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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 65

Psalm 65^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David, a song.

65 Praise awaits you,^[b] O God, in Zion.
Vows made to you are fulfilled.
²You hear prayers;^[c]
all people approach you.^[d]
³Our record of sins overwhelms me,^[e]
but you forgive^[f] our acts of rebellion.
⁴How blessed^[g] is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts.^[h]
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—
your holy palace.^[i]
⁵You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior.^[j]
All the ends of the earth trust in you,^[k]
as well as those living across the wide seas.^[l]
⁶You created the mountains by your power,^[m]
and demonstrated your strength.^[n]
⁷You calmed the raging seas^[o]
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations.^[p]
⁸Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts;^[q]
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.^[r]
⁹You visit the earth and give it rain;^[s]
you make it rich and fertile.^[t]
God’s streams are full of water;^[u]
you provide grain for the people of the earth,^[v]
for you have prepared the earth in this way.^[w]
¹⁰You saturate^[x] its furrows,
and soak^[y] its plowed ground.^[z]
With rain showers you soften its soil,^[aa]
and make its crops grow.^[ab]
¹¹You crown the year with your good blessings,^[ac]
and you leave abundance in your wake.^[ad]
¹²The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,^[ae]
and the hills are clothed with joy.^[af]
¹³The meadows are clothed with sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.

Footnotes

Psalm 65:1 sn Psalm 65. The psalmist praises God because he forgives sin and blesses his people with an abundant harvest.
Psalm 65:1 tn Heb “for you, silence, praise.” Many prefer to emend the noun דֻּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”) to a participle דּוֹמִיָּה (domiyyah), from the root דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”), understood here in the sense of “wait.”
Psalm 65:2 tn Heb “O one who hears prayer.”
Psalm 65:2 tn Heb “to you all flesh comes.”
Psalm 65:3 tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”
Psalm 65:3 tn Or “make atonement for.”
Psalm 65:4 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
Psalm 65:4 tn Heb “[whom] you bring near [so that] he might live [in] your courts.”
Psalm 65:4 tn Or “temple.”
Psalm 65:5 tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”
Psalm 65:5 tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”sn All the ends of the earth trust in you. This idealistic portrayal of universal worship is typical hymnic hyperbole, though it does anticipate eschatological reality.
Psalm 65:5 tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (r^ekhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.
Psalm 65:6 tn Heb “[the] one who establishes [the] mountains by his power.”
Psalm 65:6 tn Heb “one [who] is girded with strength”; or “one [who] girds himself with strength.”
Psalm 65:7 tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”
Psalm 65:7 sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).
Psalm 65:8 tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.
Psalm 65:8 tn Heb “the goings out of the morning and the evening you cause to shout for joy.” The phrase “goings out of the morning and evening” refers to the sunrise and sunset, that is, the east and the west.
Psalm 65:9 tn The verb form is a Polel from שׁוּק (shuq, “be abundant”), a verb which appears only here and in Joel 2:24 and 3:13, where it is used in the Hiphil stem and means “overflow.”
Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “you greatly enrich it.”
Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “[with] a channel of God full of water.” The divine name is probably may be used here in a superlative sense to depict a very deep stream (“a stream fit for God,” as it were).
Psalm 65:9 tn The pronoun apparently refers to the people of the earth, mentioned in v. 8.
Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “for thus [referring to the provision of rain described in the first half of the verse] you prepare it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix attached to the verb “prepare” refers back to the “earth,” which is a feminine noun with regard to grammatical form.
Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “saturating” [the form is an infinitive absolute].
Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “flatten, cause to sink.”
Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “trenches,” or “furrows.”
Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “soften it,” that is, the earth.
Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “its vegetation you bless.” Divine “blessing” often involves endowing an object with special power or capacity.
Psalm 65:11 tn Heb “your good,” which refers here to agricultural blessings.
Psalm 65:11 tn Heb “and your paths drip with abundance.”
Psalm 65:12 tn Heb “drip.”
Psalm 65:12 tn That is, with rich vegetation that brings joy to those who see it.

Exodus 9:13-35

Plague Seven: Hail

¹³^[a] The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand^[b] before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has said: “Release my people so that they may serve me! ¹⁴For this time I will send all my plagues^[c] on your very self^[d] and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. ¹⁵For by now I could have stretched out^[e] my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed^[f] from the earth. ¹⁶But^[g] for this purpose I have caused you to stand:^[h] to show you^[i] my strength, and so that my name may be declared^[j] in all the earth. ¹⁷You are still exalting^[k] yourself against my people by^[l] not releasing them. ¹⁸I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down^[m] about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred^[n] in Egypt from the day it was founded^[o] until now. ¹⁹So now, send instructions^[p] to gather^[q] your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person^[r] or animal caught^[s] in the field and not brought into the house—the hail will come down on them, and they will die!”’”

²⁰Those^[t] of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the Lord’s message hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses, ²¹but those^[u] who did not take^[v] the Lord’s message seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field.

²²Then the Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sky^[w] that there may be^[x] hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals,^[y] and on everything that grows^[z] in the field in the land of Egypt.” ²³When Moses extended^[aa] his staff toward the sky, the Lord^[ab] sent thunder^[ac] and hail, and fire fell to the earth;^[ad] so the Lord caused hail to rain down on the land of Egypt. ²⁴Hail fell^[ae] and fire mingled^[af] with the hail; the hail was so severe^[ag] that there had not been any like it^[ah] in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵The hail struck everything in the open fields, both^[ai] people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows^[aj] in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces. ²⁶Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail.

²⁷So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time!^[ak] The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty.^[al] ²⁸Pray to the Lord, for the mighty^[am] thunderings and hail are too much!^[an] I will release you and you will stay no longer.”^[ao]

²⁹Moses said to him, “When I leave the city^[ap] I will spread my hands to the Lord, the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord.^[aq] ³⁰But as for you^[ar] and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear^[as] the Lord God.”

³¹(Now the^[at] flax and the barley were struck^[au] by the hail,^[av] for the barley had ripened^[aw] and the flax^[ax] was in bud. ³²But the wheat and the spelt^[ay] were not struck, for they are later crops.)^[az]

³³So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain stopped pouring on the earth. ³⁴When Pharaoh saw^[ba] that the rain and hail and thunder ceased, he sinned again:^[bb] both he and his servants hardened^[bc] their hearts. ³⁵So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard,^[bd] and he did not release the Israelites, as the Lord had predicted through Moses.

Footnotes

Exodus 9:13 sn With the seventh plague there is more explanation of what God is doing to Pharaoh. This plague begins with an extended lesson (vv. 13-21). Rain was almost unknown in Egypt, and hail and lightning were harmless. The Egyptians were fascinated by all these, though, and looked on them as portentous. Herodotus describes how they studied such things and wrote them down (1.2.c.38). If ordinary rainstorms were ominous, what must fire and hail have been? The Egyptians had denominated fire Hephaistos, considering it to be a mighty deity (cf. Diodorus, 1.1.c.1). Porphry says that at the opening of the temple of Serapis the Egyptians worshiped with water and fire. If these connections were clearly understood, then these elements in the plague were thought to be deities that came down on their own people with death and destruction.
Exodus 9:13 tn Or “take your stand.”
Exodus 9:14 tn The expression “all my plagues” points to the rest of the plagues and anticipates the proper outcome. Another view is to take the expression to mean the full brunt of the attack on the Egyptian people.
Exodus 9:14 tn Heb “to your heart.” The expression is unusual, but it may be an allusion to the hard heartedness of Pharaoh—his stubbornness and blindness (B. Jacob, Exodus, 274).
Exodus 9:15 tn The verb is the Qal perfect שָׁלַחְתִּי (shalakhti), but a past tense, or completed action translation does not fit the context at all. Gesenius lists this reference as an example of the use of the perfect to express actions and facts, whose accomplishment is to be represented not as actual but only as possible. He offers this for Exod 9:15: “I had almost put forth” (GKC 313 §106.p). Also possible is “I should have stretched out my hand.” Others read the potential nuance instead, and render it as “I could have…” as in the present translation.
Exodus 9:15 tn The verb כָּחַד (kakhad) means “to hide, efface,” and in the Niphal it has the idea of “be effaced, ruined, destroyed.” Here it will carry the nuance of the result of the preceding verbs: “I could have stretched out my hand…and struck you…and (as a result) you would have been destroyed.”
Exodus 9:16 tn The first word is a very strong adversative, which, in general, can be translated “but, howbeit”; BDB 19 s.v. אוּלָם suggests for this passage “but in very deed.”
Exodus 9:16 tn The form הֶעֱמַדְתִּיךָ (heʿemadtikha) is the Hiphil perfect of עָמַד (ʿamad). It would normally mean “I caused you to stand.” But that seems to have one or two different connotations. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 73) says that it means “maintain you alive.” The causative of this verb means “continue,” according to him. The LXX has the same basic sense—“you were preserved.” But Paul bypasses the Greek and writes “he raised you up” to show God’s absolute sovereignty over Pharaoh. Both renderings show God’s sovereign control over Pharaoh.
Exodus 9:16 tn The Hiphil infinitive construct הַרְאֹתְךָ (harʾot^ekha) is the purpose of God’s making Pharaoh come to power in the first place. To make Pharaoh see is to cause him to understand, to experience God’s power.
Exodus 9:16 tn Heb “in order to declare my name.” Since there is no expressed subject, this may be given a passive translation.
Exodus 9:17 tn מִסְתּוֹלֵל (mistolel) is a Hitpael participle, from a root that means “raise up, obstruct.” So in the Hitpael it means to “raise oneself up,” “elevate oneself,” or “be an obstructionist.” See W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:363; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 116.
Exodus 9:17 tn The infinitive construct with lamed here is epexegetical; it explains how Pharaoh has exalted himself—“by not releasing the people.”
Exodus 9:18 tn הִנְנִי מַמְטִיר (hin^eni mamtir) is the futur instans construction, giving an imminent future translation: “Here—I am about to cause it to rain.”
Exodus 9:18 tn Heb “which not was like it in Egypt.” The pronoun suffix serves as the resumptive pronoun for the relative particle: “which…like it” becomes “the like of which has not been.” The word “hail” is added in the translation to make clear the referent of the relative particle.
Exodus 9:18 tn The form הִוָּסְדָה (hivvas^edah) is perhaps a rare Niphal perfect and not an infinitive (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 117).
Exodus 9:19 tn The object “instructions” is implied in the context.
Exodus 9:19 tn הָעֵז (haʿez) is the Hiphil imperative from עוּז (ʿuz, “to bring into safety” or “to secure”). Although there is no vav (ו) linking the two imperatives, the second could be subordinated by virtue of the meanings. “Send to bring to safety.”
Exodus 9:19 tn Heb “man, human.”
Exodus 9:19 tn Heb “[who] may be found.” The verb can be the imperfect of possibility.
Exodus 9:20 tn Heb “the one fearing.” The singular expression here and throughout vv. 20-21 refers to all who fit the description.
Exodus 9:21 tn The Hebrew text again has the singular.
Exodus 9:21 tn Heb “set his mind on” or “put his heart to.”
Exodus 9:22 tn Or “the heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
Exodus 9:22 tn The jussive with the conjunction (וִיהִי, vihi) coming after the imperative provides the purpose or result.
Exodus 9:22 tn Heb “on man and on beast.”
Exodus 9:22 tn The noun refers primarily to cultivated grains. But here it seems to be the general heading for anything that grows from the ground, all vegetation and plant life, as opposed to what grows on trees.
Exodus 9:23 tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next clause in view of the emphasis put on the subject, Yahweh, by the disjunctive word order of that clause.
Exodus 9:23 tn By starting the clause with the subject (an example of disjunctive word order) the text is certainly stressing that Yahweh alone did this.
Exodus 9:23 tn The expression נָתַן קֹלֹת (natan qolot) literally means “gave voices” (also “voice”). This is a poetic expression for sending the thunder. Ps 29:3 talks about the “voice of Yahweh”—the God of glory thunders!
Exodus 9:23 sn This clause has been variously interpreted. Lightning would ordinarily accompany thunder; in this case the mention of fire could indicate that the lightning was beyond normal and that it was striking in such a way as to start fires on the ground. It could also mean that fire went along the ground from the pounding hail.
Exodus 9:24 tn The verb is the common preterite וַיְהִי (vay^ehi), which is normally translated “and there was” if it is translated at all. The verb הָיָה (hayah), however, can mean “be, become, befall, fall, fall out, happen.” Here it could be simply translated “there was hail,” but the active “hail fell” fits the point of the sequence better.
Exodus 9:24 tn The form מִתְלַקַּחַת (mitlaqqakhat) is a Hitpael participle; the clause reads, “and fire taking hold of itself in the midst of the hail.” This probably refers to lightning flashing back and forth. See also Ezek 1:4. God created a great storm with flashing fire connected to it.
Exodus 9:24 tn Heb “very heavy” or “very severe.” The subject “the hail” is implied.
Exodus 9:24 tn A literal reading of the clause would be “which there was not like it in all the land of Egypt.” The relative pronoun must be joined to the resumptive pronoun: “which like it (like which) there had not been.”
Exodus 9:25 tn The exact expression is “from man even to beast.” R. J. Williams lists this as an example of the inclusive use of the preposition מִן (min) to be rendered “both…and” (Hebrew Syntax, 57, §327).
Exodus 9:25 tn Heb “all the cultivated grain of.”
Exodus 9:27 sn Pharaoh now is struck by the judgment and acknowledges that he is at fault. But the context shows that this penitence was short-lived. What exactly he meant by this confession is uncertain. On the surface his words seem to represent a recognition that he was in the wrong and Yahweh right.
Exodus 9:27 tn The word רָשָׁע (rashaʿ) can mean “ungodly, wicked, guilty, criminal.” Pharaoh here is saying that Yahweh is right, and the Egyptians are not—so they are at fault, guilty. S. R. Driver says the words are used in their forensic sense (in the right or wrong standing legally) and not in the ethical sense of morally right and wrong (Exodus, 75).
Exodus 9:28 sn The text has Heb “the voices of God.” The divine epithet can be used to express the superlative (cf. Jonah 3:3).
Exodus 9:28 tn The expression וְרַב מִהְיֹת (v^erav mih^eyot, “[the mighty thunder and hail] is much from being”) means essentially “more than enough.” This indicates that the storm was too much, or, as one might say, “It is enough.”
Exodus 9:28 tn The last clause uses a verbal hendiadys: “you will not add to stand,” meaning “you will no longer stay.”
Exodus 9:29 tn כְּצֵאתִי (k^etseʾti) is the Qal infinitive construct of יָצָא (yatsaʾ); it functions here as the temporal clause before the statement about prayer.sn There has been a good deal of speculation about why Moses would leave the city before praying. Rashi said he did not want to pray where there were so many idols. It may also be as the midrash in Exodus Rabbah 12:5 says that most of the devastation of this plague had been outside in the fields, and that was where Moses wished to go.
Exodus 9:29 sn This clause provides the purpose/result of Moses’ intention: he will pray to Yahweh and the storms will cease “that you might know….” It was not enough to pray and have the plague stop. Pharaoh must “know” that Yahweh is the sovereign Lord over the earth. Here was that purpose of knowing through experience. This clause provides the key for the exposition of this plague: God demonstrated his power over the forces of nature to show his sovereignty—the earth is Yahweh’s. He can destroy it. He can preserve it. If people sin by ignoring his word and not fearing him, he can bring judgment on them. If any fear Yahweh and obey his instructions, they will be spared. A positive way to express the expositional point of the chapter is to say that those who fear Yahweh and obey his word will escape the powerful destruction he has prepared for those who sinfully disregard his word.
Exodus 9:30 tn The verse begins with the disjunctive vav to mark a strong contrastive clause to what was said before this.
Exodus 9:30 tn The adverb טֶרֶם (terem, “before, not yet”) occurs with the imperfect tense to give the sense of the English present tense to the verb negated by it (GKC 314-15 §107.c). Moses is saying that he knew that Pharaoh did not really stand in awe of God, so as to grant Israel’s release, i.e., fear not in the religious sense but “be afraid of” God—fear “before” him (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 76).
Exodus 9:31 tn A disjunctive vav introduces the two verses that provide parenthetical information to the reader. Gesenius notes that the boldness of such clauses is often indicated by the repetition of nouns at the beginning (see GKC 452 §141.d). Some have concluded that because they have been put here rather than back after v. 25 or 26, they form part of Moses’ speech to Pharaoh, explaining that the crops that were necessary for humans were spared, but those for other things were destroyed. This would also mean that Moses was saying there is more that God can destroy (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 279).
Exodus 9:31 tn The unusual forms נֻכָּתָה (nukkatah) in v. 31 and נֻכּוּ (nukku) in v. 32 are probably to be taken as old Qal passives. There are no attested Piel uses of the root.
Exodus 9:31 tn The words “by the hail” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied from context.
Exodus 9:31 tn Heb “was in the ear” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “had headed.”
Exodus 9:31 sn Flax was used for making linen, and the area around Tanis was ideal for producing flax. Barley was used for bread for the poor people, as well as beer and animal feed.
Exodus 9:32 tn The word כֻּסֶּמֶת (kussemet) is translated “spelt”; the word occurs only here and in Isa 28:25 and Ezek 4:9. Spelt is a grain closely allied to wheat. Other suggestions have been brought forward from the study of Egyptian crops (see a brief summary in W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:363-64).
Exodus 9:32 tn Heb “for they are late.”
Exodus 9:34 tn The clause beginning with the preterite and vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next, and main clause—that he hardened his heart again.
Exodus 9:34 tn The construction is another verbal hendiadys: וַיֹּסֶף לַחֲטֹא (vayyosef lakhatoʾ), literally rendered “and he added to sin.” The infinitive construct becomes the main verb, and the Hiphil preterite becomes adverbial. The text is clearly interpreting as sin the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and his refusal to release Israel. At the least this means that the plagues are his fault, but the expression probably means more than this—he was disobeying Yahweh God.
Exodus 9:34 tn This phrase translates the Hebrew word כָּבֵד (kaved); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53.
Exodus 9:35 tn The verb about Pharaoh’s heart in v. 35 is וַיֶּחֱזַק (vayyekhezaq), a Qal preterite: “and it was hardened” or “strengthened to resist.” This forms the summary statement of this stage in the drama. The verb used in v. 34 to report Pharaoh’s response was וַיַּכְבֵּד (vayyakhbed), a Hiphil preterite: “and he hardened [his heart]” or made it stubborn. The use of two descriptions of Pharaoh’s heart in close succession, along with mention of his servants’ heart condition, underscores the growing extent of the problem.

Acts 27:39-44

Paul is Shipwrecked

³⁹When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed^[a] a bay^[b] with a beach,^[c] where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. ⁴⁰So they slipped^[d] the anchors^[e] and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage^[f] that bound the steering oars^[g] together. Then they hoisted^[h] the foresail^[i] to the wind and steered toward^[j] the beach. ⁴¹But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents^[k] and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force^[l] of the waves. ⁴²Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners^[m] so that none of them would escape by swimming away.^[n] ⁴³But the centurion,^[o] wanting to save Paul’s life,^[p] prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,^[q] ⁴⁴and the rest were to follow,^[r] some on planks^[s] and some on pieces of the ship.^[t] And in this way^[u] all were brought safely to land.

Footnotes

Acts 27:39 tn Or “observed,” “saw.”
Acts 27:39 tn Or “gulf” (BDAG 557 s.v. κόλπος 3).
Acts 27:39 sn A beach would refer to a smooth sandy beach suitable for landing.
Acts 27:40 tn That is, released. Grk “slipping…leaving.” The participles περιελόντες (perielontes) and εἴων (eiōn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 27:40 tn The term is used of a ship’s anchor. (BDAG 12 s.v. ἄγκυρα a).
Acts 27:40 tn Grk “bands”; possibly “ropes.”
Acts 27:40 tn Or “rudders.”
Acts 27:40 tn Grk “hoisting…they.” The participle ἐπάραντες (eparantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 27:40 tn Grk “sail”; probably a reference to the foresail.
Acts 27:40 tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατέχω 7 states, “hold course, nautical t.t., intr….κατεῖχον εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν they headed for the beach Ac 27:40.”
Acts 27:41 tn Grk “fell upon a place of two seas.” The most common explanation for this term is that it refers to a reef or sandbar with the sea on both sides, as noted in BDAG 245 s.v. διθάλασσος: the “τόπος δ. Ac 27:41 is a semantic unit signifying a point (of land jutting out with water on both sides).” However, Greek had terms for a “sandbank” (θῖς [this], ταινία [tainia]), a “reef” (ἑρμα [herma]), “strait” (στενόν [stenon]), “promontory” (ἀρωτήρον [arōtēron]), and other nautical hazards, none of which are used by the author here. NEB here translates τόπον διθάλασσον (topon dithalasson) as “cross-currents,” a proposal close to that advanced by J. M. Gilchrist, “The Historicity of Paul’s Shipwreck,” JSNT 61 (1996): 29-51, who suggests the meaning is “a patch of cross-seas,” where the waves are set at an angle to the wind, a particular hazard for sailors. Thus the term most likely refers to some sort of adverse sea conditions rather than a topographical feature like a reef or sandbar.
Acts 27:41 tn Or “violence” (BDAG 175 s.v. βία a).
Acts 27:42 sn The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners. The issue here was not cruelty, but that the soldiers would be legally responsible if any prisoners escaped and would suffer punishment themselves. So they were planning to do this as an act of self-preservation. See Acts 16:27 for a similar incident.
Acts 27:42 tn The participle ἐκκολυμβήσας (ekkolumbēsas) has been taken instrumentally.
Acts 27:43 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
Acts 27:43 tn Or “wanting to rescue Paul.”sn Thanks to the centurion who wanted to save Paul’s life, Paul was once more rescued from a potential human threat.
Acts 27:43 tn BDAG 347 s.v. I. ἔξειμι has “ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν get to land Ac 27:43.”
Acts 27:44 tn The words “were to follow” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They must be supplied to clarify the sense in contemporary English.
Acts 27:44 tn Or “boards” according to BDAG 913 s.v. σανίς.
Acts 27:44 tn Grk “on pieces from the ship”; that is, pieces of wreckage from the ship.sn Both the planks and pieces of the ship were for the weak or nonswimmers. The whole scene is a historical metaphor representing how listening to Paul and his message could save people.
Acts 27:44 tn Grk “And in this way it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 65[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David, a song.

Footnotes

Plague Seven: Hail

Footnotes

Paul is Shipwrecked

Footnotes

Psalm 65^[a]