◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 35:1-10 (God is our salvation); Jeremiah 29:1-14 (Jeremiah speaks God’s word); Mark 5:1-20 (Jesus heals a man with a demon) (New English Translation)

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February 3, 2021

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 35:1-10

Psalm 35^[a]

By David.

35 O Lord, fight^[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
²Grab your small shield and large shield,^[c]
and rise up to help me.
³Use your spear and lance^[d] against^[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:^[f] “I am your deliverer.”
⁴May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.^[g]
⁵May they be^[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord^[i] attacks them.^[j]
⁶May their path be^[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
⁷I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.^[l]
⁸Let destruction take them by surprise.^[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.^[n]
⁹Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.^[o]
¹⁰With all my strength I will say,^[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue^[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,^[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”^[s]

Footnotes

Psalm 35:1 sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.
Psalm 35:1 tn Or “contend.”
Psalm 35:2 tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.
Psalm 35:3 tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.
Psalm 35:3 tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”
Psalm 35:3 tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”
Psalm 35:4 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies. See also the distinct jussive form in v. 6.
Psalm 35:5 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.
Psalm 35:5 sn See the mention of the angel of the Lord in Ps 34:7.
Psalm 35:5 tn Heb “as the angel of the Lord pushes [them].”
Psalm 35:6 tn The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer.
Psalm 35:7 tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).
Psalm 35:8 tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.
Psalm 35:8 tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.
Psalm 35:9 tn Heb “then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and be happy in his deliverance.”
Psalm 35:10 tn Heb “all my bones will say.”
Psalm 35:10 tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.
Psalm 35:10 tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.
Psalm 35:10 tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.

Jeremiah 29:1-14

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

29 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon.^[a] ²He sent it after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials,^[b] the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had been exiled from Jerusalem.^[c] ³He sent it with Elasah son of Shaphan^[d] and Gemariah son of Hilkiah.^[e] King Zedekiah of Judah had sent these men to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.^[f] The letter said:

⁴“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,^[g] says to all those he sent into exile^[h] to Babylon from Jerusalem, ⁵‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and allow your daughters to get married so that they too can have sons and daughters. Grow in number; do not dwindle away. ⁷Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.’

⁸“For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,^[i] says, ‘Do not let the prophets among you or those who claim to be able to predict the future by divination^[j] deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream. ⁹They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so.^[k] But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’^[l]

¹⁰“For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule^[m] are over will I again take up consideration for you.^[n] Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore^[o] you to your homeland.^[p] ¹¹For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord.^[q] ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you^[r] a future filled with hope.^[s] ¹²When you call out to me and come to me in prayer,^[t] I will hear your prayers.^[u] ¹³When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul,^[v] ¹⁴I will make myself available to you,’^[w] says the Lord.^[x] ‘Then I will reverse your plight^[y] and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord.^[z] ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’

Footnotes

Jeremiah 29:1 tn Jer 29:1-3 are all one long sentence in Hebrew containing a parenthetical insertion. The text reads, “These are the words of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent to the elders…people whom Nebuchadnezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon after King Jeconiah…had gone from Jerusalem, by the hand of Elasah…whom Zedekiah sent…saying, ‘Thus says the Lord…’” The sentence has been broken up for the sake of contemporary English style and clarity.
Jeremiah 29:2 tn This term is often mistakenly understood to refer to a “eunuch.” It is clear, however, in Gen 39:1 that “eunuchs” could be married. On the other hand, it is clear from Isa 59:3-5 that some who bore this title could not have children. In this period, it is possible that the persons who bore this title were high officials like the rab saris, who was a high official in the Babylonian court (cf. Jer 39:3, 13; 52:25). For further references see HALOT 727 s.v. סָרִיס 1.c.
Jeremiah 29:2 sn See 2 Kgs 24:14-16 and compare the study note on Jer 24:1.
Jeremiah 29:3 sn Elasah son of Shaphan may have been the brother of Ahikam, who supported Jeremiah when the priests and the prophets in Jerusalem sought to kill Jeremiah for preaching that the temple and the city would be destroyed (cf. 26:24).
Jeremiah 29:3 sn This individual is not the same as the Gemariah mentioned in 36:10, 11, 12, 25, who was one of the officials who sought to have the first scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecies preserved. He may, however, have been a son or grandson of the high priest during the reign of Josiah who discovered the book of the law (cf., e.g., 2 Kgs 22:8, 10) that was so instrumental in Josiah’s reforms.
Jeremiah 29:3 sn It is unclear whether this incident preceded or followed those in the preceding chapter. It is known from 52:5-9 that Zedekiah himself had made a trip to Babylon in the same year mentioned in 28:1 and that Jeremiah had used that occasion to address a prophecy of disaster to Babylon. It is not impossible that Jeremiah sent two such disparate messages at the same time (see Jer 25:8-11, 12-14, 17-18, 26).
Jeremiah 29:4 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.
Jeremiah 29:4 tn Heb “I sent.” This sentence exhibits a rapid switch in person, here from the third person to the first. Such switches are common to Hebrew poetry and prophecy (cf. GKC 462 §144.p). Contemporary English, however, does not exhibit such rapid switches, and they create confusion for the careful reader. Such switches have regularly been avoided in the translation.sn Elsewhere Nebuchadnezzar is seen as the one who carried them into exile (cf. 27:20; 29:1). Here and in v. 14 the Lord is seen as the one who sends them into exile. The Lord is the ultimate cause, and Nebuchadnezzar is his agent or servant (cf. 25:9; 27:6; and notes).
Jeremiah 29:8 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.
Jeremiah 29:8 sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.
Jeremiah 29:9 tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”sn For the significance of “in my name,” see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.
Jeremiah 29:9 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 29:10 sn See the study note on Jer 25:11 for the reckoning of the seventy years.
Jeremiah 29:10 tn See the translator’s note on Jer 27:22 for this term.
Jeremiah 29:10 tn Verse 10 is all one long sentence in the Hebrew original: “As soon as the fullfilment to Babylon of seventy years, I will take thought of you and I will establish my gracious word to you by bringing you back to this place.” The sentence has been broken up to conform better to contemporary English style.
Jeremiah 29:10 tn Heb “this place.” The text has probably been influenced by the parallel passage in 27:22. The term appears fifteen times in Jeremiah and is invariably a reference to Jerusalem or Judah.sn See Jer 27:22 for this promise.
Jeremiah 29:11 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 29:11 tn Heb “I know the plans that I am planning for you, oracle of the Lord, plans of well-being and not for harm, to give to you….”
Jeremiah 29:11 tn Or “the future you hope for”; Heb “a future and a hope.” This is a good example of hendiadys, where two formally coordinated nouns (adjectives, verbs) convey a single idea because one of the terms functions as a qualifier of the other. For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 658-72. This example is discussed on p. 661.
Jeremiah 29:12 tn Heb “come and pray to me.” This is an example of verbal hendiadys, where two verbs formally joined by “and” convey a main concept, with the second verb functioning as an adverbial qualifier.
Jeremiah 29:12 tn Or “You will call out to me and come to me in prayer, and I will hear your prayers.” The verbs are vav consecutive perfects and can be taken either as unconditional futures or as contingent futures. See GKC 337 §112.kk and 494 §159.g, and compare the usage in Gen 44:22 for the use of the vav consecutive perfects in contingent futures. The conditional clause in the middle of 29:13 and the deuteronomic theology reflected in both Deut 30:1-5 and 1 Kgs 8:46-48 suggest that the verbs are continent futures here. For the same demand for wholehearted seeking in these contexts that presuppose exile, see especially Deut 30:2 and 1 Kgs 8:48.
Jeremiah 29:13 tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart,” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.
Jeremiah 29:14 tn Heb “I will let myself be found by you.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 594 s.v. מָצָא Niph.1.f, and compare the usage in Isa 65:1 and 2 Chr 15:2. The Greek version already noted that nuance when it translated the phrase as “I will manifest myself to you.”
Jeremiah 29:14 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 29:14 tn Heb “restore your fortune.” Alternately, “I will bring you back from exile.” This idiom occurs twenty-six times in the OT and in several cases it is clearly not referring to return from exile but restoration of fortunes (e.g., Job 42:10; Hos 6:11-7:1; Jer 33:11). It is often followed as here by “regather” or “bring back” (e.g., Jer 30:3; Ezek 29:14) so it is often misunderstood as “bringing back the exiles.” The versions (LXX, Vulg., Tg., Pesh.) often translate the idiom as “to go away into captivity,” deriving the noun from שְׁבִי (sh^evi, “captivity”). However, the use of this expression in Old Aramaic documents of Sefire parallels the biblical idiom: “the gods restored the fortunes of the house of my father again” (J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 100-101, 119-20). The idiom means “to turn someone’s fortune, bring about change” or “to reestablish as it was” (HALOT 1386 s.v. 3.c). In Ezek 16:53 it is paralleled by the expression “to restore the situation which prevailed earlier.” This amounts to restitutio in integrum, which is applicable to the circumstances surrounding the return of the exiles.
Jeremiah 29:14 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

Mark 5:1-20

Healing of a Demoniac

5 So^[a] they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes.^[b] ²Just as Jesus^[c] was getting out of the boat,^[d] a man with an unclean spirit^[e] came from the tombs and met him.^[f] ³He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles,^[g] but^[h] he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him. ⁷Then^[i] he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone,^[j] Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God^[k]—do not torment me!” ⁸(For Jesus^[l] had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)^[m] ⁹Jesus^[n] asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “My name is Legion,^[o] for we are many.” ¹⁰He begged Jesus^[p] repeatedly not to send them out of the region. ¹¹There on the hillside,^[q] a great herd of pigs was feeding. ¹²And the demonic spirits^[r] begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.” ¹³Jesus^[s] gave them permission.^[t] So^[u] the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about 2,000 were drowned in the lake.

¹⁴Now^[v] the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind—the one who had the “Legion”—and they were afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man reported it, and they also told about the pigs. ¹⁷Then^[w] they began to beg Jesus^[x] to leave their region. ¹⁸As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed asked if he could go^[y] with him. ¹⁹But^[z] Jesus^[aa] did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you,^[ab] that he had mercy on you.” ²⁰So^[ac] he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis^[ad] what Jesus had done for him,^[ae] and all were amazed.

Footnotes

Mark 5:1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a summary and transition in the narrative.
Mark 5:1 tc The textual tradition here is quite complicated. Most later mss (A C ƒ¹³ M sy^p,h) read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading in Matt 8:28. Other mss (א² L Δ Θ ƒ¹ 28 33 565 579 700 892 1241 1424 al sy^s bo) have “Gergesenes.” Others (א* B D latt sa) have “Gerasenes,” which is the reading followed in the translation here and in Luke 8:26. The difference between Matthew and Mark (which is parallel to Luke) may well have to do with uses of variant regional terms.sn The region of the Gerasenes would be in Gentile territory on the (south)eastern side of the Sea of Galilee across from Galilee. Matthew 8:28 records this miracle as occurring “in the region of the Gadarenes.” “Irrespective of how one settles this issue, for the [second and] Third Evangelist 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.
Mark 5:2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:2 sn See the note at Mark 1:19 for a description of the first-century fishing boat discovered in 1986 near Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Mark 5:2 sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.
Mark 5:2 tn Grk “met him from the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” When this is converted to normal English word order (“a man met him from the tombs with an unclean spirit”) it sounds as if “with an unclean spirit” modifies “the tombs.” Likewise, “a man with an unclean spirit from the tombs met him” implies that the unclean spirit came from the tombs, while the Greek text is clear that it is the man who had the unclean spirit who came from the tombs. To make this clear a second verb, “came,” is supplied in English: “came from the tombs and met him.”
Mark 5:4 tn Grk “he had often been bound with chains and shackles.” “Shackles” could also be translated “fetters”; they were chains for the feet.
Mark 5:4 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
Mark 5:7 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Mark 5:7 tn Grk “What to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί (ti emoi 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 me alone….”
Mark 5:7 sn Though it seems unusual for a demon to invoke God’s name (“I implore you by God”) in his demands of Jesus, the parallel in Matt 8:29 suggests the reason: “Why have you come to torment us before the time?” 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.
Mark 5:8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:8 sn This is a parenthetical explanation by the author.
Mark 5:9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:9 sn The name Legion means “thousands,” a word taken from a Latin term for a large group of soldiers. The term not only suggests a multiple possession, but also adds a military feel to the account. This is a true battle.
Mark 5:10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:11 tn Grk “mountain,” but this might give the English reader the impression of a far higher summit.
Mark 5:12 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:13 sn Many have discussed why Jesus gave them permission, since the animals were destroyed. However, this is another example of a miracle that is a visual lesson. The demons are destructive: They were destroying the man. They destroyed the pigs. They destroy whatever they touch. The point was to take demonic influence seriously, as well as Jesus’ power over it as a picture of the larger battle for human souls. There would be no doubt how the man’s transformation had taken place.
Mark 5:13 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.
Mark 5:14 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate a transition to the response to the miraculous healing.
Mark 5:17 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Mark 5:17 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:18 tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.
Mark 5:19 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
Mark 5:19 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Mark 5:19 sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what the Lord has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 1:44; 5:43) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.
Mark 5:20 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate the conclusion of the episode in the narrative.
Mark 5:20 sn The Decapolis refers to a group of towns (originally consisting of ten; the Greek name literally means “ten towns”) whose region (except for Scythopolis) lay on the east side of the Jordan River. Although frequently seen as a league of independent city states organized by the Roman general Pompey, contemporary sources do not support such a view. Rather their unity came from their Greek (Hellenistic) culture and religions, which set them apart from surrounding areas.
Mark 5:20 sn Note that the man could not separate what God had done from the one through whom God had done it (what Jesus had done for him). This man was called to witness to God’s goodness at home.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 35[a]

By David.

Footnotes

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

Footnotes

Healing of a Demoniac

Footnotes

Psalm 35^[a]