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Book of Common Prayer

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

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Psalm 55

Psalm 55^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song^[b] by David.

55 Listen, O God, to my prayer.
Do not ignore^[c] my appeal for mercy.
²Pay attention to me and answer me.
I am so upset^[d] and distressed,^[e] I am beside myself,^[f]
³because of what the enemy says,^[g]
and because of how the wicked^[h] pressure me,^[i]
for they hurl trouble^[j] down upon me^[k]
and angrily attack me.
⁴My heart beats violently^[l] within me;
the horrors of death overcome me.^[m]
⁵Fear and panic overpower me;^[n]
terror overwhelms^[o] me.
⁶I say,^[p] “I wish I had wings like a dove.
I would fly away and settle in a safe place.
⁷Look, I will escape to a distant place;
I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
⁸I will hurry off to a place that is safe
from the strong wind^[q] and the gale.”
⁹Confuse them,^[r] O Lord.
Frustrate their plans.^[s]
For I see violence and conflict in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they walk around on its walls,^[t]
while wickedness and destruction^[u] are within it.
¹¹Disaster is within it;
violence^[v] and deceit do not depart from its public square.
¹²Indeed,^[w] it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me,^[x]
or else I could hide from him.
¹³But it is you,^[y] a man like me,^[z]
my close friend in whom I confided.^[aa]
¹⁴We would share personal thoughts with each other;^[ab]
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
¹⁵May death destroy them.^[ac]
May they go down alive into Sheol.^[ad]
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.
¹⁶As for me, I will call out to God,
and the Lord will deliver me.
¹⁷During the evening, morning, and noontime
I will lament and moan,^[ae]
and he will hear^[af] me.^[ag]
¹⁸He will rescue^[ah] me and protect me from those who attack me,^[ai]
even though^[aj] they greatly outnumber me.^[ak]
¹⁹God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,
will hear and humiliate them.^[al] (Selah)
They refuse to change,
and do not fear God.^[am]
²⁰He^[an] attacks^[ao] his friends;^[ap]
he breaks his solemn promises to them.^[aq]
²¹His words are as smooth as butter,^[ar]
but he harbors animosity in his heart.^[as]
His words seem softer than oil,
but they are really like sharp swords.^[at]
²²Throw your burden^[au] upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you.^[av]
He will never allow the godly to be shaken.^[aw]
²³But you, O God, will bring them^[ax] down to the deep Pit.^[ay]
Violent and deceitful people^[az] will not live even half a normal lifespan.^[ba]
But as for me, I trust in you.

Footnotes

Psalm 55:1 sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.
Psalm 55:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.
Psalm 55:1 tn Heb “hide yourself from.”
Psalm 55:2 tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.
Psalm 55:2 tn Heb “in my complaint.”
Psalm 55:2 tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (v^eʾehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (v^eʾehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).
Psalm 55:3 tn Heb “because of [the] voice of [the] enemy.”
Psalm 55:3 tn The singular forms “enemy” and “wicked” are collective or representative, as the plural verb forms in the second half of the verse indicate.
Psalm 55:3 tn Heb “from before the pressure of the wicked.” Some suggest the meaning “screech” (note the parallel “voice”; cf. NEB “shrill clamour”; NRSV “clamor”) for the rare noun עָקָה (ʿaqah, “pressure”).
Psalm 55:3 tn Heb “wickedness,” but here the term refers to the destructive effects of their wicked acts.
Psalm 55:3 tc The verb form in the MT appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוֹט (mot, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in the Kethib (consonantal text) of Ps 140:10, where the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read. Here in Ps 55:3 it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). It is odd for “rain down” to be used with an abstract object like “wickedness,” but in Job 20:23 God “rains down” anger (unless one emends the text there; see BHS).
Psalm 55:4 tn Heb “shakes, trembles.”
Psalm 55:4 tn Heb “the terrors of death have fallen on me.”
Psalm 55:5 tn Heb “fear and trembling enter into me.”
Psalm 55:5 tn Heb “covers.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the preceding imperfect.
Psalm 55:6 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the verbs in v. 5.
Psalm 55:8 tn Heb “[the] wind [that] sweeps away.” The verb סָעָה (saʿah, “sweep away”) occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 120).
Psalm 55:9 tn Traditionally בַּלַּע (balaʿ) has been taken to mean “swallow” in the sense of “devour” or “destroy” (cf. KJV), but this may be a homonym meaning “confuse” (see BDB 118 s.v. בַּלַּע; HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע). “Their tongue” is the understood object of the verb (see the next line).
Psalm 55:9 tn Heb “split their tongue,” which apparently means “confuse their speech,” or, more paraphrastically, “frustrate the plans they devise with their tongues.”
Psalm 55:10 tn Heb “day and night they surround it, upon its walls.” Personified “violence and conflict” are the likely subjects. They are compared to watchmen on the city’s walls.
Psalm 55:10 sn Wickedness and destruction. These terms are also closely associated in Ps 7:14.
Psalm 55:11 tn Or “injury, harm.”
Psalm 55:12 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 55:12 tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.
Psalm 55:13 sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.
Psalm 55:13 tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”
Psalm 55:13 tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”
Psalm 55:14 tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.
Psalm 55:15 tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ʿalemo, “May devastation [be] upon them.”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ʿalemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashiʾ), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nashaʾ, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (y^eshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (ʿalemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled text. The preposition עַל (ʿal) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ʿalemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.
Psalm 55:15 sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.
Psalm 55:17 tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.
Psalm 55:17 tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.
Psalm 55:17 tn Heb “my voice.”
Psalm 55:18 tn The perfect verbal form is here used rhetorically to indicate that the action is certain to take place (the so-called perfect of certitude).
Psalm 55:18 tn Heb “he will redeem in peace my life from [those who] draw near to me.”
Psalm 55:18 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 55:18 tn Heb “among many they are against me.” For other examples of the preposition עִמָּד (ʿimmad) used in the sense of “at, against,” see HALOT 842 s.v.; BDB 767 s.v.; IBHS 219 §11.2.14b.
Psalm 55:19 tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (ʿanah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay^eʿannem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (ʿanah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).
Psalm 55:19 tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”
Psalm 55:20 sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.
Psalm 55:20 tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”
Psalm 55:20 tc The form should probably be emended to an active participle (שֹׁלְמָיו, shol^emayv) from the verbal root שָׁלַם (shalam, “be in a covenant of peace with”). Perhaps the translation “his friends” suggests too intimate a relationship. Another option is to translate, “he attacks those who made agreements with him.”
Psalm 55:20 tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”
Psalm 55:21 tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhmaʾot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhemʾah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (khal^equ, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.
Psalm 55:21 tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”
Psalm 55:21 tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”
Psalm 55:22 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.
Psalm 55:22 tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.
Psalm 55:22 tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”
Psalm 55:23 tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).
Psalm 55:23 tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).
Psalm 55:23 tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”
Psalm 55:23 tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

Psalm 74

Psalm 74^[a]

A well-written song^[b] by Asaph.

74 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us?^[c]
Why does your anger burn^[d] against the sheep of your pasture?
²Remember your people^[e] whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued^[f] so they could be your very own nation,^[g]
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell.
³Hurry^[h] to the permanent ruins,
and to all the damage the enemy has done to the temple.^[i]
⁴Your enemies roar^[j] in the middle of your sanctuary;^[k]
they set up their battle flags.^[l]
⁵They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest.^[m]
⁶And now^[n] they are tearing down^[o] all its engravings^[p]
with axes^[q] and crowbars.^[r]
⁷They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground.^[s]
⁸They say to themselves,^[t]
“We will oppress all of them.”^[u]
They burn down all the places in the land where people worship God.^[v]
⁹We do not see any signs of God’s presence;^[w]
there are no longer any prophets,^[x]
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.^[y]
¹⁰How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
¹¹Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him.^[z]
¹²But God has been my^[aa] king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth.^[ab]
¹³You destroyed^[ac] the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster^[ad] in the water.
¹⁴You crushed the heads of Leviathan;^[ae]
you fed^[af] him to the people who live along the coast.^[ag]
¹⁵You broke open the spring and the stream;^[ah]
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.^[ai]
¹⁶You established the cycle of day and night;^[aj]
you put the moon^[ak] and sun in place.^[al]
¹⁷You set up all the boundaries^[am] of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter.^[an]
¹⁸Remember how^[ao] the enemy hurls insults, O Lord,^[ap]
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name.
¹⁹Do not hand the life of your dove^[aq] over to a wild animal.
Do not continue to disregard^[ar] the lives of your oppressed people.
²⁰Remember your covenant promises,^[as]
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.^[at]
²¹Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame.
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name.^[au]
²²Rise up, O God. Defend your honor.^[av]
Remember how fools insult you all day long.^[aw]
²³Do not disregard^[ax] what your enemies say,^[ay]
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.^[az]

Footnotes

Psalm 74:1 sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., asks God to consider Israel’s sufferings and intervene on behalf of his people. He describes the ruined temple, recalls God’s mighty deeds in the past, begs for mercy, and calls for judgment upon God’s enemies.
Psalm 74:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
Psalm 74:1 sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.
Psalm 74:1 tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.
Psalm 74:2 tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.
Psalm 74:2 tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).
Psalm 74:2 tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).
Psalm 74:3 tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”
Psalm 74:3 tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”
Psalm 74:4 tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.
Psalm 74:4 tn Heb “your meeting place.”
Psalm 74:4 tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (ʾot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).
Psalm 74:5 tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.
Psalm 74:6 tn This is the reading of the Qere (marginal reading). The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and a time.”
Psalm 74:6 tn The imperfect verbal form vividly describes the act as underway.
Psalm 74:6 tn Heb “its engravings together.”
Psalm 74:6 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49-50).
Psalm 74:6 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. An Akkadian cognate refers to a “pickaxe” (cf. NEB “hatchet and pick”; NIV “axes and hatchets”; NRSV “hatchets and hammers”).
Psalm 74:7 tn Heb “to the ground they desecrate the dwelling place of your name.”
Psalm 74:8 tn Heb “in their heart.”
Psalm 74:8 tc Heb “[?] altogether.” The Hebrew form נִינָם (ninam) is problematic. It could be understood as the noun נִין (nin, “offspring”) but the statement “their offspring altogether” would make no sense here. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:159) emends יָחַד (yakhad, “altogether”) to יָחִיד (yakhid, “alone”) and translate “let their offspring be solitary” (i.e., exiled). Another option is to understand the form as a Qal imperfect first common plural from יָנָה (yanah, “to oppress”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix, “we will oppress them.” However, this verb, when used in the finite form, always appears in the Hiphil. Therefore, it is preferable to emend the form to the Hiphil נוֹנֵם (nonem, “we will oppress them”).
Psalm 74:8 tn Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”
Psalm 74:9 tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).
Psalm 74:9 tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”
Psalm 74:9 tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”
Psalm 74:11 tn Heb “Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? From the midst of your chest, destroy!” The psalmist pictures God as having placed his right hand (symbolic of activity and strength) inside his robe against his chest. He prays that God would pull his hand out from under his robe and use it to destroy the enemy.
Psalm 74:12 tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.
Psalm 74:12 tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”
Psalm 74:13 tn The derivation and meaning of the Polel verb form פּוֹרַרְתָּ (porarta) are uncertain. The form may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “break, shatter,” though the biblical Hebrew cognate of this verb always appears in the Hiphil or Hophal stem. BDB 830 s.v. II פָּרַר suggests a homonym here, meaning “to split; to divide.” A Hitpolel form of a root פָּרַר (parar) appears in Isa 24:19 with the meaning “to shake violently.”
Psalm 74:13 tn The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has been misunderstood as a plural ending. The imagery of the mythological sea monster is utilized here. See the note on “Leviathan” in v. 14.
Psalm 74:14 sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ʿqltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (ʿaqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brḥ, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.
Psalm 74:14 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.
Psalm 74:14 sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).
Psalm 74:15 sn You broke open the spring and the stream. Perhaps this alludes to the way in which God provided water for the Israelites as they traveled in the wilderness following the exodus (see Ps 78:15-16, 20; 105:41).
Psalm 74:15 sn Perpetually flowing rivers are rivers that contain water year round, unlike the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season. Perhaps the psalmist here alludes to the drying up of the Jordan River when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan under Joshua (see Josh 3-4).
Psalm 74:16 tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”
Psalm 74:16 tn Heb “[the] light.” Following the reference to “day and night” and in combination with “sun,” it is likely that the Hebrew term מָאוֹר (maʾor, “light”) refers here to the moon.
Psalm 74:16 tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”
Psalm 74:17 tn This would appear to refer to geographical boundaries, such as mountains, rivers, and seacoasts. However, since the day-night cycle has just been mentioned (v. 16) and the next line speaks of the seasons, it is possible that “boundaries” here refers to the divisions of the seasons. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:156.
Psalm 74:17 tn Heb “summer and winter, you, you formed them.”
Psalm 74:18 tn Heb “remember this.”
Psalm 74:18 tn Or “[how] the enemy insults the Lord.”
Psalm 74:19 sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.
Psalm 74:19 tn Heb “do not forget forever.”
Psalm 74:20 tc Heb “look at the covenant.” The LXX reads “your covenant,” which seems to assume a second person pronominal suffix, which would be written with ך (kaf). The suffix may have been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word, כִּי (ki), begins with כ (kaf) .
Psalm 74:20 tn Heb “for the dark places of the earth are full of dwelling places of violence.” The “dark regions” are probably the lands where the people have been exiled (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:157). In some contexts “dark regions” refers to Sheol (Ps 88:6) or to hiding places likened to Sheol (Ps 143:3; Lam 3:6).
Psalm 74:21 sn Let the oppressed and poor praise your name. The statement is metonymic. The point is this: May the oppressed be delivered from their enemies. Then they will have ample reason to praise God’s name.
Psalm 74:22 tn Or “defend your cause.”
Psalm 74:22 tn Heb “remember your reproach from a fool all the day.”
Psalm 74:23 tn Or “forget.”
Psalm 74:23 tn Heb “the voice of your enemies.”
Psalm 74:23 tn Heb “the roar of those who rise up against you, which ascends continually.”

Lamentations 2:1-9

א (Alef)

The Prophet Speaks

2 Alas!^[a] The Lord^[b] has covered
Daughter Zion^[c] with his anger.^[d]
He has thrown down the splendor of Israel
from heaven to earth;
he did not protect^[e] his temple^[f]
when he displayed his anger.^[g]

ב (Bet)

²The Lord^[h] destroyed^[i] mercilessly^[j]
all the homes of Jacob’s descendants.^[k]
In his anger he tore down
the fortified cities^[l] of Daughter Judah.
He knocked to the ground and humiliated
the kingdom and its rulers.^[m]

ג (Gimel)

³In fierce anger^[n] he destroyed^[o]
the whole army^[p] of Israel.
He withdrew his right hand^[q]
as the enemy attacked.^[r]
He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob;^[s]
it consumed everything around it.^[t]

ד (Dalet)

⁴He prepared his bow^[u] like an enemy;
his right hand was ready to shoot.^[v]
Like a foe he killed everyone,
even our strong young men;^[w]
he has poured out his anger like fire
on the tent^[x] of Daughter Zion.

ה (He)

⁵The Lord,^[y] like an enemy,
destroyed^[z] Israel.
He destroyed^[aa] all her palaces;
he ruined her^[ab] fortified cities.
He made everyone in Daughter Judah
mourn and lament.^[ac]

ו (Vav)

⁶He destroyed his temple^[ad] as if it were a vineyard;^[ae]
he destroyed his appointed meeting place.
The Lord has made those in Zion forget
both the festivals and the Sabbaths.^[af]
In his fierce anger^[ag] he has spurned^[ah]
both king and priest.

ז (Zayin)

⁷The Lord^[ai] rejected^[aj] his altar
and abhorred his temple.^[ak]
He handed over to the enemy^[al]
Jerusalem’s palace walls;
the enemy^[am] shouted^[an] in the Lord’s temple
as if it were a feast day.^[ao]

ח (Khet)

⁸The Lord was determined to tear down
Daughter Zion’s wall.
He prepared to knock it down;^[ap]
he did not withdraw his hand from destroying.^[aq]
He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament;
together they mourned their ruin.^[ar]

ט (Tet)

⁹Her city gates have fallen^[as] to the ground;
he smashed to bits^[at] the bars that lock her gates.^[au]
Her king and princes were taken into exile;^[av]
there is no more guidance available.^[aw]
As for her prophets,
they no longer receive^[ax] a vision from the Lord.

Footnotes

Lamentations 2:1 tn See the note at 1:1.
Lamentations 2:1 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.
Lamentations 2:1 sn Chapter 2 continues the use of feminine epithets (e.g., “Daughter Zion”) despite initially portraying Jerusalem as an object destroyed by the angered enemy, God.
Lamentations 2:1 tn The verb יָעִיב (yaʿiv) is a hapax legomenon (a term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT). Most lexicons take it as a denominative verb from the noun עָב (ʿov, “cloud,” HALOT 773 s.v. II עָב; BDB 728 s.v. עוּב): Hiphil imperfect third person masculine singular from עוֹב (’ov), meaning “cover with a cloud, make dark” (HALOT 794 s.v. עוב) or “becloud” (BDB 728 s.v.): “the Lord has covered Daughter Zion with the cloud of His anger.” This approach is followed by many English versions (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV). However, a few scholars relate it to a cognate Arabic verb denoting “blame, revile” (Ehrlich, Rudolph, Hillers): “the Lord has shamed Daughter Zion in His anger.” Several English versions adopt this (NRSV, NJPS, CEV). The picture of cloud and wrath concurs with the stanza’s connection to “day of the Lord” imagery.
Lamentations 2:1 tn The common gloss for זָכַר (zakhar) is “remember.” זָכַר (zakhar) entails “bearing something in mind” in a broader sense than the English gloss “remember.” When God “bears someone in mind,” the consequences are beneficial for them. The implication of not regarding his footstool is to not esteem and so not care for or protect it.
Lamentations 2:1 tn Heb “the footstool of His feet.” The noun הֲדֹם (hadom, “footstool”), always joined with רַגְלַיִם (raglayim, “feet”), is used figuratively in reference to the dwelling place of God (BDB 213 s.v. הֲדֹם), either of the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem (Isa 60:13; Lam 2:1) or of the ark as the place above which the Lord is enthroned (Pss 99:5; 132:7; 1 Chr 28:2). Once it refers to God’s enemies (Ps 110:1).
Lamentations 2:1 tn Heb “in the day of His anger.” As a temporal reference this phrase means “when he displayed his anger.” The Hebrew term “day,” associated with the “day of the Lord” or “day of his wrath,” also functions as a title in a technical sense.
Lamentations 2:2 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.
Lamentations 2:2 tn Heb “has swallowed up.”
Lamentations 2:2 tc The Kethib is written לֹא חָמַל (loʾ khamal, “without mercy”), while the Qere reads וְלֹא חָמַל (v^eloʾ khamal, “and he has shown no mercy”). The Kethib is followed by the LXX, while the Qere is reflected in many Hebrew mss and the ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate). The English versions are split between the Kethib (“The Lord swallowed all the dwellings of Jacob without mercy”; cf. RSV, NRSV, NIV, TEV, NJPS) and the Qere (“The Lord swallowed all the dwellings of Jacob and has shown no mercy”; cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). As these words occur between a verb and its object (חָמַל [khamal] is not otherwise followed by אֵת [ʾet, direct object marker]), an adverbial reading is the most natural, although interrupting the sentence with an insertion is possible. Cf. 2:17, 21; 3:43. In contexts of harming, to show mercy often means to spare from harm.
Lamentations 2:2 tn Heb “all the dwellings of Jacob.”
Lamentations 2:2 tn Heb “the strongholds.”
Lamentations 2:2 tn Heb “He brought down to the ground in disgrace the kingdom and its princes.” The verbs חִלֵּל…הִגִּיע (higgiʿ…khillel, “he has brought down…he has profaned”) function as a verbal hendiadys, as the absence of the conjunction ו (vav) suggests. The first verb retains its full verbal force, while the second functions adverbially: “he has brought down [direct object] in disgrace.”
Lamentations 2:3 tc The MT reads אַף (ʾaf, “anger”), while the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate) reflect אַפּוֹ (ʾappo, “His anger”). The MT is the more difficult reading syntactically, while the ancient versions are probably smoothing out the text.
Lamentations 2:3 tn Heb “cut off, scattered.”
Lamentations 2:3 tn Heb “every horn of Israel.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3, 17; Ezek 29:21) (BDB 901 s.v. 2), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” Cutting off the “horn” is a figurative expression for destroying warriors (Jer 48:25; Ps 75:10 [11 HT]).
Lamentations 2:3 tn Heb “he caused his right hand to turn back.” The implication in such contexts is that the Lord’s right hand protects his city. This image of the right hand is consciously reversed in 2:4.
Lamentations 2:3 tn Heb “from the presence of the enemy.” This figurative expression refers to the approach of the attacking army.
Lamentations 2:3 tn Heb “he burned in Jacob like a flaming fire.”
Lamentations 2:3 tn Or “He burned against Jacob as a raging fire consumes all around.”
Lamentations 2:4 tn Heb “bent His bow.” When the verb דָּרַךְ (darakh) is used with the noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “archer-bow”), it means “to bend [a bow]” to string it in preparation for shooting arrows (1 Chr 5:18; 8:40; 2 Chr 14:7; Jer 50:14, 29; 51:3). This idiom is used figuratively to describe the assaults of the wicked (Pss 11:2; 37:14) and the judgments of the Lord (Ps 7:13; Lam 2:4; 3:12) (BDB 202 s.v. דָּרַךְ 4). The translation “he prepared his bow” is the slightly more general modern English idiomatic equivalent of the ancient Hebrew idiom “he bent his bow”—both refer to preparations to get ready to shoot arrows.
Lamentations 2:4 tn Heb “His right hand is stationed.”
Lamentations 2:4 tn Heb “the ones who were pleasing to the eye.”
Lamentations 2:4 tn The singular noun אֹהֶל (ʾohel, “tent”) may function as a collective, referring to all tents in Judah. A parallel expression occurs in verse 2 using the plural: “all the dwellings of Jacob” (כָּל־נְאוֹת יַעֲקֹב, kol n^eʾot yaʿaqov). The singular “tent” matches the image of “Daughter Zion.” On the other hand, the singular “the tent of Daughter Zion” might be a hyperbolic synecdoche of container (= tent) for contents (= inhabitants of Zion).
Lamentations 2:5 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.
Lamentations 2:5 tn Heb “swallowed up.”
Lamentations 2:5 tn Heb “swallowed up.”
Lamentations 2:5 tn Heb “his.” For consistency this has been translated as “her.”
Lamentations 2:5 tn Heb “He increased in Daughter Judah mourning and lamentation.”
Lamentations 2:6 tn Heb “His booth.” The noun שׂךְ (sokh, “booth,” BDB 968 s.v.) is a hapax legomenon (term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT). But it is probably an alternate spelling of the more common noun סֻכָּה (sukkah, “booth”), which is used frequently of temporary shelters and booths (e.g., Neh 8:15) (BDB 697 s.v. סֻכָּה). This is a figurative description of the temple, as the parallel term מוֹעֲדוֹ (moʿado, “his tabernacle” or “his appointed meeting place”) makes clear. Jeremiah probably chose this term to emphasize the frailty of the temple and its ease of destruction. Contrary to the expectation of Jerusalem, it was only a temporary dwelling of the Lord—its permanence cut short due to sin of the people.
Lamentations 2:6 tc The MT reads כַּגַּן (kaggan, “like a garden”). The LXX reads ὡς ἄμπελον (hōs ampelon), which reflects כְּגֶפֶן (k^egefen, “like a vineyard”). Internal evidence favors כְּגֶפֶן (k^egefen) because God’s judgment is often compared to the destruction of a vineyard (e.g., Job 15:33; Isa 34:4; Ezek 15:2, 6).
Lamentations 2:6 tn Heb “The Lord has caused to be forgotten in Zion both appointed festival and Sabbath.” The verb שִׁכַּח (shikkakh, “to make forgotten”), the only Piel form of שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “to forget”), is used figuratively. When people forget, “often the neglect of obligations is in view” (L. C. Allen, NIDOTTE 4:104). When people forget the things of God, they are in disobedience and often are indicted for ignoring God or neglecting their duties to him (Deut 4:23, 31; 6:12; 8:11, 19; 26:13; 31:21; 32:18; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; 2 Kgs 17:38; Is 49:14; 51:13; 65:11; Jer 18:15; Ezek 23:35; Hos 4:6). The irony is that the one to whom worship is due has made it so that people must neglect it. Most English versions render the verb in a metonymical sense: “brought to an end” (RSV), “did away with” (CEV), “put an end to” (TEV), “has ended” (NJPS), “has abolished” (NRSV). Few English versions employ the gloss “forget”: “the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten” (KJV), and “the Lord has made Zion forget her appointed feasts and her sabbaths”(NIV).
Lamentations 2:6 tn Heb “In the fury of his anger” (זַעַם־אפּוֹ, zaʿam ʾappo). The genitive noun אפּוֹ (ʾappo, “his anger”) functions as an attributed genitive with the construct noun זַעַם (zaʿam, “fury, rage”): “his furious anger.”
Lamentations 2:6 tn The verb נָאַץ (naʾats, “to spurn, show contempt”) functions as a metonymy of cause (= to spurn king and priests) for effect (= to reject them; cf. CEV). Since spurning is the cause, this may be understood as “to reject with a negative attitude.” However, retaining “spurn” in the translation keeps the term emotionally loaded. The most frequent term for נָאַץ (naʾats) in the LXX (παροξύνω, paroxunō) also conveys emotion beyond a decision to reject.
Lamentations 2:7 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”), which occurs near the end of this verse. See the tc note at 1:14.
Lamentations 2:7 tn The Heb verb זָנַח (zanakh) is a rejection term often used in military contexts. Emphasizing emotion, it may mean “to spurn.” In military contexts it may be rendered “to desert.”
Lamentations 2:7 tn Heb “His sanctuary.” The term מִקְדָּשׁוֹ (miqdasho, “His sanctuary”) refers to the temple (e.g., 1 Chr 22:19; 2 Chr 36:17; Ps 74:7; Isa 63:18; Ezek 48:21; Dan 8:11) (BDB 874 s.v. מִקְדָּשׁ).
Lamentations 2:7 tn Heb “He delivered into the hand of the enemy.” The verb הִסְגִּיר (hisgir), Hiphil perfect third person masculine singular from סָגַר (sagar), means “to give into someone’s control: to deliver” (Deut 23:16; Josh 20:5; 1 Sam 23:11, 20; 30:15; Job 16:11; Pss 31:9; 78:48, 50, 62; Lam 2:7; Amos 1:6, 9; Obad 14).
Lamentations 2:7 tn Heb “they.”
Lamentations 2:7 tn Heb “they gave voice” (קוֹל נָתְנוּ, kol nat^enu). The verb נָתַן (natan, “to give”) with the noun קוֹל (kol, “voice, sound”) is an idiom meaning: “to utter a sound, make a noise, raise the voice” (e.g., Gen 45:2; Prov 2:3; Jer 4:16; 22:20; 48:34) (HALOT 734 s.v. נתן 12; BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן 1.x). Contextually, this describes the shout of victory by the Babylonians celebrating their conquest of Jerusalem.
Lamentations 2:7 tn Heb “as on the day of an appointed time.” The term מוֹעֵד (moʿed, “appointed time”) refers to the religious festivals that were celebrated at appointed times in the Hebrew calendar (BDB 417 s.v. 1.b). In contrast to making festivals neglected (forgotten) in v 6, the enemy had a celebration that was entirely out of place.
Lamentations 2:8 tn Heb “he stretched out a measuring line.” In Hebrew, this idiom is used (1) literally: to describe a workman’s preparation of measuring and marking stones before cutting them for building (Job 38:5; Jer 31:39; Zech 1:16), and (2) figuratively: to describe the Lord’s planning and preparation to destroy a walled city, that is, to mark off for destruction (2 Kgs 21:13; Isa 34:11; Lam 2:8). It is not completely clear how a phrase from the vocabulary of building becomes a metaphor for destruction; however, it might picture a predetermined and carefully planned measure from which God will not deviate.
Lamentations 2:8 tn Heb “He did not return His hand from swallowing.” That is, he persisted until it was destroyed.
Lamentations 2:8 tn Heb “they languished together.” The verbs אָבַל (ʾaval, “to lament”) and אָמַל (ʾamal, “languish, mourn”) are often used in contexts of funeral laments in secular settings. The Hebrew prophets often use these terms to describe the aftermath of the Lord’s judgment on a nation. Based on parallel terms, אָמַל (ʾamal) may describe either mourning or deterioration and so makes for a convenient play on meaning when destroyed objects are personified. Incorporating this play into the translation, however, may obscure the parallel between this line and the deterioration of the gates beginning in v. 9.
Lamentations 2:9 tn Heb “have sunk down.” This expression, “her gates have sunk down into the ground,” is a personification picturing the city gates descending into the earth as if going down into the grave or the netherworld. Most English versions render it literally (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS); however, a few paraphrases have captured the equivalent sense quite well: “Zion’s gates have fallen facedown on the ground” (CEV), and “the gates are buried in rubble” (TEV).
Lamentations 2:9 tn Heb “he has destroyed and smashed her bars.” The two verbs אִבַּד וְשִׁבַּר (ʾibbad v^eshibbar) form a verbal hendiadys that emphasizes the forcefulness of the destruction of the locking bars on the gates. The first verb functions adverbially, and the second retains its full verbal sense: “he has smashed to pieces.” Several English versions render this expression literally and miss the rhetorical point: “he has ruined and broken” (RSV, NRSV), “he has destroyed and broken” (KJV, NASB), and “he has broken and destroyed” (NIV). The hendiadys has been correctly noted by others: “smashed to pieces” (TEV, CEV) and “smashed to bits” (NJPS).
Lamentations 2:9 tn Heb “her bars.” Since the literal “bars” could be misunderstood as referring to saloons, the phrase “the bars that lock her gates” has been used in the present translation.
Lamentations 2:9 tn Heb “are among the nations.”
Lamentations 2:9 tn Heb “there is no torah,” or “there is no Torah” (אֵין תּוֹרָה, ʾen torah). Depending on whether תּוֹרָה (torah, “instruction, law”) is used in parallelism with the preceding or following line, it refers to (1) political guidance that the now-exiled king had formerly provided or (2) prophetic instruction that the now-ineffective prophets had formerly provided (BDB 434 s.v. תּוֹרָה 1.b). It is plausible that the three lines are arranged in an ABA chiastic structure, exploiting the semantic ambiguity of the term תּוֹרָה (torah, “instruction”). Conceivably it is an oblique reference to the priests’ duties of teaching, thus introducing a third group of the countries leaders. It is possible to hear in this a lament in reference to the destruction of Torah scrolls that may have been at the temple when it was destroyed.
Lamentations 2:9 tn Heb “they cannot find.”

Lamentations 2:14-17

נ (Nun)

¹⁴Your prophets saw visions for you
that were worthless whitewash.^[a]
They failed to expose your sin
so as to restore your fortunes.^[b]
They saw oracles for you
that were worthless^[c] lies.

ס (Samek)

¹⁵All who passed by on the road
clapped their hands to mock you.^[d]
They sneered and shook their heads
at Daughter Jerusalem.
“Ha! Is this the city they called^[e]
‘the perfection of beauty,^[f]
the source of joy of the whole earth!’?”^[g]

פ (Pe)

¹⁶All your enemies
gloated over you.^[h]
They sneered and gnashed their teeth;
they said, “We have destroyed^[i] her!
Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.
We have lived to see it!”^[j]

ע (Ayin)

¹⁷The Lord has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled^[k] his promise^[l]
that he threatened^[m] long ago:^[n]
He has overthrown you without mercy^[o]
and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;
he has exalted your adversaries’ power.^[p]

Footnotes

Lamentations 2:14 tn Heb “worthless and whitewash.” The words שָׁוְא וְתָפֵל (shavʾ v^etafel) form a nominal hendiadys, meaning “worthless whitewash” or “worthless deceptions.” The noun תָּפֵל (tafel, “whitewash”) is used literally in reference to a white-washed wall (Ezek 13:10, 11, 14, 15) and figuratively in reference to false prophets (Ezek 22:28).
Lamentations 2:14 tc The Kethib שְׁבִיתֵךְ (sh^evitekh) and the Qere שְׁבוּתֵךְ (sh^evutekh), which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew mss here and elsewhere (Ps 85:1 [85:2 HT]; 126:4; Job 42:10), are struggling with the root. The ancient versions take it from שָׁבָה (shavah), meaning “captivity.” Such a meaning is not tenable for the Job passage, which suggests, along with a similar phrase in the Sefire inscription, that the proper meaning is “to restore someone’s fortunes.” See HALOT 1386 s.v. שְׁבוּת.
Lamentations 2:14 tn Heb “worthless and enticements.” The words שָׁוְא וּמַדּוּחִים (shavʾ umaddukhim) form a nominal hendiadys meaning “worthless enticements” or “misleading falsehoods.” The noun מַדּוּחַ (madduakh), meaning “enticement” or “transgression,” is a hapax legomenon (term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT). It is related to the verb נָדָח (nadakh, “to entice, lead astray”), which often refers to idolatry.
Lamentations 2:15 tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision, and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).
Lamentations 2:15 tn Heb “of which they said.”
Lamentations 2:15 tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.
Lamentations 2:15 tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.
Lamentations 2:16 tn Heb “they have opened wide their mouth against you.”
Lamentations 2:16 tn Heb “We have swallowed!”
Lamentations 2:16 tn Heb “We have attained; we have seen!” The verbs מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ (matsaʾnu raʾinu) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its full verbal sense and the second functions as an object complement. It forms a Hebrew idiom that means something like, “We have lived to see it!” The three asyndetic first person common plural statements in 2:16 (“We waited; we destroyed; we saw!”) are spoken in an impassioned, staccato style reflecting the delight of the conquerors.
Lamentations 2:17 tn The verb בָּצַע (batsaʿ) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “to cut off, break off,” (2) “to injure” a person, (3) “to gain by violence,” (4) “to finish, complete,” and (5) “to accomplish, fulfill” a promise.
Lamentations 2:17 tn Heb “His word.” When used in collocation with the verb בָּצַע (batsaʿ, “to fulfill,” see previous tn), the accusative noun אִמְרָה (ʾimrah, “word”) means “promise.”
Lamentations 2:17 tn Heb “commanded” or “decreed.” If a reference to prophetic oracles is understood, then “decreed” is preferable. If understood as a reference to the warnings in the covenant, then “threatened” is a preferable rendering.
Lamentations 2:17 tn Heb “from days of old.”
Lamentations 2:17 tn Heb “He has overthrown and has not shown mercy.” The two verbs חָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל (kharas v^eloʾ khamal) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its verbal sense and the second functions adverbially: “He has overthrown you without mercy.” וְלֹא חָמָל (v^eloʾ khamal) alludes to 2:2.
Lamentations 2:17 tn Heb “He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3 HT [18:2 ET]; 75:11 HT [75:10 ET]; 89:18, 25 HT [89:17, 24 ET]; 92:11 HT [92:10 ET]; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3; Ezek 29:21), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” To lift up the horn often means to boast, and to lift up someone else’s horn is to give victory or cause to boast.

2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11

Why Paul Postponed His Visit

²³Now I appeal to God as my witness,^[a] that to spare^[b] you I did not come again to Corinth.^[c] ²⁴I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because by faith you stand firm.^[d] 2 ¹So^[e] I made up my own mind^[f] not to pay you another painful visit.^[g] ²For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad^[h] but the one I caused to be sad? ³And I wrote this very thing to you,^[i] so that when I came^[j] I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours. ⁴For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you.^[k] ⁵But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate)^[l] he has saddened all of you as well. ⁶This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, ⁷so that now instead^[m] you should rather forgive and comfort him.^[n] This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair.^[o] ⁸Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.^[p] ⁹For this reason also I wrote you:^[q] to test you to see^[r] if you are obedient in everything. ¹⁰If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him—for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, ¹¹so that we may not be exploited^[s] by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 1:23 tn Grk “I call upon God as witness against my soul.” Normally this implies an appeal for help (L&N 33.176).
2 Corinthians 1:23 tn Here φειδόμενος (pheidomenos) has been translated as a telic participle.
2 Corinthians 1:23 sn Paul had promised to come again to visit (see 2 Cor 1:15, 24) but explains here why he had changed his plans.
2 Corinthians 1:24 tn Or “because you stand firm in the faith.”
2 Corinthians 2:1 tc Although usually δέ (de, “now”; found in א A C D¹ F G Ψ 0285 M lat) should take precedent over γάρ (gar) in textually disputed places in the corpus Paulinum, the credentials for γάρ here are not easily dismissed (P⁴⁶ B 0223 0243 33 1739 1881 al); here it is the preferred reading, albeit slightly.
2 Corinthians 2:1 tn Or “I decided this for myself.”
2 Corinthians 2:1 tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”sn Paul was not speaking absolutely about not making another visit, but meant he did not want to come to the Corinthians again until the conflict he mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4-11 was settled.
2 Corinthians 2:2 tn Or “to cheer me up.” L&N 25.131 translates this “For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up?”
2 Corinthians 2:3 tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
2 Corinthians 2:3 sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.
2 Corinthians 2:4 tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”
2 Corinthians 2:5 tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”
2 Corinthians 2:7 tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”
2 Corinthians 2:7 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.
2 Corinthians 2:7 tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
2 Corinthians 2:8 tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”
2 Corinthians 2:9 tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).
2 Corinthians 2:9 tn Grk “to know the proof of you,” that is, to know if the Corinthians’ obedience to Paul as an apostle was genuine (L&N 72.7).
2 Corinthians 2:11 tn Or “be taken advantage of.”

Mark 12:1-11

The Parable of the Tenants

12 Then^[a] he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.^[b] He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then^[c] he leased it to tenant farmers^[d] and went on a journey. ²At harvest time he sent a slave^[e] to the tenants to collect from them^[f] his portion of the crop.^[g] ³But^[h] those tenants^[i] seized his slave,^[j] beat him,^[k] and sent him away empty-handed.^[l] ⁴So^[m] he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. ⁵He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed. ⁶He had one left, his one dear son.^[n] Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸So^[o] they seized him,^[p] killed him, and threw his body^[q] out of the vineyard.^[r] ⁹What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy^[s] those tenants and give the vineyard to others.^[t] ¹⁰Have you not read this scripture:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.^[u]
¹¹This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”^[v]

Footnotes

Mark 12:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Mark 12:1 sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.
Mark 12:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Mark 12:1 sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.
Mark 12:2 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.sn This slave (along with the others) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
Mark 12:2 tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.
Mark 12:2 tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”
Mark 12:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
Mark 12:3 tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 12:3 tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.
Mark 12:3 sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
Mark 12:3 sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit—and thus neither was the nation of Israel.
Mark 12:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.
Mark 12:6 tn Grk “one beloved son.” See comment at Mark 1:11.sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.
Mark 12:8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
Mark 12:8 tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.
Mark 12:8 tn Grk “him.”
Mark 12:8 sn Throwing the heir’s body out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.
Mark 12:9 sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.
Mark 12:9 sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.
Mark 12:10 tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kephalē gōnias) refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.sn The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The use of Ps 118:22-23 and the “stone imagery” as a reference to Christ and his suffering and exaltation is common in the NT (see also Matt 21:42; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:6-8; cf. also Eph 2:20). The irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 in Mark 12:10-11 is that in the OT, Israel was the one rejected (or perhaps her king) by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.
Mark 12:11 sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

New English Translation (NET)

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 55[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David.

Footnotes

Psalm 74[a]

A well-written song[b] by Asaph.

Footnotes

א (Alef)

The Prophet Speaks

ב (Bet)

ג (Gimel)

ד (Dalet)

ה (He)

ו (Vav)

ז (Zayin)

ח (Khet)

ט (Tet)

Footnotes

נ (Nun)

ס (Samek)

פ (Pe)

ע (Ayin)

Footnotes

Why Paul Postponed His Visit

Footnotes

The Parable of the Tenants

Footnotes

Psalm 55^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song^[b] by David.

Psalm 74^[a]

A well-written song^[b] by Asaph.