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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.

Duration: 861 days

Psalm 40

Psalm 40^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

40 I relied completely^[b] on the Lord,
and he turned toward me
and heard my cry for help.
²He lifted me out of the watery pit,^[c]
out of the slimy mud.^[d]
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing.^[e]
³He gave me reason to sing a new song,^[f]
praising our God.^[g]
May many see what God has done,
so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord.^[h]
⁴How blessed^[i] is the one^[j] who trusts in the Lord^[k]
and does not seek help from^[l] the proud or from liars.^[m]
⁵O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;
you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us.^[n]
No one can thwart you.^[o]
I want to declare your deeds and talk about them,
but they are too numerous to recount.^[p]
⁶Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern.^[q]
You make that quite clear to me.^[r]
You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
⁷Then I say,
“Look, I come!
What is written in the scroll pertains to me.^[s]
⁸I want to do what pleases you,^[t] my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.”^[u]
⁹I have told the great assembly^[v] about your justice.^[w]
Look, I spare no words.^[x]
O Lord, you know this is true.
¹⁰I have not failed to tell about your justice;^[y]
I spoke about your reliability and deliverance.
I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness.^[z]
¹¹O Lord, you do not withhold^[aa] your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me!^[ab]
¹²For innumerable dangers^[ac] surround me.
My sins overtake me
so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head
so my strength fails me.^[ad]
¹³Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!
O Lord, hurry and help me!^[ae]
¹⁴May those who are trying to snatch away my life
be totally embarrassed and ashamed.^[af]
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.^[ag]
¹⁵May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be humiliated^[ah] and disgraced.^[ai]
¹⁶May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you.
May those who love to experience^[aj] your deliverance say continually,^[ak]
“May the Lord be praised!”^[al]
¹⁷I am oppressed and needy.^[am]
May the Lord pay attention to me.^[an]
You are my helper and my deliverer.
O my God, do not delay.

Footnotes

Psalm 40:1 sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).
Psalm 40:1 tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).
Psalm 40:2 tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (shaʾon, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).
Psalm 40:2 tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
Psalm 40:2 tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”
Psalm 40:3 sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.
Psalm 40:3 tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”
Psalm 40:3 tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.
Psalm 40:4 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, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”
Psalm 40:5 tn Heb “many things you have done, you, O Lord my God, your amazing deeds and your thoughts toward us.” The precise meaning of the text is not clear, but the psalmist seems to be recalling the Lord’s miraculous deeds on Israel’s behalf (see Pss 9:1; 26:7), as well as his covenantal decrees and promises (see Ps 33:11).
Psalm 40:5 tn Heb “there is none arrayed against you.” The precise meaning of the text is unclear, but the collocation עָרַךְ אֶל (ʿarakh ʾel, “array against”) is used elsewhere of military (Judg 20:30; 1 Chr 19:17) or verbal opposition (Job 32:14).
Psalm 40:5 tn Heb “I will declare and I will speak, they are too numerous to recount.” The present translation assumes that the cohortatives are used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “Should I try to declare [them] and speak [of them]…” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortatives are part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.) Another option is to take the cohortatives as a declaration of the psalmist’s resolve to announce the truth expressed in the next line. In this case one might translate: “I will declare and speak [the truth]: They are too numerous to recount.”
Psalm 40:6 tn Heb “sacrifice and offering you do not desire.” The statement is exaggerated for the sake of emphasis (see Ps 51:16 as well). God is pleased with sacrifices, but his first priority is obedience and loyalty (see 1 Sam 15:22). Sacrifices and offerings apart from genuine allegiance are meaningless (see Isa 1:11-20).
Psalm 40:6 tn Heb “ears you hollowed out for me.” The meaning of this odd expression is debated (this is the only collocation of “hollowed out” and “ears” in the OT). It may have been an idiomatic expression referring to making a point clear to a listener. The LXX has “but a body you have prepared for me,” a reading which is followed in Heb 10:5.
Psalm 40:7 tn Heb “in the roll of the scroll it is written concerning me.” Apparently the psalmist refers to the law of God (see v. 8), which contains the commandments God desires him to obey. If this is a distinctly royal psalm, then the psalmist/king may be referring specifically to the regulations of kingship prescribed in Deut 17:14-20. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 315.
Psalm 40:8 tn Or “your will.”
Psalm 40:8 tn Heb “your law [is] in the midst of my inner parts.” The “inner parts” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s thought life and moral decision making.
Psalm 40:9 sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Pss 22:25 and 35:18.
Psalm 40:9 tn Heb “I proclaim justice in the great assembly.” Though “justice” appears without a pronoun here, the Lord’s just acts are in view (see v. 10). His “justice” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) is here the deliverance that originates in his justice; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just.
Psalm 40:9 tn Heb “Look! My lips I do not restrain.”
Psalm 40:10 tn Heb “your justice I have not hidden in the midst of my heart.”
Psalm 40:10 tn Heb “I have not hidden your loyal love and reliability.”
Psalm 40:11 tn Some (cf. NIV, NRSV) translate the verb as a request (“do not withhold”), but elsewhere in the psalms the second masculine singular prefixed form, when addressed to God and preceded by לֹא (loʾ), is always indicative in mood and never has the force of a prayer (see Pss 16:10; 22:2; 44:9 51:16-17; 60:10; 108:11; cf. NEB, NASB).
Psalm 40:11 tn In this line the psalmist makes the transition from confidence to petition (see v. 13). Since the prefixed verbal form in the preceding line is imperfect/indicative, one could take the verb in this line as imperfect as well and translate, “your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me” (cf. NEB). However, the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the next verse, if causal (“because”), is best understood as introducing a motivating argument in support of a petition. For this reason v. 11b is best taken as a prayer with the prefixed form being understood as jussive (cf. NIV, NRSV). For parallels to the proposed construction (jussive followed by כִּי + perfect introducing motivating argument), see Ps 25:21, as well as Pss 10:2-3; 22:8.
Psalm 40:12 tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).
Psalm 40:12 tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.
Psalm 40:13 tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.
Psalm 40:14 tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones seeking my life to snatch it away.”
Psalm 40:14 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse (“may those…be…embarrassed and ashamed…may those…be turned back and ashamed”) are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.sn See Ps 35:4 for a similar prayer.
Psalm 40:15 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive in this imprecation.
Psalm 40:15 tn Heb “May they be humiliated according to their shame, those who say to me, ‘Aha! Aha!’”
Psalm 40:16 tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by the Lord.
Psalm 40:16 tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing upon the godly.
Psalm 40:16 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great” (cf. NRSV). See Ps 35:27.
Psalm 40:17 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
Psalm 40:17 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The Lord will pay attention to me” (cf. NRSV). The parallel in Ps 70:5 has, “O God, hurry to me!” For this reason some prefer to emend יַחֲשָׁב (yakhashav, “may he pay attention”) to חוּשָׁה (khushah, “hurry!”). The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward; elsewhere when the Qal of חָשַׁב (khashav, “reckon; consider”) is collocated with the preposition ל (lamed) and a pronominal suffix there is an accompanying direct object or additional prepositional phrase/adverbial accusative (see Gen 15:6; 2 Sam 19:19; Job 13:24; 19:11; 33:10; Pss 32:2; 41:7; Amos 6:5).

Psalm 54

Psalm 54^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song^[b] by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.”^[c]

54 O God, deliver me by your name.^[d]
Vindicate me^[e] by your power.
²O God, listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to what I say.^[f]
³For foreigners^[g] attack me;^[h]
ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life.^[i] (Selah)
⁴Look, God is my deliverer.^[j]
The Lord is among those who support me.^[k]
⁵May those who wait to ambush me^[l] be repaid for their evil.^[m]
As a demonstration of your faithfulness,^[n] destroy them.
⁶With a freewill offering I will sacrifice^[o] to you.
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
⁷Surely^[p] he rescues me from all trouble,^[q]
and I triumph over my enemies.^[r]

Footnotes

Psalm 54:1 sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.
Psalm 54:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.
Psalm 54:1 tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion the Ziphites informed Saul that David was hiding in their territory (see 1 Sam 23:19-20).
Psalm 54:1 tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).
Psalm 54:1 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 54:2 tn Heb “to the words of my mouth.”
Psalm 54:3 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read זֵדִים (zedim, “proud ones”) rather than זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”). This is a case of confusing ד (dalet) and ר (resh). The term זֵדִים (zedim) occurs in parallelism with עָרִיצִים (ʿaritsim, “violent ones”) in Ps 86:14 and Isa 13:11. However, זָרִים (zarim) is parallel to עָרִיצִים in Isa 25:5; 29:5; Ezek 28:7; 31:12.
Psalm 54:3 tn Heb “rise against me.”
Psalm 54:3 tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”
Psalm 54:4 tn Or “my helper.”
Psalm 54:4 tn Or “sustain my life.”
Psalm 54:5 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
Psalm 54:5 tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.
Psalm 54:5 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
Psalm 54:6 tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve/vow to praise.
Psalm 54:7 tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).
Psalm 54:7 tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.
Psalm 54:7 tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”

Psalm 51

Psalm 51^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.^[b]

51 Have mercy on me, O God, because of^[c] your loyal love.
Because of^[d] your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts.^[e]
²Wash away my wrongdoing.^[f]
Cleanse me of my sin.^[g]
³For I am aware of^[h] my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin.^[i]
⁴Against you—you above all^[j]—I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So^[k] you are just when you confront me;^[l]
you are right when you condemn me.^[m]
⁵Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,
a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.^[n]
⁶Look,^[o] you desire^[p] integrity in the inner man;^[q]
you want me to possess wisdom.^[r]
⁷Cleanse me^[s] with hyssop^[t] and I will be pure;^[u]
wash me^[v] and I will be whiter than snow.^[w]
⁸Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven.^[x]
May the bones^[y] you crushed rejoice.^[z]
⁹Hide your face^[aa] from my sins.
Wipe away^[ab] all my guilt.
¹⁰Create for me a pure heart, O God.^[ac]
Renew a resolute spirit within me.^[ad]
¹¹Do not reject me.^[ae]
Do not take your holy Spirit^[af] away from me.^[ag]
¹²Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance.
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey.^[ah]
¹³Then I will teach^[ai] rebels your merciful ways,^[aj]
and sinners will turn^[ak] to you.
¹⁴Rescue me from the guilt of murder,^[al] O God, the God who delivers me.
Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your righteousness.^[am]
¹⁵O Lord, give me the words.^[an]
Then my mouth will praise you.^[ao]
¹⁶Certainly^[ap] you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it;^[aq]
you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.^[ar]
¹⁷The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit^[as]—
O God, a humble and repentant heart^[at] you will not reject.^[au]
¹⁸Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her.^[av]
Fortify^[aw] the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹Then you will accept^[ax] the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings;
then bulls will be sacrificed^[ay] on your altar.^[az]

Footnotes

Psalm 51:1 sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. The exiles could relate to David’s experience, for they, like him, and had been forced to confront their sin. They appropriated David’s ancient prayer and applied it to their own circumstances.
Psalm 51:1 tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”
Psalm 51:1 tn Or “according to.”
Psalm 51:1 tn Or “according to.”
Psalm 51:1 tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”
Psalm 51:2 tn Heb “Thoroughly wash me from my wrongdoing.”
Psalm 51:2 sn In vv. 1b-2 the psalmist uses three different words to emphasize the multifaceted character and degree of his sin. Whatever one wants to call it (“rebellious acts,” “wrongdoing,” “sin”), he has done it and stands morally polluted in God’s sight. The same three words appear in Exod 34:7, which emphasizes that God is willing to forgive sin in all of its many dimensions. In v. 2 the psalmist compares forgiveness and restoration to physical cleansing. Perhaps he likens spiritual cleansing to the purification rites of priestly law.
Psalm 51:3 tn Heb “know.”
Psalm 51:3 tn Heb “and my sin [is] in front of me continually.”
Psalm 51:4 tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hataʾ, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “above all,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”
Psalm 51:4 tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (l^emaʿan) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea—the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.
Psalm 51:4 tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).
Psalm 51:4 tn Heb “when you judge.”
Psalm 51:5 tn Heb “Look, in wrongdoing I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The prefixed verbal form in the second line is probably a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive), stating a simple historical fact. The psalmist is not suggesting that he was conceived through an inappropriate sexual relationship (although the verse has sometimes been understood to mean that, or even that all sexual relationships are sinful). The psalmist’s point is that he has been a sinner from the very moment his personal existence began. By going back beyond the time of birth to the moment of conception, the psalmist makes his point more emphatically in the second line than in the first.
Psalm 51:6 sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.
Psalm 51:6 tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.
Psalm 51:6 tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.
Psalm 51:6 tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).sn You want me to possess wisdom. Here “wisdom” does not mean “intelligence” or “learning,” but refers to moral insight and skill.
Psalm 51:7 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 51:7 sn “Hyssop” was a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33) used to apply water or blood in purification rites (see Exod 12:22; Lev 14:4-6, 49-52; Num 19:6-18). The psalmist uses the language and imagery of such rites to describe spiritual cleansing through forgiveness.
Psalm 51:7 tn After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.
Psalm 51:7 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 51:7 sn I will be whiter than snow. Whiteness here symbolizes the moral purity resulting from forgiveness (see Isa 1:18).
Psalm 51:8 tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.
Psalm 51:8 sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.
Psalm 51:8 tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 51:9 sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”
Psalm 51:9 tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.
Psalm 51:10 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.
Psalm 51:10 tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”
Psalm 51:11 tn Heb “do not cast me away from before you.”
Psalm 51:11 sn Your holy Spirit. The personal Spirit of God is mentioned frequently in the OT, but only here and in Isa 63:10-11 is he called “your/his holy Spirit.”
Psalm 51:11 sn Do not take…away. The psalmist expresses his fear that, due to his sin, God will take away the Holy Spirit from him. NT believers enjoy the permanent gift of the Holy Spirit and need not make such a request nor fear such a consequence. However, in the OT God’s Spirit empowered certain individuals for special tasks and only temporarily resided in them. For example, when God rejected Saul as king and chose David to replace him, the divine Spirit left Saul and came upon David (1 Sam 16:13-14). An alternative understanding of this verse is that the term Holy Spirit is simply metaphorical for the Lord’s presence, but this is unlikely given the other use of the term in Isa 63:10, where the Holy Spirit is personal and distinct from God himself.
Psalm 51:12 tn Heb “and [with] a willing spirit sustain me.” The psalmist asks that God make him the kind of person who willingly obeys the divine commandments. The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 51:13 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.
Psalm 51:13 tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).
Psalm 51:13 tn Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.
Psalm 51:14 tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.
Psalm 51:14 tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your righteousness.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).
Psalm 51:15 tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 51:15 tn Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”
Psalm 51:16 tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.
Psalm 51:16 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)
Psalm 51:16 sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.
Psalm 51:17 tn Heb “a broken spirit.”
Psalm 51:17 tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”
Psalm 51:17 tn Or “despise.”
Psalm 51:18 tn Heb “do what is good for Zion in your favor.”
Psalm 51:18 tn Or “Build.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 51:19 tn Or “desire, take delight in.”
Psalm 51:19 tn Heb “then they will offer up bulls.” The third plural subject is indefinite.
Psalm 51:19 sn Verses 18-19 appear to reflect the exilic period, when the city’s walls lay in ruins and the sacrificial system had been disrupted.

Joshua 9:22-10:15

²²^[a] Joshua summoned the Gibeonites^[b] and said to them, “Why did you trick^[c] us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby?^[d] ²³Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”^[e] ²⁴They said to Joshua, “It was carefully reported to your subjects^[f] how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified^[g] we would lose our lives, so we did this thing. ²⁵So now we are in your power.^[h] Do to us what you think is good and appropriate.”^[i] ²⁶Joshua did as they said; he kept the Israelites from killing them^[j] ²⁷and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in that capacity to this very day.)^[k]

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

10 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho and its king.^[l] He also heard how^[m] the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them. ²All Jerusalem was terrified^[n] because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors. ³So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon: ⁴“Come to my aid^[o] so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” ⁵So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon.^[p]

⁶The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon^[q] your subjects!^[r] Come up here quickly and rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.”^[s] ⁷So Joshua and his whole army, including the bravest warriors, marched up from Gilgal.^[t] ⁸The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I am handing them over to you.^[u] Not one of them can resist you.”^[v] ⁹Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all night from Gilgal.^[w] ¹⁰The Lord routed^[x] them before Israel. Israel^[y] thoroughly defeated them^[z] at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass^[aa] of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from^[ab] Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky,^[ac] all the way to Azekah. They died—in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

¹²The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel:^[ad]

“O sun, stand still over Gibeon;
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”

¹³The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One.^[ae] The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day.^[af] ¹⁴There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord listened to a human being, for the Lord fought for Israel! ¹⁵Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Footnotes

Joshua 9:22 sn Verses 22-27 appear to elaborate on v. 21b.
Joshua 9:22 tn Heb “them.”
Joshua 9:22 tn Or “deceive.”
Joshua 9:22 tn Heb “live in our midst?”
Joshua 9:23 tn Heb “Now you are cursed and a servant will not be cut off from you, woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
Joshua 9:24 tn Heb “your servants.”
Joshua 9:24 tn Or “we were very afraid.”
Joshua 9:25 tn Heb “so now, look, we are in your hand.”
Joshua 9:25 tn Heb “according to what is good and according to what is upright in your eyes to do us, do.”
Joshua 9:26 tn Heb “And he did to them so and he rescued them from the hand of the sons of Israel and they did not kill them.”
Joshua 9:27 tn Heb “and Joshua made them in that day woodcutters and water carriers for the community, and for the altar of the Lord to this day at the place which he chooses.”
Joshua 10:1 tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”
Joshua 10:1 tn Heb “and how.”
Joshua 10:2 tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.
Joshua 10:4 tn Heb “Come up to me and help me.”
Joshua 10:5 tn Heb “and they camped against Gibeon and fought against it.”
Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”
Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “your servants!”
Joshua 10:6 tn Heb “have gathered against us.”
Joshua 10:7 tn Heb “And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the brave warriors.”
Joshua 10:8 tn Heb “I have given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.
Joshua 10:8 tn Heb “and not a man [or “one”] of them will stand before you.”
Joshua 10:9 tn Heb “Joshua came upon them suddenly, all the night he went up from Gilgal.”
Joshua 10:10 tn Or “caused to panic.”
Joshua 10:10 tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Israel (mentioned at the end of the previous sentence in the verse; cf. NIV, NRSV), but it is also possible that the Lord should be understood as the referent (cf. NASB “and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon”), or even Joshua (cf. NEB “and Joshua defeated them utterly in Gibeon”).
Joshua 10:10 tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
Joshua 10:10 tn Or “ascent.”
Joshua 10:11 tn Heb “on the descent of.”
Joshua 10:11 tn Or “heaven” (also in v. 13). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
Joshua 10:12 tn Heb “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day the Lord placed the Amorites before the sons of Israel and he said in the eyes of Israel.” It is uncertain whether the phrase “before the sons of Israel” modifies the verb “placed” (as in the present translation, “delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites”) or the verb “spoke” (“Joshua spoke to the Lord before the sons of Israel in the day the Lord delivered over the Amorites”).
Joshua 10:13 tn Heb “Is it not written down in the Scroll of the Upright One?” Many modern translations render this as “the Book of Jashar.” Yashar (יָשָׁר) means “Upright One.”sn The Scroll of the Upright One was apparently an ancient Israelite collection of songs and prayers (see also 2 Sam 1:18), but it has not been preserved.
Joshua 10:13 tn Heb “and did not hurry to set [for] about a full day.”sn The nature of the event described here is debated. Various options have been suggested, including (1) the earth stopped rotating, (2) the light of the sun somehow shone longer than normal, (3) the light of the sun was blocked by an eclipse, (4) the position of the sun and moon in the sky was interpreted as an omen, or (5) the language is figurative and metaphorical, describing the battle in poetic terms. For a good discussion of these options, see D. M. Howard, Jr., Joshua (NAC), 241-49.

Romans 15:14-24

Paul’s Motivation for Writing the Letter

¹⁴But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,^[a] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God ¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve^[b] the gospel of God^[c] like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering,^[d] sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷So I boast^[e] in Christ Jesus about the things that pertain to God. ¹⁸For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience^[f] of the Gentiles, by word and deed, ¹⁹in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. ²⁰And in this way I desire to preach where Christ has not been named, so as not to build on another person’s foundation, ²¹but as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”^[g]

Paul’s Intention of Visiting the Romans

²²This is the reason I was often hindered from coming to you. ²³But now there is nothing more to keep me^[h] in these regions, and I have for many years desired^[i] to come to you ²⁴when I go to Spain. For I hope to visit you when I pass through and that you will help me^[j] on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Footnotes

Romans 15:14 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
Romans 15:16 tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Romans 15:16 tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou theou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.
Romans 15:16 tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”
Romans 15:17 tc ‡ After οὖν (oun), several significant Alexandrian and Western mss (B C D F G 81 365) have τήν (tēn). The article is lacking in א A Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 1739 1881 M however. P⁴⁶ supplies a relative pronoun and has a different reading entirely (“which I have [as a] boast”). Articles were frequently introduced to clarify the meaning of the text. In this instance, since the word modified (καύχησιν, kauchēsin) is third declension, a visual oversight (resulting in omission) is less likely. Hence, the shorter reading is probably earlier. The difference in translation between these first two options is negligible (“I have the boast” or “I have a boast”). NA²⁸ puts the article in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.tn Grk “Therefore I have a boast.”
Romans 15:18 tn Grk “unto obedience.”
Romans 15:21 sn A quotation from Isa 52:15.
Romans 15:23 tn Grk “now no longer having a place…I have.”
Romans 15:23 tn Grk “but having a desire…for many years.”
Romans 15:24 tn Grk “and to be helped by you.” The passive construction was changed to an active one in the translation.

Matthew 27:1-10

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27 When^[a] it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him. ²They^[b] tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate^[c] the governor.^[d]

Judas’ Suicide

³Now when^[e] Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus^[f] had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!” ⁵So^[g] Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself. ⁶The^[h] chief priests took the silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷After^[i] consulting together they bought the Potter’s Field with it, as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken by Jeremiah^[j] the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel,^[k] ¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”^[l]

Footnotes

Matthew 27:1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:2 tc Most mss (A C W Γ Δ Θ 0250 ƒ^1,13 565 579 700 1241 1424 M latt) have Ποντίῳ (Pontiō, “Pontius”) before Πιλάτῳ (Pilatō, “Pilate”), but there seems to be no reason for omitting the tribal name, either intentionally or unintentionally. Adding “Pontius,” however, is a natural expansion on the text, and is in keeping with several other NT and patristic references to the Roman governor (cf. Luke 3:1; Acts 4:27; 1 Tim 6:13; Ign. Magn. 11.1; Ign. Trall. 9.1; Ign. Smyrn. 1.2; Justin Martyr, passim). See TCGNT 52-53. The shorter reading, supported by א B L 0281 33 co, is thus strongly preferred.
Matthew 27:2 sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it from being used to execute Roman sympathizers.
Matthew 27:3 tn Grk “Then when.” Here τότε (tote) has been translated as “now” to indicate a somewhat parenthetical interlude in the sequence of events.
Matthew 27:3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 27:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the leaders’ response to Judas.
Matthew 27:6 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 27:9 tc The problematic citing of Jeremiah for a text which appears to come from Zechariah has prompted certain scribes to alter it. Codex 22 has Ζαχαρίου (Zachariou, “Zechariah”) while Φ 33 and several versional witnesses omit the prophet’s name altogether. And codex 21 and the Latin ms l change the prophet’s name to “Isaiah,” in accordance with natural scribal proclivities to alter the text toward the most prominent OT prophet. But unquestionably the name Jeremiah is the wording of the original here, because it is supported by virtually all witnesses and because it is the harder reading. See D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” EBC 8:562-63, for a discussion of the textual and especially hermeneutical problem.
Matthew 27:9 tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” an idiom referring to the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58).
Matthew 27:10 sn The source of this citation is debated (see the tc note on Jeremiah in v. 9 above for a related discussion). The quotation is most closely related to Zech 11:12-13, but the reference to Jeremiah in v. 9 as the source leads one to look there as well. There is no exact match for this text in Jeremiah, but there are some conceptual parallels: In Jer 18:2-6 the prophet visits a potter, and in Jer 32:6-15 he buys a field. D. A. Carson argues that Jer 19:1-13 is the source of the quotation augmented with various phrases drawn from Zech 11:12-13 (“Matthew,” EBC 8:563). W. D. Davies and D. C. Allison argue that the reference to Jeremiah is not meant to refer to one specific text from that prophet, but instead to signal that his writings as a whole are a source from which the quotation is drawn (Matthew [ICC], 3:568-69). Although the exact source of the citation is uncertain, it is reasonable to see texts from the books of Jeremiah and Zechariah both coming into play here.

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 40[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

Footnotes

Psalm 54[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.”[c]

Footnotes

Psalm 51[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.[b]

Footnotes

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

Footnotes

Paul’s Motivation for Writing the Letter

Paul’s Intention of Visiting the Romans

Footnotes

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

Judas’ Suicide

Footnotes

Psalm 40^[a]

Psalm 54^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song^[b] by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.”^[c]

Psalm 51^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.^[b]