◀ All Reading Plans / Book of Common Prayer / Ps. 101 109:1–4 (5–19) 20–30; Ps. 119:121–144; Isa. 4:2–6; Eph. 4:1–16; Matt. 8:28–34 (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.

Isaiah 4:2-6

The Branch of the Lord

²At that time^[a]
the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor;^[b]
the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight
to those who remain in Israel.^[c]
³Those remaining in Zion,^[d] those left in Jerusalem,
will be called “holy,”^[e]
all in Jerusalem who are destined to live.^[f]
⁴At that time^[g] the Lord will wash the excrement^[h] from Zion’s women,
he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst,^[i]
as he comes to judge
and to bring devastation.^[j]
⁵Then the Lord will create
over all Mount Zion^[k]
and over its convocations
a cloud and smoke by day
and a bright flame of fire by night;^[l]
indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence.^[m]
⁶By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat,
as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour.^[n]

Footnotes

Isaiah 4:2 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
Isaiah 4:2 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor.” Many English versions understand the phrase צֶמַח יְהוָה (tsemakh y^ehvah) as a messianic reference and render it, “the Branch of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and others). Though צֶמַח (tsemakh) is used by later prophets of a royal descendant (Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12), those passages contain clear contextual indicators that a human ruler is in view and that the word is being used in a metaphorical way of offspring. However, in Isa 4:2 there are no such contextual indicators. To the contrary, in the parallel structure of the verse צֶמַח יְהוָה corresponds to “produce of the land,” a phrase that refers elsewhere exclusively to literal agricultural produce (see Num 13:20, 26; Deut 1:25). In the majority of its uses צֶמַח refers to literal crops or vegetation (in Ps 65:10 the Lord is the source of this vegetation). A reference to the Lord restoring crops would make excellent sense in Isa 4 and the prophets frequently included this theme in their visions of the future age (see Isa 30:23-24; 32:20; Jer 31:12; Ezek 34:26-29; and Amos 9:13-14).
Isaiah 4:2 tn Heb “and the fruit of the land will become pride and beauty for the remnant of Israel.”
Isaiah 4:3 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
Isaiah 4:3 tn Or “set apart,” cf. CEV “special.”
Isaiah 4:3 tn Heb “all who are written down for life in Jerusalem.” A city register is envisioned; everyone whose name appears on the roll will be spared. This group comprises the remnant of the city referred to earlier in the verse.
Isaiah 4:4 tn Heb “when” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); CEV “after”; NRSV “once.”
Isaiah 4:4 tn The word refers elsewhere to vomit (Isa 28:8) and fecal material (Isa 36:12). Many English versions render this somewhat euphemistically as “filth” (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV). Ironically in God’s sight the beautiful jewelry described earlier is nothing but vomit and feces, for it symbolizes the moral decay of the city’s residents (cf. NLT “moral filth”).
Isaiah 4:4 sn See 1:21 for a related concept.
Isaiah 4:4 tn Heb “by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” The precise meaning of the second half of the verse is uncertain. רוּחַ (ruakh) can be understood as “wind,” in which case the passage pictures the Lord using a destructive wind as an instrument of judgment. However, this would create a mixed metaphor, for the first half of the verse uses the imagery of washing and rinsing to depict judgment. Perhaps the image would be that of a windstorm accompanied by heavy rain. רוּחַ can also mean “spirit,” in which case the verse may be referring to the Lord’s Spirit or, more likely, to a disposition that the Lord brings to the task of judgment. It is also uncertain if בָּעַר (baʿar) here means “burning” or “sweeping away, devastating.”
Isaiah 4:5 tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”
Isaiah 4:5 tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.sn The imagery of the cloud by day and fire by night recalls the days of Moses, when a cloud and fire were tangible reminders that the Lord was guiding and protecting his people (Exod 13:21-22; 14:19, 24). In the future age envisioned in Isa 4, the Lord’s protective presence will be a reality.
Isaiah 4:5 tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.
Isaiah 4:6 tn Heb “a shelter it will be for shade by day from heat, and for a place of refuge and for a hiding place from cloudburst and rain.” Since both of the last nouns of this verse can mean rain, they can either refer to the rain storm and the rain as distinct items or together refer to a heavy downpour. Regardless, they do not represent unrelated phenomena.

Ephesians 4:1-16

Live in Unity

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

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

Footnotes

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

Matthew 8:28-34

Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs

²⁸When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes,^[a] two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.^[b] ²⁹They^[c] cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone!^[d] Have you come here to torment us before the time?”^[e] ³⁰A^[f] large herd of pigs^[g] was feeding some distance from them. ³¹Then the demons begged him,^[h] “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”^[i] ³²And he said,^[j] “Go!” So^[k] they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water.^[l] ³³The^[m] herdsmen ran off, went into the town,^[n] and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴Then^[o] the entire town^[p] came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Footnotes

Matthew 8:28 tc The textual tradition here is quite complicated. A number of mss (B C (Δ) Θ sy^s,p,h) read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading here. Many other mss (א² L W ƒ^{1, 13} 565 579 700 1424 M al bo) have “Gergesenes.” Others (892^c latt sy^hmg sa mae) have “Gerasenes,” which is the reading followed in Luke 8:26. The difference between Matthew and Luke may be due to uses of variant regional terms. Of the three readings, Gergesa is most likely the right location for this exorcism (the only region close to the Sea of Galilee and with a steep bank [κρημνός in Mark 5:13]) but almost surely a secondary reading in all the Synoptics. As Baarda articulated, this variant is quite possibly due to a conjecture made by Origen, a reading which then made its way into sevral mss (Tjitze Baarda, “Gadarenes, Gerasenes, Gergesenes and the ‘Diatassaron’ Traditions,” in Neotestamentica et Semitica: Studies in Honour of Matthew Black, ed. E. Earle Ellis and Max Wilcox [Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1969], 181-97). sn The region of the Gadarenes would be in Gentile territory on the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee across from Galilee. Luke 8:26 and Mark 5:1 record this miracle as occurring “in the region of the Gerasenes.” “Irrespective of how one settles this issue . . . the chief concern is that Jesus has crossed over into Gentile territory, ‘opposite Galilee’” (J. B. Green, Luke [NICNT], 337). The region of Gadara extended to the Sea of Galilee and included the town of Sennabris on the southern shore—the town that the herdsmen most likely entered after the drowning of the pigs.
Matthew 8:28 sn Unlike the portrayal of the demoniac in the parallel passage in Mark 5:5-6 which evokes some pity for the afflicted man, Matthew’s account merely suggests the demoniacs were a public nuisance: they were extremely violent and rendered the road impassable.
Matthew 8:29 tn Grk “And behold, they cried out, saying.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
Matthew 8:29 tn Grk “what to us and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti hēmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave us alone….”
Matthew 8:29 sn The question reflects the view that there was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.
Matthew 8:30 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 8:30 sn The commercial raising of pigs indicates that this is not Jewish territory (cf. m. B. Qam. 7:7, “They do not rear pigs anywhere”).
Matthew 8:31 tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
Matthew 8:31 sn No explanation is given in the text for the relationship between the demons and the herd of pigs. Some have suggested a link between the uncleanness of demons and the ceremonial uncleanness of pigs within Judaism. Less likely is the suggestion that pigs as sacrificial animals in the non-Jewish world somehow alludes to worship of demons.
Matthew 8:32 tn Grk “And he said to them.”
Matthew 8:32 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.
Matthew 8:32 sn Whatever the relationship between the demons and the pigs, the destructiveness of the demons is certainly emphasized by the drowning of their new hosts.
Matthew 8:33 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 8:33 tn Or “city.” But see the sn on “Gadarenes” in 8:28.
Matthew 8:34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
Matthew 8:34 tn Or “city.” Here the term is a metonymy for the inhabitants.

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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

The Branch of the Lord

Footnotes

Live in Unity

Footnotes

Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs

Footnotes

Psalm 101^[a]

Psalm 109^[a]