◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Proverbs 9:1-6 (Invited to dine at wisdom’s feast); Psalm 34:9-14 (Seeking God); Ephesians 5:15-20 (Filled with the Spirit); John 6:51-58 (Christ the true food and drink) (New English Translation)

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August 15, 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

Proverbs 9:1-6

The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly^[a]

9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved out its seven pillars.^[b]
²She has prepared her meat,^[c] she has mixed her wine;
she also has arranged her table.^[d]
³She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out^[e] on the highest places^[f] of the city.
⁴“Whoever is naive, let him turn in here.”
To those^[g] who lack understanding,^[h] she has said,^[i]
⁵“Come, eat^[j] some of my food,
and drink some of the wine I have mixed.^[k]
⁶Abandon your foolish ways^[l] so that you may live,^[m]
and proceed^[n] in the way of understanding.”

Footnotes

Proverbs 9:1 sn Chapter 9 forms the conclusion of the lengthy introduction to the book. Both wisdom and folly will make their final appeals; and both appeal to the simpletons. Wisdom offers life with no mention of pleasure; folly offers pleasure with no mention of death. The first twelve verses concern accepting wisdom: the invitation of wisdom (1-6), the description of the responses (7-11), and the consequence (12). Verses 13-18 concern accepting folly: the invitation (13-17) and the consequence (18).
Proverbs 9:1 sn Wisdom is personified as a wise woman. She has prepared a house and established it on seven pillars. This is a reference to the habitable world (e.g., 8:31). For the equation of the house and the world, e.g., 8:29; Job 38:6; Ps 104:5 (also G. Boström, Proverbiastudien [LUÅ], 1-14). The “seven pillars” have been variously interpreted, but since seven is a number for completeness and sacredness, the idea seems to be that wisdom produced a perfect world.
Proverbs 9:2 tn Heb “she has slaughtered her slaughter [animals].” English does not prefer to use a cognate verb and noun for butchering an animal in food preparation. Cf. KJV “hath killed her beasts”; NAB “has dressed her meat”; NASB “has prepared her food.”
Proverbs 9:2 sn Wisdom has prepared a sumptuous banquet in this house and sends out her maids to call the simple to come and eat (M. Lichtenstein, “The Banquet Motif in Keret and in Proverbs 9, ” JANESCU 1 [1968/69]: 19-31). The figures of meat and wine represent the good teaching of wisdom that will be palatable and profitable (implied comparisons). Cf. Isaiah 55:1-2 and John 6:51, 55 for similar uses of the figures. The idea of mixing wine could refer to the practice of mixing wine with spices or with water (as the LXX text assumes; e.g., Prov 23:30; Isa 5:22). Mixed wine was the most intoxicating; thus, her wisdom is attractive. All the imagery lets the simple know that what wisdom has to offer is marvelous.
Proverbs 9:3 tn The Hebrew imperfect can be a general present. The prior perfect verbs tell what she has done in preparation, while the imperfect tells what she now does. But it is also possible, given the past time context of the previous verbs, that the imperfect should be understood as past habitual, “she would call,” or as a preterite (without the vav consecutive), “she called.” This would be in line with the next verse which uses a perfect, “she has said.”
Proverbs 9:3 tn The text uses two synonymous terms in construct to express the superlative degree.
Proverbs 9:4 tn Heb “[As for one] lacking of mind—she has said to him.” The pronominal suffix is a resumptive pronoun, meaning, “she has said to the [person] lacking of mind.”
Proverbs 9:4 tn The Hebrew word לֵב (lev) means both the “heart” and the “mind.” By metonymy, the mind stands for understanding or judgment.
Proverbs 9:4 tn The Hebrew switches to the perfect verb form to introduce the speech in the following verses. It lets us know what her message has been. It is possible that the imperfect verb in the previous verse should be understood as a past habitual, “she would call” or as a preterite (without the vav consecutive), “she called.” tc The LXX supports the reading of the verb as a perfect. But at the similar construction in 9:16, the LXX reads a participle, which would be present time. The consonants are the same for both forms. It is possible that the verb should be read as a participle in both verses. The present tense could certainly fit the context.
Proverbs 9:5 tn The construction features a cognate accusative (verb and noun from same root). The preposition ב (bet) has the partitive use “some” (GKC 380 §119.m).
Proverbs 9:5 tn The final verb actually stands in a relative clause although the relative pronoun is not present; it modifies “wine.”sn The expressions “eat” and “drink” carry the implied comparison forward; they mean that the simple are to appropriate the teachings of wisdom.
Proverbs 9:6 tn There are two ways to take this word: either as “fools” or as “foolish ways.” The spelling for “foolishness” in v. 13 differs from this spelling, and so some have taken that as an indicator that this should be “fools.” But this could still be an abstract plural here as in 1:22. Either the message is to forsake fools (i.e., bad company; cf. KJV, TEV) or forsake foolishness (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).
Proverbs 9:6 tn The two imperatives are joined with vav; this is a volitive sequence in which result or consequence is expressed.
Proverbs 9:6 tn The verb means “go straight, go on, advance” or “go straight on in the way of understanding” (BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר).

Psalm 34:9-14

⁹Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,^[a]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
¹⁰Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
¹¹Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.^[b]
¹²Do you want to really live?^[c]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?^[d]
¹³Then make sure you don’t speak evil words^[e]
or use deceptive speech.^[f]
¹⁴Turn away from evil and do what is right.^[g]
Strive for peace and promote it.^[h]

Ephesians 5:15-20

Live Wisely

¹⁵Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise^[a] by understanding^[b] what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, which^[c] is debauchery,^[d] but be filled by the Spirit,^[e] ¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music^[f] in^[g] your hearts to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for all things^[h] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Footnotes

Ephesians 5:17 tn “become wise by understanding”; Grk “understanding.” The imperative “be wise” is apparently implied by the construction of vv. 15-21. See the following text-critical note for discussion.
Ephesians 5:17 tc ‡ The best witnesses read the imperative here (so P⁴⁶ א A B P 0278 33 81 1739 pc). The participle is found primarily in the Western and Byzantine families (D² Ψ 1175 1505 1881 2464 M latt [D* F G are slightly different, but support the participial reading]). But the participle is superior on internal grounds: The structure of v. 17 almost requires an imperative after ἀλλά (alla), for this gives balance to the clause: “Do not become foolish, but understand…” If the participle is authentic, it may be imperatival (and thus should be translated just like an imperative), but such is quite rare in the NT. More likely, there is an implied imperative as follows: “Do not become foolish, but become wise, understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Either way, the participle is the harder reading and ought to be considered original. It is significant that seeing an implied imperative in this verse affords a certain symmetry to the author’s thought in vv. 15-21: There are three main sections (vv. 15-16, v. 17, vv. 18-21), each of which provides a negative injunction, followed by a positive injunction, followed by a present adverbial participle. If συνίετε (suniete) is original, this symmetry is lost. Thus, even though the external evidence for συνιέντες (sunientes) is not nearly as weighty as for the imperative, both the transcriptional and intrinsic evidence support it.
Ephesians 5:18 tn Grk “in which.”
Ephesians 5:18 tn Or “dissipation.” See BDAG 148 s.v. ἀσωτία.
Ephesians 5:18 tn Many have taken ἐν πνεύματι (en pneumati) as indicating content, i.e., one is to be filled with the Spirit. ExSyn 375 states, “There are no other examples in biblical Greek in which ἐν + the dative after πληρόω indicates content. Further, the parallel with οἴνῳ as well as the common grammatical category of means suggest that the idea intended is that believers are to be filled by means of the [Holy] Spirit. If so there seems to be an unnamed agent. The meaning of this text can only be fully appreciated in light of the πληρόω language in Ephesians. Always the term is used in connection with a member of the Trinity. Three considerations seem to be key: (1) In Eph 3:19 the ‘hinge’ prayer introducing the last half of the letter makes a request that the believers ‘be filled with all the fullness of God’ (πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ). The explicit content of πληρόω is thus God’s fullness (probably a reference to his moral attributes). (2) In 4:10 Christ is said to be the agent of filling (with v. 11 adding the specifics of his giving spiritual gifts). (3) The author then brings his argument to a crescendo in 5:18: Believers are to be filled by Christ by means of the Spirit with the content of the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 5:19 tn See BDAG 1096 s.v. ψάλλω.
Ephesians 5:19 tn Or “with.”
Ephesians 5:20 tn Grk “for all.” The form “all” can be either neuter or masculine, and an alternative view is “for all” referring to people. The context could suggest believers (“one another” in v. 19). In other places this Greek phrase occurs in the NT, it refers to people (1 Tim 2:6; 2 Cor 5:14-15).

John 6:51-58

⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread^[a] that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

⁵²Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus^[b] began to argue with one another,^[c] “How can this man^[d] give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth,^[e] unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,^[f] you have no life^[g] in yourselves. ⁵⁴The one who eats^[h] my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.^[i] ⁵⁵For my flesh is true^[j] food, and my blood is true^[k] drink. ⁵⁶The one who eats^[l] my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him.^[m] ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes^[n] me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This^[o] is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors^[p] ate, but then later died.^[q] The one who eats^[r] this bread will live forever.”

Footnotes

John 6:51 tn Grk “And the bread.”
John 6:52 tn Grk “Then the Jews began to argue.” Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). See also the note on the phrase “the Jews who were hostile to Jesus” in v. 41.
John 6:52 tn Grk “with one another, saying.”
John 6:52 tn Grk “this one,” “this person.”
John 6:53 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
John 6:53 sn Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. These words are at the heart of the discourse on the Bread of Life, and have created great misunderstanding among interpreters. Anyone who is inclined toward a sacramental viewpoint will almost certainly want to take these words as a reference to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, because of the reference to eating and drinking. But this does not automatically follow: By anyone’s definition there must be a symbolic element to the eating which Jesus speaks of in the discourse, and once this is admitted, it is better to understand it here, as in the previous references in the passage, to a personal receiving of (or appropriation of) Christ and his work.
John 6:53 tn That is, “no eternal life” (as opposed to physical life).
John 6:54 tn Or “who chews”; Grk ὁ τρώγων (ho trōgōn). The alternation between ἐσθίω (esthiō, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trōgō, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) may simply reflect a preference for one form over the other on the author’s part, rather than an attempt to express a slightly more graphic meaning. If there is a difference, however, the word used here (τρώγω) is the more graphic and vivid of the two (“gnaw” or “chew”).
John 6:54 sn Notice that here the result (has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day) is produced by eating (Jesus’) flesh and drinking his blood. Compare John 6:40 where the same result is produced by “looking on the Son and believing in him.” This suggests that the phrase here (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood by the phrase in 6:40 (looks on the Son and believes in him).
John 6:55 tn Or “real.”
John 6:55 tn Or “real.”
John 6:56 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esthiō, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trōgō, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
John 6:56 sn Resides in me, and I in him. Note how in John 6:54 eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood produces eternal life and the promise of resurrection at the last day. Here the same process of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood leads to a relationship of mutual indwelling (resides in me, and I in him). This suggests strongly that for the author (and for Jesus) the concepts of ‘possessing eternal life’ and of ‘residing in Jesus’ are virtually interchangeable.
John 6:57 tn Or “who chews”; Grk “who eats.” Here the translation “consumes” is more appropriate than simply “eats,” because it is the internalization of Jesus by the individual that is in view. On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esthiō, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trōgō, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
John 6:58 tn Or “This one.”
John 6:58 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
John 6:58 tn Grk “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not just like your ancestors ate and died.” The cryptic Greek expression has been filled out in the translation for clarity.
John 6:58 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esthiō, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trōgō, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Live Wisely

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly^[a]