Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 [a] The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.[b]
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.”[c]
12 Indeed you will go out with joy;
you will be led along in peace;
the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,
and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.
13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,
firs will grow in place of nettles;
they will be a monument to the Lord,[d]
a permanent reminder that will remain.[e]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 55:10 tn This verse begins in the Hebrew text with כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר (ki kaʾasher, “for, just as”), which is completed by כֵּן (ken, “so, in the same way”) at the beginning of v. 11. For stylistic reasons, this lengthy sentence is divided up into separate sentences in the translation.
- Isaiah 55:11 tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to me empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).
- Isaiah 55:11 tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds in what I commission it with.”sn Verses 8-11 focus on the reliability of the divine word and support the promises before (vv. 3-5, 7b) and after (vv. 12-13) this. Israel can be certain that repentance will bring forgiveness and a new covenantal relationship because God’s promises are reliable. In contrast to human plans (or “thoughts”), which are destined to fail (Ps 94:11) apart from divine approval (Prov 19:21), and human deeds (or “ways”), which are evil and lead to destruction (Prov 1:15-19; 3:31-33; 4:19), God’s plans are realized, and his deeds accomplish something positive.
- Isaiah 55:13 tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).
- Isaiah 55:13 tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”
Psalm 65[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David, a song.
65 Praise awaits you,[b] O God, in Zion.
Vows made to you are fulfilled.
2 You hear prayers;[c]
all people approach you.[d]
3 Our record of sins overwhelms me,[e]
but you forgive[f] our acts of rebellion.
4 How blessed[g] is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts.[h]
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—
your holy palace.[i]
5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior.[j]
All the ends of the earth trust in you,[k]
as well as those living across the wide seas.[l]
6 You created the mountains by your power,[m]
and demonstrated your strength.[n]
7 You calmed the raging seas[o]
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations.[p]
8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts;[q]
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.[r]
Footnotes
- Psalm 65:1 sn Psalm 65. The psalmist praises God because he forgives sin and blesses his people with an abundant harvest.
- Psalm 65:1 tn Heb “for you, silence, praise.” Many prefer to emend the noun דֻּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”) to a participle דּוֹמִיָּה (domiyyah), from the root דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”), understood here in the sense of “wait.”
- Psalm 65:2 tn Heb “O one who hears prayer.”
- Psalm 65:2 tn Heb “to you all flesh comes.”
- Psalm 65:3 tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”
- Psalm 65:3 tn Or “make atonement for.”
- Psalm 65:4 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
- Psalm 65:4 tn Heb “[whom] you bring near [so that] he might live [in] your courts.”
- Psalm 65:4 tn Or “temple.”
- Psalm 65:5 tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”
- Psalm 65:5 tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”sn All the ends of the earth trust in you. This idealistic portrayal of universal worship is typical hymnic hyperbole, though it does anticipate eschatological reality.
- Psalm 65:5 tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rekhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.
- Psalm 65:6 tn Heb “[the] one who establishes [the] mountains by his power.”
- Psalm 65:6 tn Heb “one [who] is girded with strength”; or “one [who] girds himself with strength.”
- Psalm 65:7 tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”
- Psalm 65:7 sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).
- Psalm 65:8 tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.
- Psalm 65:8 tn Heb “the goings out of the morning and the evening you cause to shout for joy.” The phrase “goings out of the morning and evening” refers to the sunrise and sunset, that is, the east and the west.
9 You visit the earth and give it rain;[a]
you make it rich and fertile.[b]
God’s streams are full of water;[c]
you provide grain for the people of the earth,[d]
for you have prepared the earth in this way.[e]
10 You saturate[f] its furrows,
and soak[g] its plowed ground.[h]
With rain showers you soften its soil,[i]
and make its crops grow.[j]
11 You crown the year with your good blessings,[k]
and you leave abundance in your wake.[l]
12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,[m]
and the hills are clothed with joy.[n]
13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.
Footnotes
- Psalm 65:9 tn The verb form is a Polel from שׁוּק (shuq, “be abundant”), a verb which appears only here and in Joel 2:24 and 3:13, where it is used in the Hiphil stem and means “overflow.”
- Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “you greatly enrich it.”
- Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “[with] a channel of God full of water.” The divine name is probably may be used here in a superlative sense to depict a very deep stream (“a stream fit for God,” as it were).
- Psalm 65:9 tn The pronoun apparently refers to the people of the earth, mentioned in v. 8.
- Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “for thus [referring to the provision of rain described in the first half of the verse] you prepare it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix attached to the verb “prepare” refers back to the “earth,” which is a feminine noun with regard to grammatical form.
- Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “saturating” [the form is an infinitive absolute].
- Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “flatten, cause to sink.”
- Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “trenches,” or “furrows.”
- Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “soften it,” that is, the earth.
- Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “its vegetation you bless.” Divine “blessing” often involves endowing an object with special power or capacity.
- Psalm 65:11 tn Heb “your good,” which refers here to agricultural blessings.
- Psalm 65:11 tn Heb “and your paths drip with abundance.”
- Psalm 65:12 tn Heb “drip.”
- Psalm 65:12 tn That is, with rich vegetation that brings joy to those who see it.
The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit[b] in Christ Jesus has set you[c] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For God achieved what the law could not do because[d] it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by[e] the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 6 For the outlook[f] of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in[g] the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but[h] the Spirit is your life[i] because of righteousness. 11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one[j] who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ[k] from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.[l]
Footnotes
- Romans 8:1 tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D1 Ψ 81 365 629 vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mē kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א2 D2 33vid M) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in M.
- Romans 8:2 tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”
- Romans 8:2 tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1175 1241 1505 1739c 1881 2464 M lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B (F: σαι) G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, ēleutherōsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.
- Romans 8:3 tn Grk “in that.”
- Romans 8:5 tn Grk “think on” or “are intent on” (twice in this verse). What is in view here is not primarily preoccupation, however, but worldview. Translations like “set their mind on” could be misunderstood by the typical English reader to refer exclusively to preoccupation.
- Romans 8:6 tn Or “mindset,” “way of thinking” (twice in this verse and once in v. 7). The Greek term φρόνημα does not refer to one’s mind, but to one’s outlook or mindset.
- Romans 8:9 tn Or “are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit.”
- Romans 8:10 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
- Romans 8:10 tn Or “life-giving.” Grk “the Spirit is life.”
- Romans 8:11 sn The one who raised Jesus from the dead refers to God (also in the following clause).
- Romans 8:11 tc Several mss read ᾿Ιησοῦν (Iēsoun, “Jesus”) after Χριστόν (Christon, “Christ”; א* A D* 630 1506 1739 1881 bo); C 81 104 lat have ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστόν. The shorter reading is more likely to be autographic, though, both because of external evidence (א2 B D2 F G Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M sa) and internal evidence (scribes were much more likely to add the name “Jesus” if it were lacking than to remove it if it were already present in the text, especially to harmonize with the earlier mention of Jesus in the verse).
- Romans 8:11 tc Most mss (B D F G Ψ 33 1175 1241 1739 1881 M lat) have διά (dia) followed by the accusative: “because of his Spirit who lives in you.” The genitive “through his Spirit” is supported by א A C 81 104 1505 1506 al, and is slightly preferred.
The Parable of the Sower
13 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.[a] 2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat[b] to sit while[c] the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 He[d] told them many things in parables,[e] saying: “Listen![f] A sower went out to sow.[g] 4 And as he sowed, some seeds[h] fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other[i] seeds fell on rocky ground[j] where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.[k] 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns,[l] and they grew up and choked them.[m] 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 The one who has ears had better listen!”[n]
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:1 sn Here lake refers to the Sea of Galilee.
- Matthew 13:2 sn See the note at Matt 4:21 for a description of the first-century fishing boat discovered in 1986 near Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
- Matthew 13:2 tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.
- Matthew 13:3 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:3 sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. the remainder of chapter 13), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.
- Matthew 13:3 tn Grk “Behold.”
- Matthew 13:3 sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well-worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God.
- Matthew 13:4 tn In Matthew’s version of this parable, plural pronouns are used to refer to the seed in v. 4 (ἅ…αὐτά [ha…auta]), although the collective singular is used in v. 5 and following (indicated by the singular verbs like ἔπεσεν [epesen]). For the sake of consistency in English, plural pronouns referring to the seed are used in the translation throughout the Matthean account. In both Mark and Luke the collective singular is used consistently throughout (cf. Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8).
- Matthew 13:5 tn Here and in vv. 7 and 8 δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:5 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
- Matthew 13:5 tn Grk “because it did not have depth of earth.”
- Matthew 13:7 sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to 6 feet in height and have a major root system.
- Matthew 13:7 sn That is, crowded out the good plants.
- Matthew 13:9 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35).
18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one[a] comes and snatches what was sown in his heart;[b] this is the seed sown along the path. 20 The[c] seed sown on rocky ground[d] is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure;[e] when[f] trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 The[g] seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth[h] choke the word,[i] so it produces nothing. 23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”[j]
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:19 sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.
- Matthew 13:19 sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.
- Matthew 13:20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:20 tn Grk “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one.” The next two statements like this one have this same syntactical structure.
- Matthew 13:21 tn Grk “is temporary.”
- Matthew 13:21 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:22 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:22 tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”
- Matthew 13:22 sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.
- Matthew 13:23 tn The Greek is difficult to translate because it switches from a generic “he” to three people within this generic class (thus, something like: “Who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one instance a hundred times, in another, sixty times, in another, thirty times”).
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.