◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Acts 1:6-14 (Jesus’ companions at prayer); Psalm 68:1-10 32-35 (Sing to God); 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 (God sustains those who suffer); John 17:1-11 (Christ’s prayer for his disciples) (New English Translation)
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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.
Duration: 1245 days
New English Translation (NET)
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Acts 1:6-14

6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him,[a] “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know[b] the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts[c] of the earth.” 9 After[d] he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 As[e] they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly[f] two men in white clothing stood near them 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here[g] looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven[h] will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”

A Replacement for Judas is Chosen

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain[i] called the Mount of Olives[j] (which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey[k] away). 13 When[l] they had entered Jerusalem,[m] they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter[n] and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there.[o] 14 All these continued together in prayer with one mind, together with the women, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.[p]

Footnotes

  1. Acts 1:6 tn Grk “they began to ask him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. The imperfect tense of the Greek verb ἠρώτων (ērōtōn) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
  2. Acts 1:7 tn Grk “It is not for you to know.”
  3. Acts 1:8 tn Or “to the ends.”
  4. Acts 1:9 tn Grk “And after.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  5. Acts 1:10 tn Grk “And as.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  6. Acts 1:10 tn Grk “behold.”
  7. Acts 1:11 tn The word “here” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
  8. Acts 1:11 tc Codex Bezae (D) and several other witnesses lack the words εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν (eis ton ouranon, “into heaven”) here, most likely by way of accidental deletion. In any event, it is hardly correct to suppose that the Western text has intentionally suppressed references to the ascension of Christ here, for the phrase is solidly attested in the final clause of the verse.tn Or “into the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” (vv. 10, 11a) or “heaven” (twice in v. 11b) depending on the context.
  9. Acts 1:12 tn Or “from the hill.” The Greek term ὄρος (oros) refers to a relatively high elevation of land in contrast with βουνός (bounos, “hill”).
  10. Acts 1:12 sn The Mount of Olives is the traditional name for this mountain, also called Olivet. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.
  11. Acts 1:12 sn The phrase a Sabbath day’s journey refers to the distance the rabbis permitted a person to travel on the Sabbath without breaking the Sabbath, specified in tractate Sotah 5:3 of the Mishnah as 2,000 cubits (a cubit was about 18 inches). In this case the distance was about half a mile (1 km).
  12. Acts 1:13 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  13. Acts 1:13 tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Greek text but is implied (direct objects were often omitted when clear from the context).
  14. Acts 1:13 sn In the various lists of the twelve, Peter (also called Simon) is always mentioned first (see also Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16) and the first four are always the same, though not in the same order after Peter.
  15. Acts 1:13 tn The words “were there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  16. Acts 1:14 sn Jesus’ brothers are mentioned in Matt 13:55 and John 7:3.
Psalm 68:1-10

Psalm 68[a]

For the music director, by David, a psalm, a song.

68 God springs into action.[b]
His enemies scatter;
his adversaries[c] run from him.[d]
2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away.[e]
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
3 But the godly[f] are happy;
they rejoice before God
and are overcome with joy.[g]
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds.[h]
For the Lord is his name.[i]
Rejoice before him.
5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows.[j]
God rules from his holy dwelling place.[k]
6 God settles in their own homes those who have been deserted;[l]
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity.[m]
But sinful rebels live in the desert.[n]
7 O God, when you lead your people into battle,[o]
when you march through the wastelands,[p] (Selah)
8 the earth shakes.
Yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[q]
before God, the God of Israel.[r]
9 O God, you cause abundant showers to fall[s] on your chosen people.[t]
When they[u] are tired, you sustain them,[v]
10 for you live among them.[w]
You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 68:1 sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.
  2. Psalm 68:1 tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.
  3. Psalm 68:1 tn Heb “those who hate him.”
  4. Psalm 68:1 sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord. Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run from you.”
  5. Psalm 68:2 tn Heb “as smoke is scattered, you scatter [them].”
  6. Psalm 68:3 tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).
  7. Psalm 68:3 tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)
  8. Psalm 68:4 tn Traditionally the Hebrew term עֲרָבוֹת (ʿaravot) is taken as “steppe-lands” (often rendered “deserts”), but here the form is probably a homonym meaning “clouds.” Verse 33, which depicts God as the one who “rides on the sky” strongly favors this (see as well Deut 33:26), as does the reference in v. 9 to God as the source of rain. The term עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah, “cloud”) is cognate with Akkadian urpatu/erpetu and with Ugaritic ʿrpt. The phrase rkb ʿrpt (“one who rides on the clouds”) appears in Ugaritic mythological texts as an epithet of the storm god Baal. The nonphonemic interchange of the bilabial consonants b and p is attested elsewhere in roots common to Hebrew and Ugaritic, though the phenomenon is relatively rare.
  9. Psalm 68:4 tc Heb “in the Lord his name.” If the MT is retained, the preposition ב (bet) is introducing the predicate (the so-called bet of identity), “the Lord is his name.” However, some prefer to emend the text to כִּי יָהּ שְׁמוֹ (ki yah shemo, “for Yah is his name”). This emendation, reflected in the present translation, assumes a confusion of ב (bet) and כ (kaf) and haplography of י (yod).
  10. Psalm 68:5 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.
  11. Psalm 68:5 tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
  12. Psalm 68:6 tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
  13. Psalm 68:6 tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
  14. Psalm 68:6 tn Or “in a parched [land].”sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.
  15. Psalm 68:7 tn Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).
  16. Psalm 68:7 sn When you march through the wastelands. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the wilderness. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the plains of Edom to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.
  17. Psalm 68:8 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.
  18. Psalm 68:8 sn The language of vv. 7-8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4-5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by Sisera. The presence of allusion does not mean, however, that this is a purely historical reference. The psalmist is describing God’s typical appearance as a warrior in terms of his prior self-revelation as ancient events are reactualized in the psalmist’s experience. (For a similar literary technique, see Hab 3.)
  19. Psalm 68:9 tn The verb נוּף (nuf, “cause rain to fall”) is a homonym of the more common נוּף (“brandish”).
  20. Psalm 68:9 tn Heb “[on] your inheritance.” This refers to Israel as God’s specially chosen people (see Pss 28:9; 33:12; 74:2; 78:62, 71; 79:1; 94:5, 14; 106:40). Some take “your inheritance” with what follows, but the vav (ו) prefixed to the following word (note וְנִלְאָה, venilʾah) makes this syntactically unlikely.
  21. Psalm 68:9 tn Heb “it [is],” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
  22. Psalm 68:9 tn Heb “it,” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
  23. Psalm 68:10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear; it appears to read, “your animals, they live in it,” but this makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some suggest that חָיָּה (khayah) is a rare homonym here, meaning “community” (BDB 312 s.v.) or “dwelling place” (HALOT 310 s.v. III *הַיָּה). In this case one may take “your community/dwelling place” as appositional to the third feminine singular pronominal suffix at the end of v. 9, the antecedent of which is “your inheritance.” The phrase יָשְׁבוּ־בָהּ (yashevu vah, “they live in it”) may then be understood as an asyndetic relative clause modifying “your community/dwelling place.” A literal translation of vv. 9b-10a would be, “when it [your inheritance] is tired, you sustain it, your community/dwelling place in [which] they live.”
Psalm 68:32-35

32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
33 to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times.[a]
Look! He thunders loudly.[b]
34 Acknowledge God’s power,[c]
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies.[d]
35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple.[e]
It is the God of Israel[f] who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise![g]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 68:33 tc Heb “to the one who rides through the skies of skies of ancient times.” If the MT is retained, one might translate, “to the one who rides through the ancient skies.” (שְׁמֵי [sheme, “skies of”] may be accidentally repeated.) The present translation assumes an emendation to בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִקֶּדֶם (bashamayim miqqedem, “[to the one who rides] through the sky from ancient times”), that is, God has been revealing his power through the storm since ancient times.
  2. Psalm 68:33 tn Heb “he gives his voice, a strong voice.” In this context God’s “voice” is the thunder that accompanies the rain (see vv. 8-9, as well as Deut 33:26).
  3. Psalm 68:34 tn Heb “give strength to God.”
  4. Psalm 68:34 sn The language of v. 34 echoes that of Deut 33:26.
  5. Psalm 68:35 tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).
  6. Psalm 68:35 tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”
  7. Psalm 68:35 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
1 Peter 4:12-14

12 Dear friends, do not be astonished[a] that a trial by fire is occurring among you,[b] as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed[c] you may also rejoice and be glad.[d] 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory,[e] who is the Spirit of God,[f] rests[g] on you.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Peter 4:12 tn Or “do not be surprised, taken aback.” The same verb occurs in 4:4.
  2. 1 Peter 4:12 tn Grk “at the burning among you, occurring to you for testing.”
  3. 1 Peter 4:13 tn Grk “in the revelation of his glory.”
  4. 1 Peter 4:13 tn The verb “be glad” is used also in 1:6 and 1:8. The verbs of v. 13b are used together in Matt 5:12 and Rev 19:7.
  5. 1 Peter 4:14 tc Many mss, some of them significant and early ([א] A P 33 81 323 945 1241 1739 pm bo), add καὶ δυνάμεως (kai dunameōs; “and of power”) here. The shorter reading is supported by P72 B K L Ψ 049 pm). Although the evidence is evenly divided, the longer reading looks to be an explanatory or liturgical expansion on the text and for this reason should be considered secondary.
  6. 1 Peter 4:14 tn Grk “the Spirit of glory and of God.”
  7. 1 Peter 4:14 sn A quotation taken from Isa 11:2.
1 Peter 5:6-11

6 And God will exalt you in due time,[a] if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand[b] 7 by casting[c] all your cares[d] on him because he cares for you. 8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion,[e] is on the prowl looking for someone[f] to devour. 9 Resist him,[g] strong in your faith, because you know[h] that your brothers and sisters[i] throughout the world[j] are enduring[k] the same kinds of suffering.[l] 10 And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ[m] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.[n] 11 To him belongs[o] the power forever. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Peter 5:6 tn Grk “in time,” but connoting “the proper time, when the time is right” as in Matt 24:45; Luke 12:42.
  2. 1 Peter 5:6 tn Grk “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that in due time he may exalt you.” The sentence was rearranged so that the English reader could more clearly see the connection between “casting” (v. 7) and “humble” (v. 6).
  3. 1 Peter 5:7 tn Or “throwing on”; “loading.” Some scholars take the participle to function imperativally, or as attendant circumstance—thus, “cast.” See below for discussion.sn Casting. According to ExSyn 630, “Although treated as an independent command in several modern translations (e.g., RSV, NRSV, NIV), the participle [casting] should be connected with the verb of v 6, ταπεινώθητε [tapeinōthēte, Humble yourselves]. As such, it is not offering a new command, but is defining how believers are to humble themselves. Taking the participle as means enriches the understanding of both verbs: Humbling oneself is not a negative act of self-denial per se, but a positive one of active dependence on God for help.”
  4. 1 Peter 5:7 tn Or “anxiety, burden,” but using a word from the same root as the verb “cares” in the last part of the verse.
  5. 1 Peter 5:8 sn This phrase may be an allusion to Ps 22:13.
  6. 1 Peter 5:8 tc A few mss (B Ψ 1175) lack the pronoun τινα (tina), while others have it. Those that have it either put the acute accent over the penult, making this an interrogative pronoun (“whom”; 436 642 2492 vg; most Fathers), or leave off any accent, making this an indefinite pronoun (“someone”; L P 33vid 81 1611 1735 1739 2344 al), or are too early to employ accents but nevertheless have the pronoun τινα (P72 א A). Generally speaking, the shorter and harder reading is to be preferred. In this instance, the omission of the pronoun would obviously be accommodated for by scribes, since both ζητέω (zēteō, “look, seek”) and καταπίνω (katapinō, “devour”) are transitive verbs. However, if the omission were original, one might expect the position of the pronoun to float in the mss—both before and after the infinitive καταπιεῖν (katapiein, “to devour”). Further, other terms might be expected as well, such as ἕνα ἐξ ὑμῶν (hena ex humōn, “one of you”) or τινα ἐξ ὑμῶν (tina ex humōn, “a certain one/someone of you”). The uniformity of both the word and its location suggests that the shorter reading (found in but a few Greek mss) in this instance was a scribal mistake. As to whether the pronoun is interrogative or indefinite, since accents were not a part of the earliest mss, such Greek witnesses are of no help to us in this kind of problem. There would be little difference in meaning between the two in this context.
  7. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “whom,” referring to the devil in v. 8. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  8. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “knowing,” a participle that usually denotes a reason for the related action.
  9. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “your brotherhood.” The Greek term “brotherhood” is used in a broad sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 19 s.v. ἀδελφότης 1). Another alternative translation would be “your fellow believers,” though this would weaken the familial connotations. This same word occurs in 2:17; there it has been translated “family of believers.”
  10. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “your brotherhood in the world,” referring to the Christian community worldwide.
  11. 1 Peter 5:9 tn This verb carries the nuance “to accomplish, complete,” emphasizing their faithful endurance in suffering. The verb is passive in Greek (“suffering is being endured by your brotherhood”), but has been translated as an active to give a smoother English style.
  12. 1 Peter 5:9 tn Grk “the same things of sufferings.”
  13. 1 Peter 5:10 tc A few significant mss (א B 614 630 1505 1611) lack “Jesus” after “Christ,” while the majority include the name (P72 A P Ψ 5 33 81 436 442 1175 1735 1739 1852 2344 2492 M latt). The inclusion is a natural and predictable expansion on the text, but in light of its broad representation a decision is difficult. NA28 lists the longer reading in the apparatus with a diamond, indicating a toss-up as to what the initial text should read.
  14. 1 Peter 5:10 tn The pronoun “you” is not used explicitly but is clearly implied by the Greek.
  15. 1 Peter 5:11 tn No verb is expressed here but the verb “is” or “belongs” is clearly implied. This doxology expresses a fact for which God should be glorified (as in 4:11), rather than a wish or prayer (“may power be to him”).
John 17:1-11

Jesus Prays for the Father to Glorify Him

17 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward[a] to heaven[b] and said, “Father, the time[c] has come. Glorify your Son, so that your[d] Son may glorify you— 2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity,[e] so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.[f] 3 Now this[g] is eternal life[h]—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,[i] whom you sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by completing[j] the work you gave me to do.[k] 5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side[l] with the glory I had with you before the world was created.[m]

Jesus Prays for the Disciples

6 “I have revealed[n] your name[o] to the men[p] you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you,[q] and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed[r] your word. 7 Now they understand[s] that everything[t] you have given me comes from you, 8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They[u] accepted[v] them[w] and really[x] understand[y] that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying[z] on behalf of them. I am not praying[aa] on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you.[ab] 10 Everything[ac] I have belongs to you,[ad] and everything you have belongs to me,[ae] and I have been glorified by them.[af] 11 I[ag] am no longer in the world, but[ah] they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe[ai] in your name[aj] that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.[ak]

Footnotes

  1. John 17:1 tn Grk “he raised his eyes” (an idiom).sn Jesus also looked upward before his prayer in John 11:41. This was probably a common posture in prayer. According to the parable in Luke 18:13 the tax collector did not feel himself worthy to do this.
  2. John 17:1 tn Or “to the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.
  3. John 17:1 tn Grk “the hour.”sn The time has come. Jesus has said before that his “hour” had come, both in 12:23 when some Greeks sought to speak with him, and in 13:1 where just before he washed the disciples’ feet. It appears best to understand the “hour” as a period of time starting at the end of Jesus’ public ministry and extending through the passion week, ending with Jesus’ return to the Father through death, resurrection, and exaltation. The “hour” begins as soon as the first events occur which begin the process that leads to Jesus’ death.
  4. John 17:1 tc The better witnesses (א B C* W 0109 0301) have “the Son” (ὁ υἱός, ho huios) here, while the majority (C3 L Ψ ƒ13 33 M) read “your Son also” (καὶ ὁ υἱὸς σου, kai ho huios sou), or “your Son” (ὁ υἱὸς σου; A D Θ 0250 1 579 lat sy); the second corrector of C has καὶ ὁ υἱός (“the Son also”). The longer readings appear to be predictable scribal expansions and as such should be considered secondary.tn Grk “the Son”; “your” has been added here for English stylistic reasons.
  5. John 17:2 tn Or “all people”; Grk “all flesh.”
  6. John 17:2 tn Grk “so that to everyone whom you have given to him, he may give to them eternal life.”
  7. John 17:3 tn Using αὕτη δέ (hautē de) to introduce an explanation is typical Johannine style; it was used before in John 1:19; 3:19, and 15:12.
  8. John 17:3 sn This is eternal life. The author here defines eternal life for the readers, although it is worked into the prayer in such a way that many interpreters do not regard it as another of the author’s parenthetical comments. It is not just unending life in the sense of prolonged duration. Rather it is a quality of life, with its quality derived from a relationship with God. Having eternal life is here defined as being in relationship with the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom the Father sent. Christ (Χριστός, Christos) is not characteristically attached to Jesus’ name in John’s Gospel; it occurs elsewhere primarily as a title and is used with Jesus’ name only in 1:17. But that is connected to its use here: The statement here in 17:3 enables us to correlate the statement made in 1:18 of the prologue, that Jesus has fully revealed what God is like, with Jesus’ statement in 10:10 that he has come that people might have life, and have it abundantly. These two purposes are really one, according to 17:3, because (abundant) eternal life is defined as knowing (being in relationship with) the Father and the Son. The only way to gain this eternal life, that is, to obtain this knowledge of the Father, is through the Son (cf. 14:6). Although some have pointed to the use of know (γινώσκω, ginōskō) here as evidence of Gnostic influence in the Fourth Gospel, there is a crucial difference: For John this knowledge is not intellectual, but relational. It involves being in relationship.
  9. John 17:3 tn Or “and Jesus the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
  10. John 17:4 tn Or “by finishing” or “by accomplishing.” Jesus now states that he has glorified the Father on earth by finishing (τελειώσας [teleiōsas] is best understood as an adverbial participle of means) the work which the Father had given him to do.sn By completing the work. The idea of Jesus being sent into the world on a mission has been mentioned before, significantly in 3:17. It was even alluded to in the immediately preceding verse here (17:3). The completion of the “work” the Father had sent him to accomplish was mentioned by Jesus in 4:34 and 5:36. What is the nature of the “work” the Father has given the Son to accomplish? It involves the Son’s mission to be the Savior of the world, as 3:17 indicates. But this is accomplished specifically through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross (a thought implied by the reference to the Father “giving” the Son in 3:16). It is not without significance that Jesus’ last word from the cross is “It is completed” (19:30).
  11. John 17:4 tn Grk “the work that you gave to me so that I may do it.”
  12. John 17:5 tn Or “in your presence”; Grk “with yourself.” The use of παρά (para) twice in this verse looks back to the assertion in John 1:1 that the Word (the Λόγος [Logos], who became Jesus of Nazareth in 1:14) was with God (πρὸς τὸν θεόν, pros ton theon). Whatever else may be said, the statement in 17:5 strongly asserts the preexistence of Jesus Christ.
  13. John 17:5 tn Grk “before the world was.” The word “created” is not in the Greek text but is implied.sn It is important to note that although Jesus prayed for a return to the glory he had at the Father’s side before the world was created, he was not praying for a “de-incarnation.” His humanity which he took on at the incarnation (John 1:14) remains, though now glorified.
  14. John 17:6 tn Or “made known,” “disclosed.”
  15. John 17:6 sn Mention of the Father’s name occurs again in 17:11, 12, 26, but not often elsewhere in the Gospel of John (only in 5:43; 10:25; 12:28). In one sense the name represents the person (cf. John 1:12) and thus Jesus by saying that he has revealed the Father’s name is saying that he has fully revealed who God is and what he is like (cf. John 1:18; 14:9). But there is probably a further meaning as well in John’s Gospel: Jesus himself is identified with God repeatedly (10:30; 14:11, etc.) and nowhere is this more apparent than in Jesus’ absolute uses of the phrase “I am” without a predicate (8:24, 28, 58; 13:19). The name of the Father which Jesus has revealed to his disciples is thus the divine Name revealed to Moses in Exod 3:14 (R. E. Brown, John [AB], 2:755-56). See also Isa 62:2; 65:15-16.
  16. John 17:6 tn Here “men” is retained as a translation for ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) rather than the more generic “people” because in context it specifically refers to the eleven men Jesus had chosen as apostles (Judas had already departed, John 13:30). If one understands the referent here to be the broader group of Jesus’ followers that included both men and women, a translation like “to the people” should be used here instead.
  17. John 17:6 tn Grk “Yours they were.”
  18. John 17:6 tn Or “have kept.”
  19. John 17:7 tn Or “they have come to know,” or “they have learned.”
  20. John 17:7 tn Grk “all things.”
  21. John 17:8 tn Grk And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
  22. John 17:8 tn Or “received.”
  23. John 17:8 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
  24. John 17:8 tn Or “truly.”
  25. John 17:8 tn Or have come to know.”
  26. John 17:9 tn Grk “I am asking.”
  27. John 17:9 tn Grk “I am not asking.”
  28. John 17:9 tn Or “because they are yours.”
  29. John 17:10 tn Grk And all things.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
  30. John 17:10 tn Or “Everything I have is yours.”
  31. John 17:10 tn Or “everything you have is mine.”
  32. John 17:10 tn Or “I have been honored among them.”sn The theme of glory with which Jesus began this prayer in 17:1-5 now recurs. Jesus said that he had been glorified by his disciples, but in what sense was this true? Jesus had manifested his glory to them in all of the sign-miracles which he had performed, beginning with the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana (2:11). He could now say that he had been glorified by them in the light of what he had already said in vv. 7-8, that the disciples had come to know that he had come from the Father and been sent by the Father. He would, of course, be glorified by them further after the resurrection, as they carried on his ministry after his departure.
  33. John 17:11 tn Grk And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
  34. John 17:11 tn The context indicates that this should be translated as an adversative or contrastive conjunction.
  35. John 17:11 tn Or “protect them”; Grk “keep them.”
  36. John 17:11 tn Or “by your name.”sn See the note on name in John 17:6.
  37. John 17:11 tn The second repetition of “one” is implied, and is supplied here for clarity.
New English Translation (NET)

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