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Book of Common Prayer

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

Duration: 861 days

Psalm 118

Psalm 118^[a]

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

Footnotes

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

Psalm 145

Psalm 145^[a]

A psalm of praise; by David.

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

Footnotes

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

Isaiah 66:7-14

⁷Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!
Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!
⁸Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen this?
Can a country^[a] be brought forth in one day?
Can a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!
⁹Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”
asks the Lord.
“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”
asks your God.^[b]
¹⁰“Be happy for Jerusalem
and rejoice with her, all you who love her!
Share in her great joy,
all you who have mourned over her!
¹¹For^[c] you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished;^[d]
you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts.^[e]

¹²For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,
the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks.^[f]
You will nurse from her breast^[g] and be carried at her side;
you will play on her knees.
¹³As a mother consoles a child,^[h]
so I will console you,
and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”
¹⁴When you see this, you will be happy,^[i]
and you will be revived.^[j]
The Lord will reveal his power to his servants
and his anger to his enemies.^[k]

1 John 3:4-10

⁴Everyone who practices sin^[a] also practices lawlessness;^[b] indeed,^[c] sin is lawlessness. ⁵And you know that Jesus^[d] was revealed to take away^[e] sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶Everyone who resides^[f] in him does not sin;^[g] everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. ⁷Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness^[h] is righteous, just as Jesus^[i] is righteous. ⁸The one who practices sin is of the devil,^[j] because the devil has been sinning^[k] from the beginning. For this purpose^[l] the Son of God was revealed: to destroy^[m] the works of the devil. ⁹Everyone who has been fathered^[n] by God does not practice sin,^[o] because^[p] God’s^[q] seed^[r] resides in him, and thus^[s] he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. ¹⁰By this^[t] the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness—the one who does not love his fellow Christian^[u]—is not of God.

Footnotes

1 John 3:4 sn Everyone who practices sin. In contrast to the πᾶς ὁ (pas ho) + participle construction in 3:3 (everyone who has, πᾶς ὁ ἔχων [pas ho echōn]) which referred to believers, the use of everyone who practices sin (πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν [pas ho poiōn tēn hamartian]) here refers to the author’s opponents. A similar use, referring to the opponents’ denial of the Son, is found in 2:23.
1 John 3:4 sn The Greek word ἀνομία (anomia) is often translated “iniquity” or “lawlessness” and in the LXX refers particularly to transgression of the law of Moses. In Jewish thought the ideas of sin (ἁμαρτία, hamartia) and lawlessness or iniquity (ἀνομία) were often equated because sin involved a violation of the Mosaic law and hence lawlessness. For example, Ps 51:5 LXX sets the two in parallel, and Paul in Rom 4:7 (quoting Ps 32:1) does the same. For the author, it is not violation of the Mosaic law that results in lawlessness, since he is writing to Christians. The ‘law’ for the author is the law of love, as given by Jesus in the new commandment of John 13:34-35. This is the command to love one’s brother, a major theme of 1 John and the one specific sin in the entire letter which the opponents are charged with (3:17). Since the author has already labeled the opponents “antichrists” in 2:18, it may well be that he sees in their iniquitous behavior of withdrawing from the community and refusing to love the brethren a foreshadowing of the apocalyptic iniquity of the end times (cf. 2 Thess 2:3-8). In Matt 24:11-12 Jesus foretold that false prophets would arise in the end times (cf. 1 John 4:1), that lawlessness (anomia) would increase, and that “the love of many will grow cold” (which would certainly fit the author’s portrait of the opponents here).
1 John 3:4 tn Grk “and.”
1 John 3:5 tn Grk “that one.” The context makes it clear that this is a reference to Jesus, because the reader is told “he was revealed in order that he might take away sins.” The connection with Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in John 1:29 provides additional confirmation that the previous use of ἐκεῖνος (ekeinos) in 3:3b should also be understood as a reference to Jesus, as 2:6 was.sn In Johannine thought it is Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
1 John 3:5 tn The ἵνα (hina) clause gives the purpose of Jesus’ self-revelation as he manifested himself to the disciples and to the world during his earthly life and ministry: It was “to take away sins.”
1 John 3:6 tn Here the verb μένω (menō) refers to the permanence of relationship between Jesus and the believer, as in 2:27 and 2:28. It is clear that Jesus is the referent of the phrase ἐν αὐτῷ (en autō) because he is the subject of the discussion in v. 5.
1 John 3:6 tn The interpretive problem raised by the use of the present tense ἁμαρτάνει (hamartanei) in this verse (and ποιεῖ [poiei] in 3:9 as well) is that (a) it appears to teach a sinless state of perfection for the true Christian, and (b) it appears to contradict the author’s own statements in 2:1-2 where he acknowledged that Christians do indeed sin. (1) One widely used method of reconciling the acknowledgment in 2:1-2 that Christians do sin with the statements in 3:6 and 3:9 that they do not is expressed by M. Zerwick (Biblical Greek §251). He understands the aorist to mean “commit sin in the concrete, commit some sin or other” while the present means “be a sinner, as a characteristic «state».” N. Turner (Grammatical Insights, 151) argues essentially the same as Zerwick, stating that the present tense ἁμαρτάνει is stative (be a sinner) while the aorist is ingressive (begin to be a sinner, as the initial step of committing this or that sin). Similar interpretations can be found in a number of grammatical works and commentaries. (2) Others, however, have questioned the view that the distinction in tenses alone can convey a “habitual” meaning without further contextual clarification, including C. H. Dodd (The Johannine Epistles [MNTC], 79) and Z. C. Hodges (“1 John,” BKCNT, 894). B. Fanning (Verbal Aspect [OTM], 215-17) has concluded that the habitual meaning for the present tense cannot be ruled out, because there are clear instances of habitual presents in the NT where other clarifying words are not present and the habitual sense is derived from the context alone. This means that from a grammatical standpoint alone, the habitual present cannot be ruled out in 1 John 3:6 and 9. It is still true, however, that it would have been much clearer if the author had reinforced the habitual sense with clarifying words or phrases in 1 John 3:6 and 9 if that is what he had intended. Dodd’s point, that reliance on the distinction in tenses alone is quite a subtle way of communicating such a vital point in the author’s argument, is still valid. It may also be added that the author of 1 John has demonstrated a propensity for alternating between present and aorist tenses for purely stylistic reasons (see 2:12).sn Does not sin. It is best to view the distinction between “everyone who practices sin” in 3:4 and “everyone who resides in him” in 3:6 as absolute and sharply in contrast. The author is here making a clear distinction between the opponents, who as moral indifferentists downplay the significance of sin in the life of the Christian, and the readers, who as true Christians recognize the significance of sin because Jesus came to take it away (3:5) and to destroy it as a work of the devil (3:8). This argument is developed more fully by S. Kubo (“I John 3:9: Absolute or Habitual?” AUSS 7 [1969]: 47-56), who takes the opponents as Gnostics who define sin as ignorance. The opponents were probably not adherents of fully developed gnosticism, but Kubo is right that the distinction between their position and that of the true Christian is intentionally portrayed by the author here as a sharp antithesis. This explanation still has to deal with the contradiction between 2:1-2 and 3:6-9, but this does not present an insuperable difficulty. The author of 1 John has repeatedly demonstrated a tendency to present his ideas antithetically, in “either/or” terms, in order to bring out for the readers the drastic contrast between themselves as true believers and the opponents as false believers. In 2:1-2 the author can acknowledge the possibility that a true Christian might on occasion sin, because in this context he wishes to reassure his readers that the statements he has made about the opponents in the preceding context do not apply to them. But in 3:4-10, his concern is to bring out the absolute difference between the opponents and his readers, so he speaks in theoretical rather than practical terms which do not discuss the possible occasional exception, because to do so would weaken his argument.
1 John 3:7 sn The one who practices righteousness. The participle (ὁ ποιῶν, ho poiōn) + noun constructions in 3:7 and in 3:8a, the first positive and the second negative, serve to emphasize the contrast between the true Christians (“the one who practices righteousness”) and the opponents (“the one who practices sin,” 3:8a).
1 John 3:7 tn Grk “that one.” Context indicates a reference to Jesus here. As with the previous uses of ἐκεῖνος (ekeinos) by the author of 1 John (2:6; 3:3, 5), this one refers to Jesus, as the reference to “the Son of God” in the following verse (3:8) makes clear.
1 John 3:8 sn The person who practices sin is of the devil. 1 John 3:10 and John 8:44 might be cited as parallels, because these speak of opponents as the devil’s “children.” However, it is significant that the author of 1 John never speaks of the opponents as “fathered by the devil” in the same sense as Christians are “fathered by God” (3:9). A concept of evildoers as “fathered” by the devil in the same sense as Christians are fathered by God would imply a much more fully developed Gnosticism with its dualistic approach to humanity. The author of 1 John carefully avoids saying that the opponents are “fathered by the devil,” because in Johannine theology not to be fathered by God is to be fathered only by the flesh (John 1:13). This is a significant piece of evidence that 1 John predates the more fully developed Gnosticism of the 2nd century. What the author does say is that the opponents (“the one who practices sin”) are from the devil, in the sense that they belong to him and have given him their allegiance.
1 John 3:8 tn The present tense verb has been translated as an extending-from-past present (a present of past action still in progress). See ExSyn 520.
1 John 3:8 tn Here εἰς τοῦτο (eis touto) states the purpose for the revelation of God’s Son. However, the phrase offers the same difficulty as all the ἐν τούτῳ (en toutō) phrases in 1 John: Does it refer to what precedes or to what follows? By analogy with the ἐν τούτῳ construction it is probable that the phrase εἰς τοῦτο here refers to what follows: There is a ἵνα (hina) clause following which appears to be related to the εἰς τοῦτο, and in fact is resumptive (that is, it restates the idea of “purpose” already expressed by the εἰς τοῦτο). Thus the meaning is: “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.”
1 John 3:8 tn In the Gospel of John λύσῃ (lusē) is used both literally and figuratively. In John 1:27 it refers to a literal loosing of one’s sandal-thong, and in John 2:19 to a destruction of Jesus’ physical body which was understood by the hearers to refer to physical destruction of the Jerusalem temple. In John 5:18 it refers to the breaking of the Sabbath, in John 7:23 to the breaking of the law of Moses, and in John 10:35 to the breaking of the scriptures. The verb is again used literally in John 11:44 at the resurrection of Lazarus when Jesus commands that he be released from the graveclothes with which he was bound. Here in 1 John 3:8 the verb means, with reference to “the works of the devil,” to “destroy, bring to an end, abolish.” See BDAG 607 s.v. λύω 4 and F. Büchsel, TDNT 4:336.
1 John 3:9 tn The imagery expressed here (σπέρμα αὐτοῦ, sperma autou, “his seed”) clearly refers to the action of the male parent in procreation, and so “fathered” is the best choice for translating γεννάω (gennaō; see 2:29).
1 John 3:9 tn The problem of the present tense of ποιεῖ (poiei) here is exactly that of the present tense of ἁμαρτάνει (hamartanei) in 3:6. Here in 3:9 the distinction is sharply drawn between “the one who practices sin” in 3:8, who is of the devil, and “the one who is fathered by God” in 3:9, who “does not practice sin.” See S. Kubo (“I John 3:9: Absolute or Habitual?” AUSS 7 [1969]: 47-56) for a fuller discussion of the author’s argument as based on a sharp antithesis between the recipients (true Christians) and the opponents (heretics).sn Does not practice sin. Again, as in 3:6, the author is making a clear distinction between the opponents, who as moral indifferentists downplay the significance of sin in the life of the Christian, and the recipients, who as true Christians recognize the significance of sin because Jesus came to take it away (3:5) and to destroy it as a work of the devil (3:8). This explanation still has to deal with the apparent contradiction between the author’s statements in 2:1-2 and those here in 3:9, but this is best explained in terms of the author’s tendency to present issues in “either/or” terms to bring out the drastic contrast between his readers, whom he regards as true believers, and the opponents, whom he regards as false. In 2:1-2 the author can acknowledge the possibility that a true Christian might on occasion sin, because in this context he wishes to reassure his readers that the statements he has made about the opponents in the preceding context do not apply to them. But in 3:4-10, his concern is to bring out the absolute difference between the opponents and his readers, so he speaks in theoretical terms which do not discuss the possible occasional exception, because to do so would weaken his argument.
1 John 3:9 tn Both the first and second ὅτι (hoti) in 3:9 are causal. The first gives the reason why the person who is begotten by God does not practice sin (“because his seed resides in him).” The second gives the reason why the person who is begotten by God is not able to sin (“because he has been begotten by God).”
1 John 3:9 tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1 John 3:9 tn The closest meaning for σπέρμα (sperma) in this context is “male generating seed” (cf. BDAG 937 s.v. 1.b), although this is a figurative rather than a literal sense. Such imagery is bold and has seemed crudely anthropomorphic to some interpreters, but it poses no more difficulty than the image of God as a male parent fathering Christians that appears in John 1:13 and is behind the use of γεννάω (gennaō) with reference to Christians in 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, and 18.
1 John 3:9 tn “Thus” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to bring out the resultative force of the clause in English.
1 John 3:10 tn Once again there is the problem (by now familiar to the interpreter of 1 John) of determining whether the phrase ἐν τούτῳ (en toutō) in 3:10 refers (1) to what precedes or (2) to what follows. If it refers to what precedes, it serves to conclude the unit which began with 2:28. The remainder of 3:10 would then form a transition to the following material (another “hinge” passage). On the other hand, if the phrase ἐν τούτῳ refers to what follows, then the entirety of 3:10 is a summary statement at the end of 2:28-3:10 which recapitulates the section’s major theme (conduct is the clue to paternity), and provides at the same time a transition to the theme of loving one’s brother which will dominate the following section (3:11-24). Although R. E. Brown (Epistles of John [AB], 416) prefers to see the phrase as referring to the preceding material, it makes better sense to refer it to the remainder of 3:10 that follows, and see the entirety of 3:10 as both a summary of the theme of the preceding section 2:28-3:10 and a transition to the following section 3:11-24.
1 John 3:10 tn See note on the term “fellow Christian” in 2:9.sn Does not love his fellow Christian. The theme of loving one’s fellow Christian appears in the final clause of 3:10 because it provides the transition to the second major section of 1 John, 3:11-5:12, and specifically to the following section 3:11-24. The theme of love will dominate the second major section of the letter (see 1 John 4:8).

John 10:7-16

⁷So Jesus said again, “I tell you the solemn truth,^[a] I am the door for the sheep.^[b] ⁸All who came before me were^[c] thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.^[d] ⁹I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out,^[e] and find pasture.^[f] ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill^[g] and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.^[h]

¹¹“I am the good^[i] shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life^[j] for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand,^[k] who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons^[l] the sheep and runs away.^[m] So the wolf attacks^[n] the sheep and scatters them. ¹³Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep,^[o] he runs away.^[p]

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd. I^[q] know my own^[r] and my own know me— ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life^[s] for^[t] the sheep. ¹⁶I have^[u] other sheep that do not come from^[v] this sheepfold.^[w] I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice,^[x] so that^[y] there will be one flock and^[z] one shepherd.

Footnotes

John 10:7 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
John 10:7 tn Or “I am the sheep’s door.”
John 10:8 tn Grk “are” (present tense).
John 10:8 tn Or “the sheep did not hear them.”
John 10:9 tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eiserchomai kai exerchomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.
John 10:9 sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.
John 10:10 tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).
John 10:10 tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.
John 10:11 tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).
John 10:11 tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”sn Jesus speaks openly of his vicarious death twice in this section (John 10:11, 15). Note the contrast: The thief takes the life of the sheep (10:10), the good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep. Jesus is not speaking generally here, but specifically: He has his own substitutionary death on the cross in view. For a literal shepherd with a literal flock, the shepherd’s death would have spelled disaster for the sheep; in this instance it spells life for them (Compare the worthless shepherd of Zech 11:17, by contrast).
John 10:12 sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.
John 10:12 tn Grk “leaves.”
John 10:12 tn Or “flees.”
John 10:12 tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.
John 10:13 tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”
John 10:13 tc The phrase “he runs away” is lacking in several significant mss (P^{44vid,45, 66, 75} א A*^vid B D L [W] Θ 1 33 1241 al co). Most likely it was added by a later scribe to improve the readability of vv. 12-13, which is one long sentence in Greek. It has been included in the translation for the same stylistic reasons.
John 10:14 tn Grk “And I.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
John 10:14 tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”
John 10:15 tn Or “I die willingly.”
John 10:15 tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”
John 10:16 tn Grk “And I have.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
John 10:16 tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”
John 10:16 sn The statement I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold almost certainly refers to Gentiles. Jesus has sheep in the fold who are Jewish; there are other sheep which, while not of the same fold, belong to him also. This recalls the mission of the Son in 3:16-17, which was to save the world—not just the nation of Israel. Such an emphasis would be particularly appropriate to the author if he were writing to a non-Palestinian and primarily non-Jewish audience.
John 10:16 tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”
John 10:16 tn Grk “voice, and.”
John 10:16 tn The word “and” is not in the Greek text, but must be supplied to conform to English style. In Greek it is an instance of asyndeton (omission of a connective), usually somewhat emphatic.

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 118[a]

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Psalm 145[a]

A psalm of praise; by David.

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Psalm 118^[a]

Psalm 145^[a]