The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday May 9, 2024 (NIV)

1 Samuel 5-7

God Sends Trouble for the Philistines Who Have the Ark

Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon. When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day,[a] Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place. But when they got up early the following day, Dagon was again lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and his two hands were sheared off and were lying at the threshold. Only Dagon’s body was left intact.[b] (For this reason, to this very day, neither Dagon’s priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon’s temple steps on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.)

The Lord attacked[c] the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of[d] both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores.[e] When the people[f] of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, for he has attacked[g] both us and our god Dagon!”

So they assembled[h] all the leaders of the Philistines and asked, “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They replied, “The ark of the God of Israel should be moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

But after it had been moved the Lord attacked[i] that city as well, causing a great deal of panic. He struck all the people of that city[j] with sores.[k] 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

But when the ark of God arrived at Ekron, the residents of Ekron cried out saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel here[l] to kill our[m] people!” 11 So they assembled[n] all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us[o] and our[p] people!” The terror[q] of death was throughout the entire city; God was attacking them very severely there.[r] 12 The people[s] who did not die were struck with sores; the city’s cry for help went all the way up to heaven.

The Philistines Return the Ark

When the ark of the Lord had been in the land[t] of the Philistines for seven months,[u] the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place.”

They replied, “If you are going to send the ark of[v] the God of Israel back, don’t send it away empty. Be sure to return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand has not been removed from you.” They inquired, “What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?”

They replied, “The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders. You should make images of the sores and images of the mice[w] that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land.[x] Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh did?[y] When God[z] treated them harshly, didn’t the Egyptians send the Israelites on their way?[aa] So now go and make a new cart. Get two cows that have calves and that have never had a yoke placed on them. Harness the cows to the cart, and take their calves from them back to their stalls. Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a chest beside it the gold objects you are sending to him as a guilt offering. You should then send it on its way. But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident.”

10 So the men did as instructed.[ab] They took two cows that had calves and harnessed the cows to a cart; they also removed their calves to their stalls. 11 They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores. 12 Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along that route, bellowing[ac] more and more;[ad] they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.

13 Now the residents of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were pleased at the sight. 14 The cart was coming to the field of Joshua, who was from Beth Shemesh. It paused there near a big stone. Then they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The five leaders of the Philistines watched what was happening and then returned to Ekron on the same day.

17 These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the Lord—one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel.[ae] They positioned the ark of the Lord on a rock until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

19 But the Lord[af] struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 of[ag] the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow. 20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark[ah] go up from here?”

21 So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down here and take it back home with you.”

Then the people[ai] of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

Further Conflict with the Philistines

It was quite a long time—some twenty years in all—that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people[aj] of Israel longed for[ak] the Lord. Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth.[al] Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you[am] from the hand of the Philistines.” So the Israelites[an] removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.

Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed[ao] there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led[ap] the people of Israel at Mizpah.

When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the leaders of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep[aq] crying out to the Lord our[ar] God so that he may save us[as] from the hand of the Philistines!” So Samuel took a nursing lamb[at] and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.

10 As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel.[au] But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by[av] Israel. 11 Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.

12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen.[aw] He named it Ebenezer,[ax] saying, “Up to here the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 The cities that the Philistines had captured from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. Israel also delivered their territory from the control[ay] of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 So Samuel led[az] Israel all the days of his life. 16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged[ba] Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Samuel 5:3 tc The LXX adds “they entered the temple of Dagon and saw.”
  2. 1 Samuel 5:4 tc Heb “only Dagon was left.” We should probably read the word גֵּו (gev, “back”) before Dagon, understanding it to have the sense of the similar word גְּוִיָּה (geviyyah, “body”). This variant is supported by the following evidence: The LXX has ἡ ῥάχις (hē hrachis, “the back” or “trunk”); the Syriac Peshitta has wegusmeh (“and the body of”); the Targum has gupyeh (“the body of”); the Vulgate has truncus (“the trunk of,” cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT). On the strength of this evidence the present translation employs the phrase “Dagon’s body.”
  3. 1 Samuel 5:6 tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was heavy upon.”
  4. 1 Samuel 5:6 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  5. 1 Samuel 5:6 tc The LXX and Vulgate add the following: “And mice multiplied in their land, and the terror of death was throughout the entire city.”tn Or “tumors” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “growths on their skin”; KJV “emerods”; NAB “hemorrhoids.”
  6. 1 Samuel 5:7 tn Heb “men.”
  7. 1 Samuel 5:7 tn Heb “for his hand is severe upon.”
  8. 1 Samuel 5:8 tn Heb “and they sent and gathered.”
  9. 1 Samuel 5:9 tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was against the city.”
  10. 1 Samuel 5:9 tn Heb “and he struck the men of the city from small and to great.”
  11. 1 Samuel 5:9 tn See the note on this term in v. 6. Cf. KJV “and they had emerods in their secret parts.”
  12. 1 Samuel 5:10 tn Heb “to me.”
  13. 1 Samuel 5:10 tn Heb “my.”
  14. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “and they sent and gathered.”
  15. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “me.”
  16. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “my.”
  17. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Or “panic.”
  18. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “the hand of God was very heavy there.”
  19. 1 Samuel 5:12 tn Heb “men.”
  20. 1 Samuel 6:1 tn Heb “field.”
  21. 1 Samuel 6:1 tc The LXX adds “and their land swarmed with mice.”
  22. 1 Samuel 6:3 tc The LXX and a Qumran ms add “the covenant of the Lord.”
  23. 1 Samuel 6:5 tn Heb “your mice.” A Qumran ms has simply “the mice.”
  24. 1 Samuel 6:5 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lighten his hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land.”
  25. 1 Samuel 6:6 tn Heb “like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart.”
  26. 1 Samuel 6:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. 1 Samuel 6:6 tn Heb “and they sent them away and they went.”
  28. 1 Samuel 6:10 tn Heb “and the men did so.”
  29. 1 Samuel 6:12 tn Most translations have “low” (ASV, ESV, KJV, NASB, NIV, NLV, Amplified, etc.), or “moo” (CEV, CEB). The verb גָּעָה (gaʿah) is rare (only here and Job 6:5) but cognate languages suggest a loud sound (e.g. Syriac “to scream” Ugaritic “to roar,” see HALOT 199). sn The behavior of the cows demonstrates God’s sovereignty. If the cows are “mooing” contentedly, it suggests that God essentially took over their wills or brains, and they walked along, forgetting their calves entirely, and focused on their new and unaccustomed task as if long trained for it. If they are “bellowing,” the picture suggests that they know they are leaving their calves and are protesting in discontent. But they are divinely driven (by unseen angelic cattle prods?) against their wills.
  30. 1 Samuel 6:12 tn The Hebrew has two infinitive absolutes ‏הָלֹךְ וְגָעוֹ (halok vegaʿo) walking and bellowing. In such a pairing, the infinitive ‏הָלֹךְ (halok) often indicates going on more and more (increasing) in the activity mentioned by the other infinitive. Cf. Gen 26:13; 1 Sam 14:19).
  31. 1 Samuel 6:18 tc A few Hebrew mss and the LXX read “villages; the large rock…[is witness] until this very day.”
  32. 1 Samuel 6:19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  33. 1 Samuel 6:19 tc The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew mss lack “50,000,” reading simply “70” instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The present translation (reluctantly) follows the MT and the ancient versions here.
  34. 1 Samuel 6:20 tn Heb “he” or “it”; the referent here (the ark) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. also NIV, CEV, NLT). Others, however, take the referent to be the Lord himself.
  35. 1 Samuel 7:1 tn Heb “men.”
  36. 1 Samuel 7:2 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
  37. 1 Samuel 7:2 tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”
  38. 1 Samuel 7:3 tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.
  39. 1 Samuel 7:3 tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  40. 1 Samuel 7:4 tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
  41. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “said.”
  42. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”
  43. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn Heb “don’t stop.”
  44. 1 Samuel 7:8 tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”
  45. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  46. 1 Samuel 7:9 tn Heb “a lamb of milk”; NAB “an unweaned lamb”; NIV “a suckling lamb”; NCV “a baby lamb.”
  47. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”
  48. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “before.”
  49. 1 Samuel 7:12 tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”
  50. 1 Samuel 7:12 sn The name Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר) means “stone of help” in Hebrew (cf. TEV); NLT adds the meaning parenthetically after the name.
  51. 1 Samuel 7:14 tn Heb “hand.”
  52. 1 Samuel 7:15 tn Heb “judged” (also in v. 17).
  53. 1 Samuel 7:17 tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).
New English Translation (NET)

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

John 6:1-21

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

After this[a] Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias).[b] A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. So Jesus went on up the mountainside[c] and sat down there with his disciples. (Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover[d] was near.)[e] Then Jesus, when he looked up[f] and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” (Now Jesus[g] said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.)[h] Philip replied,[i] “200 silver coins worth[j] of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” One of Jesus’ disciples,[k] Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good[l] are these for so many people?”

10 Jesus said, “Have[m] the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.)[n] So the men[o] sat down, about 5,000 in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish,[p] as much as they wanted. 12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus[q] said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves[r] left over by the people who had eaten.

14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus[s] performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet[t] who is to come into the world.”[u] 15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone.[v]

Walking on Water

16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,[w] 17 got into a boat,[x] and started to cross the lake[y] to Capernaum.[z] (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.)[aa] 18 By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. 19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles,[ab] they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake,[ac] approaching the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land where they had been heading.

Footnotes:

  1. John 6:1 tn Again, μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta) is a vague temporal reference. How Jesus got from Jerusalem to Galilee is not explained, which has led many scholars (e.g., Bernard, Bultmann, and Schnackenburg) to posit either editorial redaction or some sort of rearrangement or dislocation of material (such as reversing the order of chaps. 5 and 6, for example). Such a rearrangement of the material would give a simple and consistent connection of events, but in the absence of all external evidence it does not seem to be supportable. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:236) says that such an arrangement is attractive in some ways but not compelling, and that no rearrangement can solve all the geographical and chronological problems in John.
  2. John 6:1 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Only John in the New Testament refers to the Sea of Galilee by the name Sea of Tiberias (see also John 21:1), but this is correct local usage. In the mid-20’s Herod completed the building of the town of Tiberias on the southwestern shore of the lake; after this time the name came into use for the lake itself.
  3. John 6:3 sn Up on the mountainside does not necessarily refer to a particular mountain or hillside, but may simply mean “the hill country” or “the high ground,” referring to the high country east of the Sea of Galilee (known today as the Golan Heights).
  4. John 6:4 sn Passover. According to John’s sequence of material, considerable time has elapsed since the feast of 5:1. If the feast in 5:1 was Pentecost of a.d. 31, then this feast would be the Passover of a.d. 32, just one year before Jesus’ crucifixion.
  5. John 6:4 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  6. John 6:5 tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).
  7. John 6:6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. John 6:6 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  9. John 6:7 tn Grk “Philip answered him.”
  10. John 6:7 tn Grk “200 denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about eight months’ pay.
  11. John 6:8 tn Grk “one of his disciples.”
  12. John 6:9 tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
  13. John 6:10 tn Grk “Make.”
  14. John 6:10 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).
  15. John 6:10 tn Here “men” has been used in the translation because the following number, 5,000, probably included only adult males (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).
  16. John 6:11 tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”
  17. John 6:12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. John 6:13 sn Note that the fish mentioned previously (in John 6:9) are not emphasized here, only the five barley loaves. This is easy to understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for the author in view of Jesus’ upcoming discourse on the Bread of Life.
  19. John 6:14 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. John 6:14 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
  21. John 6:14 sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.
  22. John 6:15 sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).
  23. John 6:16 tn Or “sea.” The Greek word indicates a rather large body of water, but the English word “sea” normally indicates very large bodies of water, so the word “lake” in English is a closer approximation.
  24. John 6:17 sn A boat large enough to hold the Twelve would be of considerable size. In 1986 following a period of drought and low lake levels, a fishing boat from the first century was discovered on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was excavated and preserved and can now be seen in the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar north of Tiberias. The remains of the boat are 27 ft (8.27 m) long and 7.5 ft (2.3 m) wide; it could be rowed by four rowers and had a mast for a sail. The boat is now known as the “Jesus boat” or the “Sea of Galilee boat” although there is no known historical connection of any kind with Jesus or his disciples. However, the boat is typical for the period and has provided archaeologists with much information about design and construction of boats on the Sea of Galilee in the first century.
  25. John 6:17 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.
  26. John 6:17 sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It existed since Hasmonean times and was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. The population in the first century is estimated to be around 1,500. Capernaum became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt 4:13; Mark 2:1). In modern times the site was discovered in 1838 by the American explorer E. Robinson, and major excavations began in 1905 by German archaeologists H. Kohl and C. Watzinger. Not until 1968, however, were remains from the time of Jesus visible; in that year V. Corbo and S. Loffreda began a series of annual archaeological campaigns that lasted until 1985. This work uncovered what is thought to be the house of Simon Peter as well as ruins of the first century synagogue beneath the later synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D. Today gently rolling hills and date palms frame the first century site, a favorite tourist destination of visitors to the Galilee.
  27. John 6:17 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  28. John 6:19 tn Grk “about twenty-five or thirty stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 185 meters).sn About three or four miles. The Sea of Galilee was at its widest point 7 mi (11.6 km) by 12 mi (20 km). So at this point the disciples were in about the middle of the lake.
  29. John 6:19 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16. John uses the phrase ἐπί (epi, “on”) followed by the genitive (as in Mark, instead of Matthew’s ἐπί followed by the accusative) to describe Jesus walking “on the lake.”
New English Translation (NET)

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

Psalm 106:13-31

13 They quickly forgot what he had done;[a]
they did not wait for his instructions.[b]
14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving[c] for meat;[d]
they challenged God[e] in the wastelands.
15 He granted their request,
then struck them with a disease.[f]
16 In the camp they resented[g] Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.[h]
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed[i] the group led by Abiram.[j]
18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked.[k]
19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
20 They traded their majestic God[l]
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They rejected[m] the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,
mighty acts[n] by the Red Sea.
23 He threatened[o] to destroy them,
but[p] Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him[q]
and turned back his destructive anger.[r]
24 They rejected the fruitful land;[s]
they did not believe his promise.[t]
25 They grumbled in their tents;[u]
they did not obey[v] the Lord.
26 So he made a solemn vow[w]
that he would make them die[x] in the wilderness,
27 make their descendants[y] die[z] among the nations,
and scatter them among foreign lands.[aa]
28 They worshiped[ab] Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.[ac]
29 They made the Lord angry[ad] by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened,[ae]
and the plague subsided.
31 This was credited to Phinehas as a righteous act
for all generations to come.[af]

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 106:13 tn Heb “his works.”
  2. Psalm 106:13 tn Heb “his counsel.”
  3. Psalm 106:14 sn They had an insatiable craving. This is described in Num 11:4-35.
  4. Psalm 106:14 tn Heb “they craved [with] a craving.”
  5. Psalm 106:14 tn Heb “they tested God.”
  6. Psalm 106:15 tn Heb “and he sent leanness into their being.”sn Disease. See Num 11:33-34, where this plague is described.
  7. Psalm 106:16 tn Or “envied.”
  8. Psalm 106:16 tn Heb “the holy one of the Lord.”
  9. Psalm 106:17 tn Or “covered.”
  10. Psalm 106:17 tn Or “the assembly of Abiram.”
  11. Psalm 106:18 sn Verses 16-18 describe the events of Num 16:1-40.
  12. Psalm 106:20 tn Heb “their glory.” According to an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition, the text originally read “his glory” or “my glory.” In Jer 2:11 the Lord states that his people (Israel) exchanged “their glory” (a reference to the Lord) for worthless idols.
  13. Psalm 106:21 tn Heb “forgot.”
  14. Psalm 106:22 tn Or “awe-inspiring acts.”
  15. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “and he said.”
  16. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”
  17. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”
  18. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”sn Verses 19-23 describe the events of Exod 32:1-35.
  19. Psalm 106:24 tn Heb “a land of delight” (see also Jer 3:19; Zech 7:14).
  20. Psalm 106:24 tn Heb “his word.”
  21. Psalm 106:25 sn They grumbled in their tents. See Deut 1:27.
  22. Psalm 106:25 tn Heb “did not listen to the voice of.”
  23. Psalm 106:26 tn Heb “and he lifted his hand to [or “concerning”] them.” The idiom “to lift a hand” here refers to swearing an oath. One would sometimes solemnly lift one’s hand when making such a vow (see Ezek 20:5-6, 15).
  24. Psalm 106:26 tn Heb “to cause them to fall.”
  25. Psalm 106:27 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
  26. Psalm 106:27 tn Heb “and to cause their offspring to fall.” Some emend the verb to “scatter” to form tighter parallelism with the following line (cf. NRSV “disperse”).
  27. Psalm 106:27 tn Heb “among the lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  28. Psalm 106:28 tn Heb “joined themselves to.”sn They worshiped Baal of Peor. See Num 25:3, 5. Baal of Peor was a local manifestation of the Canaanite deity Baal located at Peor.
  29. Psalm 106:28 tn Here “the dead” may refer to deceased ancestors (see Deut 26:14). Another option is to understand the term as a derogatory reference to the various deities which the Israelites worshiped at Peor along with Baal (see Num 25:2 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 49).
  30. Psalm 106:29 tn Heb “They made angry [him].” The pronominal suffix is omitted here, but does appear in a few medieval Hebrew mss. Perhaps it was accidentally left off, an original וַיַּכְעִיסוּהוּ (vayyakhʿisuhu) being misread as וַיַּכְעִיסוּ (vayyakhʿisu). In the translation the referent of the pronominal suffix (the Lord) has been specified for clarity to avoid confusion with Baal of Peor (mentioned in the previous verse).
  31. Psalm 106:30 sn The intervention of Phinehas is recounted in Num 25:7-8.
  32. Psalm 106:31 tn Heb “and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to a generation and a generation forever.” The verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon”) is collocated with צְדָקָה (tsedaqah, “righteousness”) only in Ps 106:31 and Gen 15:6, where God credits Abram’s faith as righteousness.
New English Translation (NET)

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

Proverbs 14:32-33

32 An evil person will be thrown down through his wickedness,[a]
but a righteous person takes refuge in his integrity.[b]
33 Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning;
it is not known[c] in the inner parts[d] of fools.

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 14:32 tn Or “during his trouble” (i.e., when catastrophe comes). The noun רָעָה (raʿah) can refer to evil (so KJV, NASB, ESV, NRSV) or to calamity (CEV, NIV, NLT).
  2. Proverbs 14:32 tc The MT reads בְּמוֹתוֹ (bemoto, “in his death”). The LXX reads “in his integrity,” implying the switching of two letters to בְּתוּמּוֹ (betummo). The LXX is followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB “in his honesty,” NRSV “in their integrity,” and TEV “by their integrity”). For all other cases of the verb חָסָה (khasah, “to take refuge”), the preposition ב (bet) indicates what the person relies on, not what they take refuge through, and it is unlikely that the righteous rely on death or see death as a refuge.
  3. Proverbs 14:33 tc The MT says “it [wisdom] is known,” but this runs counter to the rest of Proverbs’ teaching, making it sound sarcastic at best. The LXX and the Syriac negate the clause, saying it is “not known in the heart fools” (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, NLT), which suggests the word לֹא (loʾ, “not”) has dropped out. The Targum supports reading אִוֶּלֶת (ʾivvelet) “folly is in the heart of fools.” Thomas connects the verb to the Arabic root wdʿ and translates it “in fools it is suppressed.” See D. W. Thomas, “The Root ידע in Hebrew,” JTS 35 (1934): 302-3.
  4. Proverbs 14:33 tn Heb “in the inner part”; ASV “in the inward part”; NRSV “in the heart of fools.”
New English Translation (NET)

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