Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 67[a]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67 May God show us his favor[b] and bless us.[c]
May he smile on us.[d] (Selah)
2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people.[e]
3 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[f]
4 Let foreigners[g] rejoice and celebrate.
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth.[h] (Selah)
5 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[i]
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God bless us.[j]
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves.[k]
Footnotes
- Psalm 67:1 sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.
- Psalm 67:1 tn Or “have mercy on us.”
- Psalm 67:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (yaʾer) in the next line.
- Psalm 67:1 tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”
- Psalm 67:2 tn Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with ל (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.
- Psalm 67:3 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in vv. 3-4a are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
- Psalm 67:4 tn Or “peoples.”
- Psalm 67:4 tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).
- Psalm 67:5 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 5 are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
- Psalm 67:7 tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.
- Psalm 67:7 tn Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”
15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal[a] and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion![b]
16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
you have been called our Protector from ancient times.[c]
17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray[d] from your ways,[e]
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?[f]
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
18 For a short time your special[g] nation possessed a land,[h]
but then our adversaries knocked down[i] your holy sanctuary.
19 We existed from ancient times,[j]
but you did not rule over them;
they were not your subjects.[k]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 63:15 tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.
- Isaiah 63:15 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (ʾelay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (ʾal). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, titʾappaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (ʾafaq) also occurs in 42:14.
- Isaiah 63:16 tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”
- Isaiah 63:17 tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (taʿah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.
- Isaiah 63:17 tn This probably refers to God’s commands.
- Isaiah 63:17 tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).sn How direct this hardening is, one cannot be sure. The speaker may envision direct involvement on the Lord’s part. The Lord has brought the exile as judgment for the nation’s sin and now he continues to keep them at arm’s length by blinding them spiritually. The second half of 64:7 might support this, though the precise reading of the final verb is uncertain. On the other hand, the idiom of lament is sometimes ironic and hyperbolically deterministic. For example, Naomi lamented that Shaddai was directly opposing her and bringing her calamity (Ruth 1:20-21), while the author of Ps 88 directly attributes his horrible suffering and loneliness to God (see especially vv. 6-8, 16-18). Both individuals make little, if any, room for intermediate causes or the principle of sin and death which ravages the human race. In the same way, the speaker in Isa 63:17 (who evidences great spiritual sensitivity and is anything but “hardened”) may be referring to the hardships of exile, which discouraged and even embittered the people, causing many of them to retreat from their Yahwistic faith. In this case, the “hardening” in view is more indirect and can be lifted by the Lord’s intervention. Whether the hardening here is indirect or direct, it is important to recognize that the speaker sees it as one of the effects of rebellion against the Lord (note especially 64:5-6).
- Isaiah 63:18 tn Or “holy” (ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
- Isaiah 63:18 tn Heb “for a short time they had a possession, the people of your holiness.”
- Isaiah 63:18 tn Heb “your adversaries trampled on.”
- Isaiah 63:19 tn Heb “we were from antiquity” (see v. 16). The collocation of הָיָה, מִן, and עוֹלָם (hayah, min, and ʿolam) occurs only here.
- Isaiah 63:19 tn Heb “you did not rule them; your name was not called over them.” The expression “the name is called over” indicates ownership; see the note at 4:1. As these two lines stand, they are very difficult to interpret. They appear to be stating that the adversaries just mentioned in v. 18 have not been subject to the Lord’s rule in the past, perhaps explaining why they could commit the atrocity described in v. 18b.
19 But Jews came from Antioch[a] and Iconium,[b] and after winning[c] the crowds over, they stoned[d] Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead. 20 But after the disciples had surrounded him, he got up and went back[e] into the city. On[f] the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.[g]
Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria
21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra,[h] to Iconium,[i] and to Antioch.[j] 22 They strengthened[k] the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue[l] in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom of God[m] through many persecutions.”[n] 23 When they had appointed elders[o] for them in the various churches,[p] with prayer and fasting[q] they entrusted them to the protection[r] of the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through[s] Pisidia and came into Pamphylia,[t] 25 and when they had spoken the word[u] in Perga,[v] they went down to Attalia.[w] 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch,[x] where they had been commended[y] to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.[z] 27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported[aa] all the things God[ab] had done with them, and that he had opened a door[ac] of faith for the Gentiles. 28 So they spent[ad] considerable[ae] time with the disciples.
Footnotes
- Acts 14:19 sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.
- Acts 14:19 sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra. Note how Jews from other cities were chasing Paul (2 Cor 11:4-6; Gal 2:4-5; Acts 9:16).
- Acts 14:19 tn The participle πείσαντες (peisantes) is taken temporally (BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.c).
- Acts 14:19 tn Grk “stoning Paul they dragged him.” The participle λιθάσαντες (lithasantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
- Acts 14:20 tn Grk “and entered”; the word “back” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
- Acts 14:20 tn Grk “And on.” 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.
- Acts 14:20 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. This was the easternmost point of the journey.
- Acts 14:21 sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) northwest of Derbe.
- Acts 14:21 sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra.
- Acts 14:21 sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.
- Acts 14:22 tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, epistērizontes) and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalountes) have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”
- Acts 14:22 sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”
- Acts 14:22 sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its arrival as future, although this does not automatically rule out a present manifestation of the kingdom as well. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21; Acts 1:3.
- Acts 14:22 tn Or “sufferings.”
- Acts 14:23 sn Appointed elders. See Acts 20:17.
- Acts 14:23 tn The preposition κατά (kata) is used here in a distributive sense; see BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d.
- Acts 14:23 tn Literally with a participle (προσευξάμενοι, proseuxamenoi) rather than a noun, “praying with fasting,” but the combination “prayer and fasting” is so familiar in English that it is preferable to use it here.
- Acts 14:23 tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “entrust someone to the care or protection of someone” for this phrase. The reference to persecution or suffering in the context (v. 22) suggests “protection” is a better translation here. This looks at God’s ultimate care for the church.
- Acts 14:24 tn Grk “Then passing through Pisidia they came.” The participle διελθόντες (dielthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
- Acts 14:24 sn Pamphylia was a province along the southern coast of Asia Minor.
- Acts 14:25 tn Or “message.”
- Acts 14:25 sn Perga was a city in Pamphylia near the southern coast of Asia Minor.
- Acts 14:25 sn Attalia was a seaport in the province of Pamphylia on the southern coast of Asia Minor, about 12 mi (20 km) southwest of Perga.
- Acts 14:26 sn Antioch was the city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia) from which Paul’s first missionary journey began (see Acts 13:1-4). That first missionary journey ends here, after covering some 1,400 mi (2,240 km).
- Acts 14:26 tn Or “committed.” BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 2 gives “commended to the grace of God for the work 14:26” as the meaning for this phrase, although “give over” and “commit” are listed as alternative meanings for this category.
- Acts 14:26 tn BDAG 829 s.v. πληρόω 5 has “to bring to completion an activity in which one has been involved from its beginning, complete, finish” as meanings for this category. The ministry to which they were commissioned ends with a note of success.
- Acts 14:27 tn Or “announced.”
- Acts 14:27 sn Note that God is the subject of the activity. The outcome of this mission is seen as a confirmation of the mission to the Gentiles.
- Acts 14:27 sn On the image of opening, or of the door, see 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.
- Acts 14:28 tn BDAG 238 s.v. διατρίβω gives the meaning as “spend” when followed by an accusative τὸν χρόνον (ton chronon) which is the case here.
- Acts 14:28 tn Grk “no little (time)” (an idiom).
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