◀ All Reading Plans / Book of Common Prayer / Ps. 101 109:1–4 (5–19) 20–30; Ps. 119:121–144; Jer. 18:1–11; Rom. 8:1–11; John 6:27–40 (New English Translation)

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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 101

Psalm 101^[a]

A psalm of David.

101 I will sing about loyalty and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will sing praises.
²I will walk^[b] in the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace.^[c]
³I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.^[d]
I hate doing evil;^[e]
I will have no part of it.^[f]
⁴I will have nothing to do with a perverse person;^[g]
I will not permit^[h] evil.
⁵I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.
I will not tolerate anyone who has a haughty demeanor and an arrogant attitude.^[i]
⁶I will favor the honest people of the land,^[j]
and allow them to live with me.^[k]
Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me.^[l]
⁷Deceitful people will not live in my palace.^[m]
Liars will not be welcome in my presence.^[n]
⁸Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land,
and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

Psalm 109:1-30

Psalm 109^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

109 O God whom I praise, do not ignore me.^[b]
²For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;
they lie to me.^[c]
³They surround me and say hateful things;^[d]
they attack me for no reason.
⁴They repay my love with accusations,^[e]
but I continue to pray.^[f]
⁵They repay me evil for good,^[g]
and hate for love.
⁶^[h] Appoint an evil man to testify against him.^[i]
May an accuser stand^[j] at his right side.
⁷When he is judged, he will be found^[k] guilty.^[l]
Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.
⁸May his days be few.^[m]
May another take his job.^[n]
⁹May his children^[o] be fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
¹⁰May his children^[p] roam around begging,
asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home.^[q]
¹¹May the creditor seize^[r] all he owns.
May strangers loot his property.^[s]
¹²May no one show him kindness.^[t]
May no one have compassion^[u] on his fatherless children.
¹³May his descendants^[v] be cut off.^[w]
May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives.^[x]
¹⁴May his ancestors’^[y] sins be remembered by the Lord.
May his mother’s sin not be forgotten.^[z]
¹⁵May the Lord be constantly aware of them,^[aa]
and cut off the memory of his children^[ab] from the earth.
¹⁶For he never bothered to show kindness;^[ac]
he harassed the oppressed and needy,
and killed the disheartened.^[ad]
¹⁷He loved to curse^[ae] others, so those curses have come upon him.^[af]
He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.^[ag]
¹⁸He made cursing a way of life,^[ah]
so curses poured into his stomach like water
and seeped into his bones like oil.^[ai]
¹⁹May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on,^[aj]
or a belt^[ak] one wears continually.
²⁰May the Lord repay my accusers in this way,^[al]
those who say evil things about^[am] me.^[an]
²¹O Sovereign Lord,
intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation.^[ao]
Because your loyal love is good, deliver me.
²²For I am oppressed and needy,
and my heart beats violently within me.^[ap]
²³I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day;^[aq]
I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴I am so starved my knees shake;^[ar]
I have turned into skin and bones.^[as]
²⁵I am disdained by them.^[at]
When they see me, they shake their heads.^[au]
²⁶Help me, O Lord my God.
Because you are faithful to me, deliver me.^[av]
²⁷Then they will realize^[aw] this is your work,^[ax]
and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.
²⁸They curse, but you will bless.^[ay]
When they attack, they will be humiliated,^[az]
but your servant will rejoice.
²⁹My accusers will be covered^[ba] with shame,
and draped in humiliation as if it were a robe.
³⁰I will thank the Lord profusely.^[bb]
In the middle of a crowd^[bc] I will praise him,

Footnotes

Psalm 109:1 sn Psalm 109. Appealing to God’s justice, the psalmist asks God to vindicate him and to bring severe judgment down upon his enemies.
Psalm 109:1 tn Heb “do not be deaf.”
Psalm 109:2 tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”
Psalm 109:3 tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”
Psalm 109:4 tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”
Psalm 109:4 tn Heb “and I, prayer.”
Psalm 109:5 tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”
Psalm 109:6 sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view—that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist—see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.
Psalm 109:6 tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”
Psalm 109:6 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).
Psalm 109:7 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.
Psalm 109:7 tn Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).
Psalm 109:8 tn The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19.
Psalm 109:8 tn The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (p^equddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.
Psalm 109:9 tn Or “sons.”
Psalm 109:10 tn Or “sons.”
Psalm 109:10 tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (v^edar^eshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (y^egor^eshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shiʾelu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.
Psalm 109:11 tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).
Psalm 109:11 tn Heb “the product of his labor.”
Psalm 109:12 tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”
Psalm 109:12 tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).
Psalm 109:13 tn Or “offspring.”
Psalm 109:13 sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.
Psalm 109:13 tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”
Psalm 109:14 tn Or “fathers’ sins.”
Psalm 109:14 tn Heb “not be wiped out.”sn According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with Ps 109.)
Psalm 109:15 tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”
Psalm 109:15 tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.
Psalm 109:16 tn Heb “he did not remember to do loyal love.”
Psalm 109:16 tn Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”
Psalm 109:17 sn A curse in OT times consists of a formal appeal to God to bring judgment down upon another. Curses were sometimes justified (such as the one spoken by the psalmist here in vv. 6-19), but when they were not, the one pronouncing the curse was in danger of bringing the anticipated judgment down upon himself.
Psalm 109:17 tn Heb “and he loved a curse and it came [upon] him.” A reference to the evil man experiencing a curse seems premature here, for the psalmist is asking God to bring judgment on his enemies. For this reason some (cf. NIV, NRSV) prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” as conjunctive and translate the verb as a jussive of prayer (“may it come upon him!”). The prefixed form with vav consecutive in the next line is emended in the same way and translated, “may it be far from him.” However, the psalmist may be indicating that the evil man’s lifestyle has already begun to yield its destructive fruit.
Psalm 109:17 tn Heb “and he did not delight in a blessing and it is far from him.”
Psalm 109:18 tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”
Psalm 109:18 tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the verb from the preterite form וַתָּבֹא (vattavoʾ, “and it came”) to a jussive form וְתָבֹא (v^etavoʾ, “and may it come!”).
Psalm 109:19 tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”
Psalm 109:19 tn The Hebrew noun מֵזַח (mezakh, “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.
Psalm 109:20 tn Heb “[may] this [be] the repayment to my accusers from the Lord.”
Psalm 109:20 tn Or “against.”
Psalm 109:20 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
Psalm 109:21 tn Heb “but you, Lord, Master, deal with me for the sake of your name” or “on account of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation. The Psalmist’s appeal is for God to act consistently with, and therefore maintain, his reputation (as a deliverer of the righteous and one who punishes evildoers). Note that “for your name’s sake” is paralleled by “because your loyal love is good.” The point is that the Psalmist is making an appeal not based on his own personal whim or vendetta but is calling for judicial penalties (or the fulfillment of prior prophetic indictment).
Psalm 109:22 tc The verb in the Hebrew text (חָלַל, khalal) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל (yakhil), a Qal imperfect from חוּל (khul, “tremble”) or to חֹלַל (kholal), a Polal perfect from חוּל (khul). See Ps 55:4, which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי (libbi yakhil b^eqirbbi, “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).
Psalm 109:23 tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.
Psalm 109:24 tn Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”
Psalm 109:24 tn Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”
Psalm 109:25 tn Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”
Psalm 109:25 sn They shake their heads. Apparently shaking the head was a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; Lam 2:15.
Psalm 109:26 tn Heb “deliver me according to your faithfulness.”
Psalm 109:27 tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
Psalm 109:27 tn Heb “that your hand [is] this.”
Psalm 109:28 tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).
Psalm 109:28 tn The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav (ו) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ (qamu yevoshu, “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.
Psalm 109:29 tn Heb “clothed.” Another option is to translate the prefixed verbal forms in this line and the next as jussives (“may my accusers be covered with shame”).
Psalm 109:30 tn Heb “I will thank the Lord very much with my mouth.”
Psalm 109:30 tn Heb “many.”

Psalm 119:121-144

ע (Ayin)

¹²¹I do what is fair and right.^[a]
Do not abandon me to my oppressors.
¹²²Guarantee the welfare of your servant.^[b]
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.
¹²³My eyes grow tired as I wait for your deliverance,^[c]
for your reliable promise to be fulfilled.^[d]
¹²⁴Show your servant your loyal love.^[e]
Teach me your statutes.
¹²⁵I am your servant. Give me insight,
so that I can understand^[f] your rules.
¹²⁶It is time for the Lord to act—
they break your law.
¹²⁷For this reason^[g] I love your commands
more than gold, even purest gold.
¹²⁸For this reason I carefully follow all your precepts.^[h]
I hate all deceitful actions.^[i]

פ (Pe)

¹²⁹Your rules are marvelous.
Therefore I observe them.
¹³⁰Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines.^[j]
They give^[k] insight to the untrained.^[l]
¹³¹I open my mouth and pant,
because I long^[m] for your commands.
¹³²Turn toward me and extend mercy to me,
as you typically do to your loyal followers.^[n]
¹³³Direct my steps by your word.^[o]
Do not let any sin dominate me.
¹³⁴Deliver me^[p] from oppressive men,
so that I can keep^[q] your precepts.
¹³⁵Smile^[r] on your servant.
Teach me your statutes!
¹³⁶Tears stream down from my eyes,^[s]
because people^[t] do not keep your law.

צ (Tsade)

¹³⁷You are just, O Lord,
and your judgments are fair.
¹³⁸The rules you impose are just,^[u]
and absolutely reliable.
¹³⁹My zeal^[v] consumes^[w] me,
for my enemies forget your instructions.^[x]
¹⁴⁰Your word is absolutely pure,
and your servant loves it.
¹⁴¹I am insignificant and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
¹⁴²Your justice endures,^[y]
and your law is reliable.^[z]
¹⁴³Distress and hardship confront^[aa] me,
yet I find delight in your commands.
¹⁴⁴Your rules remain just.^[ab]
Give me insight so that I can live.^[ac]

Footnotes

Psalm 119:121 tn Heb “do justice and righteousness.”
Psalm 119:122 tn Heb “be surety for your servant for good.”
Psalm 119:123 tn Heb “my eyes fail for your deliverance.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See the similar phrase in v. 82.
Psalm 119:123 tn Heb “and for the word of your faithfulness.”
Psalm 119:124 tn Heb “do with your servant according to your loyal love.”
Psalm 119:125 tn or “know.” The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
Psalm 119:127 tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.
Psalm 119:128 tn Heb “for this reason all the precepts of everything I regard as right.” The phrase “precepts of everything” is odd. It is preferable to take the כ (kaf) on כֹּל (kol, “everything) with the preceding form as a pronominal suffix, “your precepts,” and the ל (lamed) with the following verb as an emphatic particle. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 138.
Psalm 119:128 tn Heb “every false path.”
Psalm 119:130 tn Heb “the doorway of your words gives light.” God’s “words” refer here to the instructions in his law (see vv. 9, 57).
Psalm 119:130 tn Heb “it [i.e., the doorway] gives.”
Psalm 119:130 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 Pss 19:7; 116:6.
Psalm 119:131 tn The verb occurs only here in the OT.
Psalm 119:132 tn Heb “according to custom toward the lovers of your name.” The “lovers of” God’s “name” are the Lord’s loyal followers. See Pss 5:11; 69:36; Isa 56:6.
Psalm 119:133 tn God’s “word” refers here to his law (see v. 11).
Psalm 119:134 tn Or “redeem me.”
Psalm 119:134 tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
Psalm 119:135 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”
Psalm 119:136 tn Heb “[with] flowing streams my eyes go down.”
Psalm 119:136 tn Heb “they”; even though somewhat generic, the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Psalm 119:138 tn Heb “you commanded [in] justice your rules.”
Psalm 119:139 tn or “zeal.”
Psalm 119:139 tn Heb “destroys,” in a hyperbolic sense.
Psalm 119:139 tn Heb “your words.”
Psalm 119:142 tn Heb “your justice [is] justice forever.”
Psalm 119:142 tn Or “truth.”
Psalm 119:143 tn Heb “find.”
Psalm 119:144 tn Heb “just are your rules forever.”
Psalm 119:144 tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

Jeremiah 18:1-11

An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery

18 The Lord said to Jeremiah:^[a] ²“Go down at once^[b] to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.”^[c] ³So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working^[d] at his wheel.^[e] ⁴Now and then^[f] there would be something wrong^[g] with the pot he was molding from the clay^[h] with his hands. So he would rework^[i] the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.^[j]

⁵Then the Lord’s message came to me, ⁶“I, the Lord, say:^[k] ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay?^[l] In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ ⁷There are times, Jeremiah,^[m] when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom.^[n] ⁸But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong,^[o] I will cancel the destruction^[p] I intended to do to it. ⁹And there are times when I promise to build up and establish^[q] a nation or kingdom. ¹⁰But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. ¹¹So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you.^[r] So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing.^[s] Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’^[t]

Footnotes

Jeremiah 18:1 tn Heb “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:” This same formula occurs ten other times in Jeremiah. It has already occurred at 7:1 and 11:1.
Jeremiah 18:2 tn Heb “Get up and go down.” The first verb is not literal but is idiomatic for the initiation of an action. See 13:4, 6 for other occurrences of this idiom.
Jeremiah 18:2 tn Heb “And I will cause you to hear my word there.”
Jeremiah 18:3 tn Heb “And behold he was working.”
Jeremiah 18:3 sn At his wheel (Heb “at the two stones”). The Hebrew expression is very descriptive of the construction of a potter’s wheel, which consisted of two stones joined by a horizontal shaft. The potter rotated the wheel with his feet on the lower wheel and worked the clay with his hands on the upper. For a picture of a potter working at his wheel, see I. Ben-Dor, “Potter’s Wheel,” IDB 3:846. See also the discussion regarding the making of pottery in J. L. Kelso, “Pottery,” IDB 3:846-53.
Jeremiah 18:4 tn The verbs here denote repeated action. They are the Hebrew perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive. The text then reads somewhat literally, “Whenever the vessel he was molding…was ruined, he would remold…” For this construction see Joüon 2:393-94 §118.n and 2:628-29 §167.b, and compare the usage in Amos 4:7-8.
Jeremiah 18:4 sn Something was wrong with the clay—either there was a lump in it, or it was too moist or not moist enough, or it had some other imperfection. In any case the vessel was “ruined” or “spoiled,” or defective in the eyes of the potter. This same verb has been used of the linen shorts that were “ruined” and hence “good for nothing” (Jer 13:7). The nature of the clay and how it responded to the potter’s hand determined the kind of vessel that he made of it. He did not throw the clay away. This is the basis for the application in vv. 7-10 to any nation and to the nation of Israel in particular (vv. 11-17).
Jeremiah 18:4 tn The usage of the preposition בּ (bet) to introduce the material from which something is made in Exod 38:8 and 1 Kgs 15:22 should lay to rest the rather forced construction that some (like J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 121) put on the variant כַּחֹמֶר (kakhomer) found in a few Hebrew mss. Bright renders that phrase as an elliptical “as clay sometimes will.” The phrase is missing from the Greek version.
Jeremiah 18:4 tn Heb “he would turn and work.” This is an example of hendiadys where one of the two verbs joined by “and” becomes the adverbial modifier of the other. The verb “turn” is very common in this construction (see BDB 998 s.v. שׁוּב Qal.8 for references).
Jeremiah 18:4 tn Heb “as it was right in his eyes to do [or work it].” For this idiom see Judg 14:3, 7; 1 Sam 18:20, 26; 2 Sam 17:4.
Jeremiah 18:6 tn This phrase (literally “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16 and 17:24.
Jeremiah 18:6 tn The words “deals with the clay” are not in the text. They are part of an elliptical comparison and are supplied in the translation here for clarity.
Jeremiah 18:7 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text, but it is implicit from the introduction in v. 5 that he is being addressed. It is important to see how the rhetoric of this passage is structured. The words of vv. 7-10 lead up to the conclusion “So now” in v. 11, which in turn leads to the conclusion “Therefore” in v. 13. The tense of the verb in v. 12 is very important. It is a vav consecutive perfect indicating the future (cf. GKC 333 §112.p, r); their response is predictable. The words of vv. 7-10 are addressed to Jeremiah (v. 5) in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to speak to him (v. 2). They furnish the basis for the Lord’s words of conditional threat to a people who show no promise of responding positively (vv. 11-12). Verse 6 then must be seen as another example of the figure of apostrophe (the turning aside from description about someone to addressing them directly; cf., e.g., Ps 6:8-9 (6:9-10 HT). Earlier examples of this figure have been seen in 6:20; 9:4; 11:13; 12:13; and 15:6.
Jeremiah 18:7 tn Heb “One moment I may speak about a nation or kingdom to…” So also in v. 9. The translation is structured this way to avoid an awkward English construction and to reflect the difference in disposition. The constructions are, however, the same.
Jeremiah 18:8 tn Heb “turns from its wickedness.”
Jeremiah 18:8 tn There is a good deal of debate about how the word translated here “revoke” should be translated. There is a good deal of reluctance to translate it “change my mind” because some see that as contradicting Num 23:19 and thus prefer “relent.” However, the English word “relent” suggests the softening of an attitude but not necessarily the change of course. It is clear that in many cases (including here) an actual change of course is in view (see, e.g., Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9; Jer 26:19; Exod 13:17; 32:14). Several of these passages deal with “conditional” prophecies, where a change in behavior of the people or the mediation of a prophet involves the change in course of the threatened punishment (or the promised benefit). “Revoke” or “forgo” may be the best way to render this in contemporary English idiom.sn There is a wordplay here involving the word “evil” (רָעָה, raʿah), which refers to both the crime and the punishment. This same play is carried further in Jonah 3:10-4:1, where Jonah becomes very displeased (Heb “it was very evil to Jonah with great evil”) when God forgoes bringing disaster (evil) on Nineveh because they have repented of their wickedness (evil).
Jeremiah 18:9 sn Heb “plant.” The terms “uproot,” “tear down,” “destroy,” “build,” and “plant” are the two sides of the ministry Jeremiah was called to fulfill (cf. Jer 1:10).
Jeremiah 18:11 sn Heb “I am forming disaster and making plans against you.” The word translated “forming” is the same as that for “potter,” so there is a wordplay taking the reader back to v. 5. They are in his hands like the clay in the hands of the potter. Since they have not been pliable he forms new plans. He still offers them opportunity to repent, but their response is predictable.
Jeremiah 18:11 tn Heb “Turn, each one from his wicked way.” See v. 8.
Jeremiah 18:11 tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” See the same expression in 7:3, 5.

Romans 8:1-11

The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.^[a] ²For the law of the life-giving Spirit^[b] in Christ Jesus has set you^[c] free from the law of sin and death. ³For God achieved what the law could not do because^[d] it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by^[e] the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. ⁶For the outlook^[f] of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. ⁸Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹You, however, are not in^[g] the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but^[h] the Spirit is your life^[i] because of righteousness. ¹¹Moreover if the Spirit of the one^[j] who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ^[k] from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.^[l]

Footnotes

Romans 8:1 tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D¹ Ψ 81 365 629 vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mē kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א² D² 33^vid M) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in M.
Romans 8:2 tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”
Romans 8:2 tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1175 1241 1505 1739^c 1881 2464 M lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B (F: σαι) G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, ēleutherōsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.
Romans 8:3 tn Grk “in that.”
Romans 8:5 tn Grk “think on” or “are intent on” (twice in this verse). What is in view here is not primarily preoccupation, however, but worldview. Translations like “set their mind on” could be misunderstood by the typical English reader to refer exclusively to preoccupation.
Romans 8:6 tn Or “mindset,” “way of thinking” (twice in this verse and once in v. 7). The Greek term φρόνημα does not refer to one’s mind, but to one’s outlook or mindset.
Romans 8:9 tn Or “are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit.”
Romans 8:10 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
Romans 8:10 tn Or “life-giving.” Grk “the Spirit is life.”
Romans 8:11 sn The one who raised Jesus from the dead refers to God (also in the following clause).
Romans 8:11 tc Several mss read ᾿Ιησοῦν (Iēsoun, “Jesus”) after Χριστόν (Christon, “Christ”; א* A D* 630 1506 1739 1881 bo); C 81 104 lat have ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστόν. The shorter reading is more likely to be autographic, though, both because of external evidence (א² B D² F G Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M sa) and internal evidence (scribes were much more likely to add the name “Jesus” if it were lacking than to remove it if it were already present in the text, especially to harmonize with the earlier mention of Jesus in the verse).
Romans 8:11 tc Most mss (B D F G Ψ 33 1175 1241 1739 1881 M lat) have διά (dia) followed by the accusative: “because of his Spirit who lives in you.” The genitive “through his Spirit” is supported by א A C 81 104 1505 1506 al, and is slightly preferred.

John 6:27-40

²⁷Do not work for the food that disappears,^[a] but for the food that remains to eternal life—the food^[b] which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”^[c]

²⁸So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds^[d] God requires?”^[e] ²⁹Jesus replied,^[f] “This is the deed^[g] God requires^[h]—to believe in the one whom he^[i] sent.” ³⁰So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹Our ancestors^[j] ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”^[k]

³²Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth,^[l] it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is the one who^[m] comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴So they said to him, “Sir,^[n] give us this bread all the time!”

³⁵Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.^[o] ³⁶But I told you^[p] that you have seen me^[q] and still do not believe. ³⁷Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.^[r] ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. ³⁹Now this is the will of the one who sent me—that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up^[s] at the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of my Father—for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up^[t] at the last day.”^[u]

Footnotes

John 6:27 tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).sn Do not work for the food that disappears. Note the wordplay on “work” here. This does not imply “working” for salvation, since the “work” is later explained (in John 6:29) as “to believe in the one whom he (the Father) sent.”
John 6:27 tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.
John 6:27 tn Grk “on this one.”
John 6:28 tn Grk “the works.”
John 6:28 tn Grk “What must we do to work the works of God?”
John 6:29 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
John 6:29 tn Grk “the work.”
John 6:29 tn Grk “This is the work of God.”
John 6:29 tn Grk “that one” (i.e., God).
John 6:31 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
John 6:31 sn A quotation from Ps 78:24 (referring to the events of Exod 16:4-36).
John 6:32 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
John 6:33 tn Or “he who.”
John 6:34 tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage it is not at all clear at this point that the crowd is acknowledging Jesus as Lord. More likely this is simply a form of polite address (“sir”).
John 6:35 tn Grk “the one who believes in me will not possibly thirst, ever.”sn The one who believes in me will never be thirsty. Note the parallelism between “coming to Jesus” in the first part of v. 35 and “believing in Jesus” in the second part of v. 35. For the author of the Gospel of John these terms are virtually equivalent, both referring to a positive response to Jesus (see John 3:17-21).
John 6:36 tn Grk “But I said to you.”
John 6:36 tc A few witnesses lack με (me, “me”; א A a b e q sy^s,c), while the rest of the tradition has the word (P^66,75vid rell). It is possible that the mss that lack the pronoun preserve the original wording here, with the rest of the witnesses adding the pronoun for clarity’s sake. This likelihood increases since the object is not required in Greek. Without it, however, ambiguity increases: The referent could be “me” or it could be “signs,” reaching back to vv. 26 and 30. However, the oblique form of ἐγώ (egō, the first person personal pronoun) occurs some two dozen times in this chapter alone, yet it vacillates between the emphatic form and the unemphatic form. Although generally the unemphatic form is used with verbs, there are several exceptions to this in John (cf. 8:12; 12:26, 45, 48; 13:20; 14:9). If the pronoun is a later addition here, one wonders why it is so consistently the unemphatic form in the mss. Further, that two unrelated Greek witnesses lack this small word could easily be due to accidental deletion. Finally, the date and diversity of the witnesses for the pronoun are so weighty that it is likely to be authentic and should thus be retained in the text.
John 6:37 tn Or “drive away”; Grk “cast out.”
John 6:39 tn Or “resurrect them all,” or “make them all live again”; Grk “raise it up.” The word “all” is supplied to bring out the collective nature of the neuter singular pronoun αὐτό (auto) in Greek. The plural pronoun “them” is used rather than neuter singular “it” because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does.
John 6:40 tn Or “resurrect him,” or “make him live again.”
John 6:40 sn Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 101[a]

A psalm of David.

Footnotes

Psalm 109[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

Footnotes

ע (Ayin)

פ (Pe)

צ (Tsade)

Footnotes

An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery

Footnotes

The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 101^[a]

Psalm 109^[a]