Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 I said,[a]
“Lord, you know how I suffer.[b]
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.
16 As your words came to me I drank them in,[c]
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you,[d] O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.[e]
17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you[f]
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.
18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you,
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”[g]
19 Because of this, the Lord said,[h]
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me.[i]
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman.[j]
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them.[k]
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,”[l]
says the Lord.
21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.
I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:15 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to mark the shift from the Lord speaking to Jerusalem, to Jeremiah speaking to God.
- Jeremiah 15:15 tn The words “how I suffer” are not in the text but are implicit from the continuation. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not saying “you are all knowing.”
- Jeremiah 15:16 sn Heb “Your words were found, and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8-3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.
- Jeremiah 15:16 tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”sn See Jer 14:9, where this idiom is applied to Israel as a whole, and Jer 7:10, where it is applied to the temple. For discussion cf. notes on 7:10.
- Jeremiah 15:16 tn Heb “Lord God of Armies.” See the translator’s note at 2:19.
- Jeremiah 15:17 tn Heb “because of your hand.”
- Jeremiah 15:18 tn Heb “Will you be to me like a deceptive (brook), like waters which do not last [or are not reliable].”sn Jeremiah is speaking of the stream beds or wadis, which fill with water after the spring rains but often dry up in the summer time. A fuller picture is painted in Job 6:14-21. This contrasts with the earlier metaphor that God had used of himself in Jer 2:13.
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “So the Lord said thus.”
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, “cause you to return”] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving, see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”sn For the classic statement of the prophet as God’s “mouth/mouthpiece,” = “spokesman,” see Exod 4:15-16; 7:1-2.
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”sn Once again the root “return” (שׁוּב, shuv) is being played on as in 3:1-4:4. See the threefold call to repentance in 3:12, 14, 22. The verb is used here four times: “repent,” “restore,” and “become” twice. He is to serve as a model of repentance, not an imitator of their apostasy. In accusing God of being unreliable he was coming dangerously close to their kind of behavior.
- Jeremiah 15:20 sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.
Psalm 26[a]
By David.
26 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity,[b]
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me.
Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives.[c]
3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness,[d]
and your loyalty continually motivates me.[e]
4 I do not associate[f] with deceitful men,
or consort[g] with those who are dishonest.[h]
5 I hate the mob[i] of evil men,
and do not associate[j] with the wicked.
6 I maintain a pure lifestyle,[k]
so I can appear before your altar,[l] O Lord,
7 to give you thanks,[m]
and to tell about all your amazing deeds.[n]
8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live,[o]
the place where your splendor is revealed.[p]
Footnotes
- Psalm 26:1 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.
- Psalm 26:1 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”
- Psalm 26:2 tn Heb “evaluate my kidneys and my heart.” The kidneys and heart were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
- Psalm 26:3 tn Heb “for your faithfulness [is] before my eyes.”
- Psalm 26:3 tn Heb “and I walk about in your loyalty.”sn The psalmist’s awareness of the Lord’s faithfulness and…loyalty toward him motivates him to remain loyal to the Lord and to maintain his moral purity.
- Psalm 26:4 tn Heb “sit.”
- Psalm 26:4 tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
- Psalm 26:4 tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”
- Psalm 26:5 tn Heb “assembly, company.”
- Psalm 26:5 tn Heb “sit.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
- Psalm 26:6 tn Heb “I wash my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The imperfect verbal emphasizes that this is his habit.
- Psalm 26:6 tn Heb “so I can go around your altar” (probably in ritual procession). Following the imperfect of the preceding line, the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
- Psalm 26:7 tn Heb “to cause to be heard the sound of thanksgiving.”
- Psalm 26:7 tn The two infinitival forms (both with prefixed preposition ל, lamed) give the purpose for his appearance at the altar.
- Psalm 26:8 tn Heb “the dwelling of your house.”
- Psalm 26:8 tn Heb “the place of the abode of your splendor.”
Conduct in Love
9 Love must be[a] without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.[b] Do not be conceited.[c] 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.[d] 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.[e] 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath,[f] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[g] says the Lord. 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.[h] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Footnotes
- Romans 12:9 tn The verb “must be” is understood in the Greek text.
- Romans 12:16 tn Or “but give yourselves to menial tasks.” The translation depends on whether one takes the adjective “lowly” as masculine or neuter.
- Romans 12:16 tn Grk “Do not be wise in your thinking.”
- Romans 12:17 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
- Romans 12:18 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
- Romans 12:19 tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.
- Romans 12:19 sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.
- Romans 12:20 sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.
First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
21 From that time on[a] Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer[b] many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law,[c] and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him:[d] “God forbid,[e] Lord! This must not happen to you!” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”[f] 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower,[g] he must deny[h] himself, take up his cross,[i] and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life[j] will lose it,[k] but whoever loses his life because of me[l] will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person[m] if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.[n] 28 I tell you the truth,[o] there are some standing here who will not[p] experience[q] death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”[r]
Footnotes
- Matthew 16:21 tn Grk “From then.”
- Matthew 16:21 sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.
- Matthew 16:21 tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
- Matthew 16:22 tn Grk “began to rebuke him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
- Matthew 16:22 tn Grk “Merciful to you.” A highly elliptical expression: “May God be merciful to you in sparing you from having to undergo [some experience]” (L&N 88.78). A contemporary English equivalent is “God forbid!”
- Matthew 16:23 tn Grk “people.”
- Matthew 16:24 tn Grk “to come after me.”
- Matthew 16:24 tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
- Matthew 16:24 sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
- Matthew 16:25 tn Grk “soul” (throughout vv. 25-26). See the discussion of this Greek term in the note on “life” in Matt 10:39.
- Matthew 16:25 sn The Greek word translated life can refer to both earthly, physical life and inner, transcendent life (one’s “soul”). In the context, if a person is not willing to suffer the world’s rejection and persecution in order to follow Jesus but instead seeks to retain his physical life, then that person will lose both physical life and inner, transcendent life (at the judgment). On the other hand, the one who willingly gives up earthly, physical life to follow Jesus (“loses his life because of me”) will ultimately find one’s “soul” (note that the parallel in John’s Gospel speaks of “guarding one’s ‘soul’ for eternal life” (John 12:25).
- Matthew 16:25 tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα (heneka) indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).
- Matthew 16:26 tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.
- Matthew 16:27 sn An allusion to Pss 28:4; 62:12; cf. Prov 24:12.
- Matthew 16:28 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
- Matthew 16:28 tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mē) is the strongest possible.
- Matthew 16:28 tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
- Matthew 16:28 sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Christ’s role in the Church; (5) the destruction of Jerusalem; (6) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to six days later in 17:1 seems to indicate that Matthew had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration would be a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (in vv. 21-23), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.
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