Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 131[a]
A song of ascents,[b] by David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look.[c]
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me.[d]
2 Indeed,[e] I have calmed and quieted myself[f]
like a weaned child with its mother;[g]
I am content like a young child.[h]
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!
Footnotes
- Psalm 131:1 sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.
- Psalm 131:1 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
- Psalm 131:1 tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”
- Psalm 131:1 tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”
- Psalm 131:2 tn Or “but.”
- Psalm 131:2 tn Heb “I make level and make quiet my soul.”
- Psalm 131:2 tn Heb “like a weaned [one] upon his mother.”
- Psalm 131:2 tn Heb “like the weaned [one] upon me, my soul.”
10 The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon[a] before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way.[b]
12 But shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord’s message came to Jeremiah. 13 “Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says,[c] ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have[d] only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one![e] 14 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[f] says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations[g] so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’”[h] 15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie.[i] 16 So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove[j] you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”[k]
17 In the seventh month of that very same year[l] the prophet Hananiah died.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 28:11 tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”
- Jeremiah 28:11 tn Heb “Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”
- Jeremiah 28:13 tn Heb “Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord….” The translation uses an indirect quotation here used to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.
- Jeremiah 28:13 tn The Greek version has “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.
- Jeremiah 28:13 tn Heb “the yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in its stead yoke bars of iron.”sn This whole incident (and the preceding one in Jer 28) is symbolic. Jeremiah’s wearing of the yoke was symbolic of the Lord’s message to submit to Babylonian authority. Hananiah’s breaking of the yoke was a prediction that that authority would not last beyond two years. By breaking the yoke he was encouraging rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar’s (and hence the Lord’s) authority (cf. 27:9, 14). However, rebelling would only result in further, harsher, more irresistible measures by Nebuchadnezzar to control such rebellion.
- Jeremiah 28:14 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.
- Jeremiah 28:14 tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”
- Jeremiah 28:14 sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.
- Jeremiah 28:15 tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”
- Jeremiah 28:16 sn There is a play on words here in Hebrew between “did not send you” and “will…remove you.” The two verbs are from the same root word in Hebrew. The first is the simple active and the second is the intensive.
- Jeremiah 28:16 sn In giving people false assurances of restoration when the Lord had already told them to submit to Babylon, Hananiah was really counseling rebellion against the Lord. What Hananiah had done was contrary to the law of Deut 13:5 and was punishable by death.
- Jeremiah 28:17 sn Comparison with Jer 28:1 shows that this whole incident took place in the space of two months. Hananiah had prophesied that the captivity would be over before two years had past. However, before two months were past, Hananiah himself died in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of his death. His death was a validation of Jeremiah as a true prophet. The subsequent events of 588 b.c. would validate Jeremiah’s prophecies and invalidate those of Hananiah.
3 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Actually, there are many advantages.[a] First of all,[b] the Jews[c] were entrusted with the oracles of God.[d] 3 What then? If some were unfaithful, their unfaithfulness will not nullify God’s faithfulness, will it? 4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being[e] shown up as a liar,[f] just as it is written: “so that you will be justified[g] in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[h]
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates[i] the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? (I am speaking in human terms.)[j] 6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world? 7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances[k] his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”?—as some who slander us allege that we say.[l] (Their[m] condemnation is deserved!)
Footnotes
- Romans 3:2 tn Grk “much in every way.”
- Romans 3:2 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D2 33 M) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506 2464* latt). A few mss have γάρ, but not μέν (6 1739 1881). γάρ was frequently added by scribes as a clarifying conjunction, making it suspect here. NA28 has the γάρ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.tn Grk “first indeed that.”
- Romans 3:2 tn Grk “they were.”
- Romans 3:2 tn The referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.
- Romans 3:4 tn Grk “every man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity rather than masculinity.
- Romans 3:4 tn Grk “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The words “proven” and “shown up” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning.
- Romans 3:4 tn Grk “might be justified,” a subjunctive verb, but in this type of clause it carries the same sense as the future indicative verb in the latter part. “Will” is more idiomatic in contemporary English.
- Romans 3:4 tn Or “prevail when you judge.” A quotation from Ps 51:4.
- Romans 3:5 tn Or “shows clearly.”
- Romans 3:5 sn The same expression occurs in Gal 3:15, and similar phrases in Rom 6:19 and 1 Cor 9:8.
- Romans 3:7 tn Grk “abounded unto.”
- Romans 3:8 tn Grk “(as we are slandered and some affirm that we say…).”
- Romans 3:8 tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new sentence in the translation.
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