Numbers 35-36
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 35
Cities for the Levites. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho: 2 (A)Command the Israelites out of the heritage they possess to give the Levites cities to dwell in; you will also give the Levites the pasture lands around the cities. 3 The cities will be for them to dwell in, and the pasture lands will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their other animals. 4 The pasture lands of the cities to be assigned the Levites shall extend a thousand cubits out from the city walls in every direction. 5 You will measure out two thousand cubits outside the city along the east side, two thousand cubits along the south side, two thousand cubits along the west side, and two thousand cubits along the north side, with the city lying in the center. These will be the pasture lands of their cities.
6 (B)Now these are the cities you will give to the Levites: the six cities of asylum which you must establish for the homicide to run to, and in addition forty-two other cities— 7 a total of forty-eight cities with their pasture lands which you will assign to the Levites. 8 [a]In assigning the cities from what the Israelites possess, take more from a larger group and fewer from a smaller one, so that each will cede cities to the Levites in proportion to the heritage which it receives.
Cities of Asylum. 9 (C)The Lord spoke to Moses: 10 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 select for yourselves cities to serve as cities of asylum, where a homicide who has killed someone inadvertently may flee. 12 These cities will serve you as places of asylum from the avenger of blood,[b] so that a homicide will not be put to death until tried before the community. 13 As for the cities you assign, you will have six cities of asylum: 14 you will designate three cities beyond the Jordan, and you will designate three cities in the land of Canaan. These will be cities of asylum. 15 These six cities will serve as places of asylum for the Israelites, and for the resident or transient aliens among them, so that anyone who has killed a person inadvertently may flee there.
Murder and Manslaughter. 16 [c]If someone strikes another with an iron instrument and causes death, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death.(D) 17 If someone strikes another with a death-dealing stone in the hand and death results, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death. 18 Or if someone strikes another with a death-dealing club in the hand and death results, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood is the one who will kill the murderer, putting the individual to death on sight.
20 If someone pushes another out of hatred, or throws something from an ambush, and death results,(E) 21 or strikes another with the hand out of enmity and death results, the assailant must be put to death as a murderer. The avenger of blood will kill the murderer on sight.
22 (F)However, if someone pushes another without malice aforethought, or without lying in ambush throws some object at another, 23 or without seeing drops upon another some death-dealing stone and death results, although there was neither enmity nor malice— 24 then the community will judge between the assailant and the avenger of blood in accordance with these norms. 25 The community will deliver the homicide from the avenger of blood and the community will return the homicide to the city of asylum where the latter had fled;(G) and the individual will stay there until the death of the high priest who has been anointed with sacred oil. 26 If the homicide leaves at all the bounds of the city of asylum to which flight had been made, 27 and is found by the avenger of blood beyond the bounds of the city of asylum, and the avenger of blood kills the homicide, the avenger incurs no bloodguilt; 28 for the homicide was required to stay in the city of asylum until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the homicide return to the land of the homicide’s possession.
29 This is the statute for you throughout all your generations, wherever you live, for rendering judgment.
Judgment. 30 Whenever someone kills another, the evidence of witnesses is required to kill the murderer.(H) A single witness does not suffice for putting a person to death.
No Indemnity. 31 You will not accept compensation in place of the life of a murderer who deserves to die, but that person must be put to death. 32 Nor will you accept compensation to allow one who has fled to a city of asylum to return to live in the land before the death of the high priest. 33 You will not pollute the land where you live. For bloodshed pollutes the land, and the land can have no expiation for the blood shed on it except through the blood of the one who shed it. 34 Do not defile the land in which you live and in the midst of which I dwell;(I) for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the Israelites.
Chapter 36
Inheritance of Daughters. 1 The heads of the ancestral houses in a clan of the descendants of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh—one of the Josephite clans—came up and spoke before Moses and Eleazar the priest and before the leaders who were the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelites. 2 They said: “The Lord commanded my lord to apportion the land by lot for a heritage among the Israelites;(J) and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the heritage of Zelophehad our kinsman to his daughters. 3 But if they marry into one of the other Israelite tribes, their heritage will be withdrawn from our ancestral heritage and will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry; thus the heritage that fell to us by lot will be diminished. 4 When the Israelites celebrate the jubilee year,[d] the heritage of these women will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry and their heritage will be withdrawn from that of our ancestral tribe.”
5 [e]So Moses commanded the Israelites at the direction of the Lord: “The tribe of the Josephites are right in what they say. 6 This is what the Lord commands with regard to the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry into a clan of their ancestral tribe, 7 so that no heritage of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelites will retain their own ancestral heritage. 8 Every daughter who inherits property in any of the Israelite tribes will marry someone belonging to a clan of her own ancestral tribe, in order that all the Israelites may remain in possession of their own ancestral heritage. 9 Thus, no heritage will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelite tribes will retain their own ancestral heritage.”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, Zelophehad’s daughters, married sons of their uncles on their father’s side. 12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph; hence their heritage remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.
Conclusion. 13 These are the commandments and decisions which the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses, on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan opposite Jericho.
Footnotes
- 35:8 This provision was hardly observed in the actual assignment of the levitical cities as narrated in Jos 21.
- 35:12 The avenger of blood: Hebrew, go’el, often translated as “redeemer,” one who, as next of kin to the slain (2 Sm 14:7), and here, as executor of public justice, had the right and duty to take the life of the murderer; cf. Dt 19:6, 12; Jos 20:3, 5, 9.
- 35:16–25 Here, as also in Dt 19:1–13, there is a casuistic development of the original law as stated in Ex 21:12–14.
- 36:4 Before the jubilee year various circumstances, such as divorce, could make such property revert to its original tribal owners; but in the jubilee year it became irrevocably attached to its new owners.
- 36:5–9 This is a supplement to the law given in 27:5–11.
Luke 3:1-22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. The Preparation for the Public Ministry
Chapter 3
The Preaching of John the Baptist.[a] 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,[b] when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,(A) and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,[c] the word of God came to John(B) the son of Zechariah in the desert. 3 [d]He went throughout [the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,(C) 4 [e]as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:(D)
“A voice of one crying out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,(E)
make straight his paths.
5 Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”(F)
7 He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(G) 8 Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.(H) 9 Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(I)
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”(J) 13 He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15 (K)Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. 16 [f]John answered them all, saying,(L) “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan[g] is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”(M) 18 Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people. 19 [h]Now Herod the tetrarch,(N) who had been censured by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil deeds Herod had committed, 20 added still another to these by [also] putting John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus.[i] 21 (O)After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,[j] heaven was opened 22 [k](P)and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
The Genealogy of Jesus.[l]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 3:1–20 Although Luke is indebted in this section to his sources, the Gospel of Mark and a collection of sayings of John the Baptist, he has clearly marked this introduction to the ministry of Jesus with his own individual style. Just as the gospel began with a long periodic sentence (Lk 1:1–4), so too this section (Lk 3:1–2). He casts the call of John the Baptist in the form of an Old Testament prophetic call (Lk 3:2) and extends the quotation from Isaiah found in Mk 1:3 (Is 40:3) by the addition of Is 40:4–5 in Lk 3:5–6. In doing so, he presents his theme of the universality of salvation, which he has announced earlier in the words of Simeon (Lk 2:30–32). Moreover, in describing the expectation of the people (Lk 3:15), Luke is characterizing the time of John’s preaching in the same way as he had earlier described the situation of other devout Israelites in the infancy narrative (Lk 2:25–26, 37–38). In Lk 3:7–18 Luke presents the preaching of John the Baptist who urges the crowds to reform in view of the coming wrath (Lk 3:7, 9: eschatological preaching), and who offers the crowds certain standards for reforming social conduct (Lk 3:10–14: ethical preaching), and who announces to the crowds the coming of one mightier than he (Lk 3:15–18: messianic preaching).
- 3:1 Tiberius Caesar: Tiberius succeeded Augustus as emperor in A.D. 14 and reigned until A.D. 37. The fifteenth year of his reign, depending on the method of calculating his first regnal year, would have fallen between A.D. 27 and 29. Pontius Pilate: prefect of Judea from A.D. 26 to 36. The Jewish historian Josephus describes him as a greedy and ruthless prefect who had little regard for the local Jewish population and their religious practices (see Lk 13:1). Herod: i.e., Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. He ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39. His official title tetrarch means literally, “ruler of a quarter,” but came to designate any subordinate prince. Philip: also a son of Herod the Great, tetrarch of the territory to the north and east of the Sea of Galilee from 4 B.C. to A.D. 34. Only two small areas of this territory are mentioned by Luke. Lysanias: nothing is known about this Lysanias who is said here to have been tetrarch of Abilene, a territory northwest of Damascus.
- 3:2 During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas: after situating the call of John the Baptist in terms of the civil rulers of the period, Luke now mentions the religious leadership of Palestine (see note on Lk 1:5). Annas had been high priest A.D. 6–15. After being deposed by the Romans in A.D. 15 he was succeeded by various members of his family and eventually by his son-in-law, Caiaphas, who was high priest A.D. 18–36. Luke refers to Annas as high priest at this time (but see Jn 18:13, 19), possibly because of the continuing influence of Annas or because the title continued to be used for the ex-high priest. The word of God came to John: Luke is alone among the New Testament writers in associating the preaching of John with a call from God. Luke is thereby identifying John with the prophets whose ministries began with similar calls. In Lk 7:26 John will be described as “more than a prophet”; he is also the precursor of Jesus (Lk 7:27), a transitional figure inaugurating the period of the fulfillment of prophecy and promise.
- 3:3 See note on Mt 3:2.
- 3:4 The Essenes from Qumran used the same passage to explain why their community was in the desert studying and observing the law and the prophets (1QS 8:12–15).
- 3:16 He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire: in contrast to John’s baptism with water, Jesus is said to baptize with the holy Spirit and with fire. From the point of view of the early Christian community, the Spirit and fire must have been understood in the light of the fire symbolism of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4); but as part of John’s preaching, the Spirit and fire should be related to their purifying and refining characteristics (Ez 36:25–27; Mal 3:2–3). See note on Mt 3:11.
- 3:17 Winnowing fan: see note on Mt 3:12.
- 3:19–20 Luke separates the ministry of John the Baptist from that of Jesus by reporting the imprisonment of John before the baptism of Jesus (Lk 3:21–22). Luke uses this literary device to serve his understanding of the periods of salvation history. With John the Baptist, the time of promise, the period of Israel, comes to an end; with the baptism of Jesus and the descent of the Spirit upon him, the time of fulfillment, the period of Jesus, begins. In his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, Luke will introduce the third epoch in salvation history, the period of the church.
- 3:21–22 This episode in Luke focuses on the heavenly message identifying Jesus as Son and, through the allusion to Is 42:1, as Servant of Yahweh. The relationship of Jesus to the Father has already been announced in the infancy narrative (Lk 1:32, 35; 2:49); it occurs here at the beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and will reappear in Lk 9:35 before another major section of Luke’s gospel, the travel narrative (Lk 9:51–19:27). Elsewhere in Luke’s writings (Lk 4:18; Acts 10:38), this incident will be interpreted as a type of anointing of Jesus.
- 3:21 Was praying: Luke regularly presents Jesus at prayer at important points in his ministry: here at his baptism; at the choice of the Twelve (Lk 6:12); before Peter’s confession (Lk 9:18); at the transfiguration (Lk 9:28); when he teaches his disciples to pray (Lk 11:1); at the Last Supper (Lk 22:32); on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22:41); on the cross (Lk 23:46).
- 3:22 You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased: this is the best attested reading in the Greek manuscripts. The Western reading, “You are my Son, this day I have begotten you,” is derived from Ps 2:7.
- 3:23–38 Whereas Mt 1:2 begins the genealogy of Jesus with Abraham to emphasize Jesus’ bonds with the people of Israel, Luke’s universalism leads him to trace the descent of Jesus beyond Israel to Adam and beyond that to God (Lk 3:38) to stress again Jesus’ divine sonship.
Psalm 95-101
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 95[a]
A Call to Praise and Obedience
I
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.(A)
2 Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great king over all gods,(B)
4 Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.
5 The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.(C)
II
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.(D)
III
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:(E)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the desert.[b]
9 There your ancestors tested me;
they tried me though they had seen my works.(F)
10 Forty years I loathed that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
they do not know my ways.”(G)
11 Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”[c]
Psalm 96[d]
God of the Universe
I
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;(H)
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.(I)
II
4 [e]For great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
to be feared above all gods.(J)
5 For the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(K)
6 Splendor and power go before him;
power and grandeur are in his holy place.
III
7 Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and might;
8 give to the Lord the glory due his name!(L)
Bring gifts and enter his courts;
9 bow down to the Lord, splendid in holiness.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
10 (M)declare among the nations: The Lord is king.
The world will surely stand fast, never to be shaken.
He rules the peoples with fairness.
IV
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;(N)
12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
13 before the Lord who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,(O)
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with faithfulness.
Psalm 97[f]
The Divine Ruler of All
I
1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.(P)
2 Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and right are the foundation of his throne.(Q)
3 Fire goes before him,
consuming his foes on every side.
4 His lightening illumines the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(R)
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(S)
6 The heavens proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.(T)
II
7 All who serve idols are put to shame,
who glory in worthless things;
all gods[g] bow down before him.(U)
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.(V)
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth,(W)
exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil,
he protects the souls of the faithful,(X)
rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the just,
and gladness for the honest of heart.(Y)
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you just,
and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.(Z)
Psalm 98[h]
The Coming of God
1 A psalm.
I
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has done marvelous deeds.(AA)
His right hand and holy arm
have won the victory.[i](AB)
2 The Lord has made his victory known;
has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,
3 He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
II
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
break into song; sing praise.
5 Sing praise to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy to the King, the Lord.(AC)
III
7 Let the sea and what fills it resound,(AD)
the world and those who dwell there.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy,(AE)
9 (AF)Before the Lord who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,(AG)
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
Psalm 99[j]
The Holy King
I
1 The Lord is king, the peoples tremble;
he is enthroned on the cherubim,[k] the earth quakes.(AH)
2 Great is the Lord in Zion,
exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name:
Holy is he!(AI)
II
4 O mighty king, lover of justice,
you have established fairness;
you have created just rule in Jacob.(AJ)
5 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his footstool;[l](AK)
holy is he!
III
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord, and he answered them.(AL)
7 From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his decrees, the law he had given them.(AM)
8 O Lord, our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
though you punished their offenses.(AN)
9 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his holy mountain;
holy is the Lord, our God.
Psalm 100[m]
Processional Hymn
1 A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
2 serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
3 [n]Know that the Lord is God,
he made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the flock he shepherds.(AO)
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name;(AP)
5 good indeed is the Lord,
His mercy endures forever,
his faithfulness lasts through every generation.
Psalm 101[o]
Norm of Life for Rulers
1 A psalm of David.
I
I sing of mercy and justice;
to you, Lord, I sing praise.
2 I study the way of integrity;(AQ)
when will you come to me?
I act with integrity of heart
within my household.[p](AR)
3 I do not allow into my presence anything base.
I hate wrongdoing;
I will have no part of it.(AS)
4 May the devious heart keep far from me;
the wicked I will not acknowledge.
5 Whoever slanders a neighbor in secret
I will reduce to silence.(AT)
Haughty eyes and arrogant hearts(AU)
I cannot endure.
II
6 I look to the faithful of the land[q]
to sit at my side.
Whoever follows the way of integrity(AV)
is the one to enter my service.
7 No one who practices deceit
can remain within my house.
No one who speaks falsely
can last in my presence.(AW)
8 [r]Morning after morning I clear all the wicked from the land,
to rid the city of the Lord of all doers of evil.
Footnotes
- Psalm 95 Twice the Psalm calls the people to praise and worship God (Ps 95:1–2, 6), the king of all creatures (Ps 95:3–5) and shepherd of the flock (Ps 95:7a, 7b). The last strophe warns the people to be more faithful than were their ancestors in the journey to the promised land (Ps 95:7c–11). This invitation to praise God regularly opens the Church’s official prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours.
- 95:8 Meribah: lit., “contention”; the place where the Israelites quarreled with God. Massah: “testing,” the place where they put God to the trial, cf. Ex 17:7; Nm 20:13.
- 95:11 My rest: the promised land as in Dt 12:9. Hb 4 applies the verse to the eternal rest of heaven.
- Psalm 96 A hymn inviting all humanity to praise the glories of Israel’s God (Ps 96:1–3), who is the sole God (Ps 96:4–6). To the just ruler of all belongs worship (Ps 96:7–10); even inanimate creation is to offer praise (Ps 96:11–13). This Psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Is 40–55, as does Ps 98. Another version of the Psalm is 1 Chr 16:23–33.
- 96:4 For references to other gods, see comments on Ps 58 and 82.
- Psalm 97 The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Hb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12).
- 97:7 All gods: divine beings thoroughly subordinate to Israel’s God. The Greek translates “angels,” an interpretation adopted by Hb 1:6.
- Psalm 98 A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9).
- 98:1 Marvelous deeds…victory: the conquest of all threats to the peaceful existence of Israel, depicted in the Psalms variously as a cosmic force such as sea, or nations bent on Israel’s destruction, or evildoers seemingly triumphant. His right hand and holy arm: God is pictured as a powerful warrior.
- Psalm 99 A hymn to God as the king whose grandeur is most clearly seen on Mount Zion (Ps 99:2) and in the laws given to Israel (Ps 99:4). Israel is special because of God’s word of justice, which was mediated by the revered speakers, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel (Ps 99:6–8). The poem is structured by the threefold statement that God is holy (Ps 99:3, 5, 9) and by the twice-repeated command to praise (Ps 99:5, 9).
- 99:1 Enthroned on the cherubim: cherubim were composite beings with animal and human features, common in ancient Near Eastern art. Two cherubim were placed on the ark (or box) of the covenant in the holy of holies. Upon them God was believed to dwell invisibly, cf. Ex 25:20–22; 1 Sm 4:4; 2 Sm 6:2; Ps 80:2.
- 99:5 Footstool: a reference to the ark, cf. 1 Chr 28:2; Ps 132:7.
- Psalm 100 A hymn inviting the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings for the God who created them.
- 100:3 Although the people call on all the nations of the world to join in their hymn, they are conscious of being the chosen people of God.
- Psalm 101 The king, grateful at being God’s chosen (Ps 101:1), promises to be a ruler after God’s own heart (Ps 101:2–3), allowing into the royal service only the God-fearing (Ps 101:3–8).
- 101:2 Within my household: the king promises to make his own household, i.e., the royal court, a model for Israel, banning all officials who abuse their power.
- 101:6 I look to the faithful of the land: the king seeks companions only among those faithful to God.
- 101:8 Morning after morning: the morning is the normal time for the administration of justice (2 Sm 15:2; Jer 21:12) and for the arrival of divine aid (Ps 59:17; 143:8; Is 33:2). I clear all the wicked from the land: the king, as God’s servant, is responsible for seeing that divine justice is carried out.
Proverbs 20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 20
1 Wine is arrogant, strong drink is riotous;
none who are intoxicated by them are wise.[a](A)
2 The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;(B)
those who incur his anger forfeit their lives.
3 A person gains honor by avoiding strife,
while every fool starts a quarrel.[b]
4 In seedtime sluggards do not plow;
when they look for the harvest, it is not there.
5 The intention of the human heart is deep water,
but the intelligent draw it forth.[c](C)
6 Many say, “My loyal friend,”
but who can find someone worthy of trust?
7 The just walk in integrity;
happy are their children after them!
8 A king seated on the throne of judgment
dispels all evil with his glance.[d]
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,(D)
I am cleansed of my sin”?[e]
10 Varying weights, varying measures,
are both an abomination to the Lord.(E)
11 In their actions even children can playact
though their deeds be blameless and right.[f]
12 The ear that hears, the eye that sees—
the Lord has made them both.[g]
13 Do not love sleep lest you be reduced to poverty;
keep your eyes open, have your fill of food.
14 “Bad, bad!” says the buyer,
then goes away only to boast.[h]
15 One can put on gold and abundant jewels,
but wise lips are the most precious ornament.[i]
16 Take the garment of the one who became surety for a stranger;(F)
if for foreigners, exact the pledge![j]
17 Bread earned by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth is filled with gravel.
18 Plans made with advice succeed;
with wise direction wage your war.
19 A slanderer reveals secrets;
so have nothing to do with a babbler!
20 Those who curse father or mother—
their lamp will go out[k] in the dead of night.(G)
21 Possessions greedily guarded at the outset
will not be blessed in the end.[l]
22 Do not say, “I will repay evil!”
Wait for the Lord, who will help you.[m](H)
23 Varying weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.(I)
24 Our steps are from the Lord;(J)
how, then, can mortals understand their way?[n]
25 It is a trap to pledge rashly a sacred gift,
and after a vow, then to reflect.[o]
26 A wise king winnows the wicked,
and threshes them under the cartwheel.[p]
27 A lamp from the Lord is human life-breath;
it searches through the inmost being.[q]
28 His steadfast loyalty safeguards the king,
and he upholds his throne by justice.(K)
29 The glory of the young is their strength,
and the dignity of the old is gray hair.(L)
30 Evil is cleansed away by bloody lashes,
and a scourging to the inmost being.
Footnotes
- 20:1 The cause stands for its effect (wine, drunken behavior). In Proverbs wine is a sign of prosperity and a symbol of feasting (3:10; 4:17; 9:2, 5) but also a potential threat to wisdom as in 20:1; 21:17; 23:29–35.
- 20:3 The honor that one might seek to gain from fighting comes of itself to the person who refrains from fighting.
- 20:5 The heart is where human plans are made and stored; they remain “deep water” until words reveal them to others. The wise know how to draw up those waters, i.e., express them. Cf. 18:4.
- 20:8 The royal throne is established in justice and the king is the agent of that justice.
- 20:9 A claim to sinlessness can be merely self-deception; see 16:2; cf. also 15:11.
- 20:11 The verb in colon A can mean either “to make oneself known” or “to play another person” (as in Gn 42:7 and 1 Kgs 14:5, 6). The second meaning makes a better parallel to colon B. The meaning is that if a child can playact, an adult can do so even more. Actions do not always reveal character.
- 20:12 Human judgments are not ultimate; the Lord expects proper use of these faculties.
- 20:14 Bartering invites playacting and masking one’s true intent. The truth of words depends on their context.
- 20:15 Wisdom is said to be preferable to gold in 3:14; 8:10, 19; 16:16. Colon B suggests that the gold and jewelry here are ornaments for the face (cf. Gn 24:53; Ex 3:22; Is 61:10). Wise lips are the most beautiful adornment, for they display the wisdom of the heart.
- 20:16 The text is not clear. See 27:13. Caution in becoming surety is always advised (cf. 6:1–3), and it is especially advisable with strangers.
- 20:20 Their lamp will go out: misfortune, even death, awaits them; cf. 13:9; Ex 21:17.
- 20:21 By definition, an inheritance is not gained by one’s own efforts but is received as a gift. If, when one first receives the inheritance, one drives everyone away, one treats it as if one acquired it by one’s own efforts. In an agricultural society, an inheritance would often be a field that would require God’s blessing to be fertile.
- 20:22 Appointing oneself an agent of divine retribution is dangerous. Better to wait for God to effect justice. Cf. 24:17–18.
- 20:24 An indication of the Lord’s inscrutable providence; cf. Jer 10:23; see Prv 21:2; cf. also 14:12.
- 20:25 This verse cautions against making vows without proper reflection; cf. Dt 23:22–25; Eccl 5:4–5.
- 20:26 The king is responsible for effecting justice. Judgment is portrayed in agricultural imagery—exposing grain to a current of air so that the chaff is blown away, and passing a wheel over the cereal to break the husk. Winnowing as image for judgment is found throughout the Bible.
- 20:27 A parallel is drawn between the life-breath that is God’s gift (Jb 32:8; 33:2) coursing through the human body (Is 2:22) and the lamp of God, which can be a symbol of divine scrutiny. In Zep 1:12, God declares, “And in that day I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.