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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 118

Psalm 118^[a]

118 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.^[b]
²Let Israel say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
³Let the family^[c] of Aaron say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
⁴Let the loyal followers of the Lord^[d] say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
⁵In my distress^[e] I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.^[f]
⁶The Lord is on my side;^[g] I am not afraid.
What can people do to me?^[h]
⁷The Lord is on my side^[i] as my helper.^[j]
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
⁸It is better to take shelter^[k] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
⁹It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
¹⁰All the nations surrounded me.^[l]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord^[m] I pushed them away.^[n]
¹¹They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
¹²They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly^[o] as a fire among thorns.^[p]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
¹³“You aggressively attacked me^[q] and tried to knock me down,^[r]
but the Lord helped me.
¹⁴The Lord gives me strength and protects me;^[s]
he has become my deliverer.”^[t]
¹⁵They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly.^[u]
The Lord’s right hand conquers.^[v]
¹⁶The Lord’s right hand gives victory;^[w]
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
¹⁷I will not die, but live,
and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.^[x]
¹⁸The Lord severely^[y] punished me,
but he did not hand me over to death.
¹⁹Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple.^[z]
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰This is the Lord’s gate—
the godly enter through it.
²¹I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
²²The stone that the builders discarded^[aa]
has become the cornerstone.^[ab]
²³This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing!^[ac]
²⁴This is the day the Lord has brought about.^[ad]
We will be happy and rejoice in it.
²⁵Please, Lord, deliver!
Please, Lord, grant us success!^[ae]
²⁶May the one who comes in the name of the Lord^[af] be blessed.
We will pronounce blessings on you^[ag] in the Lord’s temple.^[ah]
²⁷The Lord is God, and he has delivered us.^[ai]
Tie the offering^[aj] with ropes
to the horns of the altar.^[ak]
²⁸You are my^[al] God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God and I will praise you.
²⁹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.^[am]

Footnotes

Psalm 118:1 sn Psalm 118. The psalmist thanks God for his deliverance and urges others to join him in praise.
Psalm 118:1 tn Or “is forever.”
Psalm 118:3 tn Heb “house.”
Psalm 118:4 tn Heb “fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.
Psalm 118:5 tn Heb “from the distress.” The noun מֵצַר (metsar, “straits; distress”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:3. In Ps 116:3 מֵצַר should probably be emended to מְצָדֵי (m^etsade, “snares of”).
Psalm 118:5 tn Heb “the Lord answered me in a wide open place.”
Psalm 118:6 tn Heb “for me.”
Psalm 118:6 tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential. See Ps 56:11.
Psalm 118:7 tn Heb “for me.”
Psalm 118:7 tn Heb “among my helpers.” The preposition may indicate identity here, while the plural may be one of majesty or respect.
Psalm 118:8 tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
Psalm 118:10 sn The reference to an attack by the nations suggests the psalmist may have been a military leader.
Psalm 118:10 tn In this context the phrase “in the name of the Lord” means “by the Lord’s power.”
Psalm 118:10 tn Traditionally the verb has been derived from מוּל (mul, “to circumcise”) and translated “[I] cut [them] off” (see BDB 557-58 s.v. II מוּל). However, it is likely that this is a homonym meaning “to fend off” (see HALOT 556 s.v. II מול) or “to push away.” In this context, where the psalmist is reporting his past experience, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite. The phrase also occurs in vv. 11, 12.
Psalm 118:12 tn Heb “were extinguished.”
Psalm 118:12 tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (doʿakhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (baʿaru, “they burned”). In that case the statement emphasizes their hostility.
Psalm 118:13 tn Heb “pushing, you pushed me.” The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following verbal idea. The psalmist appears to address the nations as if they were an individual enemy. Some find this problematic and emend the verb form (which is a Qal perfect second masculine singular with a first person singular suffix) to נִדְחֵיתִי (nidkheti), a Niphal perfect first common singular, “I was pushed.”
Psalm 118:13 tn Heb “to fall,” i.e., “that [I] might fall.”
Psalm 118:14 tn Heb “my strength and protection [is] the Lord.” The Hebrew term זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song” (“my strength and song [is] the Lord”) in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing). However, many recent commentators have argued that the noun זִמְרָת is here a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v.; cf. NEB “The Lord is my refuge and defence”; NRSV “my strength and my might.”
Psalm 118:14 tn Or “salvation.”
Psalm 118:15 tn Heb “the sound of a ringing shout and deliverance [is] in the tents of the godly.”
Psalm 118:15 tn Heb “does valiantly.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 108:13).
Psalm 118:16 tn Heb “exalts.”
Psalm 118:17 tn Heb “the works of the Lord.”
Psalm 118:18 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following verbal idea.
Psalm 118:19 tn Heb “the gates of justice.” The gates of the Lord’s temple are referred to here, as v. 20 makes clear. They are called “gates of justice” because they are the entrance to the just king’s palace. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Psalm 118:22 tn Or “rejected.”
Psalm 118:22 tn Heb “the head of the corner.”sn The metaphor of the stone…the builders discarded describes the way in which God’s deliverance reversed the psalmist’s circumstances. When he was in distress, he was like a stone which was discarded by builders as useless, but now that he has been vindicated by God, all can see that he is of special importance to God, like the cornerstone of the building.
Psalm 118:23 tn Heb “it is amazing in our eyes.” The use of the plural pronoun here and in vv. 24-27 suggests that the psalmist may be speaking for the entire nation. However, it is more likely that vv. 22-27 are the people’s response to the psalmist’s thanksgiving song (see especially v. 26). They rejoice with him because his deliverance on the battlefield (see vv. 10-12) had national repercussions.
Psalm 118:24 tn Heb “this is the day the Lord has made.” Though sometimes applied in a general way, this statement in its context refers to the day of deliverance which the psalmist and people celebrate.
Psalm 118:25 sn A petition for deliverance and success seems odd in a psalm thanking God for deliverance, but it is not unique (see Ps 9:19-20). The people ask God to continue to intervene for them as he has for the psalmist.
Psalm 118:26 sn The people refer here to the psalmist, who enters the Lord’s temple to thank him publicly (see vv. 19-21), as the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Psalm 118:26 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural, but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note the mem [מ] at the beginning of the following form) or enclitic, in which case the suffix may be taken as second masculine singular, referring to the psalmist.
Psalm 118:26 tn Heb “from the house of the Lord.”
Psalm 118:27 tn Heb “and he has given us light.” This may be an elliptical expression, with “his face” being implied as the object (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19). In this case, “his face has given us light” = “he has smiled on us,” or “he has shown us his favor.” Another option (the one reflected in the translation) is that “light” here symbolizes divine blessing in the form of deliverance. “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Some prefer to repoint the preterite form וַיָּאֶר (vayyaʾer, “he made light”) as a jussive וְיָאֵר (v^eyaʾer; “may he make light [for us]”).
Psalm 118:27 tn The Hebrew noun חַג (khag) normally means “festival,” but here it apparently refers metonymically to an offering made at the festival. BDB 291 s.v. חַג 2 interprets the word in this way here, citing as comparable the use of later Hebrew חֲגִיגָה, which can refer to both a festival and a festival offering (see Jastrow 424 s.v. חֲגִיגָה).
Psalm 118:27 tn The second half of v. 27 has been translated and interpreted in a variety of ways. For a survey of major views, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 122.
Psalm 118:28 sn You are my God. The psalmist speaks again (see v. 21), responding to the words of the worshipers (vv. 22-27).
Psalm 118:29 tn Or “is forever.”

Psalm 145

Psalm 145^[a]

A psalm of praise; by David.

145 I will extol you, my God, O King.
I will praise your name continually.^[b]
²Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name continually.^[c]
³The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise.
No one can fathom his greatness.^[d]
⁴One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and tell about your mighty acts.^[e]
⁵I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,
and your amazing deeds.^[f]
⁶They will proclaim^[g] the power of your awesome acts.
I will declare your great deeds.
⁷They will talk about the fame of your great kindness,^[h]
and sing about your justice.^[i]
⁸The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
he is patient^[j] and demonstrates great loyal love.^[k]
⁹The Lord is good to all,
and has compassion on all he has made.^[l]
¹⁰All your works will give thanks to you, Lord.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
¹¹They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;
they will tell about your power,
¹²so that mankind^[m] might acknowledge your mighty acts,
and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
¹³Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,^[n]
and your dominion endures through all generations.
¹⁴^[o] The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over.^[p]
¹⁵Everything looks to you in anticipation,^[q]
and you provide them with food on a regular basis.^[r]
¹⁶You open your hand,
and fill every living thing with the food it desires.^[s]
¹⁷The Lord is just in all his actions,^[t]
and exhibits love in all he does.^[u]
¹⁸The Lord is near all who cry out to him,
all who cry out to him sincerely.^[v]
¹⁹He satisfies the desire^[w] of his loyal followers;^[x]
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
²⁰The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.
²¹My mouth will praise the Lord.^[y]
Let all who live^[z] praise his holy name forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 145:1 sn Psalm 145. The psalmist praises God because he is a just and merciful king who cares for his people.
Psalm 145:1 tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”
Psalm 145:2 tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”
Psalm 145:3 tn Heb “and concerning his greatness there is no searching.”
Psalm 145:4 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may one generation praise…and tell about.”
Psalm 145:5 tn Heb “the splendor of the glory of your majesty, and the matters of your amazing deeds I will ponder.”
Psalm 145:6 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as an imperfect, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they proclaim.”
Psalm 145:7 tn Heb “the fame of the greatness of your goodness.”
Psalm 145:7 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 7 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they talk…and sing.”
Psalm 145:8 tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Pss 86:15; 103:8).
Psalm 145:8 tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Pss 86:15; 103:8).
Psalm 145:9 tn Heb “and his compassion is over all his works.”
Psalm 145:12 tn Heb “the sons of man.”
Psalm 145:13 tn Heb “a kingdom of all ages.”
Psalm 145:14 tc Psalm 145 is an acrostic psalm, with each successive verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. However, in the traditional Hebrew (Masoretic) text of Psalm 145 there is no verse beginning with the letter nun. One would expect such a verse to appear as the fourteenth verse, between the (מ) (mem) and (ס) (samek) verses. Several ancient witnesses, including one medieval Hebrew manuscript, the Qumran scroll from cave 11, the LXX, and the Syriac, supply the missing (נ) (nun) verse, which reads as follows: “The Lord is reliable in all his words, and faithful in all his deeds.” One might paraphrase this as follows: “The Lord’s words are always reliable; his actions are always faithful.” Scholars are divided as to the originality of this verse. L. C. Allen argues for its inclusion on the basis of structural considerations (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 294-95), but there is no apparent explanation for why, if original, it would have been accidentally omitted. The psalm may be a partial acrostic, as in Pss 25 and 34 (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:335). The glaring omission of the nun line would have invited a later redactor to add such a line.
Psalm 145:14 tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).
Psalm 145:15 tn Heb “the eyes of all wait for you.”
Psalm 145:15 tn Heb “and you give to them their food in its season” (see Ps 104:27).
Psalm 145:16 tn Heb “[with what they] desire.”
Psalm 145:17 tn Heb “in all his ways.”
Psalm 145:17 tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”
Psalm 145:18 tn Heb “in truth.”
Psalm 145:19 tn In this context “desire” refers to the followers’ desire to be delivered from wicked enemies.
Psalm 145:19 tn Heb “the desire of those who fear him, he does.”
Psalm 145:21 tn Heb “the praise of the Lord my mouth will speak.”
Psalm 145:21 tn Heb “all flesh.”

Hosea 13:4-14

Well-Fed Israel Will Be Fed to Wild Animals

⁴But I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me.
Except for me there is no Savior.
⁵I cared for^[a] you in the wilderness,
in the dry desert where no water was.^[b]
⁶When they were fed,^[c] they became satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;^[d]
as a result, they forgot me!
⁷So^[e] I will pounce on them like a lion;^[f]
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
⁸I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs—
I will rip open their chests.
I will devour them there like a lion—
like a wild animal would tear them apart.

Israel’s King Unable to Deliver the Nation

⁹I will destroy you,^[g] O Israel!
Who^[h] is there to help you?
¹⁰Where^[i] then is your king,
that he may save you in all your cities?
Where are^[j] your rulers for whom you asked, saying,
“Give me a king and princes”?
¹¹I granted^[k] you a king in my anger,
and I will take him away in my wrath!

Israel’s Punishment Will Not Be Withheld Much Longer

¹²The punishment^[l] of Ephraim has been decreed;^[m]
his punishment is being stored up for the future.
¹³The labor pains of a woman will overtake him,
but the baby will lack wisdom;
when the time arrives,
he will not come out of the womb!

The Lord Will Not Relent from the Threatened Judgment

¹⁴Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not!^[n]
Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not!
O Death, bring on your plagues!^[o]
O Sheol, bring on your destruction!^[p]
My eyes will not show any compassion!^[q]

Footnotes

Hosea 13:5 tc The MT reads יְדַעְתִּיךָ (y^edaʿtikha, Qal perfect first person common singular + second person masculine singular suffix from יָדַע, yadaʿ, “to know”), followed by KJV and ASV (“I did know thee”). The LXX and Syriac reflect an alternate textual tradition of רְעִיתִיךָ (r^eʿitikha, Qal perfect first person common singular + second person masculine singular suffix from רָעָה, raʿah, “to feed”), which is followed by most recent English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
Hosea 13:5 tn Heb “land of intense drought” or “intensely thirsty land.” The noun תַּלְאֻבוֹת (talʾuvot) occurs in the OT only here. It probably means “drought” (BDB 520 s.v. תַּלְאֻבָה). The related Arabic verb means “to be thirsty,” and the related Arabic noun means “a stony tract of land.” The plural form (singular = תַּלְאֻבָה, talʾuvah) is a plural of intensity: “a [land] of intense drought.” The term functions as an attributive genitive, modifying the construct אֶרֶץ (ʾerets, “land”). The phrase is variously rendered: “land of (+ “great” in KJV) drought” (RSV, NASB), “thirsty land” (NJPS), “thirsty desert” (CEV), “dry, desert land” (TEV), and the metonymical (effect for cause) “land of burning heat” (NIV).
Hosea 13:6 tc The MT reads כְּמַרְעִיתָם (k^emarʿitam, “according to their pasturage”; preposition כְּ (kaf) + noun מַרְעִית, marʿit, “pasture” + third person masculine plural suffix). Text-critics propose: (1) כְּמוֹ רְעִיתִים (k^emo r^eʿitim, “as I pastured them”; preposition כְּמוֹ (k^emo) + Qal perfect first person common singular from רָעַה, raʿah, “to pasture, feed” + third person masculine plural suffix) and (2) כִּרְעוֹתָם (“when they had pastured”; preposition כְּ + Qal perfect third person masculine plural from רָעַה). Some English versions follow the MT: “according to their pasture” (KJV), “as they had their pasture” (NASB), and “when you entered the good land” (TEV). Others adopt the first emendation: “when I fed them” (NIV, NRSV) and “I fed you [sic = them]” (CEV). Still others follow the second emendation: “but when they had fed to the full” (RSV) and “when they grazed” (NJPS).
Hosea 13:6 tn Heb “their heart became exalted”; cf. KJV, ASV “was exalted.”
Hosea 13:7 tn The vav consecutive + preterite form וָאֱהִי (vaʾehi) introduces a consequential or result clause; cf. NAB “Therefore,” NCV “That is why.”
Hosea 13:7 tn Heb “So I will be like a lion to them” (so NASB); cf. NIV “I will come upon them like a lion.”
Hosea 13:9 tc The MT reads שִׁחֶתְךָ (shikhet^ekha, “he destroyed you”; Piel perfect third person masculine singular from שָׁחַת, shakhat, “to destroy” + second person masculine singular suffix). The BHS editors suggest שׁחתיךָ (“I will destroy you”; Piel perfect first person common singular + second person masculine singular suffix). Contextually, this fits: If the Lord is intent on destroying Israel, there is no one who will be able to rescue her from him. This reading is also followed by NCV, NRSV, and TEV.
Hosea 13:9 tc The MT reads כִּי־בִי בְעֶזְרֶךָ (ki vi veʿezrekha, “but in me is your help”); cf. KJV, NIV, and NLT. The LXX and Syriac reflect an underlying Hebrew text of כִּי־מִי בְעֶזְרֶךָ (ki mi veʿezrekha, “For who will help you?”). The interrogative מִי (“Who?”) harmonizes well with the interrogatives in 13:9-10 and should be adopted, as the BHS editors suggest; the reading is also followed by NAB, NCV, NRSV, and TEV.
Hosea 13:10 tc The MT reads the enigmatic אֱהִי (ʾehi, “I want to be [your king]”; apocopated Qal imperfect first person common singular from הָיָה, hayah, “to be”), which makes little sense and conflicts with the third person masculine singular form in the dependent clause: “that he might save you” (וְיוֹשִׁיעֲךָ, v^eyoshiʿakha). All the versions (Greek, Syriac, Vulgate) read the interrogative particle אַיֵּה (ʾayyeh, “where?”), which the BHS editors endorse. The MT reading was caused by metathesis of the י (yod) and ה (hey). Few English versions follow the MT: “I will be thy/your king” (KJV, NKJV). Most recent English versions follow the ancient versions in reading, “Where is your king?” (ASV, RSV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NJPS, CEV, NLT).
Hosea 13:10 tn The repetition of the phrase “Where are…?” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding lines. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and for stylistic reasons.
Hosea 13:11 tn The prefix-conjugation verb אֶתֶּן (ʾetten, “I gave”) refers to past-time action, specifying a definite past event (the enthronement of Saul); therefore, this should be classified as a preterite. While imperfects are occasionally used in reference to past-time events, they depict repeated action in the past. See IBHS 502-4 §31.2 and 510-14 §31.6.
Hosea 13:12 tn The noun עָוֹן (ʿavon) has a threefold range of meanings: (1) “iniquity” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV), (2) “guilt” (so NAB, NIV), and (3) “punishment” (BDB 730 s.v. עָוֹן). The oracle of 13:12-13 announces that Israel’s punishment, though momentarily withheld, will suddenly come upon her like labor pains that will kill her.
Hosea 13:12 tn Heb “has been bound.” צָרַר (tsarar, “to bind”) refers elsewhere to the action of scribes binding a document into a sealed scroll of safekeeping (Isa 8:16; HALOT 1058 s.v. I צרר 1; BDB 864 s.v. צָרַר 1). Here it figuratively depicts the record of Israel’s sins being written down and permanently bound in a sealed scroll for safekeeping (cf. NCV, TEV “are on record”). The guilt of Israel’s sin will be retained.
Hosea 13:14 tn The translation of the first two lines of this verse reflects the interpretation adopted from among three interpretive options for v. 14. First, in spite of Israel’s sins, the Lord will redeem them from the threat of death and destruction (e.g., 11:8). However, against this view, the last line of 13:14 probably means that the Lord will not show compassion to Israel. Second, the Lord announces the triumphant victory over death through resurrection (cf. KJV, ASV, NIV). However, although Paul uses the wording of Hosea 13:14 as an illustration of victory over death, the context of Hosea’s message is the imminent judgment in 723-722 b.c. Third, the first two lines of 13:14 are rhetorical questions without explicit interrogative markers, implying negative answers: “I will not rescue them!” (cf. NAB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT). The next two lines in 13:14 are words of encouragement to Death and Sheol to destroy Israel. The final line announces that the Lord will not show compassion on Israel; he will not spare her.
Hosea 13:14 tn Heb “Where, O Death, are your plagues?” (so NIV).
Hosea 13:14 tn Heb “Where, O Sheol, is your destruction?” (NRSV similar).sn The two rhetorical questions in 13:14b function as words of encouragement, inviting personified Death and Sheol to draw near like foreign invading armies to attack and kill Israel (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
Hosea 13:14 tn Heb “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes” (NRSV similar; NASB “from my sight”).

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Wisdom from God

⁶Now we do speak wisdom among the mature,^[a] but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. ⁷Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. ⁸None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined,^[b] are the things God has prepared for those who love him.”^[c] ¹⁰God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God. ¹³And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.^[d] ¹⁴The unbeliever^[e] does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵The one who is spiritual discerns^[f] all things, yet he himself is understood^[g] by no one. ¹⁶For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him?^[h] But we have the mind of Christ.

Matthew 14:1-12

The Death of John the Baptist

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch^[a] heard reports about Jesus, ²and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” ³For Herod had arrested John, bound him,^[b] and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, ⁴because John had repeatedly told^[c] him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”^[d] ⁵Although^[e] Herod^[f] wanted to kill John,^[g] he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. ⁶But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, ⁷so much that he promised^[h] with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹Although it grieved the king,^[i] because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. ¹⁰So^[j] he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹His^[k] head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹²Then John’s^[l] disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

Footnotes

Matthew 14:1 sn A tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.
Matthew 14:3 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א¹ C D L N W Z Γ Δ Θ 0106 ƒ^{1, 13} 33 565 579 1241 1424 M lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various significant witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 ff¹ h q al). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA²⁸ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.
Matthew 14:4 tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.
Matthew 14:4 sn This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.
Matthew 14:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 14:5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 14:5 tn Grk “him” (also in the following phrase, Grk “accepted him”); in both cases the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 14:7 tn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (homologeō); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise” for certain contexts such as here.
Matthew 14:9 tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”sn Herod was technically not a king, but this reflects popular usage. See the note on tetrarch in 14:1.
Matthew 14:10 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
Matthew 14:11 tn Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 14:12 tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 118[a]

Footnotes

Psalm 145[a]

A psalm of praise; by David.

Footnotes

Well-Fed Israel Will Be Fed to Wild Animals

Israel’s King Unable to Deliver the Nation

Israel’s Punishment Will Not Be Withheld Much Longer

The Lord Will Not Relent from the Threatened Judgment

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Wisdom from God

Footnotes

The Death of John the Baptist

Footnotes

Psalm 118^[a]

Psalm 145^[a]