chevron-left All Reading Plans / M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan / Family: Deuteronomy 28:20–68; Psalm 119:25–48. Secret: Isaiah 55; Matthew 3. (New English Translation)
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M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The classic M'Cheyne plan--read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Gospels every day.
Duration: 365 days
New English Translation (NET)
Version
Deuteronomy 28:20-68

Curses by Disease and Drought

20 “The Lord will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing you[a] in everything you undertake[b] until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me.[c] 21 The Lord will plague you with deadly diseases[d] until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess. 22 He[e] will afflict you with weakness,[f] fever, inflammation, infection,[g] sword,[h] blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish. 23 The[i] sky[j] above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

Curses by Defeat and Deportation

25 “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror[k] to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off. 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind.[l] 29 You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do;[m] you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you. 30 You will be engaged to a woman, and another man will rape[n] her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes, but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies, and there will be no one to save you. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it.[o] 33 As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives. 34 You will go insane from seeing all this. 35 The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils—from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. 36 The Lord will force you and your king[p] whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there. 37 You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you.

The Curse of Reversed Status

38 “You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with olive oil, because the olives will drop off the trees while still unripe.[q] 41 You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity. 42 Whirring locusts[r] will take over every tree and all the produce of your soil. 43 The resident foreigners[s] who reside among you will become higher and higher over you, and you will become lower and lower. 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them; they will become the head, and you will become the tail!

45 “All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has given[t] you. 46 These curses[u] will be a perpetual sign and wonder with reference to you and your descendants.[v]

The Curse of Military Siege

47 “Because you have not served the Lord your God joyfully and wholeheartedly with the abundance of everything you have, 48 instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty[w] you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. They[x] will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you. 49 The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth[y] as the eagle flies,[z] a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young. 51 They[aa] will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds,[ab] or lambs of your flocks[ac] until they have destroyed you. 52 They will besiege all of your villages[ad] until all of your high and fortified walls collapse—those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you. 53 You will then eat your own offspring,[ae] the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege[af] by which your enemies will constrict you. 54 The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children. 55 He will withhold from all of them his children’s flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict[ag] you in your villages. 56 Likewise, the most[ah] tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness,[ai] will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters, 57 and will secretly eat her afterbirth[aj] and her newborn children[ak] (since she has nothing else),[al] because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.

The Curse of Covenant Termination

58 “If you refuse to obey[am] all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants—great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses. 60 He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypt[an] that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you.[ao] 61 Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments,[ap] until you have perished. 62 There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky,[aq] because you will have disobeyed[ar] the Lord your God. 63 This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, so he[as] will also take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess. 64 The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. 65 Among those nations you will have no rest, nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair. 66 Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next.[at] 67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ because of the things you will fear and the things you will see. 68 Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:20 tn Heb “the curse, the confusion, and the rebuke” (NASB and NIV similar); NRSV “disaster, panic, and frustration.”
  2. Deuteronomy 28:20 tn Heb “in all the stretching out of your hand.”
  3. Deuteronomy 28:20 tc For the MT first person common singular suffix (“me”), the LXX reads either “Lord” (Lucian) or third person masculine singular suffix (“him”; various codices). The MT’s more difficult reading probably represents the original text.tn Heb “the evil of your doings wherein you have forsaken me”; CEV “all because you rejected the Lord.”
  4. Deuteronomy 28:21 tn Heb “will cause pestilence to cling to you.”
  5. Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Heb “The Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
  6. Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Or perhaps “consumption” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The term is from a verbal root that indicates a weakening of one’s physical strength (cf. NAB “wasting”; NIV, NLT “wasting disease”).
  7. Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Heb “hot fever”; NIV “scorching heat.”
  8. Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Or “drought” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
  9. Deuteronomy 28:23 tc The MT reads “Your.” The LXX reads “Heaven will be to you.”
  10. Deuteronomy 28:23 tn Or “heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
  11. Deuteronomy 28:25 tc The meaningless MT reading זַעֲוָה (zaʿavah) is clearly a transposition of the more commonly attested Hebrew noun זְוָעָה (zevaʿah, “terror”).
  12. Deuteronomy 28:28 tn Heb “heart” (so KJV, NASB).
  13. Deuteronomy 28:29 tn Heb “you will not cause your ways to prosper.”
  14. Deuteronomy 28:30 tc For MT reading שָׁגַל (shagal, “ravish; violate”), the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate presume the less violent שָׁכַב (shakhav, “lie with”). The unexpected counterpart to betrothal here favors the originality of the MT.
  15. Deuteronomy 28:32 tn Heb “and there will be no power in your hand”; NCV “there will be nothing you can do.”
  16. Deuteronomy 28:36 tc The LXX reads the plural “kings.”
  17. Deuteronomy 28:40 tn Heb “your olives will drop off” (נָשַׁל, nashal), referring to the olives dropping off before they ripen. Elsewhere זַיִת (zayit, “olive”) can refer to an olive, the tree branch, the tree, or the grove. Agriculturally it might make the most sense to mean the olive flower (cf. Job 15:33). Whether the flowers drop off without being fertilized, or the olives drop off while unripe, the harvest is lost.
  18. Deuteronomy 28:42 tn The Hebrew term denotes some sort of buzzing or whirring insect; some have understood this to be a type of locust (KJV, NIV, CEV), but other insects have also been suggested: “buzzing insects” (NAB); “the cricket” (NASB); “the cicada” (NRSV).
  19. Deuteronomy 28:43 tn Heb “the foreigner.” This is a collective singular and has therefore been translated as plural; this includes the pronouns in the following verse, which are also singular in the Hebrew text.
  20. Deuteronomy 28:45 tn Heb “commanded”; NAB, NIV, TEV “he gave you.”
  21. Deuteronomy 28:46 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the curses mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  22. Deuteronomy 28:46 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
  23. Deuteronomy 28:48 tn Heb “lack of everything.”
  24. Deuteronomy 28:48 tn Heb “he” (also later in this verse). The pronoun is a collective singular referring to the enemies (cf. CEV, NLT). Many translations understand the singular pronoun to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV).
  25. Deuteronomy 28:49 tn Heb “from the end of the earth.”
  26. Deuteronomy 28:49 tn Some translations understand this to mean “like an eagle swoops down” (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), comparing the swift attack of an eagle to the attack of the Israelites’ enemies.
  27. Deuteronomy 28:51 tn Heb “it” (so NRSV), a collective singular referring to the invading nation (several times in this verse and v. 52).
  28. Deuteronomy 28:51 tn Heb “increase of herds.”
  29. Deuteronomy 28:51 tn Heb “growth of flocks.”
  30. Deuteronomy 28:52 tn Heb “gates,” also in vv. 55, 57.
  31. Deuteronomy 28:53 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NRSV); NASB “the offspring of your own body.”
  32. Deuteronomy 28:53 tn Heb “siege and stress.”
  33. Deuteronomy 28:55 tn Heb “besiege,” redundant with the noun “siege.”
  34. Deuteronomy 28:56 tc The LXX adds σφόδρα (sphodra, “very”) to bring the description into line with v. 54.
  35. Deuteronomy 28:56 tn Heb “delicateness and tenderness.”
  36. Deuteronomy 28:57 tn Heb includes “that which comes out from between her feet.”
  37. Deuteronomy 28:57 tn Heb “her sons that she will bear.”
  38. Deuteronomy 28:57 tn Heb includes “in her need for everything.”
  39. Deuteronomy 28:58 tn Heb “If you are not careful to do.”
  40. Deuteronomy 28:60 sn These are the plagues the Lord inflicted on the Egyptians prior to the exodus which, though they did not fall upon the Israelites, must have caused great terror (cf. Exod 15:26).
  41. Deuteronomy 28:60 tn Heb “will cling to you” (so NIV); NLT “will claim you.”
  42. Deuteronomy 28:61 tn The Hebrew term תּוֹרָה (torah) can refer either (1) to the whole Pentateuch or, more likely, (2) to the book of Deuteronomy or even (3) only to this curse section of the covenant text. “Scroll” better reflects the actual document, since “book” conveys the notion of a bound book with pages to the modern English reader. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the book of this law”; NIV, NLT “this Book of the Law”; TEV “this book of God’s laws and teachings.”
  43. Deuteronomy 28:62 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
  44. Deuteronomy 28:62 tn Heb “have not listened to the voice of.”
  45. Deuteronomy 28:63 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
  46. Deuteronomy 28:66 tn Heb “you will not be confident in your life.” The phrase “from one day to the next” is implied by the following verse.
Psalm 119:25-48

ד (Dalet)

25 I collapse in the dirt.[a]
Revive me with your word.[b]
26 I told you about my ways[c] and you answered me.
Teach me your statutes.
27 Help me to understand what your precepts mean.[d]
Then I can meditate[e] on your marvelous teachings.[f]
28 I collapse[g] from grief.
Sustain me by your word.[h]
29 Remove me from the path of deceit.[i]
Graciously give me[j] your law.
30 I choose the path of faithfulness;
I am committed to[k] your regulations.
31 I hold fast[l] to your rules.
O Lord, do not let me be ashamed.
32 I run along the path of your commands,
for you enable me to do so.[m]

ה (He)

33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes,[n]
so that I might observe it continually.[o]
34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,
and keep it with all my heart.[p]
35 Guide me[q] in the path of your commands,
for I delight to walk in it.[r]
36 Give me a desire for your rules,[s]
rather than for wealth gained unjustly.[t]
37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless.[u]
Revive me with your word.[v]
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,[w]
which you made to the one who honors you.[x]
39 Take away the insults that I dread.[y]
Indeed,[z] your regulations are good.
40 Look, I long for your precepts.
Revive me with your deliverance.[aa]

ו (Vav)

41 May I experience your loyal love,[ab] O Lord,
and your deliverance,[ac] as you promised.[ad]
42 Then I will have a reply for the one who insults me,[ae]
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony,[af]
for I await your justice.
44 Then I will keep[ag] your law continually
now and for all time.[ah]
45 I will be secure,[ai]
for I seek your precepts.
46 I will speak[aj] about your regulations before kings
and not be ashamed.
47 I will find delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift my hands to[ak] your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 119:25 tn Heb “my soul clings to the dirt.” 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).
  2. Psalm 119:25 tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”
  3. Psalm 119:26 tn Heb “my ways I proclaimed.”
  4. Psalm 119:27 tn Heb “the way of your precepts make me understand.”
  5. Psalm 119:27 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
  6. Psalm 119:27 tn Heb “your amazing things,” which refers here to the teachings of the law (see v. 18).
  7. Psalm 119:28 tn Some translate “my soul weeps,” taking the verb דָלַף (dalaf) from a root meaning “to drip; to drop” (BDB 196 s.v. דֶּלַף). On the basis of cognate evidence from Arabic and Akkadian, HALOT 223 s.v. II דלף proposes a homonymic root here, meaning “be sleepless.” Following L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 127, 135) the translation assumes that the verb is cognate with Ugaritic dlp, “to collapse; to crumple” in CTA 2 iv. 17, 26. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 44, 144.
  8. Psalm 119:28 tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”
  9. Psalm 119:29 tn The “path of deceit” refers to a lifestyle characterized by deceit and disloyalty to God. It stands in contrast to the “way of faithfulness” in v. 30.
  10. Psalm 119:29 tn Heb “be gracious to me.” The verb is used metonymically here for “graciously giving” the law. (See Gen 33:5, where Jacob uses this verb in describing how God had graciously given him children.)
  11. Psalm 119:30 tn BDB 1000-1001 s.v. I שָׁוָה derives the verb from the first homonym listed, meaning “to agree with; to be like; to resemble.” It here means (in the Piel stem) “to be accounted suitable,” which in turn would mean by metonymy “to accept; to be committed to.” Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonym meaning “to place; to set,” but in this case an elliptical prepositional phrase must be understood, “I place your regulations [before me]” (see Ps 16:8).
  12. Psalm 119:31 tn Or “cling to.”
  13. Psalm 119:32 tn Heb “for you make wide my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and understanding. The Lord gives the psalmist the desire and moral understanding that are foundational to the willing obedience depicted metaphorically in the preceding line. In Isa 60:5 the expression “your heart will be wide” means “your heart will swell with pride,” but here the nuance appears to be different.
  14. Psalm 119:33 tn Heb “the way of your statutes.”
  15. Psalm 119:33 tn Heb “and I will keep it to the end.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative. The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (ʿeqev) is understood to mean “end” here. Another option is to take עֵקֶב as meaning “reward” here (see Ps 19:11) and to translate, “so that I might observe it and be rewarded.”
  16. Psalm 119:34 tn The two prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the introductory imperative.
  17. Psalm 119:35 tn Or “make me walk.”
  18. Psalm 119:35 tn Heb “for in it I delight.”
  19. Psalm 119:36 tn Heb “turn my heart to your rules.”
  20. Psalm 119:36 tn Heb “and not unjust gain.”
  21. Psalm 119:37 tn Heb “Make my eyes pass by from looking at what is worthless.”
  22. Psalm 119:37 tn Heb “by your word.”
  23. Psalm 119:38 tn Heb “word.”
  24. Psalm 119:38 tn Heb “which [is] for your fear,” that is, the promise made to those who exhibit fear of God.
  25. Psalm 119:39 tn Heb “my reproach that I fear.”
  26. Psalm 119:39 tn Or “for.”
  27. Psalm 119:40 tn Or “righteousness.”
  28. Psalm 119:41 tn Heb “and may your loyal love come to me.”
  29. Psalm 119:41 tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions).
  30. Psalm 119:41 tn Heb “according to your word.”
  31. Psalm 119:42 tn Heb “and I will answer [the] one who insults me a word.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the jussive (see v. 41).
  32. Psalm 119:43 tn Heb “do not snatch from my mouth a word of truth to excess.” The psalmist wants to be able to give a reliable testimony about the Lord’s loyal love (vv. 41-42), but if God does not intervene, the psalmist will be deprived of doing so, for the evidence of such love (i.e., deliverance) will be lacking.
  33. Psalm 119:44 tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the negated jussive (see v. 43).
  34. Psalm 119:44 tn Or “forever and ever.”
  35. Psalm 119:45 tn Heb “and I will walk about in a wide place.” The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive gives a further consequence of the anticipated positive divine response (see vv. 43-44). Another option is to take the cohortative as expressing the psalmist’s request. In this case one could translate, “and please give me security.”
  36. Psalm 119:46 tn The series of four cohortatives with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive in vv. 46-48 list further consequences of the anticipated positive divine response to the request made in v. 43.
  37. Psalm 119:48 tn Lifting the hands is often associated with prayer (Pss 28:2; 63:4; Lam 2:19). (1) Because praying to God’s law borders on the extreme, some prefer to emend the text to “I lift up my hands to you,” eliminating “your commands, which I love” as dittographic. In this view these words were accidentally repeated from the previous verse. (2) However, it is possible that the psalmist closely associates the law with God himself because he views the law as the expression of the divine will. (3) Another option is that “lifting the hands” does not refer to prayer here, but to the psalmist’s desire to receive and appropriate the law. (4) Still others understand this to be an action praising God’s commands (so NCV; cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
Isaiah 55

The Lord Gives an Invitation

55 “Hey,[a] all who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.[b]
2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you?[c]
Why spend[d] your hard-earned money[e] on something that will not satisfy?
Listen carefully[f] to me and eat what is nourishing![g]
Enjoy fine food.[h]
3 Pay attention and come to me.
Listen, so you can live.[i]
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to[j] you,
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.[k]
4 Look, I made him a witness to nations,[l]
a ruler and commander of nations.”
5 Look, you will summon nations[m] you did not previously know;
nations[n] that did not previously know you will run to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,[o]
for he bestows honor on you.
6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;[p]
call to him while he is nearby!
7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle[q]
and sinful people their plans.[r]
They should return[s] to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,[t]
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.[u]
8 “Indeed,[v] my plans[w] are not like[x] your plans,
and my deeds[y] are not like[z] your deeds,” says the Lord,
9 “for just as the sky[aa] is higher than the earth,
so my deeds[ab] are superior to[ac] your deeds
and my plans[ad] superior to your plans.
10 [ae] The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.[af]
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.”[ag]
12 Indeed you will go out with joy;
you will be led along in peace;
the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,
and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.
13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,
firs will grow in place of nettles;
they will be a monument to the Lord,[ah]
a permanent reminder that will remain.[ai]

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 55:1 tn The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments and is often prefixed to judgment oracles for rhetorical effect. But here it appears to be a simple interjection, designed to grab the audience’s attention. Perhaps there is a note of sorrow or pity. See BDB 223 s.v.
  2. Isaiah 55:1 sn The statement is an oxymoron. Its ironic quality adds to its rhetorical impact. The statement reminds one of the norm (one must normally buy commodities) as it expresses the astounding offer. One might paraphrase the statement: “Come and take freely what you normally have to pay for.”
  3. Isaiah 55:2 tn Heb “for what is not food.”
  4. Isaiah 55:2 tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
  5. Isaiah 55:2 tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.
  6. Isaiah 55:2 tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.
  7. Isaiah 55:2 tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  8. Isaiah 55:2 tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”sn Nourishing, fine food here represents the blessings God freely offers. These include forgiveness, a new covenantal relationship with God, and national prominence (see vv. 3-6).
  9. Isaiah 55:3 tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.sn To live here refers to covenantal blessing, primarily material prosperity and national security (see vv. 4-5, 13, and Deut 30:6, 15, 19-20).
  10. Isaiah 55:3 tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”
  11. Isaiah 55:3 tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (berit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”
  12. Isaiah 55:4 sn Ideally the Davidic king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness (cf. Pss 18:50 HT [18:49 ET]; 22:28 HT [22:27 ET]). See J. H. Eaton, Kingship in the Psalms (SBT), 182-84.
  13. Isaiah 55:5 tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs in the next line indicate (note that both “know” and “run” are third plural forms).
  14. Isaiah 55:5 tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs that follow indicate.
  15. Isaiah 55:5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  16. Isaiah 55:6 tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.
  17. Isaiah 55:7 tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.
  18. Isaiah 55:7 tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.
  19. Isaiah 55:7 tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”
  20. Isaiah 55:7 tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.
  21. Isaiah 55:7 sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.
  22. Isaiah 55:8 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
  23. Isaiah 55:8 tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).
  24. Isaiah 55:8 tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.
  25. Isaiah 55:8 tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).
  26. Isaiah 55:8 tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.
  27. Isaiah 55:9 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
  28. Isaiah 55:9 tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).
  29. Isaiah 55:9 tn Heb “are higher than.”
  30. Isaiah 55:9 tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).
  31. Isaiah 55:10 tn This verse begins in the Hebrew text with כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר (ki kaʾasher, “for, just as”), which is completed by כֵּן (ken, “so, in the same way”) at the beginning of v. 11. For stylistic reasons, this lengthy sentence is divided up into separate sentences in the translation.
  32. Isaiah 55:11 tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to me empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).
  33. Isaiah 55:11 tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds in what I commission it with.”sn Verses 8-11 focus on the reliability of the divine word and support the promises before (vv. 3-5, 7b) and after (vv. 12-13) this. Israel can be certain that repentance will bring forgiveness and a new covenantal relationship because God’s promises are reliable. In contrast to human plans (or “thoughts”), which are destined to fail (Ps 94:11) apart from divine approval (Prov 19:21), and human deeds (or “ways”), which are evil and lead to destruction (Prov 1:15-19; 3:31-33; 4:19), God’s plans are realized, and his deeds accomplish something positive.
  34. Isaiah 55:13 tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).
  35. Isaiah 55:13 tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”
Matthew 3

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness[a] of Judea proclaiming, 2 “Repent,[b] for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah had spoken:[c]

“The voice[d] of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make[e] his paths straight.’”[f]

4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.[g] 5 Then people from Jerusalem,[h] as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 6 and he was baptizing them[i] in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many Pharisees[j] and Sadducees[k] coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit[l] that proves your[m] repentance, 9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’[n] For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 10 Even now the ax is laid at[o] the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am—I am not worthy[p] to carry his sandals! He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.[q] 12 His winnowing fork[r] is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse,[s] but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire!”[t]

The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.[u] 14 But John[v] tried to prevent[w] him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” 15 So Jesus replied[x] to him, “Let it happen now,[y] for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John[z] yielded[aa] to him. 16 After[ab] Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the[ac] heavens[ad] opened[ae] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove[af] and coming to rest[ag] on him. 17 And[ah] a voice from heaven said,[ai] “This is my one dear Son;[aj] in him[ak] I take great delight.”[al]

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 3:1 tn Or “desert.”
  2. Matthew 3:2 tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legōn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.
  3. Matthew 3:3 tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.
  4. Matthew 3:3 tn Or “A voice.”
  5. Matthew 3:3 sn The call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.
  6. Matthew 3:3 sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.
  7. Matthew 3:4 sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions, and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.
  8. Matthew 3:5 tn Grk “Then Jerusalem.” In the Greek text the city (Jerusalem) is put by metonymy for its inhabitants (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 579).
  9. Matthew 3:6 tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.
  10. Matthew 3:7 sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
  11. Matthew 3:7 sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.
  12. Matthew 3:8 sn Fruit that proves your repentance refers to the deeds that indicate a change of attitude (heart) on the part of John’s hearers.
  13. Matthew 3:8 tn Grk “fruit worthy of.”
  14. Matthew 3:9 sn With this statement John warns his hearers that physical descent from the patriarchs (Abraham) will not suffice to save them from the coming eschatological wrath of God.
  15. Matthew 3:10 sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.
  16. Matthew 3:11 tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet.
  17. Matthew 3:11 sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.
  18. Matthew 3:12 sn A winnowing fork was a pitchfork-like tool used to toss threshed grain in the air so that the wind blew away the chaff, leaving the grain to fall to the ground. The note of purging is highlighted by the use of imagery involving sifting though threshed grain for the useful kernels.
  19. Matthew 3:12 tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building to house livestock).
  20. Matthew 3:12 sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.
  21. Matthew 3:13 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
  22. Matthew 3:14 tc ‡ The earliest mss (א* B sa) lack the name of John here (“but he tried to prevent him,” instead of “but John tried to prevent him”). It is, however, clearly implied (and is thus supplied in translation). Although the longer reading has excellent support (P96 א1 C Ds L W Γ Δ 0233 0250 ƒ1, 13 33 565 579 700 1241 1424 M lat[t] sy mae bo), it looks to be a motivated and predictable reading. Nevertheless, in light of the strong external support for “John,” it is only slightly more likely that the autographic wording of this verse lacked his name.
  23. Matthew 3:14 tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively.
  24. Matthew 3:15 tn Grk “but Jesus, answering, said.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “replied to him.”
  25. Matthew 3:15 tn Grk “Permit now.”
  26. Matthew 3:15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. Matthew 3:15 tn Or “permitted him.”
  28. Matthew 3:16 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  29. Matthew 3:16 tn Grk “behold the heavens.” 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).
  30. Matthew 3:16 tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 17.
  31. Matthew 3:16 tc ‡ αὐτῷ (autō, “to/before him”) is found in the majority of witnesses (א1 C Ds L W Γ Δ 0233 ƒ1, 13 33 565 579 700 1241 1424 M lat mae bo), perhaps added as a point of clarification or emphasis. It is lacking in א* B sys,c sa Irlat CyrJ; SBL. NA28 includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
  32. Matthew 3:16 sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.
  33. Matthew 3:16 tn Grk “coming”; the notion of coming to rest is implied in the context.
  34. Matthew 3:17 tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.
  35. Matthew 3:17 tn Grk “behold, a voice from the heavens, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.
  36. Matthew 3:17 tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agapētos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).sn The parallel accounts in Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22 read “You are” rather than “This is,” portraying the remark as addressed personally to Jesus.
  37. Matthew 3:17 tn Grk “in whom.”
  38. Matthew 3:17 tn Or “with whom I am well pleased.”sn The allusions in the remarks of the text recall Ps 2:7a; Isa 42:1 and either Isa 41:8 or, less likely, Gen 22:12, 16. God is marking out Jesus as his chosen one (the meaning of “[in him I take] great delight”), but it may well be that this was a private experience that only Jesus and John saw and heard (cf. John 1:32-33).
New English Translation (NET)

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