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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 66

Psalm 66^[a]

For the music director, a song, a psalm.

66 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
²Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation.^[b]
Give him the honor he deserves!^[c]
³Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear^[d] before you.
⁴All the earth worships^[e] you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” (Selah)
⁵Come and witness^[f] God’s exploits!^[g]
His acts on behalf of people are awesome.^[h]
⁶He turned the sea into dry land;^[i]
they passed through the river on foot.^[j]
Let us rejoice in him there.^[k]
⁷He rules^[l] by his power forever;
he watches^[m] the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt^[n] themselves. (Selah)
⁸Praise^[o] our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.^[p]
⁹He preserves our lives^[q]
and does not allow our feet to slip.
¹⁰For^[r] you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
¹¹You led us into a trap;^[s]
you caused us to suffer.^[t]
¹²You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.^[u]
¹³I will enter^[v] your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
¹⁴which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
¹⁵I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
¹⁶Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.^[w]
I will declare what he has done for me.
¹⁷I cried out to him for help^[x]
and praised him with my tongue.^[y]
¹⁸If I had harbored sin in my heart,^[z]
the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
²⁰God deserves praise,^[aa]
for^[ab] he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.^[ac]

Footnotes

Psalm 66:1 sn Psalm 66. The psalmist praises God because he has delivered his people from a crisis.
Psalm 66:2 tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
Psalm 66:2 tn Heb “make honorable his praise.”
Psalm 66:3 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).
Psalm 66:4 tn Or “bows down to.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are taken (1) as imperfects expressing what is typical. Another option (2) is to interpret them as anticipatory (“all the earth will worship you”) or (3) take them as jussives, expressing a prayer or wish (“may all the earth worship you”).
Psalm 66:5 tn Or “see.”
Psalm 66:5 tn Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).
Psalm 66:5 tn Heb “awesome [is] an act toward the sons of man.” It is unclear how the prepositional phrase relates to what precedes. If collocated with “act,” it may mean “on behalf of” or “toward.” If taken with “awesome” (see 1 Chr 16:25; Pss 89:7; 96:4; Zeph 2:11), one might translate “his awesome acts are beyond human comprehension” or “his awesome acts are superior to anything men can do.”
Psalm 66:6 sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).
Psalm 66:6 tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).
Psalm 66:6 tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).
Psalm 66:7 tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”
Psalm 66:7 tn Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.
Psalm 66:7 tn The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ʾal). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition ל (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.
Psalm 66:8 tn Heb “bless,” in the sense of declaring “God to be the source of…special power” (see HALOT 160 s.v. II ברך pi).
Psalm 66:8 tn Heb “cause the voice of his praise to be heard.”
Psalm 66:9 tn Heb “the one who places our soul in life.”
Psalm 66:10 tn Or “indeed.”
Psalm 66:11 tn Heb “you brought us into a net.” This rare word for “net” also occurs in Ezek 12:13; 13:21; 17:20.
Psalm 66:11 tn Heb “you placed suffering on our hips.” The noun מוּעָקָה (muʿaqah, “suffering”) occurs only here in the OT.
Psalm 66:12 tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (r^evayah, “saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (r^evakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).
Psalm 66:13 sn Here the psalmist switches to the singular; he speaks as the representative of the nation.
Psalm 66:16 tn Heb “all of the fearers of God.”
Psalm 66:17 tn Heb “to him [with] my mouth I called.”
Psalm 66:17 tn Heb “and he was extolled under my tongue.” The form רוֹמַם (romam) appears to be a Polal (passive) participle from רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), but many prefer to read רוֹמָם, “high praise [was under my tongue]” (cf. NEB). See BDB 928 s.v. רוֹמָם.
Psalm 66:18 tn Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”
Psalm 66:20 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
Psalm 66:20 tn Or “who.” In a blessing formula after בָּרוּךְ (barukh, “blessed be”) the form אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher), whether taken as a relative pronoun or causal particle, introduces the basis for the blessing/praise.
Psalm 66:20 tn Heb “did not turn aside my prayer, or his loyal love from with me.”

Isaiah 28:9-16

⁹Who is the Lord^[a] trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining a message?^[b]
To those just weaned from milk!
To those just taken from their mother’s breast!^[c]
¹⁰Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there.^[d]
¹¹For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue
he will speak to these people.^[e]
¹²In the past he said to them,^[f]
“This is where security can be found.
Provide security for the one who is exhausted.
This is where rest can be found.”^[g]
But they refused to listen.
¹³So the Lord’s message to them will sound like
meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there.^[h]
As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk,^[i]
and be injured, ensnared, and captured.^[j]

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

¹⁴Therefore, listen to the Lord’s message,
you who mock,
you rulers of these people
who reside in Jerusalem.
¹⁵For you say,
“We have made a treaty with death,
with Sheol^[k] we have made an agreement.^[l]
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by^[m]
it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge,
we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.”^[n]
¹⁶Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying^[o] a stone in Zion,
an approved^[p] stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation.^[q]
The one who maintains his faith will not panic.^[r]

Footnotes

Isaiah 28:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Isaiah 28:9 tn Heb “Who is he teaching knowledge? For whom is he explaining a message?” The translation assumes that the Lord is the subject of the verbs “teaching” and “explaining,” and that the prophet is asking the questions. See v. 12. According to some vv. 9-10 record the people’s sarcastic response to the Lord’s message through Isaiah.
Isaiah 28:9 tn Heb “from the breasts.” The words “their mother’s” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation assumes that this is the prophet’s answer to the questions asked in the first half of the verse. The Lord is trying to instruct people who are “infants” morally and ethically.
Isaiah 28:10 tn The meaning of this verse has been debated. The final line says “a little there, a little there,” while the preceding lines have a series of redundancies (כִּי צַו לָצָו צַו לָצָו קַו לָקָו קַו לָקָו, ki tsav latsav, tsav latsav, qav laqav, qav laqav). The present translation assumes that the repetitive syllables are gibberish that resembles baby talk (cf v. 9b) and mimics what the people will hear when foreign invaders conquer the land (v. 11). In this case זְעֵיר (z^eʿer, “a little”) refers to the short syllabic structure of the babbling (cf. CEV, REB and see HALOT 1010 s.v. צַו). Some take צַו (tsav) as a derivative of צָוָה (tsavah, “command”) and translate the first part of the statement as “command after command, command after command.” Proponents of this position (followed by many English versions) also take קַו (qav) as a noun meaning “measuring line” (see v. 17), understood here in the abstract sense of “standard” or “rule.”
Isaiah 28:11 sn This verse alludes to the coming Assyrian invasion, when the people will hear a foreign language that sounds like gibberish to them. The Lord is the subject of the verb “will speak,” as v. 12 makes clear. He once spoke in meaningful terms, but in the coming judgment he will speak to them, as it were, through the mouth of foreign oppressors. The apparent gibberish they hear will be an outward reminder that God has decreed their defeat.
Isaiah 28:12 tn Heb “who said to them.”
Isaiah 28:12 sn This message encapsulates the Lord’s invitation to his people to find security in his protection and blessing.
Isaiah 28:13 tn Heb “And the message of the Lord will be to them, ‘tsav latsav,’ etc.” See the note at v. 10. In this case the “Lord’s message” is not the foreigner’s strange sounding words (as in v. 10), but the Lord’s repeated appeals to them (like the one quoted in v. 12). As time goes on, the Lord’s appeals through the prophets will have no impact on the people; they will regard prophetic preaching as gibberish.
Isaiah 28:13 tn Heb “as a result they will go and stumble backward.” Perhaps an infant falling as it attempts to learn to walk is the background image here (cf. v. 9b). The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (l^emaʿan) could be taken as indicating purpose (“in order that”), rather than simple result. In this case the people’s insensitivity to the message is caused by the Lord as a means of expediting their downfall.
Isaiah 28:13 sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.
Isaiah 28:15 sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.
Isaiah 28:15 tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.
Isaiah 28:15 tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).
Isaiah 28:15 sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.
Isaiah 28:16 tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.
Isaiah 28:16 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
Isaiah 28:16 sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).
Isaiah 28:16 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.

Ephesians 4:1-16

Live in Unity

4 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord,^[a] urge you to live^[b] worthily of the calling with which you have been called,^[c] ²with all humility and gentleness,^[d] with patience, putting up with^[e] one another in love, ³making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured^[f] captives; he gave gifts to men.”^[g] ⁹Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended^[h] to the lower regions,^[i] namely, the earth?^[j] ¹⁰He, the very one^[k] who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. ¹¹And he himself^[l] gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,^[m] ¹²to equip^[n] the saints for the work of ministry, that is,^[o] to build up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to^[p] the measure of Christ’s full stature.^[q] ¹⁴So^[r] we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.^[s] ¹⁵But practicing the truth in love,^[t] we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. ¹⁶From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together^[u] through every supporting ligament.^[v] As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love.

Footnotes

Ephesians 4:1 tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”
Ephesians 4:1 tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.
Ephesians 4:1 sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.
Ephesians 4:2 tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).
Ephesians 4:2 tn Or “bearing with” (NRSV, NIV); or “forbearing” (KJV, ASV).
Ephesians 4:8 tn Grk “he led captive captivity.”
Ephesians 4:8 sn A quotation which is perhaps ultimately derived from Ps 68:18. However, the wording here differs from that of Ps 68 in both the Hebrew text and the LXX in a few places, the most significant of which is reading “gave gifts to” in place of “received gifts from” as in HT and LXX. It has sometimes been suggested that the author of Ephesians modified the text he was citing in order to better support what he wanted to say here. Such modifications are sometimes found in rabbinic exegesis from this and later periods, but it is also possible that the author was simply citing a variant of Ps 68 known to him but which has not survived outside its quotation here (W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ [AGJU 32], 104). Another possibility is that the words here, which strongly resemble Ps 68:19 HT and LXX (68:18 ET), are actually part of an early Christian hymn quoted by the author.
Ephesians 4:9 tc The majority of mss (א² B C³ Ψ 1175 1505 2464 M) read πρῶτον (prōton, “first”) here in conjunction with this verb: “he first descended.” The shorter reading, which lacks πρῶτον, should be considered autographic on the basis of both external and internal evidence: It has strong external support from the Alexandrian and Western witnesses (P⁴⁶ א* A C* D F G I^vid 082 6 33 81 1739 1881 it); internally, the inclusion of πρῶτον is most likely an addition to clarify the sense of the passage.
Ephesians 4:9 tc The Western text (D* F G it) lacks the plural noun μέρη (merē, “regions”); the shorter reading cannot be dismissed out of hand since it is also supported by P⁴⁶ (which often has strong affinities, however, with the Western witnesses). The inclusion of the word has strong external support from significant, early mss as well as the majority of Byzantine cursives (א A B C D² I Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739 1881 2464 M). Certain scribes may have deleted the word, thinking it superfluous; in addition, if the shorter reading were original one would expect to see at least a little variation in clarifying additions to the text. For these reasons the inclusion of μέρη should be regarded as original.
Ephesians 4:9 tn Grk “to the lower parts of the earth.” This phrase has been variously interpreted: (1) The traditional view understands it as a reference to the underworld (hell), where Jesus is thought to have descended in the three days between his death and resurrection. In this case, “of the earth” would be a partitive genitive. (2) A second option is to translate the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition: “to the lower parts, namely, the earth” (as in the present translation). Many recent scholars hold this view and argue that it is a reference to the incarnation. (3) A third option, which also sees the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition, is that the descent in the passage occurs after the ascent rather than before it, and refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Acts 4:11-16). Support for this latter view is found in the intertestamental and rabbinic use of Ps 68:18 (quoted in v. 8), which is consistently and solely interpreted as a reference to Moses’ ascent of Mt. Sinai to “capture” the words of the law. The probability, therefore, is that the comments here in v. 9 reflect a polemic against the interpretation of Ps 68:18 in certain circles as a reference to Moses. See W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ (AGJU 32), 46-54; 171-204.
Ephesians 4:10 tn The Greek text lays specific emphasis on “He” through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos). This is reflected in the English translation through the use of “the very one.”
Ephesians 4:11 tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “he himself” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”
Ephesians 4:11 sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.
Ephesians 4:12 tn On the translation of πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων (pros ton katartismon tōn hagiōn) as “to equip the saints” see BDAG 526 s.v. καταρτισμός. In this case the genitive is taken as objective and the direct object of the verbal idea implied in καταρτισμός (katartismos).
Ephesians 4:12 tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (eis ergon diakonias).
Ephesians 4:13 tn The words “attaining to” were supplied in the translation to pick up the καταντήσωμεν (katantēsōmen) mentioned earlier in the sentence and the εἰς (eis) which heads up this clause.
Ephesians 4:13 tn Grk “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” On this translation of ἡλικία (hēlikia, “stature”) see BDAG 436 s.v. 3.
Ephesians 4:14 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Ephesians 4:14 tn While the sense of the passage is clear enough, translation in English is somewhat difficult. The Greek says: “by the trickery of men, by craftiness with the scheme of deceit.” The point is that the author is concerned about Christians growing into maturity. He is fearful that certain kinds of very cunning people, who are skilled at deceitful scheming, should come in and teach false doctrines which would in turn stunt the growth of the believers.
Ephesians 4:15 tn The meaning of the participle ἀληθεύοντες (alētheuontes; from the verb ἀληθεύω [alētheuō]) is debated. In classical times the verb could mean “to speak the truth,” or “to be true, to prove true.” In the LXX it appears five times (Gen 20:16; 42:16; Prov 21:3; Isa 44:26; Sir 34:4) and translates four different Hebrew words; there it is an ethical term used of proving or being true, not with the idea of speaking the truth. In the NT the only other place the verb appears is in Gal 4:16 where it means “to speak the truth.” However, in Ephesians the concept of “being truthful” is the best sense of the word. In contrast to the preceding verse, where there are three prepositional phrases to denote falsehood and deceit, the present word speaks of being real or truthful in both conduct and speech. Their deceit was not only in their words but also in their conduct. In other words, the believers’ conduct should be transparent, revealing the real state of affairs, as opposed to hiding or suppressing the truth through cunning and deceit. See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 564-65, and R. Bultmann, TDNT 1:251.
Ephesians 4:16 tn The Greek participle συμβιβαζόμενον (sumbibazomenon) translated “held together” also has in different contexts, the idea of teaching implied in it.
Ephesians 4:16 tn Grk “joint of supply.”

Psalm 116-117

Psalm 116^[a]

116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,^[b]
²and listened to me.^[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.^[d]
³The ropes of death tightened around me,^[e]
the snares^[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted^[g] with trouble and sorrow.
⁴I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
⁵The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
⁶The Lord protects^[h] the untrained;^[i]
I was in serious trouble^[j] and he delivered me.
⁷Rest once more, my soul,^[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.^[l]
⁸Yes,^[m] Lord,^[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
⁹I will serve^[o] the Lord
in the land^[p] of the living.
¹⁰I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
¹¹I rashly declared,^[q]
“All men are liars.”
¹²How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
¹³I will celebrate my deliverance,^[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁴I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
¹⁵The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.^[s]
¹⁶Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.^[t]
You saved me from death.^[u]
¹⁷I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
¹⁹in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117^[v]

117 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Applaud him, all you foreigners.^[w]
²For his loyal love towers^[x] over us,
and the Lord’s faithfulness endures.
Praise the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 116:1 sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.
Psalm 116:1 tn Heb “I love because the Lord heard my voice, my pleas.” It is possible that “the Lord” originally appeared directly after “I love” and was later accidentally misplaced. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls that God heard his cry for help (note the perfect in v. 2a and the narrative in vv. 3-4).
Psalm 116:2 tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”
Psalm 116:2 tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”
Psalm 116:3 tn Heb “surrounded me.”
Psalm 116:3 tn The Hebrew noun מֵצַר (metsar, “straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (m^etsade, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.
Psalm 116:3 tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.
Psalm 116:6 tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.
Psalm 116:6 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.
Psalm 116:6 tn Heb “I was low.”
Psalm 116:7 tn Heb “return, my soul, to your place of rest.”
Psalm 116:7 tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ʿal) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense (cf. Ps 13:5).
Psalm 116:8 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 116:8 tn “Lord” is supplied here in the translation for clarification.
Psalm 116:9 tn Heb “walk before” (see Ps 56:13). On the meaning of the Hebrew idiom, see the notes at 2 Kgs 20:3/Isa 38:3.
Psalm 116:9 tn Heb “lands, regions.”
Psalm 116:11 tn Heb “I said in my haste.”
Psalm 116:13 tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the Lord for his deliverance. See v. 17.
Psalm 116:15 tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.
Psalm 116:16 tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). It may used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant. Or it may be a reference to the psalmist’s own mother who also was a servant of the Lord.
Psalm 116:16 tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).
Psalm 117:1 sn Psalm 117. The psalmist tells the nations to praise the Lord for his loyal love and faithfulness.
Psalm 117:1 tn Or “peoples” (see Ps 108:3).
Psalm 117:2 tn For this sense of the Hebrew verb גָּבַר (gavar), see Ps 103:11 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

John 14:15-31

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

¹⁵“If you love me, you will obey^[a] my commandments.^[b] ¹⁶Then^[c] I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate^[d] to be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,^[e] because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides^[f] with you and will be^[g] in you.

¹⁸“I will not abandon^[h] you as orphans,^[i] I will come to you.^[j] ¹⁹In a little while^[k] the world will not see me any longer, but you will see me; because I live, you will live too. ²⁰You will know at that time^[l] that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you. ²¹The person who has my commandments and obeys^[m] them is the one who loves me.^[n] The one^[o] who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal^[p] myself to him.”

²²“Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot)^[q] said,^[r] “what has happened that you are going to reveal^[s] yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³Jesus replied,^[t] “If anyone loves me, he will obey^[u] my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him.^[v] ²⁴The person who does not love me does not obey^[w] my words. And the word^[x] you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

²⁵“I have spoken these things while staying^[y] with you. ²⁶But the Advocate,^[z] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you^[aa] everything,^[ab] and will cause you to remember everything^[ac] I said to you.

²⁷“Peace I leave with you;^[ad] my peace I give to you; I do not give it^[ae] to you as the world does.^[af] Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.^[ag] ²⁸You heard me say to you,^[ah] ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad^[ai] that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.^[aj] ²⁹I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.^[ak] ³⁰I will not speak with you much longer,^[al] for the ruler of this world is coming.^[am] He has no power over me,^[an] ³¹but I am doing just what the Father commanded me, so that the world may know^[ao] that I love the Father.^[ap] Get up, let us go from here.^[aq]

Footnotes

John 14:15 tn Or “will keep.”
John 14:15 sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.
John 14:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the implied sequence in the discourse.
John 14:16 tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklētos). Finding an appropriate English translation for παράκλητος is a very difficult task. No single English word has exactly the same range of meaning as the Greek word. “Comforter,” used by some of the older English versions, appears to be as old as Wycliffe. But today it suggests a quilt or a sympathetic mourner at a funeral. “Counselor” is adequate, but too broad, in contexts like “marriage counselor” or “camp counselor.” “Helper” or “Assistant” could also be used, but could suggest a subordinate rank. “Advocate,” the word chosen for this translation, has more forensic overtones than the Greek word does, although in John 16:5-11 a forensic context is certainly present. Because an “advocate” is someone who “advocates” or supports a position or viewpoint and since this is what the Paraclete will do for the preaching of the disciples, it was selected in spite of the drawbacks.
John 14:17 tn Or “cannot receive.”
John 14:17 tn Or “he remains.”
John 14:17 tc Some early and significant witnesses (P^66* B D* W 1 565 it) have ἐστιν (estin, “he is”) instead of ἔσται (estai, “he will be”) here, while other weighty witnesses (P^66c,75vid א A D¹ L Θ Ψ ƒ¹³ 33^vid M as well as several versions and fathers), read the future tense. When one considers transcriptional evidence, ἐστιν is the more difficult reading and better explains the rise of the future tense reading, but it must be noted that both P⁶⁶ and D were corrected from the present tense to the future. If ἐστιν were the original reading, one would expect a few manuscripts to be corrected to read the present when they originally read the future, but that is not the case. When one considers what the author would have written, the future is on much stronger ground. The immediate context (both in 14:16 and in the chapter as a whole) points to the future, and the theology of the book regards the advent of the Spirit as a decidedly future event (see, e.g., 7:39 and 16:7). The present tense could have arisen from an error of sight on the part of some scribes or more likely from an error of thought as scribes reflected upon the present role of the Spirit. Although a decision is difficult, the future tense is most likely authentic. For further discussion on this textual problem, see James M. Hamilton, Jr., “He Is with You and He Will Be in You” (Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 213-20.
John 14:18 tn Or “leave.”
John 14:18 tn The entire phrase “abandon you as orphans” could be understood as an idiom meaning, “leave you helpless.”
John 14:18 sn I will come to you. Jesus had spoken in 14:3 of going away and coming again to his disciples. There the reference was both to the parousia (the second coming of Christ) and to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. Here the postresurrection appearances are primarily in view, since Jesus speaks of the disciples “seeing” him after the world can “see” him no longer in the following verse. But many commentators have taken v. 18 as a reference to the coming of the Spirit, since this has been the topic of the preceding verses. Still, vv. 19-20 appear to contain references to Jesus’ appearances to the disciples after his resurrection. It may well be that another Johannine double meaning is found here, so that Jesus ‘returns’ to his disciples in one sense in his appearances to them after his resurrection, but in another sense he ‘returns’ in the person of the Holy Spirit to indwell them.
John 14:19 tn Grk “Yet a little while, and.”
John 14:20 tn Grk “will know in that day.”sn At that time could be a reference to the parousia (second coming of Christ). But the statement in 14:19, that the world will not see Jesus, does not fit. It is better to take this as the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples (which has the advantage of taking in a little while in v. 19 literally).
John 14:21 tn Or “keeps.”
John 14:21 tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”
John 14:21 tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.
John 14:21 tn Or “will disclose.”
John 14:22 tn Grk “(not Iscariot).” The proper noun (Judas) has been repeated for clarity and smoothness in English style.sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.
John 14:22 tn Grk “said to him.”
John 14:22 tn Or “disclose.”sn The disciples still expected at this point that Jesus, as Messiah, was going to reveal his identity as such to the world (cf. 7:4).
John 14:23 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
John 14:23 tn Or “will keep.”
John 14:23 tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.
John 14:24 tn Or “does not keep.”
John 14:24 tn Or “the message.”
John 14:25 tn Or “while remaining” or “while residing.”
John 14:26 tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklētos). See the note on the word “Advocate” in v. 16 for a discussion of how this word is translated.
John 14:26 tn Grk “that one will teach you.” The words “that one” have been omitted from the translation since they are redundant in English.
John 14:26 tn Grk “all things.”
John 14:26 tn Grk “all things.”
John 14:27 sn Peace I leave with you. In spite of appearances, this verse does not introduce a new subject (peace). Jesus will use the phrase as a greeting to his disciples after his resurrection (20:19, 21, 26). It is here a reflection of the Hebrew shalom as a farewell. But Jesus says he leaves peace with his disciples. This should probably be understood ultimately in terms of the indwelling of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who has been the topic of the preceding verses. It is his presence, after Jesus has left the disciples and finally returned to the Father, which will remain with them and comfort them.
John 14:27 tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
John 14:27 tn Grk “not as the world gives do I give to you.”
John 14:27 tn Or “distressed or fearful and cowardly.”
John 14:28 tn Or “You have heard that I said to you.”
John 14:28 tn Or “you would rejoice.”
John 14:28 sn Jesus’ statement the Father is greater than I am has caused much christological and trinitarian debate. Although the Arians appealed to this text to justify their subordinationist Christology, it seems evident that by the fact Jesus compares himself to the Father, his divine nature is taken for granted. There have been two orthodox interpretations: (1) The Son is eternally generated while the Father is not: Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Hilary, etc. (2) As man the incarnate Son was less than the Father: Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose, Augustine. In the context of the Fourth Gospel the second explanation seems more plausible. But why should the disciples have rejoiced? Because Jesus was on the way to the Father who would glorify him (cf. 17:4-5); his departure now signifies that the work the Father has given him is completed (cf. 19:30). Now Jesus will be glorified with that glory that he had with the Father before the world was (cf. 17:5). This should be a cause of rejoicing to the disciples because when Jesus is glorified he will glorify his disciples as well (17:22).
John 14:29 sn Jesus tells the disciples that he has told them all these things before they happen, so that when they do happen the disciples may believe. This does not mean they had not believed prior to this time; over and over the author has affirmed that they have (cf. 2:11). But when they see these things happen, their level of trust in Jesus will increase and their concept of who he is will expand. The confession of Thomas in 20:28 is representative of this increased understanding of who Jesus is. Cf. John 13:19.
John 14:30 tn Grk “I will no longer speak many things with you.”
John 14:30 sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.
John 14:30 tn Grk “in me he has nothing.”
John 14:31 tn Or “may learn.”
John 14:31 tn Grk “But so that the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father commanded me, thus I do.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to conform to contemporary English style.
John 14:31 sn Some have understood Jesus’ statement Get up, let us go from here to mean that at this point Jesus and the disciples got up and left the room where the meal was served and began the journey to the garden of Gethsemane. If so, the rest of the Farewell Discourse took place en route. Others have pointed to this statement as one of the “seams” in the discourse, indicating that the author used preexisting sources. Both explanations are possible, but not really necessary. Jesus could simply have stood up at this point (the disciples may or may not have stood with him) to finish the discourse before finally departing (in 18:1). In any case it may be argued that Jesus refers not to a literal departure at this point, but to preparing to meet the enemy who is on the way already in the person of Judas and the soldiers with him.

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 66[a]

For the music director, a song, a psalm.

Footnotes

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

Footnotes

Live in Unity

Footnotes

Psalm 116[a]

Psalm 117[v]

Footnotes

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

Footnotes

Psalm 66^[a]

Psalm 116^[a]

Psalm 117^[v]