Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Absurdity of Idolatry
6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,
their Protector,[a] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim![b]
Let him announce it and explain it to me—
since I established an ancient people[c]—
let them announce future events.[d]
8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid![e]
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock;[f] I know of none.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:6 tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
- Isaiah 44:7 tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”
- Isaiah 44:7 tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmiʿim meʿolam ʾotiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.
- Isaiah 44:7 tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”
- Isaiah 44:8 tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form likely needs to be emended to תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa.
- Isaiah 44:8 tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live.[a]
Then I will obey your commands.[b]
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you.[c]
12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
I will honor your name continually.[d]
13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me,[e]
and will deliver my life[f] from the depths of Sheol.[g]
14 O God, arrogant men attack me;[h]
a gang[i] of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.[j]
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient[k] and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.[l]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me.
Give your servant your strength.
Deliver this son of your female servant.[m]
17 Show me evidence of your favor.[n]
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed,[o]
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.[p]
Footnotes
- Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles he expects the psalmist to follow. See Pss 25:4; 27:11.
- Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The Lord’s commandments are referred to as “truth” here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. See Ps 25:5.
- Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).
- Psalm 86:12 tn Or “forever.”
- Psalm 86:13 tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”
- Psalm 86:13 tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.
- Psalm 86:13 tn Or “lower Sheol.”
- Psalm 86:14 tn Heb “rise up against me.”
- Psalm 86:14 tn Or “assembly.”
- Psalm 86:14 tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.
- Psalm 86:15 tn Heb “slow to anger.”
- Psalm 86:15 tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.
- Psalm 86:16 tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The phrase may be used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant. Or it may be a reference to the psalmist’s own mother who also was a servant of the Lord.
- Psalm 86:17 tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.
- Psalm 86:17 tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.
- Psalm 86:17 tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).
12 So then,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh 13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will[c] die),[d] but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are[e] the sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear,[f] but you received the Spirit of adoption,[g] by whom[h] we cry, “Abba,[i] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness to[j] our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)[k]—if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.
18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared[l] to the coming glory that will be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly but because of God[m] who subjected it—in hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. 23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,[n] groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption,[o] the redemption of our bodies.[p] 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.[q]
Footnotes
- Romans 8:12 tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
- Romans 8:12 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
- Romans 8:13 tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”
- Romans 8:13 sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.
- Romans 8:14 tn Grk “For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are.”
- Romans 8:15 tn Grk “slavery again to fear.”
- Romans 8:15 tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e. in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).”
- Romans 8:15 tn Or “in that.”
- Romans 8:15 tn The term “Abba” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic אַבָּא (’abba’), literally meaning “my father” but taken over simply as “father,” used in prayer and in the family circle, and later taken over by the early Greek-speaking Christians (BDAG 1 s.v. ἀββα).sn This Aramaic word is found three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6), and in each case is followed by its Greek equivalent, which is translated “father.” It is a term expressing warm affection and filial confidence. It has no perfect equivalent in English. It has passed into European languages as an ecclesiastical term, “abbot.” Over the past fifty years a lot has been written about this term and Jesus’ use of it. Joachim Jeremias argued that Jesus routinely addressed God using this Aramaic word, and he also noted this was a “child’s word,” leading many to conclude its modern equivalent was “Daddy.” This conclusion Jeremias soon modified (the term on occasion is used of an adult son addressing his father) but the simplistic equation of abba with “Daddy” is still heard in some circles today. Nevertheless, the term does express a high degree of closeness with reverence, and in addition to the family circle could be used by disciples of a much loved and revered teacher.
- Romans 8:16 tn Or possibly “with.” ExSyn 160-61, however, notes the following: “At issue, grammatically, is whether the Spirit testifies alongside of our spirit (dat. of association), or whether he testifies to our spirit (indirect object) that we are God’s children. If the former, the one receiving this testimony is unstated (is it God? or believers?). If the latter, the believer receives the testimony and hence is assured of salvation via the inner witness of the Spirit. The first view has the advantage of a σύν- (sun-) prefixed verb, which might be expected to take an accompanying dat. of association (and is supported by NEB, JB, etc.). But there are three reasons why πνεύματι (pneumati) should not be taken as association: (1) Grammatically, a dat. with a σύν- prefixed verb does not necessarily indicate association. This, of course, does not preclude such here, but this fact at least opens up the alternatives in this text. (2) Lexically, though συμμαρτυρέω (summartureō) originally bore an associative idea, it developed in the direction of merely intensifying μαρτυρέω (martureō). This is surely the case in the only other NT text with a dat. (Rom 9:1). (3) Contextually, a dat. of association does not seem to support Paul’s argument: ‘What standing has our spirit in this matter? Of itself it surely has no right at all to testify to our being sons of God’ [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:403]. In sum, Rom 8:16 seems to be secure as a text in which the believer’s assurance of salvation is based on the inner witness of the Spirit. The implications of this for one’s soteriology are profound: The objective data, as helpful as they are, cannot by themselves provide assurance of salvation; the believer also needs (and receives) an existential, ongoing encounter with God’s Spirit in order to gain that familial comfort.”
- Romans 8:17 tn Grk “on the one hand, heirs of God; on the other hand, fellow heirs with Christ.” Some prefer to render v. 17 as follows: “And if children, then heirs—that is, heirs of God. Also fellow heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.” Such a translation suggests two distinct inheritances, one coming to all of God’s children, the other coming only to those who suffer with Christ. The difficulty of this view, however, is that it ignores the correlative conjunctions μέν…δέ (men…de, “on the one hand…on the other hand”): The construction strongly suggests that the inheritances cannot be separated since both explain “then heirs.” For this reason, the preferred translation puts this explanation in parentheses.
- Romans 8:18 tn Grk “are not worthy [to be compared].”
- Romans 8:20 tn Grk “because of the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Romans 8:23 tn Or “who have the Spirit as firstfruits.” The genitive πνεύματος (pneumatos) can be understood here as possessive (“the firstfruits belonging to the Spirit”) although it is much more likely that this is a genitive of apposition (“the firstfruits, namely, the Spirit”); cf. TEV, NLT.
- Romans 8:23 tn See the note on “adoption” in v. 15.
- Romans 8:23 tn Grk “body.”
- Romans 8:25 tn Or “perseverance.”
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He presented them with another parable:[a] “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel[b] among the wheat and went away. 26 When[c] the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared. 27 So the slaves[d] of the landowner[e] came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ 28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So[f] the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At[g] harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather[h] the wheat into my barn.”’”
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:24 tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:25 tn Or “sowed poisonous weeds”; KJV “tares.” The Greek term ζιζάνιον (zizanion) is generally understood to refer to darnel (Lolium temulentum), an especially undesirable weed that bears an uncanny resemblance to wheat until the ears of grain appear (L&N 3.30; BDAG 429 s.v.). So close is the resemblance to genuine wheat that darnel is sometimes called “false wheat.” Darnel is considered poisonous; ingesting the weed causes feelings of drunkenness and can prove fatal. Under Roman law the sowing of such poisonous plants in someone else’s field was specifically prohibited (C. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary [Eerdmans, 2009], 387). A number of recent English translations use “weeds,” but this does not convey the poisonous nature of darnel or the similarity in appearance to wheat.
- Matthew 13:26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:27 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
- Matthew 13:27 sn The term landowner here refers to the owner and manager of a household.
- Matthew 13:28 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the owner’s statement.
- Matthew 13:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:30 tn Grk “burned, but gather”; “then” has been added to the English translation to complete the sequence begun by “First collect.”
Explanation for the Disciples
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel[a] in the field.” 37 He[b] answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people[c] of the kingdom. The poisonous weeds[d] are the people[e] of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 As[f] the poisonous weeds[g] are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.[h] 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace,[i] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.[j] The one who has ears had better listen![k]
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:36 tn Or “poisonous weeds.” See the note on the word “darnel” in 13:25.
- Matthew 13:37 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:38 tn Grk “the sons of the kingdom.” This idiom refers to people who should properly be, or were traditionally regarded as, a part of God’s kingdom. L&N 11.13 translates the phrase: “people of God’s kingdom, God’s people.”
- Matthew 13:38 tn Or “The darnels.” Here “poisonous weeds” contrasts with “the good seed” mentioned previously in the verse.
- Matthew 13:38 tn Grk “the sons of the evil one.” See the preceding note on the phrase “people of the kingdom” earlier in this verse, which is the opposite of this phrase. See also L&N 9.4; 11.13; 11.14.
- Matthew 13:40 tn Grk “Therefore as.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.
- Matthew 13:40 tn Or “the darnels.”
- Matthew 13:41 tn Grk “the ones who practice lawlessness.”
- Matthew 13:42 sn A quotation from Dan 3:6.
- Matthew 13:43 sn An allusion to Dan 12:3.
- Matthew 13:43 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; 13:9; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35).
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