff, and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become lice[b] in the entire land of Egypt.’” 17 They did so. When Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the ground, there were lice on the people and animals. All the dust of the ground became lice in the entire land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried to produce lice by their occult practices, but they could not. So there were lice on the people and on the animals. 19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Swarms of Flies

20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh as he is going out to the water. Tell him this is what the Lord says: Let my people go so that they may serve me. 21 For if you will not let my people go, watch out. I will send swarms of flies[c] on you, your servants, and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies. They will even cover the ground. 22 But on that day, I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people are living. There will not be swarms of flies in Goshen. In this way, you will know that I am the Lord on the earth. 23 I will make a distinction[d] between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will take place.”

24 So that is what the Lord did. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt, the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.

25 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, offer sacrifices to your God in the land!”

26 But Moses said, “It is not right to do that, because the sacrifices which we will offer to the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable to the Egyptians right in front of them, won’t they stone us? 27 We will go on a three-day journey into the wilderness and offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as he tells us.”

28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but do not go very far away. Plead for me.”

29 Moses said, “All right. As soon as I leave you, I will plead to the Lord so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Only do not let Pharaoh act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

30 Moses went out from Pharaoh and pleaded to the Lord. 31 The Lord did as Moses said, and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Not a fly remained. 32 Pharaoh made his heart unyielding[e] this time also, and he did not let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Death of Livestock

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go so that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them back, watch out, because the hand of the Lord will bring a very severe disease on your livestock which is in the field. It will be on the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of the Egyptians so that not one of the Israelites’ livestock will die.’” The Lord appointed a set time by saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” So the next day, that is what the Lord did, and all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but none of the livestock of the Israelites died. Pharaoh checked and found out that not even one of the livestock of the Israelites had died. But Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and have Moses toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals in the entire land of Egypt.”

10 So they took soot from a kiln and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it toward the sky, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand in front of Moses because of the boils, since the boils were on the magicians and all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning. Present yourself to Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go so that they may serve me. 14 For at this time I will send all my plagues against you yourself, your servants, and your people, so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague so that you would have been wiped off the earth. 16 However, for this very reason, I caused you to stand:[f] so that I could show you my power, and that my name would be made known over the entire earth. 17 You still are acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go. 18 Watch out. At this time tomorrow I will rain down a very severe hailstorm, unlike any other in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now give orders to bring your livestock and everything of yours that is in the open field into shelters. Every person and animal out in the open that is not brought inside will die when the hail falls down on them.”

20 Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock take refuge inside. 21 But those who did not take the word of the Lord to heart left their servants and livestock in the field.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, and let there be hail in the entire land of Egypt: on the people, on the animals, and on every plant in the field throughout the land of Egypt.”

23 Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning also flashed down to the ground. The Lord rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was very severe. Nothing like it had happened in the entire land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 Throughout the entire land, the hail struck everything that was in the field, both people and animals. The hail also struck every plant in the field and shattered every tree in the field. 26 But in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail.

27 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. He said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is the one who is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead to the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you do not have to stay here any longer.”

29 Moses said to him, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will stop, and there will no longer be any hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. 30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the Lord God.”

31 (The flax and the barley were destroyed, because the barley was ripe and the flax was in bloom. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

33 Moses went out from Pharaoh and from the city. He spread out his hands to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the ground. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials made their hearts unyielding.[g] 35 Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

Footnotes:

  1. Exodus 8:1 In chapter 8, English verses 1-4 equal Hebrew verses 7:26-29. English verses 5-32 equal Hebrew verses 1-28.
  2. Exodus 8:16 The identity of the insects is uncertain. Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and gnats are among the suggestions. The requirement is that it be an insect that is on people and animals. Lice is retained as the traditional translation.
  3. Exodus 8:21 The Hebrew simply says swarms. The type of insect is not specified.
  4. Exodus 8:23 The translation follows the Greek and Latin versions. The Hebrew reads I will put a redemption, which does not fit the context.
  5. Exodus 8:32 Literally heavy
  6. Exodus 9:16 The literal rendering of the Hebrew, caused you to stand, may mean “raised you to power” or “let you remain for so long.” Verse 15 suggests the latter.
  7. Exodus 9:34 Or unresponsive or calloused
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Matthew 19:13-30

Jesus Loves Little Children

13 Then some people brought little children to Jesus to have him place his hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 Then Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”[a] 15 After he placed his hands on them, he left that place.

The Rich Young Ruler

16 There was a man who came to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing should I do that I may have eternal life?”

17 Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only one is good. But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” the man asked him.

Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. 19 Honor your father and mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”[b]

20 The young man said to him, “I have kept all these. What am I still lacking?”

21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had many possessions. 23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen I tell you: It will be very hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Then Peter answered, “Look, we have left everything and followed you! What then will we have?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Amen I tell you: In the renewal, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 Everyone who has left homes or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, because of my name, will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 19:14 Or because of such is the kingdom of heaven
  2. Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20; Leviticus 19:18
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Psalm 24

Psalm 24

The King of Glory

Heading
By David. A psalm.

The King of Glory Owns the Whole World

The earth is the Lord’s
and everything that fills it,
the world and all who live in it,
because he founded it on the seas,
and he established it on the rivers.[a]

The King of Glory Is Served by a Holy People

Who may go up to the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
whose soul is not set on what is false,
who does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God who saves him.
Such are the people of Jacob who look for the Lord,
who seek your face.[b] Interlude

The King of Glory Comes

Lift up your heads, you gates.
Lift yourselves up, you ancient doors,
and the King of Glory will come in.
Who is this King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates.
Lift up, you ancient doors,
and the King of Glory will come in.
10 Who is he, this King of Glory?
The Lord of Armies—he is the King of Glory. Interlude[c]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 24:2 Or ocean currents
  2. Psalm 24:6 Literally this is the generation (or circle) of those who seek him, who seek your face Jacob. The syntax of the verse is difficult. It appears that in the Hebrew Jacob should be understood as an apposition to those who seek him. The Greek reads the generation of those who look for him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
  3. Psalm 24:10 The Hebrew selah seems to indicate a musical interlude for reflection.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Proverbs 6:1-5

Eighth Address to a Son:
Wisdom Avoids Entanglements

My son, if you have guaranteed your neighbor’s debts,
if you have shaken hands for a stranger,
you are trapped by the promises from your mouth;
you are captured by the promises from your mouth.
Because you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands,
go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
Do not allow your eyes to sleep,
or your eyelids to slumber.
Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter,
or like a bird from the hand of a trapper.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday January 28, 2025 (NIV)

Exodus 5:22-7:25

22 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why did you send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. Because of a mighty hand[a] he will send them away, and because of a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.”

God Promises Deliverance

Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name, the Lord, I was not known to them.[b] I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they were residing as aliens. I certainly have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have remembered my covenant.

“Therefore, tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians. I will deliver you from being their slaves. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

Moses spoke these words to the Israelites, but they did not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and because of the hard labor. 10 The Lord spoke to Moses: 11 “Go, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the Israelites go from his land.”

12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “Look, the Israelites have not listened to me. Why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am a poor speaker?”[c]

The Family Record of Moses and Aaron

13 The Lord again spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He commanded them to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

14 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses:[d]

The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and
Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the founders of the clans
of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar,
and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the
founders of the clans of Simeon.
16 These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their family records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.
17 The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei. They were founders of clans.
18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

These were the clans of the Levites according to their family records.

20 Amram[e] married Jochebed, his father’s sister, and she gave birth
to Aaron and Moses for him. Amram lived 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the
sister of Nahshon, and she gave birth to Nadab and Abihu,
Eleazar and Ithamar for him.
24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These
were the founders of the clans of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar, the son of Aaron, married one of the daughters of Putiel,
and she gave birth to Phinehas for him.

These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites that had become clans.

26 These were the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the Israelites from the land of Egypt according to their divisions.”[f] 27 These were the same ones who spoke to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, in order to bring the Israelites out from Egypt. These were that same Moses and Aaron.

28 On the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything that I tell you.”

30 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “You see, I am a poor speaker. Why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Moses and Aaron Appear Before Pharaoh

The Lord said to Moses, “Look, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. You are to speak everything that I command you, and Aaron your brother is to speak to Pharaoh, so that he will let the Israelites go out from his land. But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn.[g] I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my divisions, my people the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand over Egypt, and I bring out the Israelites from their midst.”

This is what Moses and Aaron did. Just as the Lord commanded them, that is exactly what they did. Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

The Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Give us a warning sign,’ then you are to tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’”

10 Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 But then Pharaoh also called for his wise men and sorcerers. Those magicians[h] of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. 12 They each threw down their staffs, and those staffs became snakes. However, Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 But Pharaoh’s heart was hard,[i] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding.[j] He refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When he goes out by the water, stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him. Take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake.

16 “You are to tell him: ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you. He says, “Let my people go so that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But look, until now you have not listened. 17 So this is what the Lord says: “In this way, you will know that I am the Lord.” Look! With the staff that is in my hand, I will strike the water in the Nile, and it will be turned to blood. 18 The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the Nile.’”

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its streams, its ponds, and all the reservoirs—and they will become blood. There will be blood in the entire land of Egypt, even in containers made of wood and stone.’”

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile. All the water in the Nile was turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile. There was blood in the entire land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had told them. 23 Pharaoh turned and went to his palace. He did not take to heart even this. 24 All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they were not able to drink the water from the Nile. 25 Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

Footnotes:

  1. Exodus 6:1 Or with a strong hand. The question is whether Pharaoh is forcing them to go, or the Lord is forcing him to let them go.
  2. Exodus 6:3 The name Lord does appear in Genesis, so perhaps this means that the full impact and meaning of the name were not experienced by the patriarchs as they were during the events of Exodus. Others solve the problem by reading this as an unmarked question: Did I not make myself known to them?
  3. Exodus 6:12 Literally I am uncircumcised of lips. Also in verse 30.
  4. Exodus 6:14 In each successive generation, the tribal and clan elders were called the fathers of the clan.
  5. Exodus 6:20 From Levi to the birth of Moses is over three hundred years. Only three men are named to cover this period: Levi, Kohath, and Amram. If the Amram in verse 18 is the same man as the Amram in verse 20, it is likely that he is a descendant of Kohath rather than his son. Another possibility is that there are two Amrams: one the founder of the clan, the other the father of Moses.
  6. Exodus 6:26 Or military units
  7. Exodus 7:3 Literally stiff or resistant
  8. Exodus 7:11 Or sacred scribes or occult practitioners
  9. Exodus 7:13 Literally strong
  10. Exodus 7:14 Literally heavy
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Matthew 18:21-19:12

The Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came up and asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you as many as seventy-seven times.[a] 23 For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle them, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[b] was brought to him. 25 Because the man was not able to pay the debt, his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, children, and all that he owned to repay the debt.

26 “Then the servant fell down on his knees in front of him, saying, ‘Master, be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ 27 The master of that servant had pity on him, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii.[c] He grabbed him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

29 “So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ 30 But he refused. Instead he went off and threw the man into prison until he could pay back what he owed.

31 “When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very distressed. They went and reported to their master everything that had taken place.

32 “Then his master called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt when you begged me to. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 His master was angry and handed him over to the jailers until he could pay back everything he owed.

35 “This is what my heavenly Father will also do to you unless each one of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

Marriage and Divorce

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

He answered, “Haven’t you read that from the beginning their Maker ‘made them male and female,’[d] and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will be one flesh’?[e] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.”

They asked him, “Then why did Moses command a man to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

Jesus said to them, “Because of your hard hearts, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but it was not that way from the beginning. I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the grounds of her sexual immorality, and marries another woman is committing adultery.”[f]

10 His disciples said to him, “If this is the relationship of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For example, there are eunuchs who were born that way, and others who were castrated by people, and others who decided to remain unmarried because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 18:22 Or seventy times seven
  2. Matthew 18:24 Ten thousand talents was an enormous amount equal to sixty million days’ wages. Each talent was worth six thousand denarii. A denarius was one day’s wage.
  3. Matthew 18:28 This was one hundred days’ wages, since one denarius was equal to one day’s wage.
  4. Matthew 19:4 Genesis 1:27
  5. Matthew 19:5 Genesis 2:24
  6. Matthew 19:9 Some witnesses to the text add And the one who marries the divorced woman also commits adultery.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Psalm 23

Psalm 23

The King of Love My Shepherd Is

Heading
A psalm by David.

The Shepherd Provides for His People

The Lord is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
He causes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

The Shepherd Protects His People

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

The Royal Host Provides for His People

You set a table for me in the presence of my foes.
You drench my head with oil.[a]
My cup is overflowing.
Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.[b]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 23:5 Scenting someone with perfumed olive oil was a part of celebrations. The verb used here is not the verb used for anointing someone to an office.
  2. Psalm 23:6 Literally for length of days or for days without end
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Proverbs 5:22-23

22 The evil deeds of the wicked man will capture him,
and he will be bound by the ropes of his sin.
23 He will die for lack of discipline,
and he will go astray because of his great stupidity.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday January 27, 2025 (NIV)

Exodus 4:1-5:21

Moses Is Given Miraculous Signs

But Moses responded, “What if they do not believe me and do not listen to my voice, but instead they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”

So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

He said, “A staff.”

He said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, so he ran away from it.

The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and take it by the tail.”

He stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand.

The Lord said, “This sign is being given to you so that the Israelites will believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

The Lord also said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous,[a] as white as snow.

Then the Lord said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak again, and when he took it out of his cloak, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.

The Lord said, “If they do not believe you or do not respond to the first sign, they might believe because of the second sign. If they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you are to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.”

10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, either in the past or more recently or even since you started speaking to your servant, for my mouth and tongue are slow and clumsy.”[b]

11 So the Lord said to him, “Who made a mouth for people? Or who makes someone mute or deaf, able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go, and I will be with your mouth, and I will teach you what you will speak.”

13 But he said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and the Lord said, “What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Look, he is already coming out to meet you. He will be very glad to see you. 15 You will speak to him and put the words into his mouth. I will be with your mouth and with his, and I will teach you what you are to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you so that it will be as if he were your mouth, and you were God to him. 17 You will also take this staff in your hand, the one with which you will perform the signs.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go and return to my own people, who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.”

Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for everyone who wanted to kill you is dead.”

20 So Moses took his wife and his sons, placed them on a donkey, and set out to return to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure that you perform in the presence of Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put into your hand. However, I will make his heart hard,[c] and he will not let the people go. 22 You will then say to Pharaoh, ‘The Lord says: Israel is my son, my firstborn, 23 and I have said to you, “Let my son go to serve me,” but you have refused to let him go. Watch out. I will kill your son, your firstborn.’”

24 At a lodging place along the way, the Lord confronted him and sought to kill him.[d] 25 Then Zipporah took a flint blade, cut off her son’s foreskin, and cast it at his feet. Then she said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.”

26 So the Lord left him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

Reunion of Moses and Aaron

27 The Lord had said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.”

So he went, met Moses at the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron all the words that the Lord had sent him to speak and all the signs he had commanded him to perform. 29 Moses and Aaron then went and gathered together every elder of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses and performed the signs in the sight of the people. 31 The people believed. When they heard that the Lord had paid attention to the Israelites and that he had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped.

Bricks Without Straw

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Let my people go so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.”

Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should listen to his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I certainly will not let Israel go.”

They said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to the Lord, our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or sword.”

But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get back to your forced labor!” Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from doing their forced labor.”

That same day Pharaoh commanded the people’s taskmasters and overseers, “Do not give the people straw for making bricks anymore. Let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as they made before. Do not reduce it. You see, they are lazy. That is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they do their work and do not pay attention to lying words.”

10 So the people’s taskmasters and overseers went out and told the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it. But there will be no reduction at all in your work load.’” 12 So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters kept insisting, “Fulfill your daily quota just as you did when straw was provided!” 14 The overseers, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had placed over the Israelites, were beaten. The taskmasters demanded, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota yesterday and today, as you did previously?”

15 Then the Israelite overseers came and cried out to Pharaoh, “Why are you doing this to your servants? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they tell us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

17 But he said, “Lazy! You are lazy! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now go! Get to work! Straw will not be provided to you, but you will deliver the same quota of bricks!”

19 The Israelite overseers realized that they were in trouble when Pharaoh said, “You must not reduce anything from your daily number of bricks!”

20 When they left Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them. 21 They said to Moses and Aaron, “May the Lord look at you and judge you, because you have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword into their hand to kill us.”

Footnotes:

  1. Exodus 4:6 The Hebrew word for leprous was used for various skin diseases.
  2. Exodus 4:10 Literally I am heavy of mouth and tongue
  3. Exodus 4:21 Exodus uses three words for hardening or hardness of heart. The most common one chazaq is translated harden. The other two, kabad and qashah, are translated unyielding and stubborn. The verbs seem interchangeable.
  4. Exodus 4:24 Interpreters disagree whether it was Moses or one of his sons that God was about to kill. The whole account is cryptic.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Matthew 18:1-20

Who Is the Greatest?

18 At that time the disciples approached Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus called a little child, had him stand in the middle of them, and said, “Amen I tell you: Unless you are turned and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives a little child like this one in my name receives me.

“But, if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of temptations to sin. Temptations must come, but woe to that person through whom the temptation comes!

“If your hand or your foot causes you to sin,[b] cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands or two feet. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to be thrown into hell fire with two eyes. 10 See to it that you do not look down on one of these little ones, because I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man came to save what was lost.[c]

The Lost Sheep

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go looking for the one that wandered away? 13 If he finds it—Amen I tell you—he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish.

Show Your Brother His Sin

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his sin just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every matter[d] may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[e] 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And, if he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as an unbeliever or a tax collector. 18 Amen I tell you: Whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 Amen I tell you again: If two of you on earth agree to ask for anything, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. 20 In fact where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am among them.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 18:6 Or stumble. The Greek skandalizo could mean to stumble into sin or fall from faith.
  2. Matthew 18:8 Or stumble. The Greek skandalizo could mean to stumble into sin or fall from faith.
  3. Matthew 18:11 Some witnesses to the text omit verse 11. See Luke 19:10.
  4. Matthew 18:16 Or word, fact, charge, or statement
  5. Matthew 18:16 Deuteronomy 19:15
  6. Matthew 18:18 Or will have been
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Psalm 22:19-31

The Greater Power of God

19 But you, O Lord, do not be distant.
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my only life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion.
From the horns of the wild oxen you have answered me.[a]

Part Two: The Messiah’s Glory
The Messiah’s Vow

22 I will declare your name to my brothers.
In the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised nor detested the affliction of the afflicted.
He has not hidden his face from him,
but when he cried out to him, he heard.
25 You are the source of my praise in the great congregation.[b]
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear him.

The Glory of Messiah’s Kingdom

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek him will praise the Lord
may he live in your hearts forever![c]
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before you.
28 For the kingdom belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will eat and bow down.
All who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.[d]
30 Descendants will serve him.
For generations people will be told about the Lord.
31 They will come and proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet to be born—
because he has done it.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 22:21 Or answer me
  2. Psalm 22:25 This verse may mean that the Son praises the Father in the great congregation (as in verse 22) or that the Father praises the Son in the great congregation. The first option seems to fit the context best.
  3. Psalm 22:26 Or may your hearts live forever
  4. Psalm 22:29 The ancient versions read my soul will live for him rather than my soul will not live.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Proverbs 5:15-21

Encouragement to Faithfulness in Marriage

15 Drink water from your own cistern.
Drink running water from your own well.
16 Why should the water from your springs flow out into the street,
your streams of water into the public squares?
17 They should be yours, yours alone.
They are not for strangers to share with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed.
Obtain your joy from the wife you married in your youth,
19 who is a loving doe and a graceful deer.
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times.
Always be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why should you be led astray, my son, by an immoral woman?
Why embrace a woman who is not your wife?
21 For the ways of a man are in front of the eyes of the Lord,
and he weighs all of his paths.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday January 26, 2025 (NIV)

Exodus 2:11-3:22

Moses Flees to Midian

11 After some time, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 After he looked this way and that, and he saw that no one was there, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

13 The next day when he went out, he came upon two Hebrew men who were fighting. He said to the one in the wrong, “Why were you striking your fellow Hebrew?”

14 The man said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian?”

Moses was afraid and thought, “What I have done has definitely become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he sought to kill Moses. Moses, however, fled from Pharaoh’s presence and went to live in the land of Midian. There he sat down by a well.

16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and started drawing water. They filled the troughs to water their father’s flock, 17 but some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses, however, stood up and helped them. He then watered their flock. 18 When the daughters came to Reuel, their father, he said, “Why have you returned so early today?”

19 They said, “An Egyptian man rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

20 Reuel said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why have you left the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.”

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man. The man gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as a wife. 22 She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become an alien[a] living in a foreign land.”

God Hears Israel’s Groaning

23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their slavery. They cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 So God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel, and God watched over them.

Moses and the Burning Bush

Now Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, a priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but the bush was not burning up. So he said, “I will go over and look at this amazing sight—to find out why the bush is not burning up.”

When the Lord saw that Moses had gone over to take a look, God called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!”

Moses said, “I am here.”

The Lord said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” He then said, “I am the God of your fathers,[b] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

The Lord said, “I have certainly seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry for help because of their slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now indeed, the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me. Yes, I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 So he said, “I will certainly be with you. This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.”

13 But Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I say to them?”

14 So God replied to Moses, “I am who I am.”[c] He also said, “You will say this to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.”

15 God also told Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’

16 “Go, gather the elders of Israel together and tell them: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have certainly been paying attention to you and to what they have done to you in Egypt. 17 So I have said that I will bring you up from the misery in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’

18 “They will listen to your voice. Then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord, our God.’

19 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced to do so by a powerful hand. 20 So I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in their midst. Afterward he will let you go.

21 “I will give this people favor with the Egyptians so that when you go, you will not go out empty-handed. 22 Each woman is to ask her neighbor, as well as any woman staying in her house, for articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. You are to put them on your sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Footnotes:

  1. Exodus 2:22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for an alien there.
  2. Exodus 3:6 The Samaritan Pentateuch and Acts 7:32 read fathers. The main Hebrew text has the singular.
  3. Exodus 3:14 This translation follows the Jewish and Christian tradition of not reading God’s Old Testament name Yahweh but pronouncing it as Lord and writing it as Lord (Adonai). This name, known as the Tetragrammaton (the four letter name), means “he is.” It was probably originally pronounced Yahweh, but in poetry it sometimes occurs as the short form Yah. When the Lord speaks of himself, he can call himself I am.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Matthew 17:10-27

10 His disciples asked him, “Then why do the experts in the law say that Elijah must come first?”

11 Jesus answered them, “Yes, Elijah is coming and will restore all things,[a] 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him. Instead they did to him whatever they desired. In the same way the Son of Man will also suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy With a Demon

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt in front of him. 15 “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son because he has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to cure him.”

17 Jesus answered, “O unbelieving and perverse generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of the boy, and he was cured from that hour.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why were we unable to drive it out?”

20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith.[b] Amen I tell you: If you have faith like a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”[c]

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection Again

22 While they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, but on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

A Coin in a Fish’s Mouth

24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax[d] came to Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.”

When he came into the house, Jesus spoke first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tolls or a tax? From their own sons or from others?”

26 Peter said to him, “From others.”

Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 But, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish that you pull up. When you open its mouth, you will find a silver coin.[e] Take that coin and give it to them for me and for you.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 17:11 Malachi 4:5-6
  2. Matthew 17:20 Some witnesses to the text read your unbelief.
  3. Matthew 17:21 A few witnesses to the text omit verse 21.
  4. Matthew 17:24 The two-drachma tax
  5. Matthew 17:27 A stater coin, worth four drachmas
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Psalm 22:1-18

Psalm 22

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Heading

For the choir director. According to “Doe of the Dawn.”[a]
A psalm by David.

Part One: The Messiah’s Suffering
The Messiah’s Plea

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
My groaning does nothing to save me.
My God, I call out by day, but you do not answer.
I call out by night, but there is no relief for me.[b]

God’s Help in the Past

Yet you are seated as the Holy One, praised by Israel.
In you our fathers trusted.
They trusted and you delivered them.
They cried out to you, and they were rescued.
They trusted in you, and they were not disappointed.

God’s Present Absence

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me. They sneer.
They shake their heads.
They say, “Trust in the Lord.”[c]
“Let the Lord deliver him.
Let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”[d]

The Mutual Love of Father and Son

But you are the one who brought me out of the belly.
You made me trust when I was at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast on you from the womb.
From the belly of my mother you have been my God.
11 Do not be distant from me, for distress is near,
and there is no one to help.

The Power of His Enemies

12 Many bulls surround me.
Strong bulls from Bashan encircle me.
13 Enemies open their mouths wide against me,
like a lion that tears its prey and roars.
14 Like water I am poured out.
All my bones are pulled apart.
My heart has become like wax.
It has melted in the middle of my chest.
15 My strength is dried up like broken pottery,
and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me.
A band of evil men has encircled me.
They have pierced[e] my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them.
For my clothing they cast lots.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 22:1 This may be the name of the tune. An alternate reading is help at dawn.
  2. Psalm 22:2 Or I am never silent
  3. Psalm 22:8 Literally roll [your troubles] to the Lord
  4. Psalm 22:8 The first part of the quotation is addressed to the suffering Messiah. The second part is addressed to their fellow mockers, so they are marked as two separate quotations.
  5. Psalm 22:16 The reading they have pierced is found in some Hebrew manuscripts, including one of the oldest, as well as in other ancient versions. Most Hebrew manuscripts read like a lion instead of a verb.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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Proverbs 5:7-14

Now, you sons, listen to me.
Do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Keep your way far from her.
Do not go near the doorway of her house.
If you do, you will give your wealth to others
and your years to a cruel person.
10 If you do, your work will satisfy strangers,
and the results of your labor will end up in another man’s house.
11 You will groan when your end comes,
when your body and flesh are consumed.
12 Then you will say, “Oh, how I hated discipline,
and my heart despised warnings!
13 I did not listen to my teachers’ voices,
and I did not open my ears to hear my instructors.
14 I soon[a] reached total ruin
in the midst of the assembly of the community.”

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 5:14 Or almost
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday January 25, 2025 (NIV)

Genesis 50:1 - Exodus 2:10

The Burials of Jacob and Joseph

50 Then Joseph hugged his father’s face.[a] He wept over him and kissed him. Joseph instructed the physicians in his service[b] to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel. They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming.[c] The Egyptians mourned for[d] him seventy days.[e]

When the days of mourning[f] had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court,[g] “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh,[h] ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said,[i] “I am about to die. Bury me[j] in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’” So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.”[k]

So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him—the senior courtiers[l] of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage.[m]

10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad[n] on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow.[o] There Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion[p] for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called[q] Abel Mizraim,[r] which is beyond the Jordan.

12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them. 13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay[s] us in full[t] for all the harm[u] we did to him?” 16 So they sent word[v] to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died: 17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.[w] 18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.” 19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am[x] I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant to harm me,[y] but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.[z] 21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly to them.[aa]

22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family.[ab] Joseph lived 110 years. 23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation.[ac] He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph.[ad]

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you[ae] and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give[af] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. After[ag] they embalmed him, his body[ah] was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Blessing during Bondage in Egypt

[ai] These[aj] are the names[ak] of the sons of Israel[al] who entered Egypt—each man with his household[am] entered with Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the people[an] who were directly descended[ao] from Jacob numbered seventy.[ap] But Joseph was already in Egypt,[aq] and in time[ar] Joseph[as] and his brothers and all that generation died. The Israelites,[at] however,[au] were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong,[av] so that the land was filled with them.

Then a new king,[aw] who did not know about[ax] Joseph, came to power[ay] over Egypt. He said[az] to his people, “Look at[ba] the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are! 10 Come, let’s deal wisely[bb] with them. Otherwise[bc] they will continue to multiply,[bd] and if[be] a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with[bf] our enemies and fight against us and leave[bg] the country.”

11 So they put foremen[bh] over the Israelites[bi] to oppress[bj] them with hard labor. As a result[bk] they built Pithom and Rameses[bl] as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more the Egyptians[bm] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread.[bn] As a result the Egyptians loathed[bo] the Israelites, 13 and they[bp] made the Israelites serve rigorously.[bq] 14 They made their lives bitter[br] by[bs] hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service[bt] in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.[bu]

15 The king of Egypt said[bv] to the Hebrew midwives,[bw] one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,[bx] 16 [by] “When you assist[bz] the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery:[ca] If it is a son, kill him,[cb] but if it is a daughter, she may live.”[cc] 17 But[cd] the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.[ce]

18 Then the king of Egypt summoned[cf] the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”[cg] 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew[ch] women are not like the Egyptian women—for the Hebrew women[ci] are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!”[cj] 20 So God treated the midwives well,[ck] and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he made[cl] households[cm] for them.

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sons[cn] that are born you must throw[co] into the river, but all daughters you may let live.”[cp]

The Birth of the Deliverer

[cq] A man from the household[cr] of Levi married[cs] a woman who was a descendant of Levi.[ct] The woman became pregnant[cu] and gave birth to a son. When[cv] she saw that[cw] he was a healthy[cx] child, she hid him for three months. But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus basket[cy] for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile.[cz] His sister stationed herself[da] at a distance to find out[db] what would[dc] happen to him.

Then the daughter of Pharaoh[dd] came down to wash herself[de] by the Nile, while her attendants were walking alongside the river,[df] and she saw the basket among the reeds. She sent one of her attendants,[dg] took it,[dh] opened it,[di] and saw the child[dj]—a boy,[dk] crying![dl]—and she felt compassion[dm] for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get[dn] a nursing woman[do] for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nurse[dp] the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes, do so.”[dq] So the young girl[dr] went and got[ds] the child’s mother.[dt] Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child[du] and nurse him for me, and I will pay your[dv] wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

10 When the child grew older[dw] she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.[dx] She named him Moses, saying, “Because I drew him from the water.”[dy]

Footnotes:

  1. Genesis 50:1 tn Heb “fell on.” The expression describes Joseph’s unrestrained sorrow over Jacob’s death; he probably threw himself across the body and embraced his father.
  2. Genesis 50:2 tn Heb “his servants the physicians.”
  3. Genesis 50:3 tn Heb “and forty days were fulfilled for him, for thus are fulfilled the days of embalming.”
  4. Genesis 50:3 tn Heb “wept for.”
  5. Genesis 50:3 sn Seventy days. This probably refers to a time of national mourning.
  6. Genesis 50:4 tn Heb “weeping.”
  7. Genesis 50:4 tn Heb “the house of Pharaoh.”
  8. Genesis 50:4 tn Heb “in the ears of Pharaoh.”
  9. Genesis 50:5 tn Heb “saying.”
  10. Genesis 50:5 tn The imperfect verbal form here has the force of a command.
  11. Genesis 50:6 tn Heb “he made you swear on oath.”
  12. Genesis 50:7 tn Or “dignitaries”; Heb “elders.”
  13. Genesis 50:9 tn Heb “camp.”
  14. Genesis 50:10 sn The location of the threshing floor of Atad is not certain. The expression the other side of the Jordan could refer to the eastern or western bank, depending on one’s perspective. However, it is commonly used in the OT for Transjordan. This would suggest that the entourage came up the Jordan Valley and crossed into the land at Jericho, just as the Israelites would in the time of Joshua.
  15. Genesis 50:10 tn Heb “and they mourned there [with] very great and heavy mourning.” The cognate accusative, as well as the two adjectives and the adverb, emphasize the degree of their sorrow.
  16. Genesis 50:11 tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”
  17. Genesis 50:11 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.
  18. Genesis 50:11 sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”
  19. Genesis 50:15 tn The imperfect tense could be a simple future; it could also have a desiderative nuance.
  20. Genesis 50:15 tn The infinitive absolute makes the statement emphatic, “repay in full.”
  21. Genesis 50:15 tn Or “evil.”
  22. Genesis 50:16 tn The verb means “command,” but they would hardly be commanding him. It probably means they sent their father’s instructions to Joseph.
  23. Genesis 50:17 tn Heb “and Joseph wept when they spoke to him.”
  24. Genesis 50:19 tn Heb “For am I.”
  25. Genesis 50:20 tn Heb “you devised against me evil.”
  26. Genesis 50:20 tn Heb “God devised it for good in order to do, like this day, to preserve alive a great nation.”
  27. Genesis 50:21 tn Heb “spoke to their heart.”
  28. Genesis 50:22 tn Heb “he and the house of his father.”
  29. Genesis 50:23 tn Heb “saw Ephraim, the children of the third.”
  30. Genesis 50:23 tn Heb “generation. Also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on the knees of Joseph.” The expression "born on the knees" implies their adoption by Joseph, which meant that they received an inheritance from him.
  31. Genesis 50:24 tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”
  32. Genesis 50:24 tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  33. Genesis 50:26 tn Heb “son of a hundred and ten years.”
  34. Genesis 50:26 tn Heb “he.”
  35. Exodus 1:1 sn Chapter 1 introduces the theme of bondage in Egypt and shows the intensifying opposition to the fulfillment of promises given earlier to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The first seven verses announce the theme of Israel’s prosperity in Egypt. The second section (vv. 8-14) reports continued prosperity in the face of deliberate opposition. The third section (vv. 15-21) explains the prosperity as divine favor in spite of Pharaoh’s covert attempts at controlling the population. The final verse records a culmination in the developing tyranny and provides a transition to the next section—Pharaoh commands the open murder of the males. The power of God is revealed in the chapter as the people flourish under the forces of evil. However, by the turn of affairs at the end of the chapter, the reader is left with a question about the power of God—“What can God do?” This is good Hebrew narrative, moving the reader through tension after tension to reveal the sovereign power and majesty of the Lord God, but calling for faith every step of the way. See also D. W. Wicke, “The Literary Structure of Exodus 1:2-2:10, ” JSOT 24 (1982): 99-107.
  36. Exodus 1:1 tn Heb “now these” or “and these.” The vav (ו) disjunctive marks a new beginning in the narrative begun in Genesis.
  37. Exodus 1:1 sn The name of the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible is שְׁמוֹת (shemot), the word for “Names,” drawn from the beginning of the book. The inclusion of the names at this point forms a literary connection to the book of Genesis. It indicates that the Israelites living in bondage had retained a knowledge of their ancestry, and with it, a knowledge of God’s promise.
  38. Exodus 1:1 tn The expression בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (bene yisraʾel, “sons of Israel”) in most places refers to the nation as a whole and can be translated “Israelites,” although traditionally it has been rendered “the children of Israel” or “the sons of Israel.” Here it refers primarily to the individual sons of the patriarch Israel, for they are named. But the expression is probably also intended to indicate that they are the Israelites (cf. Gen 29:1, “eastern people,” or “easterners,” lit., “sons of the east”).
  39. Exodus 1:1 tn Heb “a man and his house.” Since this serves to explain “the sons of Israel,” it has the distributive sense. So while the “sons of Israel” refers to the actual sons of the patriarch, the expression includes their families (cf. NIV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
  40. Exodus 1:5 tn The word נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul.” But the word refers to the whole person, the body with the soul, and so “life” or “person” is frequently a better translation.
  41. Exodus 1:5 tn The expression in apposition to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) literally says “those who went out from the loins of Jacob.” This distinguishes the entire company as his direct descendants.
  42. Exodus 1:5 sn Gen 46 describes in more detail Jacob’s coming to Egypt with his family. The Greek text of Exod 1:5 and of Gen 46:27 and two Qumran manuscripts, have the number as seventy-five, counting the people a little differently. E. H. Merrill in conjunction with F. Delitzsch notes that the list in Gen 46 of those who entered Egypt includes Hezron and Hamul, who did so in potentia, since they were born after the family entered Egypt. Joseph’s sons are also included, though they too were born in Egypt. “The list must not be pressed too literally” (E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 49).
  43. Exodus 1:5 tn Heb “and Joseph was in Egypt” (so ASV). The disjunctive word order in Hebrew draws attention to the fact that Joseph, in contrast to his brothers, did not come to Egypt at the same time as Jacob.
  44. Exodus 1:6 tn The text simply uses the vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite, “and Joseph died.” While this construction shows sequence with the preceding verse, it does not require that the death follow directly the report of that verse. In fact, readers know from the record in Genesis that the death of Joseph occurred after a good number of years. The statement assumes the passage of time in the natural course of events.
  45. Exodus 1:6 tn The verse has a singular verb, “and Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.” Typical of Hebrew style the verb need only agree with the first of a compound subject. sn Since the deaths of “Joseph and his brothers and all that generation” were common knowledge, their mention must serve some rhetorical purpose. In contrast to the flourishing of Israel, there is death. This theme will appear again: In spite of death in Egypt, the nation flourishes.
  46. Exodus 1:7 tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
  47. Exodus 1:7 tn The disjunctive vav marks a contrast with the note about the deaths of the first generation.
  48. Exodus 1:7 tn Using מְאֹד (meʾod) twice intensifies the idea of their becoming strong (see GKC 431-32 §133.k).sn The text is clearly going out of its way to say that the people of Israel flourished in Egypt. The verbs פָּרָה (parah, “be fruitful”), שָׁרַץ (sharats, “swarm, teem”), רָבָה (ravah, “multiply”), and עָצַם (ʿatsam, “be strong, mighty”) form a literary link to the creation account in Genesis. The text describes Israel’s prosperity in the terms of God’s original command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, to show that their prosperity was by divine blessing and in compliance with the will of God. The commission for the creation to fill the earth and subdue it would now begin to materialize through the seed of Abraham.
  49. Exodus 1:8 sn It would be difficult to identify who this “new king” might be, since the chronology of ancient Israel and Egypt is continually debated. Scholars who take the numbers in the Bible more or less at face value would place the time of Jacob’s going down to Egypt in about 1876 b.c. This would put Joseph’s experience in the period prior to the Hyksos control of Egypt (1720-1570’s), and everything in the narrative about Joseph points to a native Egyptian setting and not a Hyksos one. Joseph’s death, then, would have been around 1806 b.c., just a few years prior to the end of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt. This marked the end of the mighty Middle Kingdom of Egypt. The relationship between the Hyksos (also Semites) and the Israelites may have been amicable, and the Hyksos then might very well be the enemies that the Egyptians feared in Exodus 1:10. It makes good sense to see the new king who did not know Joseph as either the founder (Amosis, 1570-1546) or an early king of the powerful 18th Dynasty (like Thutmose I). Egypt under this new leadership drove out the Hyksos and reestablished Egyptian sovereignty. The new rulers certainly would have been concerned about an increasing Semite population in their territory (see E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 49-55).
  50. Exodus 1:8 tn The relative clause comes last in the verse in Hebrew. It simply clarifies that the new king had no knowledge about Joseph. It also introduces a major theme in the early portion of Exodus, as a later Pharaoh will claim not to know who Yahweh is. The Lord, however, will work to make sure that Pharaoh and all Egypt will know that he is the true God.
  51. Exodus 1:8 tn Heb “arose.”
  52. Exodus 1:9 tn Heb “and he said.”
  53. Exodus 1:9 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the exhortation to follow by drawing the listeners’ attention to the Israelites. In other words, the exhortation that follows is based on this observation.
  54. Exodus 1:10 tn The verb is the Hitpael cohortative of חָכַם (khakam, “to be wise”). This verb has the idea of acting shrewdly, dealing wisely. The basic idea in the word group is that of skill. So a skillful decision is required to prevent the Israelites from multiplying any more.sn Pharaoh’s speech invites evaluation. How wise did his plans prove to be?
  55. Exodus 1:10 tn The word פֶּן (pen) expresses fear or precaution and can also be translated “lest” or “else” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 75-76, §461).
  56. Exodus 1:10 tn The verb can be translated simply “will multiply,” but since Pharaoh has already indicated that he is aware they were doing that, the nuance here must mean to multiply all the more, or to continue to multiply. Cf. NIV “will become even more numerous.”
  57. Exodus 1:10 tn The words וְהָיָה כִּי (vehayah ki) introduce a conditional clause—“if” (see GKC 335 §112.y).
  58. Exodus 1:10 tn Heb “and [lest] he [Israel] also be joined to.”
  59. Exodus 1:10 tn Heb “and go up from.” All the verbs coming after the particle פֶּן (pen, “otherwise, lest” in v. 10) have the same force and are therefore parallel. These are the fears of the Egyptians. This explains why a shrewd policy of population control was required. They wanted to keep Israel enslaved; they did not want them to become too numerous and escape.
  60. Exodus 1:11 tn Heb “princes of work.” The word שָׂרֵי (sare, “princes”) has been translated using words such as “ruler,” “prince,” “leader,” “official,” “chief,” “commander,” and “captain” in different contexts. It appears again in 2:14 and 18:21 and 25. Hebrew מַס (mas) refers to a labor gang organized to provide unpaid labor, or corvée (Deut 20:11; Josh 17:13; 1 Kgs 9:15, 21). The entire phrase has been translated “foremen,” which combines the idea of oversight and labor. Cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “taskmasters”; NIV “slave masters”; NLT “slave drivers.”
  61. Exodus 1:11 tn Heb “over them”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  62. Exodus 1:11 sn The verb עַנֹּתוֹ (ʿannoto) is the Piel infinitive construct from עָנָה (ʿanah, “to oppress”). The word has a wide range of meanings. Here it would include physical abuse, forced subjugation, and humiliation. This king was trying to crush the spirit of Israel by increasing their slave labor. Other terms in the passage that describe this intent include “bitter” and “crushing.”
  63. Exodus 1:11 tn The form is a preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive, וַיִּבֶן (vayyiven). The sequence expressed in this context includes the idea of result.
  64. Exodus 1:11 sn Many scholars assume that because this city was named Rameses, the Pharaoh had to be Rameses II, and hence that a late date for the exodus (and a late time for the sojourn in Egypt) is proved. But if the details of the context are taken as seriously as the mention of this name, this cannot be the case. If one grants for the sake of discussion that Rameses II was on the throne and oppressing Israel, it is necessary to note that Moses is not born yet. It would take about twenty or more years to build the city, then eighty more years before Moses appears before Pharaoh (Rameses), and then a couple of years for the plagues—this man would have been Pharaoh for over a hundred years. That is clearly not the case for the historical Rameses II. But even more determining is the fact that whoever the Pharaoh was for whom the Israelites built the treasure cities, he died before Moses began the plagues. The Bible says that when Moses grew up and killed the Egyptian, he fled from Pharaoh (whoever that was) and remained in exile until he heard that that Pharaoh had died. So this verse cannot be used for a date of the exodus in the days of Rameses, unless many other details in the chapters are ignored. If it is argued that Rameses was the Pharaoh of the oppression, then his successor would have been the Pharaoh of the exodus. Rameses reigned from 1304 b.c. until 1236 and then was succeeded by Merneptah. That would put the exodus far too late in time, for the Merneptah stela refers to Israel as a settled nation in their land. One would have to say that the name Rameses in this chapter may either refer to an earlier king, or, more likely, reflect an updating in the narrative to name the city according to its later name (it was called something else when they built it, but later Rameses finished it and named it after himself [see B. Jacob, Exodus, 14]). For further discussion see G. L. Archer, “An 18th Dynasty Ramses,” JETS 17 (1974): 49-50; and C. F. Aling, “The Biblical City of Ramses,” JETS 25 (1982): 129-37. Furthermore, for vv. 11-14, see K. A. Kitchen, “From the Brick Fields of Egypt,” TynBul 27 (1976): 137-47.
  65. Exodus 1:12 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  66. Exodus 1:12 tn The imperfect tenses in this verse are customary uses, expressing continual action in past time (see GKC 315 §107.e). For other examples of כַּאֲשֶׁר (kaʾasher) with כֵּן (ken) expressing a comparison (“just as…so”) see Gen 41:13; Judg 1:7; Isa 31:4.sn Nothing in the oppression caused this, of course. Rather, the blessing of God (Gen 12:1-3) was on Israel in spite of the efforts of Egypt to hinder it. According to Gen 15 God had foretold that there would be this period of oppression (עָנָה [ʿanah] in Gen 15:13). In other words, God had decreed and predicted both their becoming a great nation and the oppression to show that he could fulfill his promise to Abraham in spite of the bondage.
  67. Exodus 1:12 tn Heb “they felt a loathing before/because of”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  68. Exodus 1:13 tn Heb “the Egyptians.” For stylistic reasons this has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation.
  69. Exodus 1:13 tn Heb “with rigor, oppression.”
  70. Exodus 1:14 sn The verb מָרַר (marar) anticipates the introduction of the theme of bitterness in the instructions for the Passover.
  71. Exodus 1:14 tn The preposition bet (ב) in this verse has the instrumental use: “by means of” (see GKC 380 §119.o).
  72. Exodus 1:14 tn Heb “and in all service.”
  73. Exodus 1:14 tn The line could be more literally translated, “All their service in which they served them [was] with rigor.” This takes the referent of בָּהֶם (bahem) to be the Egyptians. The pronoun may also resume the reference to the kinds of service and so not be needed in English: “All their service in which they served [was] with rigor.”
  74. Exodus 1:15 tn Heb “and the king of Egypt said.”
  75. Exodus 1:15 sn The word for “midwife” is simply the Piel participle of the verb יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth”). So these were women who assisted in the childbirth process. It seems probable that given the number of the Israelites in the passage, these two women could not have been the only Hebrew midwives, but they may have been over the midwives (Rashi). Moreover, the LXX and Vulgate do not take “Hebrew” as an adjective, but as a genitive after the construct, yielding “midwives of/over the Hebrews.” This leaves open the possibility that these women were not Hebrews. This would solve the question of how the king ever expected Hebrew midwives to kill Hebrew children. And yet, the two women have Hebrew names.
  76. Exodus 1:15 tn Heb “who the name of the first [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the second [was] Puah.”
  77. Exodus 1:16 tn The verse starts with the verb that began the last verse; to read it again seems redundant. Some versions render it “spoke” in v. 15 and “said” in v. 16. In effect, Pharaoh has been delayed from speaking while the midwives are named.
  78. Exodus 1:16 tn The form is the Piel infinitive construct serving in an adverbial clause of time. This clause lays the foundation for the next verb, the Qal perfect with a vav consecutive: “when you assist…then you will observe.” The latter carries an instructional nuance (= the imperfect of instruction), “you are to observe.”
  79. Exodus 1:16 tn Heb “at the birthstool” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV), but since this particular item is not especially well known today, the present translation simply states “at the delivery.” Cf. NIV “delivery stool.”
  80. Exodus 1:16 sn The instructions must have been temporary or selective, otherwise the decree from the king would have ended the slave population of Hebrews. It is also possible that the king did not think through this, but simply took steps to limit the population growth. The narrative is not interested in supplying details, only in portraying the king as a wicked fool bent on destroying Israel.
  81. Exodus 1:16 tc The last form וָחָיָה (vakhayah) in the verse is unusual; rather than behaving as a III-He form, it is written as a geminate but without the dagesh forte in pause (GKC 218 §76.i). In the conditional clause, following the parallel instruction (“kill him”), this form should be rendered “she may live” or “let her live.” The Samaritan Pentateuch records the normal spelling וְחָיְתָה (vekhayetah).
  82. Exodus 1:17 tn Heb “and they [feminine plural] feared”; the referent (the midwives) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  83. Exodus 1:17 tn The verb is the Piel preterite of חָיָה (khayah, “to live”). The Piel often indicates a factitive nuance with stative verbs, showing the cause of the action. Here it means “let live, cause to live.” The verb is the exact opposite of Pharaoh’s command for them to kill the boys.
  84. Exodus 1:18 tn The verb קָרָא (qaraʾ) followed by the lamed (ל) preposition has here the nuance of “summon.” The same construction is used later when Pharaoh summons Moses.
  85. Exodus 1:18 tn The second verb in Pharaoh’s speech is a preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive. It may indicate a simple sequence: “Why have you done…and (so that you) let live?” It could also indicate that this is a second question, “Why have you done…[why] have you let live?”
  86. Exodus 1:19 sn See further N. Lemche, “‘Hebrew’ as a National Name for Israel,” ST 33 (1979): 1-23.
  87. Exodus 1:19 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Hebrew women) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  88. Exodus 1:19 tn Heb “before the midwife comes to them (and) they give birth.” The perfect tense with the vav consecutive serves as the apodosis to the preceding temporal clause; it has the frequentative nuance (see GKC 337-38 §112.oo).sn The point of this brief section is that the midwives respected God above the king. They simply followed a higher authority that prohibited killing. Fearing God is a basic part of the true faith that leads to an obedient course of action and is not terrified by worldly threats. There probably was enough truth in what they were saying to be believable, but they clearly had no intention of honoring the king by participating in murder, and they saw no reason to give him a straightforward answer. God honored their actions.
  89. Exodus 1:20 tn The verb וַיֵּיטֶב (vayyetev) is the Hiphil preterite of יָטַב (yatav). In this stem the word means “to cause good, treat well, treat favorably.” The vav (ו) consecutive shows that this favor from God was a result of their fearing and obeying him.
  90. Exodus 1:21 tn The temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayehi) focuses attention on the causal clause and lays the foundation for the main clause, namely, “God made households for them.” This is the second time the text affirms the reason for their defiance, their fear of God.
  91. Exodus 1:21 tn Or “families”; Heb “houses.”
  92. Exodus 1:22 tn The substantive כֹּל (kol) followed by the article stresses the entirety—“all sons” or “all daughters”—even though the nouns are singular in Hebrew (see GKC 411 §127.b).
  93. Exodus 1:22 tn The form includes a pronominal suffix that reiterates the object of the verb: “every son…you will throw it.”
  94. Exodus 1:22 tn The first imperfect has the force of a definite order, but the second, concerning the girls, could also have the nuance of permission, which may fit better. Pharaoh is simply allowing the girls to live.sn Verse 22 forms a fitting climax to the chapter, in which the king continually seeks to destroy the Israelite strength. Finally, with this decree, he throws off any subtlety and commands the open extermination of Hebrew males. The verse forms a transition to the next chapter, in which Moses is saved by Pharaoh’s own daughter. These chapters show that the king’s efforts to destroy the strength of Israel—so clearly a work of God—met with failure again and again. And that failure involved the efforts of women, whom Pharaoh did not consider a threat.
  95. Exodus 2:1 sn The chapter records the exceptional survival of Moses under the decree of death by Pharaoh (vv. 1-10), the flight of Moses from Pharaoh after killing the Egyptian (vv. 11-15), the marriage of Moses (vv. 16-22), and finally a note about the Lord’s hearing the sighing of the people in bondage (vv. 23-25). The first part is the birth. The Bible has several stories about miraculous or special births and deliverances of those destined to lead Israel. Their impact is essentially to authenticate the individual’s ministry. If the person’s beginning was providentially provided and protected by the Lord, then the mission must be of divine origin too. In this chapter the plot works around the decree for the death of the children—a decree undone by the women. The second part of the chapter records Moses’ flight and marriage. Having introduced the deliverer Moses in such an auspicious way, the chapter then records how this deliverer acted presumptuously and had to flee for his life. Any deliverance God desired had to be supernatural, as the chapter’s final note about answering prayer shows.
  96. Exodus 2:1 tn Heb “house.” In other words, the tribe of Levi.
  97. Exodus 2:1 tn Heb “went and took”; NASB “went and married.”
  98. Exodus 2:1 tn Heb “a daughter of Levi.” The word “daughter” is used in the sense of “descendant” and connects the new account with Pharaoh’s command in 1:22. The words “a woman who was” are added for clarity in English.sn The first part of this section is the account of hiding the infant (vv. 1-4). The marriage, the birth, the hiding of the child, and the positioning of Miriam, are all faith operations that ignore the decree of Pharaoh or work around it to preserve the life of the child.
  99. Exodus 2:2 tn Or “conceived” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
  100. Exodus 2:2 tn A preterite form with the vav consecutive can be subordinated to a following clause. What she saw stands as a reason for what she did: “when she saw…she hid him three months.”
  101. Exodus 2:2 tn After verbs of perceiving or seeing there are frequently two objects, the formal accusative (“she saw him”) and then a noun clause that explains what it was about the child that she perceived (“that he was healthy”). See GKC 365 §117.h.
  102. Exodus 2:2 tn Or “fine” (טוֹב, tov). The construction is parallel to phrases in the creation narrative (“and God saw that it was good,” Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 17, 21, 25, 31). B. Jacob says, “She looked upon her child with a joy similar to that of God upon His creation (Gen 1.4ff.)” (Exodus, 25).
  103. Exodus 2:3 sn See on the meaning of this basket C. Cohen, “Hebrew tbh: Proposed Etymologies,” JANESCU 9 (1972): 36-51. This term is used elsewhere only to refer to the ark of Noah. It may be connected to the Egyptian word for “chest.”
  104. Exodus 2:3 sn The circumstances of the saving of the child Moses have prompted several attempts by scholars to compare the material to the Sargon myth. See R. F. Johnson, IDB 3:440-50; for the text see L. W. King, Chronicles concerning Early Babylonian Kings, 2:87-90. Those who see the narrative using the Sargon story’s pattern would be saying that the account presents Moses in imagery common to the ancient world’s expectations of extraordinary achievement and deliverance. In the Sargon story the infant’s mother set him adrift in a basket in a river; he was loved by the gods and destined for greatness. Saying Israel used this to invent the account in Exodus would undermine its reliability. But there are other difficulties with the Sargon comparison, not the least of which is the fact that the meaning and function of the Sargon story are unclear. Second, there is no outside threat to the child Sargon. The account simply shows how a child was exposed, rescued, nurtured, and became king (see B. S. Childs, Exodus [OTL], 8-12). Third, other details do not fit: Moses’ father is known, Sargon’s is not; Moses is never abandoned, since he is never out of the care of his parents, and the finder is a princess and not a goddess. Moreover, without knowing the precise function and meaning of the Sargon story, it is almost impossible to explain its use as a pattern for the biblical account. By itself, the idea of a mother putting a child by the river if she wants him to be found would have been fairly sensible, for that is where the women of the town would be washing their clothes or bathing. If someone wanted to be sure the infant was discovered by a sympathetic woman, there would be no better setting (see R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 57). While there need not be a special genre of storytelling here, it is possible that Exodus 2 might have drawn on some of the motifs and forms of the other account to describe the actual event in the sparing of Moses—if they knew of it. If so it would show that Moses was cast in the form of the greats of the past.
  105. Exodus 2:4 tn Or “stood.” The verb is the Hitpael preterite of יָצַב (yatsav), although the form is anomalous and perhaps should be spelled as in the Samaritan Pentateuch (see GKC 193 §71). The form yields the meaning of “take a stand, position or station oneself.” His sister found a good vantage point to wait and see what might become of the infant.
  106. Exodus 2:4 tn Heb “to know”; many English versions have “to see.”
  107. Exodus 2:4 tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; it should be classified here as a historic future, future from the perspective of a point in a past time narrative.
  108. Exodus 2:5 sn It is impossible, perhaps, to identify with certainty who this person was. For those who have taken a view that Rameses was the pharaoh, there were numerous daughters for Rameses. She is named Tharmuth in Jub. 47:5; Josephus spells it Thermouthis (Ant. 2.9.5 [2.224]), but Eusebius has Merris (Praep. Ev. ix. 27). E. H. Merrill (Kingdom of Priests, 60) makes a reasonable case for her identification as the famous Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmose I. She would have been there about the time of Moses’ birth, and the general picture of her from history shows her to be the kind of princess with enough courage to countermand a decree of her father.
  109. Exodus 2:5 tn Or “bathe.”
  110. Exodus 2:5 sn A disjunctive vav initiates here a circumstantial clause. The picture is one of a royal entourage coming down to the edge of a tributary of the river, and while the princess was bathing, her female attendants were walking along the edge of the water out of the way of the princess. They may not have witnessed the discovery or the discussion.
  111. Exodus 2:5 tn The word here is אָמָה (ʾamah), which means “female slave.” The word translated “attendants” earlier in the verse is נַעֲרֹת (naʿarot, “young women”), possibly referring here to an assortment of servants and companions.
  112. Exodus 2:5 tn The verb is preterite, third person feminine singular, with a pronominal suffix, from לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”). The form says literally “and she took it,” and retains the princess as the subject of the verb.
  113. Exodus 2:6 tn Heb “and she opened.”
  114. Exodus 2:6 tn The grammatical construction has a pronominal suffix on the verb as the direct object along with the expressed object: “and she saw him, the child.” The second object defines the previous pronominal object to avoid misunderstanding (see GKC 425 §131.m).
  115. Exodus 2:6 tn The text has נַעַר (naʿar, “lad, boy, young man”), which in this context would mean a baby boy.
  116. Exodus 2:6 tn This clause is introduced with a disjunctive vav and the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold” in the KJV). The particle in this kind of clause introduces the unexpected—what Pharaoh’s daughter saw when she opened the basket: “and look, there was a baby boy crying.” The clause provides a parenthetical description of the child as she saw him when she opened the basket and does not advance the narrative. It is an important addition, however, for it puts readers in the position of looking with her into the basket and explains her compassion.
  117. Exodus 2:6 tn The verb could be given a more colloquial translation such as “she felt sorry for him.” But the verb is stronger than that; it means “to have compassion, to pity, to spare.” What she felt for the baby was strong enough to prompt her to spare the child from the fate decreed for Hebrew boys. Here is part of the irony of the passage: What was perceived by many to be a womanly weakness—compassion for a baby—is a strong enough emotion to prompt the woman to defy the orders of Pharaoh. The ruler had thought sparing women was safe, but the midwives, the Hebrew mother, the daughter of Pharaoh, and Miriam, all work together to spare one child—Moses (cf. 1 Cor 1:27-29).
  118. Exodus 2:7 sn The text uses קָרָא (qaraʾ), meaning “to call” or “summon.” Pharaoh himself will “summon” Moses many times in the plague narratives. Here the word is used for the daughter summoning the child’s mother to take care of him. The narratives in the first part of the book of Exodus include a good deal of foreshadowing of events that occur in later sections of the book (see M. Fishbane, Biblical Text and Texture).
  119. Exodus 2:7 tn The object of the verb “get/summon” is “a woman.” But מֵינֶקֶת (meneqet, “nursing”), the Hiphil participle of the verb יָנַק (yanaq, “to suck”), is in apposition to it, clarifying what kind of woman should be found—a woman, a nursing one. Of course Moses’ mother was ready for the task.
  120. Exodus 2:7 tn The form וְתֵינִק (veteniq) is the Hiphil imperfect/jussive, third feminine singular, of the same root as the word for “nursing.” It is here subordinated to the preceding imperfect (“shall I go”) and perfect with vav (ו) consecutive (“and summon”) to express the purpose: “in order that she may.”sn No respectable Egyptian woman of this period would have undertaken the task of nursing a foreigner’s baby, and so the suggestion by Miriam was proper and necessary. Since she was standing a small distance away from the events, she was able to come forward when the discovery was made.
  121. Exodus 2:8 tn Heb “Go” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “Go ahead”; TEV “Please do.”
  122. Exodus 2:8 sn The word used to describe the sister (Miriam probably) is עַלְמָה (ʿalma), the same word used in Isa 7:14, where it is usually translated either “virgin” or “young woman.” The word basically means a young woman who is ripe for marriage. This would indicate that Miriam is a teenager and so about fifteen years older than Moses.
  123. Exodus 2:8 tn Heb קָרָא (qaraʾ, “called”).
  124. Exodus 2:8 sn During this period of Egyptian history the royal palaces were in the northern or Delta area of Egypt, rather than up the Nile as in later periods. The proximity of the royal residences to the Israelites makes this and the plague narratives all the more realistic. Such direct contact would have been unlikely if Moses had had to travel up the Nile to meet with Pharaoh. In the Delta area things were closer. Here all the people would have had access to the tributaries of the Nile near where the royal family came, but the royal family probably had pavilions and hunting lodges in the area. See also N. Osborn, “Where on Earth Are We? Problems of Position and Movement in Space,” BT 31 (1980): 239-42.
  125. Exodus 2:9 tn The verb is the Hiphil imperative of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh), and so is properly rendered “cause to go” or “take away.”
  126. Exodus 2:9 tn The possessive pronoun on the noun “wage” expresses the indirect object: “I will pay wages to you.”
  127. Exodus 2:10 tn The verb is the preterite of גָּדַל (gadal), and so might be rendered “and he became great.” But the context suggests that it refers to when he was weaned and before he was named, perhaps indicating he was three or four years old (see Gen 21:8).
  128. Exodus 2:10 tn The idiomatic expression literally reads: “and he was to her for a son.” In this there are two prepositions lamed. The first expresses possession: “he was to her” means “she had.” The second is part of the usage of the verb: הָיָה (hayah) with the ל (lamed) preposition means “to become.”
  129. Exodus 2:10 sn The naming provides the climax and summary of the story. The name of “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) is explained by “I have drawn him (מְשִׁיתִהוּ, meshitihu) from the water.” It appears that the name is etymologically connected to the verb in the saying, which is from מָשָׁה (mashah, “to draw out”). But commentators have found it a little difficult that the explanation of the name by the daughter of Pharaoh is in Hebrew when the whole background is Egyptian (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 20). Moreover, the Hebrew spelling of the name is the form of the active participle (“the one who draws out”); to be a precise description it should have been spelled מָשׁוּי (mashuy), the passive participle (“the one drawn out”). The etymology is not precise; rather, it is a wordplay (called paronomasia). Either the narrator merely attributed words to her (which is unlikely outside of fiction), or the Hebrew account simply translated what she had said into Hebrew, finding a Hebrew verb with the same sounds as the name. Such wordplays on names (also popular etymology) are common in the Bible. Most agree that the name is an Egyptian name. Josephus attempted to connect the biblical etymology with the name in Greek, Mōusēs, stating that Mo is Egyptian for water, and uses means those rescued from it (Ant. 2.9.6 [2.228]; see also J. Gwyn Griffiths, “The Egyptian Derivation of the Name Moses,” JNES 12 [1953]: 225). But the solution to the name is not to be derived from the Greek rendering. Due to the estimation Egyptians had of the Nile, the princess would have thought of the child from the river as a supernatural provision. The Egyptian hieroglyphic ms can be the noun “child” or the perfective verb “be born.” This was often connected with divine elements for names: Ptah-mose, “Ptah is born.” Also the name Rameses (R’-m-sw) means “[the god] Re’ is he who has born him.” If the name Moses is Egyptian, there are some philological difficulties (see the above article for their treatment). The significance of all this is that when the child was named by the princess, an Egyptian word related to ms was used, meaning something like “child” or “born.” The name might have even been longer, perhaps having a theophoric element (divine name) with it—“child of [some god].” The name’s motivation came from the fact that she drew him from the Nile, the source of life in Egypt. But the sound of the name recalled for the Hebrews the verb “to draw out” in their own language. Translating the words of the princess into Hebrew allowed for the effective wordplay to capture the significance of the story in the sound of the name. The implication for the Israelites is something to this effect: “You called him ‘born one’ in your language and after your custom, but in our language that name means ‘drawing out’—which is what was to become of him. You drew him out of the water, but he would draw us out of Egypt through the water.” So the circumstances of the story show Moses to be a man of destiny, and this naming episode summarizes how divine providence was at work in Israel. To the Israelites the name forever commemorated the portent of this event in the early life of the great deliverer (see Isa 63:11).
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Matthew 16:13-17:9

Peter’s Confession

13 When[a] Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,[b] “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,[c] and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered,[d] “You are the Christ,[e] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him,[f] “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood[g] did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[h] will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” 20 Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.[i]

First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

21 From that time on[j] Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer[k] many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law,[l] and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him:[m] “God forbid,[n] Lord! This must not happen to you!” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”[o] 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower,[p] he must deny[q] himself, take up his cross,[r] and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life[s] will lose it,[t] but whoever loses his life because of me[u] will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person[v] if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.[w] 28 I tell you the truth,[x] there are some standing here who will not[y] experience[z] death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”[aa]

The Transfiguration

17 Six days later[ab] Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James,[ac] and led them privately up a high mountain. And he was transfigured before them.[ad] His[ae] face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Then Moses[af] and Elijah[ag] also appeared before them, talking with him. So[ah] Peter said[ai] to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make[aj] three shelters[ak]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a[al] bright cloud[am] overshadowed[an] them, and a voice from the cloud said,[ao] “This is my one dear Son,[ap] in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!”[aq] When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground.[ar] But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” When[as] they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them,[at] “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 16:13 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  2. Matthew 16:13 tn Grk “he asked his disciples, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has been left untranslated.
  3. Matthew 16:14 sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.
  4. Matthew 16:16 tn Grk “And answering, Simon Peter said.”
  5. Matthew 16:16 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
  6. Matthew 16:17 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.
  7. Matthew 16:17 tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.
  8. Matthew 16:18 tn Or “and the power of death” (taking the reference to the gates of Hades as a metonymy).sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Matt 11:23; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:13-14). Some translations render this by its modern equivalent, “hell”; others see it as a reference to the power of death.
  9. Matthew 16:20 tc Most mss (א2 C W Γ 579 1241 M lat bo) have “Jesus, the Christ” (᾿Ιησοῦς ὁ Χριστός, Iēsous ho Christos) here, while D has “Christ Jesus” (ὁ Χριστὸς ᾿Ιησοῦς). On the one hand, this is a much harder reading than the mere Χριστός, because the name Jesus was already well known for the disciples’ master—both to them and to others. Whether he was the Messiah is the real focus of the passage. But the addition of “Jesus” is surely too hard a reading: There are no other texts in which the Lord tells his disciples not to disclose his personal name. Further, it is plainly a motivated reading in that scribes had the proclivity to add ᾿Ιησοῦς to Χριστός or to κύριος (kurios, “Lord”), regardless of whether such was appropriate to the context. In this instance it clearly is not, and it only reveals that scribes sometimes, if not often, did not think about the larger interpretive consequences of their alterations to the text. Further, the shorter reading is well supported by א* B L Δ Θ ƒ1, 13 565 700 1424 it sa.tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
  10. Matthew 16:21 tn Grk “From then.”
  11. Matthew 16:21 sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.
  12. Matthew 16:21 tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
  13. Matthew 16:22 tn Grk “began to rebuke him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
  14. Matthew 16:22 tn Grk “Merciful to you.” A highly elliptical expression: “May God be merciful to you in sparing you from having to undergo [some experience]” (L&N 88.78). A contemporary English equivalent is “God forbid!”
  15. Matthew 16:23 tn Grk “people.”
  16. Matthew 16:24 tn Grk “to come after me.”
  17. Matthew 16:24 tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
  18. Matthew 16:24 sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
  19. Matthew 16:25 tn Grk “soul” (throughout vv. 25-26). See the discussion of this Greek term in the note on “life” in Matt 10:39.
  20. Matthew 16:25 sn The Greek word translated life can refer to both earthly, physical life and inner, transcendent life (one’s “soul”). In the context, if a person is not willing to suffer the world’s rejection and persecution in order to follow Jesus but instead seeks to retain his physical life, then that person will lose both physical life and inner, transcendent life (at the judgment). On the other hand, the one who willingly gives up earthly, physical life to follow Jesus (“loses his life because of me”) will ultimately find one’s “soul” (note that the parallel in John’s Gospel speaks of “guarding one’s ‘soul’ for eternal life” (John 12:25).
  21. Matthew 16:25 tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα (heneka) indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).
  22. Matthew 16:26 tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.
  23. Matthew 16:27 sn An allusion to Pss 28:4; 62:12; cf. Prov 24:12.
  24. Matthew 16:28 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
  25. Matthew 16:28 tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mē) is the strongest possible.
  26. Matthew 16:28 tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
  27. Matthew 16:28 sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Christ’s role in the Church; (5) the destruction of Jerusalem; (6) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to six days later in 17:1 seems to indicate that Matthew had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration would be a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (in vv. 21-23), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.
  28. Matthew 17:1 tn Grk “And after six days.”
  29. Matthew 17:1 tn Grk “John his brother” with “his” referring to James.
  30. Matthew 17:2 sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, it was believed that the righteous would be given new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (cf. 1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation meant that the righteous will share the glory of God. The account of Jesus’ transfiguration here recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34:28-35. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a private preview of the great glory that Jesus would have following his exaltation.
  31. Matthew 17:2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  32. Matthew 17:3 tn Grk “And behold, Moses.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
  33. Matthew 17:3 sn Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18-22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5-6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).
  34. Matthew 17:4 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the appearance of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter’s comment.
  35. Matthew 17:4 tn Grk “Peter answering said.” This construction is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
  36. Matthew 17:4 tc Instead of the singular future indicative ποιήσω (poiēsō, “I will make”), most witnesses (C3 D L W Γ Δ Θ [Φ] 0281 ƒ[1],13 33 1241 1424 M lat sy co) have the plural aorist subjunctive ποιήσωμεν (poiēsōmen, “let us make”). But since ποιήσωμεν is the reading found in the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke, it is likely a motivated reading. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, as well as a few others (א B C* 700* as well as some versional and patristic witnesses) have ποιήσω. It is thus more likely that the singular verb is authentic.
  37. Matthew 17:4 tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).sn Peter apparently wanted to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles or Booths that looked forward to the end and wanted to treat Moses, Elijah, and Jesus as equals by making three shelters (one for each). It was actually a way of expressing honor to Jesus, but the next verse makes it clear that it was not enough honor.
  38. Matthew 17:5 tn Grk “behold, a.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here or in the following clause because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
  39. Matthew 17:5 sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.
  40. Matthew 17:5 tn Or “surrounded.”
  41. Matthew 17:5 tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.
  42. Matthew 17:5 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).
  43. Matthew 17:5 sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.
  44. Matthew 17:6 tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
  45. Matthew 17:8 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  46. Matthew 17:9 tn Grk “Jesus commanded them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 21

Psalm 21[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[b]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[c]
You grant[d] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[e] (Selah)
For you bring him[f] rich[g] blessings;[h]
you place a golden crown on his head.
He asked you to sustain his life,[i]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[j]
Your deliverance brings him great honor;[k]
you give him majestic splendor.[l]
For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[m]
For the king trusts[n] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[o] faithfulness he is not shaken.[p]
You[q] prevail over[r] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[s]
You burn them up like a fiery furnace[t] when you appear.[u]
The Lord angrily devours them;[v]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[w] from the earth,
their descendants[x] from among the human race.[y]
11 Yes,[z] they intend to do you harm;[aa]
they dream up a scheme,[ab] but they do not succeed.[ac]
12 For you make them retreat[ad]
when you aim your arrows at them.[ae]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![af]
We will sing and praise[ag] your power.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 21:1 sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.
  2. Psalm 21:1 tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).
  3. Psalm 21:1 tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”
  4. Psalm 21:2 tn The translation assumes the perfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing, stating factually what God typically does for the king. Another option is to take them as present perfects, “you have granted…you have not refused.” See v. 4, which mentions a specific request for a long reign.
  5. Psalm 21:2 tn Heb “and the request of his lips you do not refuse.”
  6. Psalm 21:3 tn Or “meet him [with].”
  7. Psalm 21:3 tn Heb “good.”
  8. Psalm 21:3 sn You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God’s “blessings” include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).
  9. Psalm 21:4 tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”
  10. Psalm 21:4 tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.
  11. Psalm 21:5 tn Or “great glory.”
  12. Psalm 21:5 tn Heb “majesty and splendor you place upon him.” For other uses of the phrase הוֹד וְהָדָר (hod vehadar, “majesty and splendor”) see 1 Chr 16:27; Job 40:10; Pss 96:6; 104:1; 111:3.
  13. Psalm 21:6 tn Heb “you make him happy with joy with [i.e., “close by” or “in”] your face.” On the idiom “with your face” (i.e., “in your presence”) see Ps 16:11 and BDB 816 s.v. פָּנֻה II.2.a.
  14. Psalm 21:7 tn The active participle draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action.
  15. Psalm 21:7 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. Note the focus of vv. 8-12 and see Ps 47:2.
  16. Psalm 21:7 tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “he will not be shaken” (cf. NRSV “he shall not be moved”). Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense.
  17. Psalm 21:8 tn The king is now addressed. One could argue that the Lord is still being addressed, but v. 9 militates against this proposal, for there the Lord is mentioned in the third person and appears to be distinct from the addressee (unless, of course, one takes “Lord” in v. 9 as vocative; see the note on “them” in v. 9b). Verse 7 begins this transition to a new addressee by referring to both the king and the Lord in the third person (in vv. 1-6 the Lord is addressed and only the king referred to in the third person).
  18. Psalm 21:8 tn Heb “your hand finds.” The idiom pictures the king grabbing hold of his enemies and defeating them (see 1 Sam 23:17). The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 8-12 may be translated with the future tense, as long as the future is understood as generalizing.
  19. Psalm 21:8 tn Heb “your right hand finds those who hate you.”
  20. Psalm 21:9 tn Heb “you make them like a furnace of fire.” Although many modern translations retain the literal Hebrew, the statement is elliptical. The point is not that he makes them like a furnace, but like an object burned in a furnace (cf. NEB, “at your coming you shall plunge them into a fiery furnace”).
  21. Psalm 21:9 tn Heb “at the time of your face.” The “face” of the king here refers to his angry presence. See Lam 4:16.
  22. Psalm 21:9 tn Heb “the Lord, in his anger he swallows them, and fire devours them.” Some take “the Lord” as a vocative, in which case he is addressed in vv. 8-9a. But this makes the use of the third person in v. 9b rather awkward, though the king could be the subject (see vv. 1-7).
  23. Psalm 21:10 tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.
  24. Psalm 21:10 tn Heb “seed.”
  25. Psalm 21:10 tn Heb “sons of man.”
  26. Psalm 21:11 tn Or “for.”
  27. Psalm 21:11 tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).
  28. Psalm 21:11 sn See Ps 10:2.
  29. Psalm 21:11 tn Heb “they lack ability.”
  30. Psalm 21:12 tn Heb “you make them a shoulder,” i.e., “you make them turn and run, showing the back of their neck and shoulders.”
  31. Psalm 21:12 tn Heb “with your bowstrings you fix against their faces,” i.e., “you fix your arrows on the bowstrings to shoot at them.”
  32. Psalm 21:13 tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.sn The psalm concludes with a petition to the Lord, asking him to continue to intervene in strength for the king and nation.
  33. Psalm 21:13 tn Heb “sing praise.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 5:1-6

Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil[a]

My child,[b] be attentive to my wisdom,
pay close attention[c] to my understanding,
in order to safeguard[d] discretion,[e]
and that your lips may guard knowledge.
For the lips[f] of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words[g] are smoother than olive oil,
but in the end[h] she is bitter[i] as wormwood,[j]
sharp as a two-edged[k] sword.
Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.[l]
Lest[m] she should make level[n] the path leading to life,[o]
her paths have wandered,[p] but she is not able to discern it.[q]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 5:1 sn In this chapter the sage/father exhorts discretion (1, 2) then explains how to avoid seduction (3-6); this is followed by a second exhortation to prevention (7, 8) and an explanation that obedience will avoid ruin and regret (9-14); finally, he warns against sharing love with strangers (15-17) but to find it at home (18-23). For an analysis of the chapter, see J. E. Goldingay, “Proverbs V and IX,” RB 84 (1977): 80-93.
  2. Proverbs 5:1 tn The text again has “my son.” In this passage perhaps “son” would be the most fitting because of the warning against going to the adulterous woman. However, since the image of the adulterous woman probably represents all kinds of folly (through personification), and since even in this particular folly the temptation works both ways, the general address to either young men or women should be retained. The text was certainly not intended to convey that only women could seduce men.
  3. Proverbs 5:1 tn Heb “incline your ear” (so NAB, NRSV); NLT “listen carefully.”
  4. Proverbs 5:2 tn Heb “keep, protect, guard.”
  5. Proverbs 5:2 sn This “discretion” is the same word in 1:4; it is wise, prudential consideration, careful planning, or the ability to devise plans with a view to the best way to carry them out. If that ability is retained then temptations to digress will not interfere.
  6. Proverbs 5:3 sn “Lips” is a metonymy of cause, referring to her words. Dripping honey is compared by implication to her words, which are flattering and smooth (cf. Song 4:11). See M. Dahood, “Honey That Drips. Notes on Proverbs 5:2-3, ” Bib 54 (1973): 65-66.
  7. Proverbs 5:3 tn Heb “her palate.” The word חֵךְ (khekh, “palate; roof of the mouth; gums”) is a metonymy of cause (= organ of speech) for what is said (= her seductive speech). The present translation clarifies this metonymy with the phrase “her seductive words.”
  8. Proverbs 5:4 sn Heb “her end” (so KJV). D. Kidner notes that Proverbs does not allow us to forget that there is an afterward (Proverbs [TOTC], 65).
  9. Proverbs 5:4 sn The verb “to be bitter” (מָרַר, marar) describes things that are harmful and destructive for life, such as the death of the members of the family of Naomi (Ruth 1:20) or finding water that was undrinkable (Exod 15:22-27). The word indicates that the sweet talking will turn out badly.
  10. Proverbs 5:4 tn The Hebrew term translated “wormwood” refers to the aromatic plant that contrasts with the sweetness of honey. Some follow the LXX and translate it as “gall” (cf. NIV). The point is that there was sweetness when the tryst had alluring glamour, but afterward it had an ugly ring (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 74).
  11. Proverbs 5:4 sn The Hebrew has “like a sword of [two] mouths,” meaning a double-edged sword that devours/cuts either way. There is no movement without damage. There may be a wordplay here with this description of the “sword with two mouths,” and the subject of the passage being the words of her mouth which also have two sides to them. The irony is cut by the idiom.
  12. Proverbs 5:5 tn The term שְׁאוֹל (sheʾol, “grave”) is paralleled to “death,” so it does not refer here to the realm of the unblessed. sn The terms death and grave could be hyperbolic of a ruined life, but probably refer primarily to the mortal consequences of a life of debauchery.
  13. Proverbs 5:6 tc The LXX and other versions read “not” instead of “lest.” This may be an effort to make sense of the unusual syntax, or perhaps the MT has been corrupted. The general sense is the same in either case.tn Heb “The path of life lest she clear the way.” This is the only occasion where the particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) appears to occur in the middle of its clause rather than at the beginning. The particle implies some action has been taken to avert or avoid what follows. The translation treats the “path of life” as the object and links the clause to the previous verse. One may note, however, that if the two halves of this verse reversed, normal syntax and good sense are also restored. “Her paths have wandered. She is not able to discern—the path leading to life, lest she make it clear.” (Or “lest she examine it.” See note on the verb.)
  14. Proverbs 5:6 tn Two roots are proposed for the verb פָּלַס (palas), “to clear/make a way” or “to observe; to examine.” If the latter root, then it would mean “lest she examine the path of life.”
  15. Proverbs 5:6 tn Heb “the path of life.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “of life”) functions as a genitive of direction (“leading to”).
  16. Proverbs 5:6 tn The verb נוּעַ (nuaʿ) means “to quiver; to waver; to roam around.” As the perfect form of a dynamic verb, it is past or perfective. Here it should be perfective to recognize the continuing results. Some translations treat the verb as stative and so present tense (cf. KJV “her ways are moveable”), but it is morphologically dynamic as revealed by its imperfect form. Others treat it as an imperfect, rendering it in future tense (NAB “her paths will ramble”) or general present (NLT “She staggers down a crooked trail.”).
  17. Proverbs 5:6 tn The verb יָדַע (yadaʿ, “to know”) is a stative verb in the imperfect form, which can be either future or modal. Here it is a modal abilitive: she is unable to know. DCH includes יָדַע II, “be quiet, at rest; be submissive” citing Jer 4:18 and Job 21:19. See also D. W. Thomas, “A Note on לא תדע in Proverbs v 6, ” JTS 37 (1936): 59, proposing “she is not tranquil.”
New English Translation (NET)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday January 24, 2025 (NIV)

Genesis 48-49

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 After these things Joseph was told,[a] “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. When Jacob was told,[b] “Your son Joseph has just[c] come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed. Jacob said to Joseph, “The Sovereign God[d] appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful[e] and will multiply you.[f] I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants[g] as an everlasting possession.’[h]

“Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine.[i] Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. Any children that you father[j] after them will be yours; they will be listed[k] under the names of their brothers in their inheritance.[l] But as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died—to my sorrow[m]—in the land of Canaan. It happened along the way, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these?” Joseph said to his father, “They are the[n] sons God has given me in this place.” His father[o] said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”[p] 10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing[q] because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph[r] brought his sons[s] near to him, and his father[t] kissed them and embraced them. 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected[u] to see you[v] again, but now God has allowed me to see your children[w] too.”

12 So Joseph moved them from Israel’s knees[x] and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 Joseph positioned them;[y] he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father.[z] 14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger.[aa] Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked—
the God who has been my shepherd[ab]
all my life long to this day,
16 the angel[ac] who has protected me[ad]
from all harm—
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them,[ae]
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him.[af] So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude[ag] of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you[ah] will Israel bless,[ai] saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.[aj]

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you[ak] and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 As one who is above your[al] brothers, I give to you the mountain slope,[am] which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

The Blessing of Jacob

49 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you[an] what will happen to you in future days.[ao]

“Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.
Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength,
outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.
You are destructive[ap] like water and will not excel,[aq]
for you got on your father’s bed,[ar]
then you defiled it—he got on my couch![as]
Simeon and Levi are brothers,
weapons of violence are their knives![at]
O my soul, do not come into their council,
do not be united to their assembly, my heart,[au]
for in their anger they have killed men,
and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,
and their fury, for it was cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel![av]
Judah,[aw] your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
You are a lion’s cub, Judah,
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
like a lioness—who will rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[ax]
until he comes to whom it belongs;[ay]
the nations will obey him.[az]
11 Binding his foal to the vine,
and his colt to the choicest vine,
he will wash[ba] his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be red[bb] from wine,
and his teeth white from milk.[bc]
13 Zebulun will live[bd] by the haven of the sea
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend to Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey
lying down between two saddlebags.
15 When he sees[be] a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer.[bf]
16 Dan[bg] will judge[bh] his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,
a viper by the path,
that bites the heels of the horse
so that its rider falls backward.[bi]
18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord.[bj]
19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands,
but he will attack them at their heels.[bk]
20 Asher’s[bl] food will be rich,[bm]
and he will provide delicacies[bn] to royalty.
21 Naphtali is a free running doe,[bo]
he speaks delightful words.[bp]
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,[bq]
a fruitful bough near a spring
whose branches[br] climb over the wall.
23 The archers will attack him,[bs]
they will shoot at him and oppose him.
24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his hands[bt] will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Powerful One[bu] of Jacob,
because of[bv] the Shepherd, the Rock[bw] of Israel,
25 because of the God of your father,
who will help you,[bx]
because of the Sovereign God,[by]
who will bless you[bz]
with blessings from the sky above,
blessings from the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and womb.[ca]
26 The blessings of your father are greater
than[cb] the blessings of the eternal mountains[cc]
or the desirable things of the age-old hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph
and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.[cd]
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning devouring the prey,
and in the evening dividing the plunder.”

28 These[ce] are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing.[cf]

29 Then he instructed them,[cg] “I am about to go[ch] to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth.”[ci]

33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went[cj] to his people.

Footnotes:

  1. Genesis 48:1 tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.
  2. Genesis 48:2 tn Heb “and one told and said.” The verbs have no expressed subject and can be translated with the passive voice.
  3. Genesis 48:2 tn Heb “Look, your son Joseph.”
  4. Genesis 48:3 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “Sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
  5. Genesis 48:4 tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.
  6. Genesis 48:4 tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.
  7. Genesis 48:4 tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  8. Genesis 48:4 tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (ʾakhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ʾakhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).
  9. Genesis 48:5 sn They will be mine. Jacob is here adopting his two grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim as his sons, and so they will have equal share with the other brothers. They will be in the place of Joseph and Levi (who will become a priestly tribe) in the settlement of the land. See I. Mendelsohn, “A Ugaritic Parallel to the Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh,” IEJ (1959): 180-83.
  10. Genesis 48:6 tn Or “you fathered.”
  11. Genesis 48:6 tn Heb “called” or “named.”
  12. Genesis 48:6 sn Listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. This means that any subsequent children of Joseph will be incorporated into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
  13. Genesis 48:7 tn Heb “upon me, against me,” which might mean something like “to my sorrow.”
  14. Genesis 48:9 tn Heb “my.”
  15. Genesis 48:9 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  16. Genesis 48:9 tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the imperative.
  17. Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “heavy.”sn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is important to the story. The weakness of Israel’s sight is one of several connections between this chapter and Gen 27. Here there are two sons, and it appears that the younger is being blessed over the older by a blind old man. While it was by Jacob’s deception in chap. 27, here it is with Jacob’s full knowledge.
  18. Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  21. Genesis 48:11 tn On the meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּלַל (palal) here, see E. A. Speiser, “The Stem pll in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6. Speiser argues that this verb means “to estimate” as in Exod 21:22.
  22. Genesis 48:11 tn Heb “your face.”
  23. Genesis 48:11 tn Heb “offspring.”
  24. Genesis 48:12 tn Heb “and Joseph brought them out from with his knees.” The two boys had probably been standing by Israel’s knees when being adopted and blessed. The referent of the pronoun “his” (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. Genesis 48:13 tn Heb “and Joseph took the two of them.”
  26. Genesis 48:13 tn Heb “and he brought near to him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” and “him” (Joseph and his father respectively) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. Genesis 48:14 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.
  28. Genesis 48:15 tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.
  29. Genesis 48:16 sn Smr reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.
  30. Genesis 48:16 tn The verb גָּאַל (gaʾal) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).
  31. Genesis 48:16 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
  32. Genesis 48:17 tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”
  33. Genesis 48:19 tn Heb “fullness.”
  34. Genesis 48:20 tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.
  35. Genesis 48:20 tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”
  36. Genesis 48:20 sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.
  37. Genesis 48:21 tn The pronouns translated “you,” “you,” and “your” in this verse are plural in the Hebrew text.
  38. Genesis 48:22 tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.
  39. Genesis 48:22 tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (shekhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).
  40. Genesis 49:1 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
  41. Genesis 49:1 tn The term אַחֲרִית (akharit) refers to what is after or behind, which by extension can refer to the result, descendants, the hind part of something, or the following time (cf. HALOT 36). Like its Akkadian cognate, ina aḫirāt ūmī, the Hebrew phrase בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים (be’akharit hayyamim) means “in future days.” In OT literature, most predictive discourse is prophetic and consequently naming a future time period, like “days are coming” (יַמִּים בָּאִים, yammim baʾim; 20x) or “in a future time” (13x), typically occurs in prophetic speech. The description in BDB 31 s.v. אַחֲרִית overreaches the evidence to say that this is “a prophetic phrase denoting the final period of the history so far as the speaker’s perspective reaches” (cf. Num 24:14; Deut 4:30; 31:29), although several times the phrase does refer to the restoration after the Babylonian conquests. The contents of some of the sayings in this chapter stretch from the immediate circumstances to the time of the settlement in the land to the coming of Messiah. There is a great deal of literature on this chapter, including among others C. Armerding, “The Last Words of Jacob: Genesis 49, ” BSac 112 (1955): 320-28 and B. Vawter, “The Canaanite Background of Genesis 49, ” CBQ 17 (1955): 1-18.
  42. Genesis 49:4 tn The Hebrew noun פַּחַז (pakhaz) only occurs here in the OT. A related verb occurs twice in the prophets (Jer 23:32; Zeph 3:4) for false prophets inventing their messages, and once in Judges for unscrupulous men bribed to murder (Judg 9:4). It would describe Reuben as being “frothy, boiling, turbulent” as water. The LXX has “run riot,” the Vulgate has “poured out,” and Tg. Onq. has “you followed your own direction.” It is a reference to Reuben’s misconduct in Gen 35, but the simile and the rare word invite some speculation. H. Pehlke suggests “destructive like water,” for Reuben acted with pride and presumption; see his “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985).
  43. Genesis 49:4 tn Heb “Do not excel!” The Hiphil of the verb יָתַר (yatar) has this meaning only here. The negated jussive is rhetorical here. Rather than being a command, it anticipates what will transpire. The prophecy says that because of the character of the ancestor, the tribe of Reuben would not have the character to lead (see 1 Chr 5:1).
  44. Genesis 49:4 sn This is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah (see Gen 35:22).
  45. Genesis 49:4 tn The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this passage see S. Gevirtz, “The Reprimand of Reuben,” JNES 30 (1971): 87-98.
  46. Genesis 49:5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מְכֵרָה (mekherah) is uncertain. It has been rendered (1) “habitations”; (2) “merchandise”; (3) “counsels”; (4) “swords”; (5) “wedding feasts.” If it is from the verb כָּרַת (karat) and formed after noun patterns for instruments and tools (maqtil, miqtil form), then it would refer to “knives.” Since the verb is used in Exod 4:25 for circumcision, the idea would be “their circumcision knives,” an allusion to the events of Gen 34 (see M. J. Dahood, “‘MKRTYHM’ in Genesis 49, 5, ” CBQ 23 [1961]: 54-56). Another explanation also connects the word to the events of Gen 34 as a reference to the intended “wedding feast” for Dinah which could take place only after the men of Shechem were circumcised (see D. W. Young, “A Ghost Word in the Testament of Jacob (Gen 49:5)?” JBL 100 [1981]: 335-422).
  47. Genesis 49:6 tn The Hebrew text reads “my glory,” but it is preferable to repoint the form and read “my liver.” The liver was sometimes viewed as the seat of the emotions and will (see HALOT 456 s.v. II כָּבֵד) for which the heart is the modern equivalent.
  48. Genesis 49:7 sn Divide…scatter. What is predicted here is a division of their tribes. Most commentators see here an anticipation of Levi being in every area but not their own. That may be part of it, but not entirely what the curse intended. These tribes for their ruthless cruelty would be eliminated from the power and prestige of leadership.
  49. Genesis 49:8 sn There is a wordplay here; the name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yehudah) sounds in Hebrew like the verb translated praise (יוֹדוּךָ, yodukha). The wordplay serves to draw attention to the statement as having special significance.
  50. Genesis 49:10 tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.
  51. Genesis 49:10 tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.tc Henri Cazelles, “Shiloh, the Customary Laws and the Return of the Ancient Kings,” in Proclamation and Presence, eds. J. I. Durhan and J. R. Porter, 248, shows that שִׁילֹה could represent “to whom it belongs” because a scribal practice at Qumran and in Mishnaic writings was to show doubling of a consonant by preceding it with a mater lectionis (consonant used as vowel letter). So s-y-l-h could equal s-l-l-h, or שֶׁלֹּה, which is the way the ancient versions read it. שֶׁלֹּה can be a compound of a relative pronoun (“which”), a preposition (“to”), and archaic third masculine singular suffix (“him”). Thirty-eight Hebrew manuscripts show this variant. See Walter C. Kaiser, The Messiah in the Old Testament, 51, and Cazelles, 248.sn Cazelles, “Shiloh,” 248, notes that the translation followed here is reflected in the Samaritan Pentateuch; the LXX; the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotian; the Targums, and the Syriac Peshitta. Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blesssing, 703, gives the Targum Onkelos as saying: “Until the Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom, and him shall the nations obey.” Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis (NICOT), 2:660, adds that Patriarchal Blessings (4QPBless) shows that the Qumran community interpreted Gen 49:10 in a messianic way. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, The Pentateuch (Commentary on the Old Testament), 1:397, state that “the entire Jewish synagogue and the whole Christian Church” were in “perfect agreement” that the patriarch was “here proclaiming the coming of the Messsiah.”
  52. Genesis 49:10 tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.
  53. Genesis 49:11 tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, describing coming events as though they have already taken place.
  54. Genesis 49:12 tn Or “glisten from.” The adjective חַכְלִילִי (khakhlili) occurs only once in the Bible, it’s meaning uncertain. A possible Akkadian cognate suggests it means “dark”. The LXX interprets it as “glisten.” DCH also suggests “red” (DCH s.v. חַכְלִילִי) as a possibility. The preposition מִן (min) can indicate the source “from,” or comparison “more than.” So the possible meanings are “darker than” (NIV, ESV, NRSV), “redder than,” dark or “dull from” (NASB), “red from” (KJV) or “glisten from” (LXX). Since the context describes positive elements that Judah will enjoy as blessings, we don’t expect it to mean eyes glazed over from being drunk. Also the possible Akkadian cognate refers to darkness or gloom, not simply a dark color. Alcohol can cause capillaries to break, leading to red eyes. But whatever is going on with the eyes, the point is that Judah will have abundance to partake of. The LXX suggests a glint of happiness in the eyes spurred by drinking wine. While this may suit the context well, it is not clear that the translator wasn’t simply guessing to fit the context.
  55. Genesis 49:12 tn Some translate these as comparatives, “darker than wine…whiter than milk,” a reference to, presumably, a healthy appearance (so NEB, NIV, NRSV). But understood as a symbol of abundance, the dark or red eyes would be from drinking wine, and the white teeth from drinking milk.
  56. Genesis 49:13 tn The verb שָׁכַן (shakhan) means “to settle,” but not necessarily as a permanent dwelling place. The tribal settlements by the sea would have been temporary and not the tribe’s territory.
  57. Genesis 49:15 tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.
  58. Genesis 49:15 sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49, ” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.
  59. Genesis 49:16 sn The name Dan (דָּן, dan) means “judge” and forms a wordplay with the following verb.
  60. Genesis 49:16 tn Or “govern.”
  61. Genesis 49:17 sn The comparison of the tribe of Dan to a venomous serpent is meant to say that Dan, though small, would be potent, gaining victory through its skill and shrewdness. Jewish commentators have linked the image in part with Samson. That link at least illustrates the point: Though a minority tribe, Dan would gain the upper hand over others.
  62. Genesis 49:18 sn I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. As Jacob sees the conflicts that lie ahead for Dan and Gad (see v. 19), he offers a brief prayer for their security.
  63. Genesis 49:19 tc Heb “heel.” The MT has suffered from misdivision at this point. The initial mem on the first word in the next verse should probably be taken as a plural ending on the word “heel.”sn In Hebrew the name Gad (גָּד, gad) sounds like the words translated “raided” (יְגוּדֶנּוּ, yegudennu) and “marauding bands” (גְּדוּד, gedud).
  64. Genesis 49:20 tc Heb “from Asher,” but the initial mem (מ) of the MT should probably be moved to the end of the preceding verse and taken as a plural ending on “heel.”
  65. Genesis 49:20 tn The Hebrew word translated “rich,” when applied to products of the ground, means abundant in quantity and quality.
  66. Genesis 49:20 tn The word translated “delicacies” refers to foods that were delightful, the kind fit for a king.
  67. Genesis 49:21 tn Heb “a doe set free.”
  68. Genesis 49:21 tn Heb “the one who gives words of beauty.” The deer imagery probably does not continue into this line; Naphtali is the likely antecedent of the substantival participle, which is masculine, not feminine, in form. If the animal imagery is retained from the preceding line, the image of a talking deer is preposterous. For this reason some read the second line “the one who bears beautiful fawns,” interpreting אִמְרֵי (ʾimre) as a reference to young animals, not words (see HALOT 67 s.v. *אִמֵּר).sn Almost every word in the verse is difficult. Some take the imagery to mean that Naphtali will be swift and agile (like a doe), and be used to take good messages (reading “words of beauty”). Others argue that the tribe was free-spirited (free running), but then settled down with young children.
  69. Genesis 49:22 tn The Hebrew text appears to mean “[is] a son of fruitfulness.” The second word is an active participle, feminine singular, from the verb פָּרָה (parah, “to be fruitful”). The translation “bough” is employed for בֵּן (ben, elsewhere typically “son”) because Joseph is pictured as a healthy and fruitful vine growing by the wall. But there are difficulties with this interpretation. The word “son” nowhere else refers to a plant and the noun translated “branches” (Heb “daughters”) in the third line is a plural form whereas its verb is singular. In the other oracles of Gen 49 an animal is used for comparison and not a plant, leading some to translate the opening phrase בֵּן פָּרָה (ben parah, “fruitful bough”) as “wild donkey” (JPS, NAB). Various other interpretations involving more radical emendation of the text have also been offered.
  70. Genesis 49:22 tn Heb “daughters.”
  71. Genesis 49:23 tn The verb forms in vv. 23-24 are used in a rhetorical manner, describing future events as if they had already taken place.
  72. Genesis 49:24 tn Heb “the arms of his hands.”
  73. Genesis 49:24 tn Or “Mighty One.”
  74. Genesis 49:24 tn Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”
  75. Genesis 49:24 tn Or “Stone.”
  76. Genesis 49:25 tn Heb “and he will help you.”
  77. Genesis 49:25 tn Heb “Shaddai.” See the note on the title “Sovereign God” in Gen 17:1. The preposition אֵת (ʾet) in the Hebrew text should probably be emended to אֵל (ʾel, “God”).
  78. Genesis 49:25 tn Heb “and he will bless you.”
  79. Genesis 49:25 sn Jacob envisions God imparting both agricultural (blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below) and human fertility (blessings of the breasts and womb) to Joseph and his family.
  80. Genesis 49:26 tn Heb “have prevailed over.”
  81. Genesis 49:26 tn One could interpret the phrase הוֹרַי (horay) to mean “my progenitors” (literally, “the ones who conceived me”), but the masculine form argues against this. It is better to emend the text to הַרֲרֵי (harare, “mountains of”) because it forms a better parallel with the next clause. In this case the final yod (י) on the form is a construct plural marker, not a pronominal suffix.
  82. Genesis 49:26 tn For further discussion of this passage, see I. Sonne, “Genesis 49:24-26, ” JBL 65 (1946): 303-6.
  83. Genesis 49:28 tn Heb “All these.”
  84. Genesis 49:28 tn Heb “and he blessed them, each of whom according to his blessing, he blessed them.”
  85. Genesis 49:29 tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to them,” which is not included in the translation because it is redundant in English.
  86. Genesis 49:29 tn Heb “I am about to be gathered.” The participle is used here to describe what is imminent.
  87. Genesis 49:32 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
  88. Genesis 49:33 tn Heb “was gathered.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Matthew 15:29-16:12

Healing Many Others

29 When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down. 30 Then[a] large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They[b] laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

32 Then Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven—and a few small fish.” 35 After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds.[c] 37 They[d] all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Not counting children and women,[e] there were 4,000 men who ate.[f] 39 After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat[g] and went to the region of Magadan.[h]

The Demand for a Sign

16 Now when the Pharisees[i] and Sadducees[j] came to test Jesus,[k] they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.[l] He[m] said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’[n] You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky,[o] but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then[p] he left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread. “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees[q] and Sadducees.”[r] So[s] they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” When Jesus learned of this,[t] he said, “You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing[u] among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000, and how many baskets you took up? 10 Or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you took up? 11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 15:30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
  2. Matthew 15:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  3. Matthew 15:36 tn Grk “was giving them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowd.”
  4. Matthew 15:37 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  5. Matthew 15:38 tc ‡ Although most witnesses (B C L N W Γ Δ ƒ13 33 1424 M f sys,p,h mae) read “women and children” instead of “children and women,” this is likely a harmonization to Matt 14:21. A decision is difficult here, but since “children and women” is found in early and geographically widespread witnesses (e.g., א D [Θ ƒ1] 579 lat syc sa bo), and has more compelling internal arguments on its side, it is likely the reading of the initial text. NA28, however, agrees with the majority of witnesses.
  6. Matthew 15:38 tn Grk “And those eating were 4,000 men, apart from children and women.”
  7. Matthew 15:39 sn See the note at Matt 4:21 for a description of the first-century fishing boat discovered in 1986 near Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
  8. Matthew 15:39 sn Magadan was a place along the Sea of Galilee, the exact location of which is uncertain.
  9. Matthew 16:1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
  10. Matthew 16:1 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
  11. Matthew 16:1 tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.
  12. Matthew 16:1 sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.
  13. Matthew 16:2 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” The construction has been simplified in the translation and δέ (de) has not been translated.
  14. Matthew 16:3 tn Or “red and gloomy” (L&N 14.56).
  15. Matthew 16:3 tn Grk “The face of the sky you know how to discern.”
  16. Matthew 16:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  17. Matthew 16:6 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
  18. Matthew 16:6 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
  19. Matthew 16:7 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ saying about the Pharisees and Sadducees.
  20. Matthew 16:8 tn Or “becoming aware of it.”
  21. Matthew 16:8 tn Or “discussing.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 20

Psalm 20[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 20:1 sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.
  2. Psalm 20:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.
  3. Psalm 20:1 sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.
  4. Psalm 20:1 tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”
  5. Psalm 20:1 tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.
  6. Psalm 20:2 tc Heb “from [the] temple.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (וֹ, holem vav) has probably been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word begins with a prefixed vav (ו). See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 184.
  7. Psalm 20:3 tn Or “remember.” For other examples of the verb זָכַר (zakhar) carrying the nuance “take notice of,” see Pss 8:4 and 9:12.
  8. Psalm 20:3 tc Heb “consider as fat.” The verbal form should probably be emended to יְדַשְּׁנֶהָ (yedasheneha), the final he (ה) being understood as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix referring back to the feminine noun “burnt sacrifice.”
  9. Psalm 20:4 tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.
  10. Psalm 20:4 sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.
  11. Psalm 20:5 sn Your victory. Here the king is addressed (see v. 1).
  12. Psalm 20:5 tc The Hebrew verb דָּגַל (dagal) occurs only here in the Qal. If accepted as original, it may carry the nuance “raise a banner,” but it is preferable to emend the form to נָגִיל (nagil, “we will rejoice”) which provides better parallelism with “shout for joy” and fits well with the prepositional phrase “in the name of our God” (see Ps 89:16).
  13. Psalm 20:6 tn Or “know.”sn Now I am sure. The speaker is not identified. It is likely that the king, referring to himself in the third person (note “his chosen king”), responds to the people’s prayer. Perhaps his confidence is due to the reception of a divine oracle of salvation.
  14. Psalm 20:6 tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.
  15. Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.
  16. Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “he will answer him.”
  17. Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”
  18. Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).
  19. Psalm 20:7 tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. The convention of backward ellipsis can apply to the final word of the 2nd line, as in this verse. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.
  20. Psalm 20:7 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.
  21. Psalm 20:7 tc The LXX translates the verb as μεγαλυνθησόμεθα (megalunthēsometha) “we will boast.” This may reflect another verb, the Hiphil of גָּבַר (gavar), and depends on two letter confusions, ג (gimel) for ז (zayin) and ב (bet) for כ (kaf).tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the Lord’s name in prayer, the people demonstrate their trust in him.
  22. Psalm 20:8 tn Or “stumble and fall down.”
  23. Psalm 20:8 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.
  24. Psalm 20:8 tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (ʿud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.
  25. Psalm 20:9 tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshiʿah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O Lord, deliver”). But the immediate context is one of confidence (vv. 6-8), not petition (vv. 1-5). If one takes the final he on the verb “deliver” as dittographic (note the initial he (ה) on the following phrase, “the king”), one can repoint the verbal form as a perfect and understand it as expressing the people’s confidence, “the Lord will deliver the king” (see v. 6). The Hebrew scribal tradition takes “the king” with the following line, in which case it would be best interpreted as a divine title, “may the King answer us” or “the king will answer us” (see Pss 98:6; 145:1). However, the poetic parallelism is better balanced if “the king” is taken with the first line. In this case the referent is the Davidic king, who is earlier called the Lord’s “anointed one” (cf. note on “chosen king” in v. 6; see Pss 21:7; 45:5, 11; 63:11).
  26. Psalm 20:9 tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).
  27. Psalm 20:9 tn Heb “in the day we call.”
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Proverbs 4:20-27

20 My child, pay attention to my words;
listen attentively[a] to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart[b] from your sight,
guard[c] them within your heart;[d]
22 for they are life to those who find them
and healing to one’s entire body.[e]
23 Guard your heart[f] with all vigilance,[g]
for from it are the sources[h] of life.
24 Remove perverse speech[i] from your mouth;[j]
keep devious talk far from your lips.[k]
25 Let your eyes look directly[l] in front of you
and let your gaze[m] look straight before you.
26 Make the path for your feet[n] level,[o]
so that[p] all your ways may be established.[q]
27 Do not turn[r] to the right or to the left;
turn yourself[s] away from evil.[t]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 4:20 tn Heb “incline your ear.” The verb הַט (hat) is the Hiphil imperative from נָטָה (natah, Hiphil: “to turn to; to incline”). The idiom “to incline the ear” gives the picture of “lean over and listen closely.” sn Commentators note the use of the body in this section: ear (v. 20), eyes (v. 21), flesh (v. 22), heart (v. 23), lips (v. 24), eyes (v. 25), feet (v. 26), and hands and feet (v. 27). Each is a synecdoche of part representing the whole; the total accumulation signifies the complete person in the process.
  2. Proverbs 4:21 tn The Hiphil form יַלִּיזוּ (yallizu) follows the Aramaic with gemination. The verb means “to turn aside; to depart” (intransitive Hiphil or inner causative).
  3. Proverbs 4:21 tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV and many others).
  4. Proverbs 4:21 sn The words “eyes” and “heart” are metonymies of subject representing the faculties of each. Cf. CEV “think about it all.”
  5. Proverbs 4:22 tn Heb “to all of his flesh.”
  6. Proverbs 4:23 tn Anatomically the Hebrew word לֵב (lev) refers to the “heart.” But abstractly it can refer to one’s inner self, will, understanding, or mind. They did not see the heart and mind in opposition, such that the advice here includes both one’s thinking and feelings.
  7. Proverbs 4:23 tn Heb “more than any guard.” The preposition מִן (min) has its comparative sense “more than.” The noun מִשְׁמָר (mishmar) refers here to the act of guarding, protection, or vigilance (BDB 1038 s.v. מִשְׁמָר; HALOT 649 s.v. מִשְׁמָר).
  8. Proverbs 4:23 sn The word תּוֹצְאוֹת (totseʾot, from יָצָא, yatsaʾ) means “outgoings; extremities; sources.” It is used here for starting points, like a fountainhead, and so the translation “sources” works well.
  9. Proverbs 4:24 tn Heb “crookedness.” The noun עִקְּשׁוּת (ʿiqqeshut) refers to what is morally twisted or perverted. Here it refers to things that are said (cf. NAB “dishonest talk”; NRSV “crooked speech”). The term “mouth” functions as a metonymy of cause for perverse speech. Such perverse talking could be subtle or blatant.
  10. Proverbs 4:24 tn Heb “crookedness of mouth.”
  11. Proverbs 4:24 tn Heb “deviousness of lips put far from you.”
  12. Proverbs 4:25 tn The jussives in this verse are both Hiphil, the first from the verb “to gaze; to look intently [or, carefully],” (נָבַט, navat) and the second from the verb “to be smooth, straight” (יָשָׁר, yashar).
  13. Proverbs 4:25 tn Heb “your eyelids.” The term “eyelids” is often a poetic synonym for “eye” (it is a metonymy of adjunct, something connected with the eye put for the eye that sees); it may intensify the idea as one might squint to gain a clearer look.
  14. Proverbs 4:26 tn Heb “path of your foot.”
  15. Proverbs 4:26 sn The verb is a denominative Piel from the word פֶּלֶס (peles), “balance; scale.” In addition to telling the disciple to keep focused on a righteous life, the sage tells him to keep his path level, which is figurative for living the righteous life.
  16. Proverbs 4:26 tn Following an imperative, a vav plus imperfect verb can depict purpose or result.
  17. Proverbs 4:26 tn The Niphal jussive from כּוּן (kun, “to be fixed; to be established; to be steadfast”) continues the idiom of walking and ways for the moral sense in life.
  18. Proverbs 4:27 sn The two verbs in this verse are from different roots, but nonetheless share the same semantic domain. The first verb is תֵּט (tet), a jussive from נָטָה (natah), which means “to turn aside” (Hiphil); the second verb is the Hiphil imperative of סוּר (sur), which means “to cause to turn to the side” (Hiphil). The disciple is not to leave the path of righteousness, but to stay on the path he must leave evil.
  19. Proverbs 4:27 tn Heb “your foot” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The term רַגְלְךָ (raglekha, “your foot”) is a synecdoche of part (= foot) for the whole person (= “yourself”).
  20. Proverbs 4:27 tc The LXX adds, “For the way of the right hand God knows, but those of the left hand are distorted; and he himself will make straight your paths and guide your goings in peace.” The ideas presented here are not out of harmony with Proverbs, but the section clearly shows an expansion by the translator. For a brief discussion of whether this addition is Jewish or early Christian, see C. H. Toy, Proverbs (ICC), 99.
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday January 23, 2025 (NIV)

Genesis 46-47

The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt

46 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had.[a] When he came to Beer Sheba[b] he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night[c] and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!” He said, “I am God,[d] the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there.[e] Joseph will close your eyes.”[f]

Then Jacob started out[g] from Beer Sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little children, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent along to transport him. Jacob and all his descendants took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they went to Egypt.[h] He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons,[i] his daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt—Jacob and his sons: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.

The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman).
11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah,[j] Jashub,[k] and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters numbered thirty-three in all.[l]
16 The sons of Gad: Zephon,[m] Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister.
The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.
18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.
19 The sons of Rachel the wife of Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,[n] bore them to him.
21 The sons of Benjamin:[o] Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.
23 The son of Dan: Hushim.[p]
24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.

26 All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons.)[q] 27 Counting the two sons[r] of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy.[s]

28 Jacob[t] sent Judah before him to Joseph to accompany him to Goshen.[u] So they came to the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. When he met him,[v] he hugged his neck and wept on his neck for quite some time.

30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”[w] 31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh,[x] ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds;[y] they take care of livestock.[z] They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 Pharaoh will summon you and say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle[aa] from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen,[ab] for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting[ac] to the Egyptians.”

Joseph’s Wise Administration

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father, my brothers, their flocks and herds, and all that they own have arrived from the land of Canaan. They are now[ad] in the land of Goshen.” He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.[ae]

Pharaoh said to Joseph’s[af] brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.”[ag] Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents[ah] in the land. There is no[ai] pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men[aj] among them, put them in charge[ak] of my livestock.”

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him[al] before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed[am] Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How long have you lived?”[an] Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All[ao] the years of my travels[ap] are 130. All[aq] the years of my life have been few and painful;[ar] the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.”[as] 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.[at]

11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory[au] in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses,[av] just as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household, according to the number of their little children.

13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away[aw] because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as payment[ax] for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace.[ay] 15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians[az] came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die[ba] before your very eyes because our money has run out?”

16 Then Joseph said, “If your money is gone, bring your livestock, and I will give you food[bb] in exchange for[bc] your livestock.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys.[bd] He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our[be] lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become[bf] Pharaoh’s slaves.[bg] Give us seed that we may live[bh] and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.”[bi]

20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each[bj] of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe.[bk] So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 Joseph[bl] made all the people slaves[bm] from one end of Egypt’s border to the other end of it. 22 But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, “Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate[bn] the land. 24 When the crop comes in, give[bo] one-fifth of it to Pharaoh. The remaining four-fifths will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.” 25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! You are showing us favor,[bp] and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”[bq]

26 So Joseph made it a statute,[br] which is in effect[bs] to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.

28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years[bt] of Jacob’s life were 147 in all. 29 The time[bu] for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh[bv] and show me kindness and faithfulness.[bw] Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest[bx] with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Joseph[by] said, “I will do as you say.”

31 Jacob[bz] said, “Swear to me that you will do so.”[ca] So Joseph[cb] gave him his word.[cc] Then Israel bowed down[cd] at the head of his bed.[ce]

Footnotes:

  1. Genesis 46:1 tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”
  2. Genesis 46:1 sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.
  3. Genesis 46:2 tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.
  4. Genesis 46:3 tn Heb “the God.”
  5. Genesis 46:4 tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”
  6. Genesis 46:4 tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.
  7. Genesis 46:5 tn Heb “arose.”
  8. Genesis 46:6 tn Heb “and they took their livestock and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  9. Genesis 46:7 tn The Hebrew text adds “with him” here. This is omitted in the translation because it is redundant in English style (note the same phrase earlier in the verse).
  10. Genesis 46:13 tc The MT reads “Puvah” (cf. Num 26:23); Smr and Syriac read “Puah” (cf. 1 Chr 7:1).
  11. Genesis 46:13 tc The MT reads יוֹב (yov, “Job,”) but Smr, supported by the LXX, reads יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “Jashub”) (see Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1).
  12. Genesis 46:15 tn Heb “all the lives of his sons and his daughters, thirty-three.”
  13. Genesis 46:16 tc The MT reads “Ziphion,” but see Num 26:15, Smr and the LXX, all of which read “Zephon.”
  14. Genesis 46:20 sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
  15. Genesis 46:21 sn The sons of Benjamin. It is questionable whether youthful Benjamin had ten sons by the time he went into Egypt, but it is not impossible. If Benjamin was born when Joseph was six or seven, he was ten when Joseph was sold into Egypt, and would have been thirty-two at this point. Some suggest that the list originally served another purpose and included the names of all who were in the immediate family of the sons, whether born in Canaan or later in Egypt.
  16. Genesis 46:23 tn This name appears as “Shuham” in Num 26:42. The LXX reads “Hashum” here.
  17. Genesis 46:26 tn Heb “All the people who went with Jacob to Egypt, the ones who came out of his body, apart from the wives of the sons of Jacob, all the people were sixty-six.”sn The number sixty-six includes the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah) listed in vv. 8-25 minus Er and Onan (deceased), and Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim (already in Egypt).
  18. Genesis 46:27 tn The LXX reads “nine sons,” probably counting the grandsons of Joseph born to Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 1 Chr 7:14-20).
  19. Genesis 46:27 tn Heb “And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two people; all the people belonging to the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.”sn The number seventy includes Jacob himself and the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim) listed in vv. 8-25, minus Er and Onan (deceased). The LXX gives the number as “seventy-five” (cf. Acts 7:14).
  20. Genesis 46:28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  21. Genesis 46:28 tn Heb “to direct before him to Goshen.”
  22. Genesis 46:29 tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”
  23. Genesis 46:30 tn Heb “after my seeing your face that you are still alive.”
  24. Genesis 46:31 tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”
  25. Genesis 46:32 tn Heb “feeders of sheep.”
  26. Genesis 46:32 tn Heb “for men of livestock they are.”
  27. Genesis 46:34 tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”
  28. Genesis 46:34 sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.
  29. Genesis 46:34 tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (toʿevah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.
  30. Genesis 47:1 tn Heb “Look they [are] in the land of Goshen.” Joseph draws attention to the fact of their presence in Goshen.
  31. Genesis 47:2 tn Heb “and from the whole of his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.”
  32. Genesis 47:3 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  33. Genesis 47:3 tn Heb “both we and our fathers.”
  34. Genesis 47:4 tn Heb “to sojourn.”
  35. Genesis 47:4 tn Heb “for there is no.” The Hebrew uses a causal particle to connect what follows with what precedes. The translation divides the statement into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
  36. Genesis 47:6 tn Heb “men of skill.”
  37. Genesis 47:6 tn Heb “make them rulers.”sn Put them in charge of my livestock. Pharaoh is, in effect, offering Joseph’s brothers jobs as royal keepers of livestock, a position mentioned often in Egyptian inscriptions, because the Pharaohs owned huge herds of cattle.
  38. Genesis 47:7 tn Heb “caused him to stand.”
  39. Genesis 47:7 sn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb translated “blessed” is difficult in this passage, because the content of Jacob’s blessing is not given. The expression could simply mean that he greeted Pharaoh, but that seems insufficient in this setting. Jacob probably praised Pharaoh, for the verb is used this way for praising God. It is also possible that he pronounced a formal prayer of blessing, asking God to reward Pharaoh for his kindness.
  40. Genesis 47:8 tn Heb “How many are the days of the years of your life?”
  41. Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “the days of.”
  42. Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “sojournings.” Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places.
  43. Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “the days of.”
  44. Genesis 47:9 tn The Hebrew word רַע (raʿ) can sometimes mean “evil,” but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point.
  45. Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “and they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”
  46. Genesis 47:10 tn Heb “from before Pharaoh.”
  47. Genesis 47:11 tn Heb “a possession,” or “a holding.” Joseph gave them a plot of land with rights of ownership in the land of Goshen.
  48. Genesis 47:11 sn The land of Rameses is another designation for the region of Goshen. It is named Rameses because of a city in that region (Exod 1:11; 12:37). The use of this name may represent a modernization of the text for the understanding of the intended readers, substituting a later name for an earlier one. Alternatively, there may have been an earlier Rameses for which the region was named.
  49. Genesis 47:13 tn The verb לַהַה (lahah, = לָאָה, laʾah) means “to faint, to languish”; it figuratively describes the land as wasting away, drooping, being worn out.
  50. Genesis 47:14 tn Or “in exchange.” On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.
  51. Genesis 47:14 tn Heb “house.”
  52. Genesis 47:15 tn Heb “all Egypt.” The expression is a metonymy and refers to all the people of Egypt.
  53. Genesis 47:15 tn The imperfect verbal form has a deliberative force here.
  54. Genesis 47:16 tn The word “food” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  55. Genesis 47:16 tn On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.
  56. Genesis 47:17 tn The definite article is translated here as a possessive pronoun.
  57. Genesis 47:18 tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.
  58. Genesis 47:19 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.
  59. Genesis 47:19 sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.
  60. Genesis 47:19 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.
  61. Genesis 47:19 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav plus subject plus negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.
  62. Genesis 47:20 tn The Hebrew text connects this clause with the preceding one with a causal particle (כִּי, ki). The translation divides the clauses into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
  63. Genesis 47:20 tn The Hebrew text adds “upon them.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  64. Genesis 47:21 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  65. Genesis 47:21 tc The MT reads “and the people he removed to the cities,” which does not make a lot of sense in this context. Smr and the LXX read “he enslaved them as slaves.”
  66. Genesis 47:23 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive is equivalent to a command here.
  67. Genesis 47:24 tn The perfect form with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here.
  68. Genesis 47:25 tn Heb “we find favor in the eyes of my lord.” Some interpret this as a request, “may we find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
  69. Genesis 47:25 sn Slaves. See the note on this word in v. 21.
  70. Genesis 47:26 tn On the term translated “statute” see P. Victor, “A Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,” VT 16 (1966): 358-61.
  71. Genesis 47:26 tn The words “which is in effect” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  72. Genesis 47:28 tn Heb “the days of the years.”
  73. Genesis 47:29 tn Heb “days.”
  74. Genesis 47:29 sn On the expression put your hand under my thigh see Gen 24:2.
  75. Genesis 47:29 tn Or “deal with me in faithful love.”
  76. Genesis 47:30 tn Heb “lie down.” Here the expression “lie down” refers to death.
  77. Genesis 47:30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  78. Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  79. Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “swear on oath to me.” The words “that you will do so” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  80. Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  81. Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “swore on oath to him.”
  82. Genesis 47:31 sn The Hebrew verb normally means “bow down,” especially in worship or prayer. Here it might simply mean “bend low,” perhaps from weakness or approaching death. The narrative is ambiguous at this point and remains open to all these interpretations.
  83. Genesis 47:31 tc The MT reads מִטָּה (mittah, “bed, couch”). The LXX reads the word as מַטֶּה (matteh, “staff, rod”) and interprets this to mean that Jacob bowed down in worship while leaning on the top of his staff. The LXX reading was used in turn by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 11:21).
New English Translation (NET)

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Matthew 15:1-28

Breaking Human Traditions

15 Then Pharisees[a] and experts in the law[b] came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,[c] “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their[d] hands when they eat.”[e] He answered them,[f] “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God said,[g]Honor your father and mother[h] and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’[i] But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,”[j] he does not need to honor his father.’[k] You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart[l] is far from me,
and they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”[m]

True Defilement

10 Then he called the crowd to him and said,[n] “Listen and understand. 11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what[o] comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees[p] heard this saying they were offended?” 13 And he replied,[q] “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them! They are blind guides.[r] If someone who is blind leads another who is blind,[s] both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter[t] said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Jesus[u] said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? 17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?[v] 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.”[w]

A Canaanite Woman’s Faith

21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A[x] Canaanite woman from that area came[y] and cried out,[z] “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. Then[aa] his disciples came and begged him,[ab] “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 24 So[ac] he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and bowed down[ad] before him and said,[ae] “Lord, help me!” 26 “It is not right[af] to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,”[ag] he said.[ah] 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied,[ai] “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then[aj] Jesus answered her, “Woman,[ak] your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 15:1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
  2. Matthew 15:1 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
  3. Matthew 15:1 tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.
  4. Matthew 15:2 tc ‡ Although most witnesses read the genitive plural pronoun αὐτῶν (autōn, “their”), it may have been motivated by clarification (as it is in the translation above). Several other authorities do not have the pronoun, however (א B Δ 073 ƒ1 579 700 892 1424 f g1); the lack of an unintentional oversight as the reason for omission strengthens their combined testimony in this shorter reading. NA28 has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
  5. Matthew 15:2 tn Grk “when they eat bread.”
  6. Matthew 15:3 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”
  7. Matthew 15:4 tc Most mss (א*,2b C L N W Γ Δ 0106 33 565 1241 1424 M) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, ho gar theos eneteilato legōn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א2a B D Θ 073 ƒ1, 13 579 700 892 lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).
  8. Matthew 15:4 sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.
  9. Matthew 15:4 sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.
  10. Matthew 15:5 tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.
  11. Matthew 15:6 tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L N W Γ Δ Θ 0106 ƒ1 1424 M) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, ē tēn mētera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai tēn mētera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 bo and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ƒ13 33 579 700 892), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and significant witnesses (א B D a e syc sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of—ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.tn Grk “he will never honor his father.” Here Jesus is quoting the Pharisees, whose intent is to release the person who is giving his possessions to God from the family obligation of caring for his parents. The verb in this phrase is future tense, and it is negated with οὐ μή (ou mē), the strongest negation possible in Greek. A literal translation of the phrase does not capture the intended sense of the statement; it would actually make the Pharisees sound as if they agreed with Jesus. Instead, a more interpretive translation has been used to focus upon the release from family obligations that the Pharisees allowed in these circumstances.sn Here Jesus refers to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner. According to contemporary Jewish tradition, the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 4).
  12. Matthew 15:8 tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.
  13. Matthew 15:9 sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.
  14. Matthew 15:10 tn Grk “And calling the crowd, he said to them.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as attendant circumstance. The emphasis here is upon Jesus’ speaking to the crowd.
  15. Matthew 15:11 tn Grk “but what.”
  16. Matthew 15:12 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
  17. Matthew 15:13 tn Grk “And answering, he said.”
  18. Matthew 15:14 tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א2a C L N W Z Γ Δ Θ ƒ1, 13 33 579 700 1241 1424 M lat; SBL). The omission of “of the blind” is read by א*,2b B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tuphloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuphlōn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is autographic: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA28 places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
  19. Matthew 15:14 tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”
  20. Matthew 15:15 tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to him.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
  21. Matthew 15:16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  22. Matthew 15:17 tn Or “into the latrine.”
  23. Matthew 15:20 tn Grk “but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”
  24. Matthew 15:22 tn Grk “And behold a Canaanite.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
  25. Matthew 15:22 tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelthousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.
  26. Matthew 15:22 tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  27. Matthew 15:23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
  28. Matthew 15:23 tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  29. Matthew 15:24 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The construction in Greek is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ request.
  30. Matthew 15:25 tn In this context the verb προσκυνέω (proskuneō), which often describes worship, probably means simply bowing down to the ground in an act of reverence or supplication (see L&N 17.21).
  31. Matthew 15:25 tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”
  32. Matthew 15:26 tn Grk “And answering, he said, ‘It is not right.’” The introductory phrase “answering, he said” has been simplified and placed at the end of the English sentence for stylistic reasons. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  33. Matthew 15:26 tn Or “lap dogs, house dogs,” as opposed to dogs on the street. The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. In some Hellenistic uses κυνάριον (kunarion) simply means “dog.”sn The term dogs does not refer to wild dogs (scavenging animals roaming around the countryside) in this context, but to small dogs taken in as house pets. It is thus not a derogatory term per se, but is instead intended by Jesus to indicate the privileged position of the Jews (especially his disciples) as the initial recipients of Jesus’ ministry. The woman’s response of faith and her willingness to accept whatever Jesus would offer pleased him to such an extent that he granted her request.
  34. Matthew 15:26 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant and has not been translated.
  35. Matthew 15:27 tn Grk “she said.”
  36. Matthew 15:28 tn Grk “Then answering, Jesus said to her.” This expression has been simplified in the translation.
  37. Matthew 15:28 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 19

Psalm 19[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

19 The heavens declare the glory of God;[b]
the sky displays his handiwork.[c]
Day after day it speaks out;[d]
night after night it reveals his greatness.[e]
There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its[f] voice literally heard.
Yet its voice[g] echoes[h] throughout the earth;
its[i] words carry[j] to the distant horizon.[k]
In the sky[l] he has pitched a tent for the sun.[m]
Like a bridegroom it emerges[n] from its chamber;[o]
like a strong man it enjoys[p] running its course.[q]
It emerges from the distant horizon,[r]
and goes from one end of the sky to the other;[s]
nothing can escape[t] its heat.
The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life.[u]
The rules set down by the Lord[v] are reliable[w]
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.[x]
The Lord’s precepts are fair[y]
and make one joyful.[z]
The Lord’s commands[aa] are pure[ab]
and give insight for life.[ac]
The commands to fear the Lord are right[ad]
and endure forever.[ae]
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just.[af]
10 They are of greater value[ag] than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight[ah] than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there;[ai]
those who obey them receive a rich reward.[aj]
12 Who can know all his errors?[ak]
Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of.[al]
13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins;[am]
do not allow such sins to control me.[an]
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant[ao] rebellion.
14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight,[ap]
O Lord, my sheltering rock[aq] and my redeemer.[ar]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 19:1 sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.
  2. Psalm 19:1 sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.
  3. Psalm 19:1 tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.
  4. Psalm 19:2 tn Heb “it gushes forth a word.” The “sky” (see v. 1b) is the subject of the verb. Though not literally speaking (see v. 3), it clearly reveals God’s royal majesty. The sun’s splendor and its movement across the sky is in view (see vv. 4-6).
  5. Psalm 19:2 tn Heb “it [i.e., the sky] declares knowledge,” i.e., knowledge about God’s royal majesty and power (see v. 1). This apparently refers to the splendor and movements of the stars. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 2, like the participles in the preceding verse, combine with the temporal phrases (“day after day” and “night after night”) to emphasize the ongoing testimony of the sky.
  6. Psalm 19:3 tn Heb “their.” The antecedent of the plural pronoun is “heavens” (v. 1).
  7. Psalm 19:4 tc The MT reads, “their measuring line” (קוּם, qum). The noun קַו (qav, “measuring line”) makes no sense in this context. The reading קוֹלָם (qolam, “their voice”) which is supported by the LXX, is preferable.
  8. Psalm 19:4 tn Heb “goes out,” or “proceeds forth.”
  9. Psalm 19:4 tn Heb “their” (see the note on the word “its” in v. 3).
  10. Psalm 19:4 tn The verb is supplied in the translation. The Hebrew text has no verb; יָצָא (yatsaʾ, “goes out”) is understood by ellipsis.
  11. Psalm 19:4 tn Heb “to the end of the world.”
  12. Psalm 19:4 tn Heb “in them” (i.e., the heavens).
  13. Psalm 19:4 sn He has pitched a tent for the sun. The personified sun emerges from this “tent” in order to make its daytime journey across the sky. So the “tent” must refer metaphorically to the place where the sun goes to rest during the night.
  14. Psalm 19:5 tn The participle expresses the repeated or regular nature of the action.
  15. Psalm 19:5 tn The Hebrew noun חֻפָּה (khufah, “chamber”) occurs elsewhere only in Isa 4:5 and Joel 2:16 (where it refers to the bedroom of a bride and groom).sn Like a bridegroom. The metaphor likens the sun to a bridegroom who rejoices on his wedding night.
  16. Psalm 19:5 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the regularity of the action.
  17. Psalm 19:5 tn Heb “[on] a path.”sn Like a strong man. The metaphorical language reflects the brilliance of the sunrise, which attests to the sun’s vigor.
  18. Psalm 19:6 tn Heb “from the end of the heavens [is] its going forth.”
  19. Psalm 19:6 tn Heb “and its circuit [is] to their ends.”
  20. Psalm 19:6 tn Heb “is hidden from.”
  21. Psalm 19:7 tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.
  22. Psalm 19:7 tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the Lord.” The noun עֵדוּת (ʿedut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law.
  23. Psalm 19:7 tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
  24. Psalm 19:7 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.
  25. Psalm 19:8 tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.
  26. Psalm 19:8 tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.
  27. Psalm 19:8 tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.
  28. Psalm 19:8 tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.
  29. Psalm 19:8 tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.
  30. Psalm 19:9 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.
  31. Psalm 19:9 tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”
  32. Psalm 19:9 sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.
  33. Psalm 19:10 tn Heb “more desirable.”
  34. Psalm 19:10 tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).
  35. Psalm 19:11 tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”
  36. Psalm 19:11 tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”
  37. Psalm 19:12 tn Heb “Errors who can discern?” This rhetorical question makes the point that perfect moral discernment is impossible to achieve. Consequently it is inevitable that even those with good intentions will sin on occasion.
  38. Psalm 19:12 tn Heb “declare me innocent from hidden [things],” i.e., sins. In this context (see the preceding line) “hidden” sins are not sins committed in secret, but sins which are not recognized as such by the psalmist.
  39. Psalm 19:13 tn Or “presumptuous sins.”
  40. Psalm 19:13 tn Heb “let them not rule over me.”
  41. Psalm 19:13 tn Heb “great.”
  42. Psalm 19:14 tn Heb “may the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart be acceptable before you.” The prefixed verbal form at the beginning of the verse is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate the form as an imperfect continuing the thought of v. 14b: “[Then] the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart will be acceptable before you.”
  43. Psalm 19:14 tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
  44. Psalm 19:14 tn Heb “and the one who redeems me.” The metaphor casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 4:14-19

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
or walk[a] in the way of those who are evil.
15 Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on.[b]
16 For they cannot sleep[c] unless they cause harm;[d]
they are robbed of sleep[e] until they make someone stumble.[f]
17 Indeed they have eaten[g] bread gained from wickedness[h]
and drink[i] wine obtained from violence.[j]
18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,[k]
growing brighter and brighter[l] until full day.[m]
19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness;
they do not know what they stumble over.[n]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 4:14 tn The verb אָשַׁר (ʾashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.
  2. Proverbs 4:15 sn The verb עָבַר (ʿavar, “to cross over; to travel through”) ends both cola. In the first it warns against going on wrong paths; in the second it means “to go your own way,” but may hint that the way will cross over the wrong way. The rapid sequence of commands stresses the urgency of the matter.
  3. Proverbs 4:16 tn The verb יָשַׁן (yashan) “to be asleep” is a stative root. In the imperfect it can be future “will not sleep” or modal, in this case abilitive, “are not able to sleep.”
  4. Proverbs 4:16 sn The verb is רָעַע (raʿaʿ), which means “to do evil; to harm.” The verse is using the figure of hyperbole to stress the preoccupation of some people with causing trouble. R. L. Alden says, “How sick to find peace only at the price of another man’s misfortune” (Proverbs, 47).
  5. Proverbs 4:16 sn Heb “their sleep is robbed/seized”; these expressions are metonymical for their restlessness in plotting evil.
  6. Proverbs 4:16 sn The Hiphil imperfect (Kethib) means “cause to stumble.” This idiom (from hypocatastasis) means “bring injury/ruin to someone” (BDB 505-6 s.v. כָּשַׁל Hiph.1).
  7. Proverbs 4:17 tn The verb ‏לָחֲמוּ (lakhamu) is a perfect form of a dynamic root, and therefore past or perfective. This serves as verification of the description in the previous verse.
  8. Proverbs 4:17 tn Heb “the bread of wickedness” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). There are two ways to take the genitives: (1) genitives of apposition: wickedness and violence are their food and drink (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT), or (2) genitives of source: they derive their livelihood from the evil they do (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 93).
  9. Proverbs 4:17 tn The verb is an imperfect, either present or future, saying what they do or forecasting what they will do. Being paired with a perfect verb in the beginning of the verse, the description combines their past pattern with what they continue to do.
  10. Proverbs 4:17 tn Heb “the wine of violence” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). This is a genitive of source, meaning that the wine they drink was plundered from their violent crime. The Hebrew is structured in an AB:BA chiasm: “For they eat the bread of wickedness, and the wine of violence they drink.” The word order in the translation is reversed for the sake of smoothness and readability.
  11. Proverbs 4:18 tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ʾor) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe—the opposite of what darkness represents.
  12. Proverbs 4:18 tn A literal rendering would appear to be “walking and becoming bright.” When the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) is paired with another participle (or adj.) it can express the intensification of an event, that is, the second element in the pairing continues on and increases in character. Cf. Jonah 1:11 and see HALOT 246-247 s.v. הָלַךְ 5).
  13. Proverbs 4:18 tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.
  14. Proverbs 4:19 sn The image of paths, brightness or darkness, and stumbling illustrate the contrast of lifestyles. When acting with righteousness one’s course becomes clearer and more sure, while the wicked are caught in their ways, ignorant of why they fall.
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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday January 22, 2025 (NIV)

Genesis 44-45

The Final Test

44 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. Then put[a] my cup—the silver cup—in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed.[b]

When morning came,[c] the men and their donkeys were sent off.[d] They had not gone very far from the city[e] when Joseph said[f] to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once![g] When you overtake[h] them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? Doesn’t my master drink from this cup[i] and use it for divination?[j] You have done wrong!’”[k]

When the man[l] overtook them, he spoke these words to them. They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things?[m] Far be it from your servants to do such a thing![n] Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? If one of us has it,[o] he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves!”

10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment![p] The one who has it will become my slave,[q] but the rest of[r] you will go free.”[s] 11 So each man quickly lowered[t] his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the man[u] searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! 13 They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

14 So Judah and his brothers[v] came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there,[w] and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing?[x] Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?”[y]

16 Judah replied, “What can we say[z] to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves?[aa] God has exposed the sin of your servants![ab] We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”

17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of[ac] you may go back[ad] to your father in peace.”

18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you.[ae] Please do not get angry with your servant,[af] for you are just like Pharaoh.[ag] 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old.[ah] The boy’s[ai] brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left,[aj] and his father loves him.’

21 “Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see[ak] him.’[al] 22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father[am] will die.’[an] 23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there.[ao] If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go,[ap] for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons.[aq] 28 The first disappeared[ar] and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 29 If you take[as] this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair[at] in tragedy[au] to the grave.’[av]

30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us—his very life is bound up in his son’s life.[aw] 31 When he sees the boy is not with us,[ax] he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 32 Indeed,[ay] your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’

33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see[az] my father’s pain.”[ba]

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants,[bb] so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained[bc] with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. He wept loudly;[bd] the Egyptians heard it and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.[be]

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him because they were dumbfounded before him. Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here,[bf] for God sent me[bg] ahead of you to preserve life! For these past two years there has been famine in[bh] the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me[bi] ahead of you to preserve you[bj] on the earth and to save your lives[bk] by a great deliverance. So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser[bl] to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Now go up to my father quickly[bm] and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay! 10 You will live[bn] in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. 11 I will provide you with food[bo] there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor—you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’ 12 You and my brother Benjamin can certainly see with your own eyes that I really am the one who speaks to you.[bp] 13 So tell[bq] my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!”[br]

14 Then he threw himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After this his brothers talked with him.

16 Now it was reported[bs] in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased[bt] Pharaoh and his servants. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go[bu] to the land of Canaan! 18 Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you[bv] the best land in Egypt and you will eat[bw] the best[bx] of the land.’ 19 You are also commanded to say,[by] ‘Do this: Take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come. 20 Don’t worry[bz] about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt will be yours.’”

21 So the sons of Israel did as he said.[ca] Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed,[cb] and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave sets of clothes to each one of them,[cc] but to Benjamin he gave 300 pieces of silver and five sets of clothes.[cd] 23 To his father he sent the following:[ce] ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father’s journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers on their way and they left. He said to them, “As you travel don’t be overcome with fear.”[cf]

25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.[cg] 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned,[ch] for he did not believe them. 27 But when they related to him everything Joseph had said to them,[ci] and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived. 28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”

Footnotes:

  1. Genesis 44:2 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.
  2. Genesis 44:2 tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”
  3. Genesis 44:3 tn Heb “the morning was light.”
  4. Genesis 44:3 tn Heb “and the men were sent off, they and their donkeys.” This clause, like the preceding one, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.
  5. Genesis 44:4 tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”
  6. Genesis 44:4 tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.
  7. Genesis 44:4 tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
  8. Genesis 44:4 tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”
  9. Genesis 44:5 tn Heb “Is this not what my master drinks from.” The word “cup” is not in the Hebrew text, but is obviously the referent of “this,” and so has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  10. Genesis 44:5 tn Heb “and he, divining, divines with it.” The infinitive absolute is emphatic, stressing the importance of the cup to Joseph.
  11. Genesis 44:5 tn Heb “you have caused to be evil what you have done.”
  12. Genesis 44:6 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. Genesis 44:7 tn Heb “Why does my lord speak according to these words?”
  14. Genesis 44:7 tn Heb “according to this thing.”
  15. Genesis 44:9 tn Heb “The one with whom it is found from your servants.” Here “your servants” (a deferential way of referring to the brothers themselves) has been translated by the pronoun “us” to avoid confusion with Joseph’s servants.
  16. Genesis 44:10 tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.
  17. Genesis 44:10 tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”
  18. Genesis 44:10 tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  19. Genesis 44:10 tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.sn The rest of you will be free. Joseph’s purpose was to single out Benjamin to see if the brothers would abandon him as they had abandoned Joseph. He wanted to see if they had changed.
  20. Genesis 44:11 tn Heb “and they hurried and they lowered.” Their speed in doing this shows their presumption of innocence.
  21. Genesis 44:12 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  22. Genesis 44:14 sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.
  23. Genesis 44:14 tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.
  24. Genesis 44:15 tn Heb “What is this deed you have done?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question. A literal translation seems to contradict the following statement, in which Joseph affirms that he is able to divine such matters. Thus here the emotive force of the question has been reflected in the translation, “What did you think you were doing?”
  25. Genesis 44:15 tn Heb “[is] fully able to divine,” meaning that he can find things out by divination. The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis, stressing his ability to do this.
  26. Genesis 44:16 tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.
  27. Genesis 44:16 tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”
  28. Genesis 44:16 sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.
  29. Genesis 44:17 tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  30. Genesis 44:17 tn Heb “up” (reflecting directions from their point of view—“up” to Canaan; “down” to Egypt).
  31. Genesis 44:18 tn Heb “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word into the ears of my lord.”
  32. Genesis 44:18 tn Heb “and let not your anger burn against your servant.”
  33. Genesis 44:18 sn You are just like Pharaoh. Judah’s speech begins with the fear and trembling of one who stands condemned. Joseph has as much power as Pharaoh, either to condemn or to pardon. Judah will make his appeal, wording his speech in such a way as to appeal to Joseph’s compassion for the father, whom he mentions no less than fourteen times in the speech.
  34. Genesis 44:20 tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.
  35. Genesis 44:20 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  36. Genesis 44:20 tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”
  37. Genesis 44:21 tn The cohortative after the imperative indicates purpose here.
  38. Genesis 44:21 tn Heb “that I may set my eyes upon him.”
  39. Genesis 44:22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the boy’s father, i.e., Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  40. Genesis 44:22 tn The last two verbs are perfect tenses with vav consecutive. The first is subordinated to the second as a conditional clause.
  41. Genesis 44:26 tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  42. Genesis 44:26 tn Heb “go down.”
  43. Genesis 44:27 tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”
  44. Genesis 44:28 tn Heb “went forth from me.”
  45. Genesis 44:29 tn The construction uses a perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive to introduce the conditional clause and then another perfect verbal form with a vav consecutive to complete the sentence: “if you take…then you will bring down.”
  46. Genesis 44:29 sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole—they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. See Gen 42:38.
  47. Genesis 44:29 tn Heb “evil/calamity.” The term is different than the one used in the otherwise identical statement recorded in v. 31 (see also 42:38).
  48. Genesis 44:29 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.
  49. Genesis 44:30 tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”
  50. Genesis 44:31 tn Heb “when he sees that there is no boy.”
  51. Genesis 44:32 tn Or “for.”
  52. Genesis 44:34 tn The Hebrew text has “lest I see,” which expresses a negative purpose—“I cannot go up lest I see.”
  53. Genesis 44:34 tn Heb “the calamity which would find my father.”
  54. Genesis 45:1 tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”
  55. Genesis 45:1 tn Heb “stood.”
  56. Genesis 45:2 tn Heb “and he gave his voice in weeping,” meaning that Joseph could not restrain himself and wept out loud.
  57. Genesis 45:2 tn Heb “and the Egyptians heard and the household of Pharaoh heard.” Presumably in the latter case this was by means of a report.
  58. Genesis 45:5 tn Heb “let there not be anger in your eyes.”
  59. Genesis 45:5 sn You sold me here, for God sent me. The tension remains as to how the brothers’ wickedness and God’s intentions work together. Clearly God is able to transform the actions of wickedness to bring about some gracious end. But this is saying more than that; it is saying that from the beginning it was God who sent Joseph here. Although harmonization of these ideas remains humanly impossible, the divine intention is what should be the focus. Only that will enable reconciliation.
  60. Genesis 45:6 tn Heb “the famine [has been] in the midst of.”
  61. Genesis 45:7 sn God sent me. The repetition of this theme that God sent Joseph is reminiscent of commission narratives in which the leader could announce that God sent him (e.g., Exod 3:15).
  62. Genesis 45:7 tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition ל (lamed), means “to make.”
  63. Genesis 45:7 tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.
  64. Genesis 45:8 tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.
  65. Genesis 45:9 tn Heb “hurry and go up.”
  66. Genesis 45:10 tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive here expresses instruction.
  67. Genesis 45:11 tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”
  68. Genesis 45:12 tn Heb “And, look, your eyes see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that my mouth is the one speaking to you.”
  69. Genesis 45:13 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.
  70. Genesis 45:13 tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”
  71. Genesis 45:16 tn Heb “and the sound was heard.”
  72. Genesis 45:16 tn Heb “was good in the eyes of.”
  73. Genesis 45:17 tn Heb “and go! Enter!”
  74. Genesis 45:18 tn After the imperatives in vv. 17-18a, the cohortative with vav indicates result.
  75. Genesis 45:18 tn After the cohortative the imperative with vav states the ultimate goal.
  76. Genesis 45:18 tn Heb “fat.”
  77. Genesis 45:19 tn The words “to say” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  78. Genesis 45:20 tn Heb “let not your eye regard.”
  79. Genesis 45:21 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel did so.”
  80. Genesis 45:21 tn Heb “according to the mouth of Pharaoh.”
  81. Genesis 45:22 tn Heb “to all of them he gave, to each one, changes of outer garments.”
  82. Genesis 45:22 tn Heb “changes of outer garments.”
  83. Genesis 45:23 tn Heb “according to this.”
  84. Genesis 45:24 tn Heb “do not be stirred up in the way.” The verb means “stir up.” Some understand the Hebrew verb רָגָז (ragaz, “to stir up”) as a reference to quarreling (see Prov 29:9, where it has this connotation), but in Exod 15:14 and other passages it means “to fear.” This might refer to a fear of robbers, but more likely it is an assuring word that they need not be fearful about returning to Egypt. They might have thought that once Jacob was in Egypt, Joseph would take his revenge on them.
  85. Genesis 45:25 tn Heb “and they entered the land of Canaan to their father.”
  86. Genesis 45:26 tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.
  87. Genesis 45:27 tn Heb “and they spoke to him all the words of Joseph which he had spoke to them.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Matthew 14:13-36

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat[a] to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it,[b] they followed him on foot from the towns.[c] 14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place[d] and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But he[e] replied, “They don’t need to go. You[f] give them something to eat.” 17 They[g] said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 19 Then[h] he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples,[i] who in turn gave them to the crowds.[j] 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full. 21 Not counting women and children, there were about 5,000 men who ate.

Walking on Water

22 Immediately Jesus[k] made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds. 23 And after he sent the crowds away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile the boat, already far from land,[l] was taking a beating from the waves because the wind was against it. 25 As the night was ending,[m] Jesus came to them walking on the sea.[n] 26 When[o] the disciples saw him walking on the water[p] they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out with fear. 27 But immediately Jesus[q] spoke to them:[r] “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 Peter[s] said to him,[t] “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.” 29 So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out,[u] “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

34 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.[v] 35 When the people[w] there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him. 36 They begged him if[x] they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 14:13 sn See the note at Matt 4:21 for a description of the first-century fishing boat discovered in 1986 near Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
  2. Matthew 14:13 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
  3. Matthew 14:13 tn Or “cities.”
  4. Matthew 14:15 tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).
  5. Matthew 14:16 tc ‡ The majority of witnesses read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Iēsous, “Jesus”) here, perhaps to clarify the subject. Although only a few Greek mss, along with several versional witnesses (א* D Zvid 579 1424 e k sys,c,p sa bo), lack the name of Jesus, the omission does not seem to be either accidental or malicious and is therefore judged to be most likely the original reading. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult. NA28 has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
  6. Matthew 14:16 tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (humeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.
  7. Matthew 14:17 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  8. Matthew 14:19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
  9. Matthew 14:19 tn Grk “And after instructing the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass, after taking the five loaves and the two fish, after looking up to heaven, he gave thanks, and after breaking the loaves he gave them to the disciples.” Although most of the participles are undoubtedly attendant circumstance, there are but two indicative verbs—“he gave thanks” and “he gave.” The structure of the sentence thus seems to focus on these two actions and has been translated accordingly.
  10. Matthew 14:19 tn Grk “to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.”
  11. Matthew 14:22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. Matthew 14:24 tn Grk “The boat was already many stades from the land.” A stade (στάδιον, stadion) was a unit of distance about 607 feet (185 meters) long.
  13. Matthew 14:25 tn Grk “In the fourth watch of the night,” that is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
  14. Matthew 14:25 tn Or “on the lake.”
  15. Matthew 14:26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  16. Matthew 14:26 tn Grk “on the sea”; or “on the lake.” The translation “water” has been used here for stylistic reasons (cf. the same phrase in v. 25).
  17. Matthew 14:27 tc Most witnesses have ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (ho Iēsous, “Jesus”), while a few lack the words (א* D 073 892 ff1 syc sa bo). Although such additions are often suspect (due to liturgical influences, piety, or for the sake of clarity), in this case it is likely that ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς dropped out accidentally. Apart from a few albeit significant witnesses, as noted above, the rest of the tradition has either ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς αὐτοῖς (ho Iēsous autois) or αὐτοῖς ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (autois ho Iēsous). In majuscule letters, with Jesus’ name as a nomen sacrum, this would have been written as autoisois_ or ois_autois. Thus homoioteleuton could explain the reason for the omission of Jesus’ name. (This same phenomenon occurs in P137 at Mark 1:17 where the original text no doubt read αὐτοῖς ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς, but this papyrus accidentally omits the nomen sacrum.)
  18. Matthew 14:27 tn Grk “he said to them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
  19. Matthew 14:28 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  20. Matthew 14:28 tn Grk “answering him, Peter said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant and has not been translated.
  21. Matthew 14:30 tn Grk “he cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
  22. Matthew 14:34 sn Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Mark 6:53). The Sea of Galilee was also sometimes known as the Sea of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).
  23. Matthew 14:35 tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anēr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).
  24. Matthew 14:36 tn Grk “asked that they might touch.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Psalm 18:37-50

37 I chase my enemies and catch[a] them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
38 I beat them[b] to death;[c]
they fall at my feet.[d]
39 You give me strength[e] for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me.[f]
40 You make my enemies retreat;[g]
I destroy those who hate me.[h]
41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them;[i]
they cry out to the Lord,[j] but he does not answer them.
42 I grind them as fine windblown dust;[k]
I beat them underfoot[l] like clay[m] in the streets.
43 You rescue me from a hostile army.[n]
You make me[o] a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.[p]
44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.[q]
Foreigners are powerless[r] before me.
45 Foreigners lose their courage;[s]
they shake with fear[t] as they leave[u] their strongholds.[v]
46 The Lord is alive![w]
My Protector[x] is praiseworthy.[y]
The God who delivers me[z] is exalted as king.[aa]
47 The one true God[ab] completely vindicates me;[ac]
he makes nations submit to me.[ad]
48 He delivers me[ae] from my enemies.
You snatch me away[af] from those who attack me;[ag]
you rescue me from violent men.
49 So I will give you thanks before the nations,[ah] O Lord.
I will sing praises to you.[ai]
50 He[aj] gives his king magnificent victories;[ak]
he is faithful[al] to his chosen ruler,[am]
to David and his descendants[an] forever.”[ao]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 18:37 tn 2 Sam 22:38 reads “destroy.”
  2. Psalm 18:38 tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”
  3. Psalm 18:38 tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”
  4. Psalm 18:38 sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.
  5. Psalm 18:39 tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.
  6. Psalm 18:39 tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”sn My foes kneel before me. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 268.
  7. Psalm 18:40 tn Heb “and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or “neck”].” The idiom “give [the] back” means “to cause [one] to turn the back and run away.” Cf. Exod 23:27.
  8. Psalm 18:40 sn Those who hate me. See v. 17, where it is the Lord who delivered the psalmist from those who hated him.
  9. Psalm 18:41 tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”
  10. Psalm 18:41 tn Heb “to the Lord.” The words “they cry out” are supplied in the translation because they are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).sn They cry out. This reference to the psalmist’s enemies crying out for help to the Lord suggests that the psalmist refers here to enemies within the covenant community, rather than foreigners. However, the militaristic context suggests foreign enemies are in view. Ancient Near Eastern literature indicates that defeated enemies would sometimes cry out for mercy to the god(s) of their conqueror. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 271.
  11. Psalm 18:42 tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”
  12. Psalm 18:42 tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.
  13. Psalm 18:42 tn Or “mud.”
  14. Psalm 18:43 tn Heb “from the strivings of a people.” In this context the Hebrew term רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Judg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עָם (ʿam, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. I עַם, עָם 2.d). Some understand the phrase as referring to attacks by the psalmist’s own countrymen, the “nation” being Israel. However, foreign enemies appear to be in view; note the reference to “nations” in the following line.
  15. Psalm 18:43 tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”
  16. Psalm 18:43 tn Heb “a people whom I did not know serve me.” In this context “know” (יָדַע, yadaʿ) probably refers to formal recognition by treaty. People who were once not under the psalmist’s authority now willingly submit to his rulership to avoid being conquered militarily (see vv. 44-45). The language may recall the events recorded in 2 Sam 8:9-10 and 10:19.
  17. Psalm 18:44 tn Heb “at a report of an ear they submit to me.” The report of the psalmist’s exploits is so impressive that those who hear it submit to his rulership without putting up a fight.
  18. Psalm 18:44 tn For the meaning “be weak, powerless” for כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. The next line (see v. 45a), in which “foreigners” are also mentioned, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Pss 66:3; 81:15; cf. NIV “cringe”; NRSV “came cringing”).
  19. Psalm 18:45 tn Heb “wither, wear out.”
  20. Psalm 18:45 tn The meaning of חָרַג (kharag, “shake”) is established on the basis of cognates in Arabic and Aramaic. 2 Sam 22:46 reads חָגַר (khagar), which might mean here, “[they] come limping” (on the basis of a cognate in postbiblical Hebrew). The normal meaning for חָגַר (“gird”) makes little sense here.
  21. Psalm 18:45 tn Heb “from.”
  22. Psalm 18:45 tn Heb “their prisons.” The besieged cities of the foreigners are compared to prisons.
  23. Psalm 18:46 tn Elsewhere the construction חַי־יְהוָה (khay yehvah) is used exclusively as an oath formula, “as surely as the Lord lives,” but this is not the case here, for no oath follows. Here the statement is an affirmation of the Lord’s active presence and intervention. In contrast to pagan deities, he demonstrates he is the living God by rescuing and empowering the psalmist.
  24. Psalm 18:46 tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection. See similar phrases in vv. 2, 31.
  25. Psalm 18:46 tn Or “blessed [i.e., praised] be.”
  26. Psalm 18:46 tn Heb “the God of my deliverance.” 2 Sam 22:48 reads, “the God of the rocky cliff of my deliverance.”
  27. Psalm 18:46 tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 46:10; 57:5, 11).
  28. Psalm 18:47 tn Heb “the God.” See v. 32.
  29. Psalm 18:47 tn Heb “is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication.sn Completely vindicates me. In the ancient Near East military victory was sometimes viewed as a sign that one’s God had judged in favor of the victor, avenging and/or vindicating him. See, for example, Judg 11:27, 32-33, 36.
  30. Psalm 18:47 tn Heb “he subdues nations beneath me.” On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue,” a homonym of דָּבַר, davar, “speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 47:3 and 2 Chr 22:10. 2 Sam 22:48 reads “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”
  31. Psalm 18:48 tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”
  32. Psalm 18:48 tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).
  33. Psalm 18:48 tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”
  34. Psalm 18:49 sn I will give you thanks before the nations. This probably alludes to the fact that the psalmist will praise the Lord in the presence of the defeated nations when they, as his subjects, bring their tribute payments. Ideally the Davidic king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness. See J. H. Eaton, Kingship and the Psalms (SBT), 182-85.
  35. Psalm 18:49 tn Heb “to your name.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Lord,” the primary name of Israel’s covenant God which suggests his active presence with his people (see Exod 3:12-15).
  36. Psalm 18:50 tn Or “the one who.”
  37. Psalm 18:50 tn Heb “magnifies the victories of his king.” “His king” refers to the psalmist, the Davidic king whom God has chosen to rule Israel.
  38. Psalm 18:50 tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty.”
  39. Psalm 18:50 tn Heb “his anointed [one],” i.e., the psalmist/Davidic king. See Ps 2:2.
  40. Psalm 18:50 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
  41. Psalm 18:50 sn If David is the author of the psalm (see the superscription), then he here anticipates that God will continue to demonstrate loyalty to his descendants who succeed him. If the author is a later Davidic king, then he views the divine favor he has experienced as the outworking of God’s faithful promises to David his ancestor.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 4:11-13

11 I hereby guide you[a] in the way of wisdom
and I lead you in upright paths.[b]
12 When you walk, your steps[c] will not be hampered,[d]
and when you run,[e] you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction,[f] do not let it go;
protect it,[g] because it is your life.

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 4:11 tn The form הֹרֵתִיךָ (horetikha) is the Hiphil perfect with a suffix from the root יָרָה (yarah, “to guide”). This and the parallel verb should be taken as instantaneous (or performative) perfects, translated as an English present tense: The sage is now instructing or pointing the way.sn The verb יָרָה (yarah) means “to teach; to instruct; to guide.” This is from the same root as the Hebrew word for “law” (torah). See G. R. Driver, “Hebrew Notes,” VT 1 (1951): 241-50; and J. L. Crenshaw, “The Acquisition of Knowledge in Israelite Wisdom Literature,” WW 7 (1986): 9.
  2. Proverbs 4:11 tn Heb “in the tracks of uprightness”; cf. NAB “on straightforward paths.” Both the verb and the object of the preposition make use of the idiom—the verb is the Hiphil perfect from דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, related to “road; way”) and the object is “wagon tracks, paths.”
  3. Proverbs 4:12 sn The noun צַעֲדֶךָ (tsaʿadekha, “your steps”) and the temporal infinitive בְּלֶכְתְּךָ (belekhtekha, “when you walk”) use the idiom of walking to represent the course of life. On that course there will be no obstacles; the “path” will be straight—morally and practically.
  4. Proverbs 4:12 sn The verb צָרַר (tsarar, “to be narrow; to be constricted”) refers to that which is narrow or constricted, signifying distress, trouble, adversity; that which was wide-open or broad represents freedom and deliverance.
  5. Proverbs 4:12 sn The progression from walking to running is an idiom called “anabasis,” suggesting that as greater and swifter progress is made, there will be nothing to impede the progress (e.g., Isa 40:31).
  6. Proverbs 4:13 tn Or “discipline.” See note at 1:2.
  7. Proverbs 4:13 tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsereha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).
New English Translation (NET)

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