Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
Footnotes
- Psalm 93:1 sn Psalm 93. The psalmist affirms that the Lord is the king of the universe who preserves order and suppresses the destructive forces in the world.
- Psalm 93:1 sn Strength is compared here to a belt that one wears for support. The Lord’s power undergirds his rule.
- Psalm 93:2 tn Heb “from antiquity [are] you.” As the context suggests, this refers specifically to God’s royal position, not his personal existence.
- Psalm 93:3 tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).
- Psalm 93:3 tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”
- Psalm 93:4 tn Heb “mighty waters.”sn The surging waters here symbolizes the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy the order he has established in the world (see Pss 18:17; 29:3; 32:6; 77:20; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). But the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over these raging waters.
- Psalm 93:4 tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”
- Psalm 93:5 tn Traditionally “your testimonies.” The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (ʿedut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law. See Ps 19:7.
- Psalm 93:5 sn The rules you set down. God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
- Psalm 93:5 sn Holiness refers here to God’s royal transcendence (see vv. 1-4), as well as his moral authority and perfection (see v. 5a).
- Psalm 93:5 tn Heb “for your house holiness is fitting, O Lord, for length of days.”
Succession of Moses by Joshua
31 Then Moses went[a] and spoke these words[b] to all Israel. 2 He said to them, “Today I am 120 years old. I am no longer able to get about,[c] and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’ 3 As for the Lord your God, he is about to cross over before you; he will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. As for Joshua, he is about to cross before you just as the Lord has said. 4 The Lord will do to them just what he did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and to their land, which he destroyed. 5 The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you will do to them according to the whole commandment I have given you. 6 Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!” 7 Then Moses called out to Joshua[d] in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will accompany these people to the land that the Lord promised to give their ancestors,[e] and you will enable them to inherit it. 8 The Lord is indeed going before you—he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”
The Deposit of the Covenant Text
9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders. 10 He[f] commanded them: “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts,[g] at the Feast of Shelters,[h] 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must read this law before them[i] within their hearing. 12 Gather the people—men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners[j] in your villages—so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. 13 Then their children, who have not known this law,[k] will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:1 tc For the MT reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “he went”), the LXX and Qumran have וַיְכַל (vayekhal, “he finished”): “So Moses finished speaking,” etc. The difficult reading of the MT favors its authenticity.
- Deuteronomy 31:1 tn In the MT this refers to the words that follow (cf. NIV, NCV).
- Deuteronomy 31:2 tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”
- Deuteronomy 31:7 tn The Hebrew text includes “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 31:7 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 20).
- Deuteronomy 31:10 tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 31:10 tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּה (shemittah), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the procedure whereby debts of all fellow Israelites were to be canceled. Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God’s own deliverance of and provision for his people, this was an appropriate time for Israelites to release one another. See note on this word at Deut 15:1.
- Deuteronomy 31:10 tn The Hebrew phrase חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת (khag hassukkot, “festival of huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. See note on the name of the festival in Deut 16:13.sn For the regulations on this annual festival see Deut 16:13-15.
- Deuteronomy 31:11 tn Heb “before all Israel.”
- Deuteronomy 31:12 sn The ger (גֵּר) “foreign resident” or “naturalized citizen,” (see Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:10-13) could make sacrifices (Lev 17:8; 22:18; Num 15:14) and participate in Israel’s religious festivals: Passover Exod 12:48; Day of Atonement Lev 16:29; Feast of Weeks Deut 16:10-14; Feast of Tabernacles/Temporary Shelters Deut 31:12.
- Deuteronomy 31:13 tn The phrase “this law” is not in the Hebrew text, but English style requires an object for the verb here. Other translations also supply the object which is otherwise implicit (cf. NIV “who do not know this law”; TEV “who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God”).
16 In a little while you[a] will see me no longer; again after a little while, you[b] will see me.”[c]
17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying,[d] ‘In a little while you[e] will not see me; again after a little while, you[f] will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”[g] 18 So they kept on repeating,[h] “What is the meaning of what he says,[i] ‘In a little while’?[j] We do not understand[k] what he is talking about.”[l]
19 Jesus could see[m] that they wanted to ask him about these things,[n] so[o] he said to them, “Are you asking[p] each other about this—that I said, ‘In a little while you[q] will not see me; again after a little while, you[r] will see me’? 20 I tell you the solemn truth,[s] you will weep[t] and wail,[u] but the world will rejoice; you will be sad,[v] but your sadness will turn into[w] joy. 21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress[x] because her time[y] has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being[z] has been born into the world.[aa] 22 So also you have sorrow[ab] now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.[ac] 23 At that time[ad] you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth,[ae] whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.[af] 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it,[ag] so that your joy may be complete.
Footnotes
- John 16:16 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
- John 16:16 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
- John 16:16 sn The phrase after a little while, you will see me is sometimes taken to refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus departs, but (as at 14:19) it is much more probable that it refers to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. There is no indication in the context that the disciples will see Jesus only with “spiritual” sight, as would be the case if the coming of the Spirit is in view.
- John 16:17 tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”
- John 16:17 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
- John 16:17 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
- John 16:17 sn These fragmentary quotations of Jesus’ statements are from 16:16 and 16:10, and indicate that the disciples heard only part of what Jesus had to say to them on this occasion.
- John 16:18 tn Grk “they kept on saying.”
- John 16:18 tn Grk “What is this that he says.”
- John 16:18 tn Grk “A little while.” Although the phrase τὸ μικρόν (to mikron) in John 16:18 could be translated simply “a little while,” it was translated “in a little while” to maintain the connection to John 16:16, where it has the latter meaning in context.
- John 16:18 tn Or “we do not know.”
- John 16:18 tn Grk “what he is speaking.”
- John 16:19 tn Grk “knew.”sn Jesus could see. Supernatural knowledge of what the disciples were thinking is not necessarily in view here. Given the disciples’ confused statements in the preceding verses, it was probably obvious to Jesus that they wanted to ask what he meant.
- John 16:19 tn The words “about these things” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
- John 16:19 tn Καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.
- John 16:19 tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”
- John 16:19 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
- John 16:19 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
- John 16:20 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
- John 16:20 tn Or “wail,” “cry.”
- John 16:20 tn Or “lament.”
- John 16:20 tn Or “sorrowful.”
- John 16:20 tn Grk “will become.”
- John 16:21 sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).
- John 16:21 tn Grk “her hour.”
- John 16:21 tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).
- John 16:21 sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.
- John 16:22 tn Or “distress.”
- John 16:22 sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but he will be indignant toward his enemies.” The change from “you will see [me]” to I will see you places more emphasis on Jesus as the one who reinitiates the relationship with the disciples after his resurrection, but v. 16 (you will see me) is more like Isa 66:14. Further support for seeing this allusion as intentional is found in Isa 66:7, which uses the same imagery of the woman giving birth found in John 16:21. In the context of Isa 66 the passages refer to the institution of the messianic kingdom, and in fact the last clause of 66:14 along with the following verses (15-17) have yet to be fulfilled. This is part of the tension of present and future eschatological fulfillment that runs throughout the NT, by virtue of the fact that there are two advents. Some prophecies are fulfilled or partially fulfilled at the first advent, while other prophecies or parts of prophecies await fulfillment at the second.
- John 16:23 tn Grk “And in that day.”
- John 16:23 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
- John 16:23 sn This statement is also found in John 15:16.
- John 16:24 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.
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