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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday July 28, 2021 (NIV)

2 Chronicles 21-23

21 Jehoshaphat passed away[a] and was buried with his ancestors[b] in the City of David.[c] His son Jehoram[d] replaced him as king.

Jehoram’s Reign

2 His brothers, Jehoshaphat’s sons, were Azariah, Jechiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of King Jehoshaphat of Israel.[e] 3 Their father gave them many presents, including silver, gold, and other precious items, along with fortified cities in Judah. But he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

4 Jehoram took control of his father’s kingdom and became powerful.[f] Then he killed all his brothers,[g] as well as some of the officials of Israel. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter.[h] He did evil in the sight of[i] the Lord. 7 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy David’s dynasty[j] because of the promise[k] he had made to give David a perpetual dynasty.[l]

8 During Jehoram’s[m] reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king.[n] 9 Jehoram crossed over with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers.[o] 10 So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day.[p] At that same time Libnah also rebelled and freed themselves from Judah’s control[q] because Jehoram[r] rejected the Lord God of his ancestors. 11 He also built high places on the hills of Judah; he encouraged the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord[s] and led Judah away from the Lord.[t]

12 Jehoram[u] received this letter from Elijah the prophet: “This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: ‘You[v] have not followed in the footsteps[w] of your father Jehoshaphat and of[x] King Asa of Judah, 13 but have instead followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. You encouraged the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord, just as the family of Ahab does in Israel.[y] You also killed your brothers, members of your father’s family,[z] who were better than you. 14 So look, the Lord is about to severely afflict[aa] your people, your sons, your wives, and all you own. 15 And you will get a serious, chronic intestinal disease which will cause your intestines to come out.’”[ab]

16 The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the Philistines[ac] and the Arabs who lived beside the Cushites. 17 They attacked Judah and swept through it.[ad] They carried off everything they found in the royal palace,[ae] including his sons and wives. None of his sons was left, except for his youngest, Ahaziah. 18 After all this happened, the Lord afflicted him with an incurable intestinal disease.[af] 19 After about two years his intestines came out because of the disease, so that he died a very painful death.[ag] His people did not make a bonfire to honor him, as they had done for his ancestors.[ah]

20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. No one regretted his death;[ai] he was buried in the City of David,[aj] but not in the royal tombs.

Ahaziah’s Reign

22 The residents of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah king in his place, for the raiding party that invaded the camp with the Arabs had killed all the older sons.[ak] So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. 2 Ahaziah was twenty-two[al] years old when he became king, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother[am] was Athaliah, the granddaughter[an] of Omri. 3 He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty,[ao] for his mother gave him evil advice.[ap] 4 He did evil in the sight of[aq] the Lord like Ahab’s dynasty because, after his father’s death, they[ar] gave him advice that led to his destruction. 5 He followed their advice and joined Ahab’s son King Joram[as] of Israel in a battle against King Hazael of Syria[at] at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram. 6 Joram[au] returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians[av] in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Ahaziah[aw] son of King Jehoram of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he had been wounded.[ax]

7 God brought about Ahaziah’s downfall through his visit to Joram.[ay] When Ahaziah[az] arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had commissioned[ba] to wipe out Ahab’s family.[bb] 8 While Jehu was dishing out punishment to Ahab’s family, he discovered the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives who were serving Ahaziah and killed them. 9 He looked for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria. They brought him to Jehu and then executed him. They did give him a burial, for they reasoned,[bc] “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with his whole heart.” There was no one in Ahaziah’s family strong enough to rule in his place.[bd]

Athaliah is Eliminated

10 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she was determined to destroy the entire royal line[be] of Judah.[bf] 11 So Jehoshabeath,[bg] the daughter of King Jehoram,[bh] took Ahaziah’s son Joash and stole him away from the rest of the royal descendants who were to be executed. She hid him and his nurse in the room where the bed covers were stored. So Jehoshabeath the daughter of King Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah so she could not execute him. 12 He remained in hiding in God’s temple[bi] for six years while Athaliah was ruling over the land.

23 In the seventh year Jehoiada made a bold move. He made a pact[bj] with the officers of the units of hundreds: Azariah son of Jehoram, Ishmael son of Jehochanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. 2 They traveled throughout Judah and assembled the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the Israelite family leaders.

They came to Jerusalem, 3 and the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the temple of God. Jehoiada[bk] said to them, “The king’s son will rule, just as the Lord promised David’s descendants. 4 This is what you must do. One-third of you priests and Levites who are on duty during the Sabbath will guard the doors. 5 Another third of you will be stationed at the royal palace and still another third at the Foundation Gate. All the others[bl] will stand in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple. 6 No one must enter the Lord’s temple except the priests and Levites who are on duty. They may enter because they are ceremonially pure. All the others should carry out their assigned service to the Lord. 7 The Levites must surround the king. Each of you must hold his weapon in his hand. Whoever tries to enter the temple[bm] must be killed. You must accompany the king wherever he goes.”[bn]

8 The Levites and all the men of Judah[bo] did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath. Jehoiada the priest did not release his divisions from their duties. 9 Jehoiada the priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and shields[bp] that were kept in God’s temple. 10 He placed the men at their posts, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king.[bq] 11 Jehoiada and his sons led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia.[br] They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head.[bs] They declared, “Long live the king!”

12 When Athaliah heard the royal guard[bt] shouting and praising the king, she joined the crowd[bu] at the Lord’s temple. 13 Then she saw[bv] the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters stood beside the king and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets, and the musicians with various instruments were leading the celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes and yelled, “Treason! Treason!”[bw] 14 Jehoiada the priest sent out the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, and ordered them, “Bring her outside the temple to the guards.[bx] Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple.[by] 15 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance.[bz] There they executed her.

16 Jehoiada then drew up a covenant stipulating that he, all the people, and the king should be loyal to the Lord.[ca] 17 All the people went and demolished[cb] the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols.[cc] They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. 18 Jehoiada then assigned the duties of the Lord’s temple to the priests, the Levites whom David had assigned to the Lord’s temple. They were responsible for offering burnt sacrifices to the Lord with joy and music, according to[cd] the law of Moses and the edict of David. 19 He posted guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple, so no one who was ceremonially unclean in any way could enter. 20 He summoned[ce] the officers of the units of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and he then led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne. 21 All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah.[cf]

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Chronicles 21:1 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 21:1 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 12, 19).
  3. 2 Chronicles 21:1 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  4. 2 Chronicles 21:1 tn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 8:20-24 has the variant spelling “Joram” for the son of Jehoshaphat.
  5. 2 Chronicles 21:2 sn A number of times in 2 Chronicles “Israel” is used instead of the more specific “Judah”; see 2 Chr 12:6; 23:2). In the interest of consistency some translations (e.g., NAB, NRSV) substitute “Judah” for “Israel” here.
  6. 2 Chronicles 21:4 tn Heb “and Jehoram arose over the kingdom of his father and strengthened himself.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 21:4 tn Heb “and he killed all his brothers with the sword.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 21:6 tn Heb “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 21:6 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 21:7 tn Heb “house.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 21:7 tn Or “covenant.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 21:7 tn Heb “which he made to David, just as he had promised to give him and his sons a lamp all the days.” Here “lamp” is metaphorical, symbolizing the Davidic dynasty.
  13. 2 Chronicles 21:8 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  14. 2 Chronicles 21:8 tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 21:9 tc Heb “and he arose at night and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him, and the chariot officers.” The Hebrew text as it stands gives the impression that Jehoram was surrounded and launched a victorious nighttime counterattack. Yet v. 10 goes on to state that the Edomite revolt was successful. The translation above assumes an emendation of the Hebrew text. Adding a third masculine singular pronominal suffix to the accusative sign before Edom (reading אֹתוֹ [ʾoto, “him”] instead of just אֶת [ʾet]) and taking Edom as the subject of verbs allows one to translate the verse in a way that is more consistent with the context, which depicts an Israelite defeat, not victory. See also 2 Kgs 8:21.
  16. 2 Chronicles 21:10 tn Heb “and Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 21:10 tn Or “from Jehoram’s control”; Heb “from under his hand.” The pronominal suffix may refer to Judah in general or, more specifically, to Jehoram.
  18. 2 Chronicles 21:10 tn Heb “he.” This pronoun could refer to Judah, but the context focuses on Jehoram’s misdeeds. See especially v. 11.
  19. 2 Chronicles 21:11 tn Heb “and he caused the residents of Jerusalem to commit adultery.” In this context spiritual unfaithfulness to the Lord is in view rather than physical adultery.
  20. 2 Chronicles 21:11 tn Heb “and drove Judah away.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 21:12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  22. 2 Chronicles 21:12 tn Heb “Because you…” In the Hebrew text this lengthy sentence is completed in vv. 14-15. Because of its length and complexity (and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences), the translation has divided it up into several English sentences.
  23. 2 Chronicles 21:12 tn Heb “walked in the ways.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 21:12 tn Heb “in the ways of.”
  25. 2 Chronicles 21:13 tn Heb “and you walked in the way of the kings of Israel and caused Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to commit adultery, like the house of Ahab causes to commit adultery.”
  26. 2 Chronicles 21:13 tn Heb “the house of your father.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 21:14 tn Heb “to strike with a great striking.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 21:15 tn Heb “and you [will have] a serious illness, an illness of the intestines until your intestines come out because of the illness days upon days.”
  29. 2 Chronicles 21:16 tn Heb “the spirit of the Philistines.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 21:17 tn Heb “broke it up.”
  31. 2 Chronicles 21:17 tn Heb “all the property which was found in the house of the king.”
  32. 2 Chronicles 21:18 tn Heb “in his intestines with an illness [for which] there was no healing.”
  33. 2 Chronicles 21:19 tn Heb “and it was to days from days, and about the time of the going out of the end for the days, two, his intestines came out with his illness and he died in severe illness.”
  34. 2 Chronicles 21:19 tn Heb “and his people did not make for him a fire, like the fire of his fathers.”
  35. 2 Chronicles 21:20 tn Heb “and he went without desire.”
  36. 2 Chronicles 21:20 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  37. 2 Chronicles 22:1 tn Heb “for all the older [ones] the raiding party that came with the Arabs to the camp had killed.”
  38. 2 Chronicles 22:2 tc Heb “forty-two,” but some mss of the LXX and the Syriac along with the parallel passage in 2 Kgs 8:26 read “twenty-two.”
  39. 2 Chronicles 22:2 tn Heb “The name of his mother.”
  40. 2 Chronicles 22:2 tn The Hebrew term בַּת (bat, “daughter”) can refer, as here, to a granddaughter. See HALOT 165-66 s.v. I בַּת 1.
  41. 2 Chronicles 22:3 tn Heb “and also he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab.”
  42. 2 Chronicles 22:3 tn Heb “for his mother was his adviser to do evil.”
  43. 2 Chronicles 22:4 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  44. 2 Chronicles 22:4 tn That is, the members of Ahab’s royal house.
  45. 2 Chronicles 22:5 tn Heb “Jehoram.”Jehoram and Joram are alternate spellings of the Israelite king’s name (also in vv. 6-7). The shorter form is used in these verses to avoid confusion with King Jehoram of Judah, father of Azariah.
  46. 2 Chronicles 22:5 tn Heb “Aram” (also in v. 6).
  47. 2 Chronicles 22:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  48. 2 Chronicles 22:6 tn Heb “which they inflicted [on] him.”
  49. 2 Chronicles 22:6 tc Most Hebrew mss read “Azariah.” A few Hebrew mss, the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac read “Ahaziah” (cf. 2 Kgs 8:29).
  50. 2 Chronicles 22:6 tn Heb “because he was sick,” presumably referring to the wounds he received in the battle with the Syrians.
  51. 2 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “From God was the downfall of Ahaziah by going to Joram.”
  52. 2 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  53. 2 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “anointed.”
  54. 2 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “to cut off the house of Ahab.”
  55. 2 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “they said.”
  56. 2 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “and there was no one belonging to the house of Ahaziah to retain strength for kingship.”
  57. 2 Chronicles 22:10 tn Heb “she arose and she destroyed all the royal offspring.” The verb קוּם (qum, “arise”) is here used in an auxiliary sense to indicate that she embarked on a campaign to destroy the royal offspring. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 125.
  58. 2 Chronicles 22:10 tn Heb “house of Judah.”
  59. 2 Chronicles 22:11 sn Jehoshabeath is a variant spelling of the name Jehosheba (2 Kgs 11:2).
  60. 2 Chronicles 22:11 tn Heb “the king”; the referent (King Jehoram, see later in this verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  61. 2 Chronicles 22:12 tn Heb “and he was with them in the house of God hiding.”
  62. 2 Chronicles 23:1 tn Or “covenant.”
  63. 2 Chronicles 23:3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada the priest, cf. v. 8) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  64. 2 Chronicles 23:5 tn Heb “all the people.”
  65. 2 Chronicles 23:7 tn Heb “house.”
  66. 2 Chronicles 23:7 tn Heb “and be with the king when he goes in/enters and when he goes out/exits.”
  67. 2 Chronicles 23:8 tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.
  68. 2 Chronicles 23:9 tn The Hebrew text lists two different types of shields here. Most translations render “the large and small shields” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; NEB “King David’s spears, shields, and bucklers”).
  69. 2 Chronicles 23:10 tn Heb “and he stationed all the people, each with his weapon in his hand, from the south shoulder of the house to the north shoulder of the house, at the altar and at the house, near the king all around.”
  70. 2 Chronicles 23:11 tn The Hebrew word עֵדוּת (ʿedut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain (see the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [AB], 128). Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant (see HALOT 790-91 s.v.).
  71. 2 Chronicles 23:11 tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”
  72. 2 Chronicles 23:12 tn Heb “and Athaliah heard the sound of the people, the runners.”
  73. 2 Chronicles 23:12 tn Heb “she came to the people.”
  74. 2 Chronicles 23:13 tn Heb “and she saw, and behold.”
  75. 2 Chronicles 23:13 tn Or “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”
  76. 2 Chronicles 23:14 tn Heb “ranks.”
  77. 2 Chronicles 23:14 tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.’”
  78. 2 Chronicles 23:15 tn Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went through the entrance of the gate of the horses [into] the house of the king.” Some English versions treat the phrase “gate of the horses” as the name of the gate (“the Horse Gate”; e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  79. 2 Chronicles 23:16 tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and [between] all the people and [between] the king, to become a people for the Lord.”
  80. 2 Chronicles 23:17 tn Or “tore down.”
  81. 2 Chronicles 23:17 tn Or “images.”
  82. 2 Chronicles 23:18 tn Heb “as it is written in.”
  83. 2 Chronicles 23:20 tn Heb “took.”
  84. 2 Chronicles 23:21 tn Heb “killed Athaliah with the sword.”
New English Translation (NET)

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

Romans 11:13-36

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the first portion[a] of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches.[b]

17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in[c] the richness of the olive root, 18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted![d] They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God—harshness toward those who have fallen, but[e] God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness;[f] otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And even they—if they do not continue in their unbelief—will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?

25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters,[g] so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel[h] until the full number[i] of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so[j] all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them,[k]
when I take away their sins.”[l]

28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now[m] receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.[n]

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!

34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?[o]
35 Or who has first given to God,[p]
that God[q] needs to repay him?[r]

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

Footnotes:

  1. Romans 11:16 tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.
  2. Romans 11:16 sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.
  3. Romans 11:17 tn Grk “became a participant of.”
  4. Romans 11:20 tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”
  5. Romans 11:22 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
  6. Romans 11:22 tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”
  7. Romans 11:25 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
  8. Romans 11:25 tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
  9. Romans 11:25 tn Grk “fullness.”
  10. Romans 11:26 tn It is not clear whether the phrase καὶ οὕτως (kai houtōs, “and so”) is to be understood in a modal sense (“and in this way”) or in a temporal sense (“and in the end”). Neither interpretation is conclusive from a grammatical standpoint, and in fact the two may not be mutually exclusive. Some, like H. Hübner, who argue strongly against the temporal reading, nevertheless continue to give the phrase a temporal significance, saying that God will save all Israel in the end (Gottes Ich und Israel [FRLANT], 118).
  11. Romans 11:27 sn A quotation from Isa 59:20-21.
  12. Romans 11:27 sn A quotation from Isa 27:9; Jer 31:33-34.
  13. Romans 11:31 tc Some significant Alexandrian and Western mss (א B D*,c 1506 bo) read νῦν (nun, “now”) here. A few other mss (33 365 sa) have ὕστερον (husteron, “finally”). mss that lack the word are P46 A D1 F G Ψ 81 1175 1241 1505 1739 1881 M latt. External evidence slightly favors omission with good representatives from the major text-forms, and because of the alliance of Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (with the Byzantine going against its normal tendency to embrace the longer reading). Internally, scribes could have added νῦν here to give balance to the preceding clause (οὗτοι νῦν ἠπείθησαν…αὐτοὶ νῦν ἐλεηθῶσιν [|outoi nun ēpeithēsan…autoi nun eleēthōsin; “they have now been disobedient…they may now receive mercy”]). However, it seems much more likely that they would have deleted it because of its seeming inappropriateness in this context. That some witnesses have ὕστερον presupposes the presence of νῦν in their ancestors. A decision is difficult, but νῦν is slightly preferred, since it is the more difficult reading and is adequately represented in the mss.
  14. Romans 11:32 tn Grk “to all”; “them” has been supplied for stylistic reasons.
  15. Romans 11:34 sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.
  16. Romans 11:35 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. Romans 11:35 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Romans 11:35 sn A quotation from Job 41:11.
New English Translation (NET)

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

Psalm 22:1-18

Psalm 22[a]

For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”;[b] a psalm of David.

22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?[c]
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.[d]
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.[e]
3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.[f]
4 In you our ancestors[g] trusted;
they trusted in you[h] and you rescued them.
5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.[i]
6 But I[j] am a worm,[k] not a man;[l]
people insult me and despise me.[m]
7 All who see me taunt[n] me;
they mock me[o] and shake their heads.[p]
8 They say,[q]
“Commit yourself[r] to the Lord!
Let the Lord[s] rescue him!
Let the Lord[t] deliver him, for he delights in him.”[u]
9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out[v] from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth;[w]
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.[x]
11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.[y]
12 Many bulls[z] surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan[aa] hem me in.
13 They[ab] open their mouths to devour me[ac]
like a roaring lion that rips its prey.[ad]
14 My strength drains away like water;[ae]
all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[af] is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth[ag] is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.[ah]
You[ai] set me in the dust of death.[aj]
16 Yes,[ak] wild dogs surround me—
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.[al]
17 I can count[am] all my bones;
my enemies[an] are gloating over me in triumph.[ao]
18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice[ap] for my garments.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 22:1 sn Psalm 22. The psalmist cries out to the Lord for deliverance from his dangerous enemies, who have surrounded him and threaten his life. Confident that the Lord will intervene, he then vows to thank the Lord publicly for his help and anticipates a time when all people will recognize the Lord’s greatness and worship him.
  2. Psalm 22:1 tn Heb “according to the doe of the dawn.” Apparently this refers to a particular musical tune or style.
  3. Psalm 22:1 sn From the psalmist’s perspective it seems that God has abandoned him, for he fails to answer his cry for help (vv. 1b-2).
  4. Psalm 22:1 tn Heb “far from my deliverance [are] the words of my groaning.” The Hebrew noun שְׁאָגָה (sheʾagah) and its related verb שָׁאַג (shaʾag) are sometimes used of a lion’s roar, but they can also describe human groaning (see Job 3:24 and Pss 32:3 and 38:8.
  5. Psalm 22:2 tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”
  6. Psalm 22:3 tn Heb “[O] one who sits [on] the praises of Israel.” The verb “receiving” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The metaphorical language pictures the Lord as sitting enthroned as king in his temple, receiving the praises that his people Israel offer up to him.
  7. Psalm 22:4 tn Heb “fathers.”
  8. Psalm 22:4 tn The words “in you” are supplied in the translation. They are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
  9. Psalm 22:5 tn Or “were not ashamed.”
  10. Psalm 22:6 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.
  11. Psalm 22:6 tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).
  12. Psalm 22:6 tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.
  13. Psalm 22:6 tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”
  14. Psalm 22:7 tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”
  15. Psalm 22:7 tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.
  16. Psalm 22:7 sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.
  17. Psalm 22:8 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.
  18. Psalm 22:8 tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גָּלַל (galal) here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the Lord.”
  19. Psalm 22:8 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. Psalm 22:8 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  21. Psalm 22:8 tn That is, “for he [the Lord] delights in him [the psalmist].” For other cases where the expression “delight in” refers to God’s delight in a person, see Num 14:8; 1 Kgs 10:9; Pss 18:19; 40:8.sn This statement does not necessarily reflect the enemies’ actual belief, but it does reflect the psalmist’s confession. The psalmist’s enemies sarcastically appeal to God to help him, because he claims to be an object of divine favor. However, they probably doubted the reality of his claim.
  22. Psalm 22:9 tn Or “the one who pulled me.” The verb is derived from either גָּחָה (gakhah; see HALOT 187 s.v. גחה) or גִּיחַ (giakh; see BDB 161 s.v. גִּיחַ) and seems to carry the nuance “burst forth” or “pull out.”
  23. Psalm 22:10 tn Heb “upon you I was cast from [the] womb.”
  24. Psalm 22:10 tn Heb “from the womb of my mother you [have been] my God.”sn Despite the enemies’ taunts, the psalmist is certain of his relationship with God, which began from the time of his birth (from the time I came out of my mother’s womb).
  25. Psalm 22:11 tn Heb “and there is no helper.”
  26. Psalm 22:12 sn The psalmist figuratively compares his enemies to dangerous bulls.
  27. Psalm 22:12 sn Bashan, located east of the Jordan River, was well-known for its cattle. See Ezek 39:18; Amos 4:1.
  28. Psalm 22:13 tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”
  29. Psalm 22:13 tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).
  30. Psalm 22:13 tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”
  31. Psalm 22:14 tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”
  32. Psalm 22:14 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.
  33. Psalm 22:15 tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhi), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khiki, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.
  34. Psalm 22:15 tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”
  35. Psalm 22:15 sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).
  36. Psalm 22:15 sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.
  37. Psalm 22:16 tn Or “for.”
  38. Psalm 22:16 tc The Masoretic text reads “like a lion, my hands and my feet.” The reading is difficult and the ancient versions vary, so the textual difficulty is probably very early. Without a verb, the syntax appears broken and the role of “hands and feet” unclear. One option is to understand the verb of the previous line to apply again, a poetic technique called ellipsis and double duty. But “my hands and feet” would be an odd object for a verb meaning “they encircled.” Otherwise, the broken syntax may represent the emotional outcry of the Psalmist, first mentioning the lion as part of the third person description, but suddenly shifting to the first person perspective and crying out as the lion attacks, pinning down his hands and feet (a scene depicted in ancient Near Eastern art). But this development seems late textually. All the other witnesses have a verb instead of “like a lion.” The LXX says “they dug my hands and feet; the verb ὀρύσσω (orussō) means “to burrow in the ground, to dig.” A Qumran witness seems to read similarly, “they dug.” Instead of the MT’s כארי (kᵉʾariy; like a lion”), the scroll from Nahal Hever has a verb form כארו (kaʾaru) ending with vav instead of yod. Supposing that the א (ʾaleph) is a superfluous spelling variant, the form would be understood as כרו (karu) from the root כרה (karah), meaning “they dug.” In that case, the Qumran scroll and the LXX agree because כרה is one of the two verbs translated in the LXX by ὀρύσσω. But as both these verbs mean “to dig [in the dirt]” this has not helped us understand the context. Assuming that the enemies are still the subject, we might expect “they dug a pit for my hands and feet.” In fact the Hebrew words behind “they dug a pit” look similar (כרו בור) so it is not hard to imagine that one of these two would be overlooked by a scribed and dropped from the text. Some suppose that “to dig [in the ground]” means “to pierce” in reference to hands and feet (possibly from the root כור). Other variants and suggestions include “they bound,” or “they picked clean” (from אָרָה, ʾarah, “to pluck”) my hands and feet. Or “my hands and feet are consumed,” or “worn out.” The latter two assume a copying error of resh for lamed, making the verb come from כלה. P. Craigie (Psalms [WBC], 1:196) opts for this last but also cites Syriac and Akkadian for additional root K-R-H meaning “to be shrunken, shriveled.” The Akkadian verb (karu) is said of body parts and can refer to paralysis, which is the kind of metaphor which occurs in battle contexts elsewhere (e.g. Ps 76:5). It would be very natural to read “my hands and my feet” as the subject of the verb because verb-subject is typical word order. There is no decisive answer to the problem and the NET translation includes the lion imagery (cf. v. 13) and supposes a verb that conveys an attack.
  39. Psalm 22:17 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 17-18 draw attention to the progressive nature of the action.
  40. Psalm 22:17 tn Heb “they.” The masculine form indicates the enemies are in view. The referent (the psalmist’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  41. Psalm 22:17 tn Heb “they gaze, they look upon me.”
  42. Psalm 22:18 tn Heb “casting lots.” The precise way in which this would have been done is not certain.
New English Translation (NET)

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Proverbs 20:7

7 The righteous person[a] behaves in integrity;[b]
blessed are his children after him.[c]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 20:7 sn Two terms describe the subject of this proverb: “righteous” and “integrity.” The first describes the person as a member of the covenant community who strives to live according to God’s standards; the second emphasizes that his lifestyle is blameless.
  2. Proverbs 20:7 tn Heb “walks in his integrity” (so NASB); cf. NIV “leads a blameless life.” The Hitpael participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk about; to walk to and fro.” The idiom of walking representing living is intensified here in this stem. This verbal stem is used in scripture to describe people “walking with” God.
  3. Proverbs 20:7 sn The nature and the actions of parents have an effect on children (e.g., Exod 20:4-6); if the parents are righteous, the children will enjoy a blessing—the respect and the happiness which the parent reflects on them.
New English Translation (NET)

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