◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 119:97-104 (God’s word like honey); Exodus 18:1-12 (Jethro’s family eats before God); Colossians 1:27—2:7 (To know Christ) (New English Translation)

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July 18, 2022

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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 119:97-104

מ (Mem)

⁹⁷O how I love your law!
All day long I meditate on it.
⁹⁸Your commandments^[a] make me wiser than my enemies,
for I am always aware of them.
⁹⁹I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your rules.
¹⁰⁰I am more discerning than those older than I,
for I observe your precepts.
¹⁰¹I stay away^[b] from every evil path,
so that I might keep your instructions.^[c]
¹⁰²I do not turn aside from your regulations,
for you teach me.
¹⁰³Your words are sweeter
in my mouth than honey!^[d]
¹⁰⁴Your precepts give me discernment.
Therefore I hate all deceitful actions.^[e]

Exodus 18:1-12

The Advice of Jethro

18 ^[a] Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that^[b] the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.^[c]

²Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah after he had sent her back, ³and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom^[d] (for Moses^[e] had said, “I have been a foreigner^[f] in a foreign land”) ⁴and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said,^[g] “The God of my father has been my help^[h] and delivered^[i] me from the sword of Pharaoh”).

⁵Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’^[j] sons and his wife, came to Moses in the wilderness where he was camping by^[k] the mountain of God.^[l] ⁶He said^[m] to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons with her.” ⁷Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him;^[n] they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent. ⁸Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt for Israel’s sake, and all the hardship^[o] that had come on them^[p] along the way, and how^[q] the Lord had delivered them.

⁹Jethro rejoiced^[r] because of all the good that the Lord had done for Israel, whom he had delivered from the hand of Egypt. ¹⁰Jethro said, “Blessed^[s] be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians’ control!^[t] ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly against them he has destroyed them.”^[u] ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought^[v] a burnt offering and sacrifices for God,^[w] and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat food^[x] with the father-in-law of Moses before God.

Footnotes

Exodus 18:1 sn This chapter forms the transition to the Law. There has been the deliverance, the testing passages, the provision in the wilderness, and the warfare. Any God who can do all this for his people deserves their allegiance. In chap. 18 the Lawgiver is giving advice, using laws and rulings, but then he is given advice to organize the elders to assist. Thus, when the Law is fully revealed, a system will be in place to administer it. The point of the passage is that a great leader humbly accepts advice from other godly believers to delegate responsibility. He does not try to do it all himself; God does not want one individual to do it all. The chapter has three parts: vv. 1-12 tell how Jethro heard and came and worshiped and blessed; vv. 13-23 have the advice of Jethro, and then vv. 24-27 tell how Moses implemented the plan and Jethro went home. See further E. J. Runions, “Exodus Motifs in 1 Samuel 7 and 8, ” EvQ 52 (1980): 130-31; and also see for another idea T. C. Butler, “An Anti-Moses Tradition,” JSOT 12 (1979): 9-15.
Exodus 18:1 tn This clause beginning with כִּי (ki) answers the question of what Jethro had heard; it provides a second, explanatory noun clause that is the object of the verb—“he heard (1) all that God had done… (2) that he had brought….” See R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 81, §490.
Exodus 18:1 sn This is an important report that Jethro has heard, for the claim of God that he brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt will be the foundation of the covenant stipulations (Exod 20).
Exodus 18:3 tn The name Gershom is based on גֵּר (ger) plus שָׁם (sham), meaning “foreign [resident] there.” Another possiblility is to relate the name to the root גָּרַשׁ (garash), perhaps meaning “outcast” (from I גרשׁ) or “churning” (from II גרשׁ).
Exodus 18:3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).
Exodus 18:3 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger), a foreign resident, sounds like and may be the first element of the name Gershom. But the word for “foreign” land (נָכְרִיִּה; nokriyyah) is built on a different root.
Exodus 18:4 tn The referent (Moses) and the verb have been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 18:4 tn Now is given the etymological explanation of the name of Moses’ other son, Eliezer (אֱלִיעֶזֶר, ʾeliʿezer), which means “my God is a help.” The sentiment that explains this name is אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי בְּעֶזְרִי (ʾelohe ʾavi b^eʿezri, “the God of my father is my help”). The preposition in the sentiment is the bet (ב) essentiae (giving the essence—see GKC 379 §119.i). Not mentioned earlier, the name has become even more appropriate now that God has delivered Moses from Pharaoh again. The word for “help” is a common word in the Bible, first introduced as a description of the woman in the Garden. It means to do for someone what he or she cannot do for himself or herself. Samuel raised the “stone of help” (Ebenezer) when Yahweh helped Israel win the battle (1 Sam 7:12).
Exodus 18:4 sn The verb “delivered” is an important motif in this chapter (see its use in vv. 8, 9, and 10 with reference to Pharaoh).
Exodus 18:5 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 18:5 tn This is an adverbial accusative that defines the place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).
Exodus 18:5 sn The mountain of God is Horeb, and so the desert here must be the Sinai desert by it. But chap. 19 suggests that they left Rephidim to go the 24 miles to Sinai. It may be that this chapter fits in chronologically after the move to Sinai, but was placed here thematically. W. C. Kaiser defends the present location of the story by responding to other reasons for the change given by Lightfoot, but does not deal with the travel locations (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:411).
Exodus 18:6 sn This verse may seem out of place, since the report has already been given that they came to the desert. It begins to provide details of the event that the previous verse summarizes. The announcement in verse 6 may have come in advance by means of a messenger or at the time of arrival, either of which would fit with the attention to formal greetings in verse 7. This would suit a meeting between two important men; the status of Moses has changed. The LXX solves the problem by taking the pronoun “I” as the particle “behold” and reads it this way: “one said to Moses, ‘Behold, your father-in-law has come….’”
Exodus 18:7 sn This is more than polite oriental custom. Jethro was Moses’ benefactor, father-in-law, and a priest. He paid much respect to him. Now he could invite Jethro into his home (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 496).
Exodus 18:8 tn A rare word, “weariness” of the hardships.
Exodus 18:8 tn Heb “found them.”
Exodus 18:8 tn Here “how” has been supplied.
Exodus 18:9 tn The word חָדָה (khadah) is rare, occurring only in Job 3:6 and Ps 21:6, although it is common in Aramaic. The LXX translated it “he shuddered.” U. Cassuto suggests that that rendering was based on the midrashic interpretation in b. Sanhedrin 94b, “he felt cuts in his body”—a wordplay on the verb (Exodus, 215-16).
Exodus 18:10 tn This is a common form of praise. The verb בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle of the verb. Here must be supplied a jussive, making this participle the predicate: “May Yahweh be blessed.” The verb essentially means “to enrich”; in praise it would mean that he would be enriched by the praises of the people.
Exodus 18:10 tn Heb “from under the hand of the Egyptians.”
Exodus 18:11 tn The end of this sentence seems not to have been finished, or it is very elliptical. In the present translation the phrase “he has destroyed them” is supplied. Others take the last prepositional phrase to be the completion and supply only a verb: “[he was] above them.” U. Cassuto (Exodus, 216) takes the word “gods” to be the subject of the verb “act proudly,” giving the sense of “precisely (כִּי, ki) in respect of these things of which the gods of Egypt boasted—He is greater than they (עֲלֵיהֶם, ʿalehem).” He suggests rendering the clause, “excelling them in the very things to which they laid claim.”
Exodus 18:12 tn The verb is “and he took” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). It must have the sense of getting the animals for the sacrifice. The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate have “offered.” But Cody argues because of the precise wording in the text Jethro did not offer the sacrifices but received them (A. Cody, “Exodus 18, 12: Jethro Accepts a Covenant with the Israelites,” Bib 49 [1968]: 159-61).
Exodus 18:12 sn Jethro brought offerings as if he were the one who had been delivered. The “burnt offering” is singular, to honor God first. The other sacrifices were intended for the invited guests to eat (a forerunner of the peace offering). See B. Jacob, Exodus, 498.
Exodus 18:12 tn The word לֶחֶם (lekhem) here means the sacrifice and all the foods that were offered with it. The eating before God was part of covenantal ritual, for it signified that they were in communion with the Deity, and with one another.

Colossians 1:27-2:7

²⁷God wanted to make known to them the glorious^[a] riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸We proclaim him by instructing^[b] and teaching^[c] all people^[d] with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature^[e] in Christ. ²⁹Toward this goal^[f] I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully^[g] works in me.

2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you,^[h] and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face.^[i] ²My goal is that^[j] their hearts, having been knit together^[k] in love, may be encouraged, and that^[l] they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ,^[m] ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments^[n] that sound reasonable.^[o] ⁵For though^[p] I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see^[q] your morale^[r] and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

⁶Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,^[s] continue to live your lives^[t] in him, ⁷rooted^[u] and built up in him and firm^[v] in your^[w] faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Footnotes

Colossians 1:27 tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (tēs doxēs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”
Colossians 1:28 tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouthetountes, “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anthrōpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.
Colossians 1:28 tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouthetountes) and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskontes) are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).
Colossians 1:28 tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anthrōpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.
Colossians 1:28 tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.
Colossians 1:29 tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis ho, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”
Colossians 1:29 tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”
Colossians 2:1 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
Colossians 2:1 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”
Colossians 2:2 tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (hina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.
Colossians 2:2 tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.
Colossians 2:2 tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians—the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”
Colossians 2:2 tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou theou, Christou, “of God, [namely,] Christ”; so P⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 365 945 1505). Several witnesses, especially later Byzantines, read “of the God and Father, and of Christ” (D² K L 075 [0208 0278] M). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.
Colossians 2:4 tn BDAG 812 s.v. πιθανολογία states, “persuasive speech, art of persuasion (so Pla., Theaet. 162e) in an unfavorable sense in its only occurrence in our lit. ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ by specious arguments Col 2:4 (cp. PLips 40 III, 7 διὰ πιθανολογίας).”
Colossians 2:4 sn Paul’s point is that even though the arguments seem to make sense (sound reasonable), they are in the end false. Paul is not here arguing against the study of philosophy or serious thinking per se, but is arguing against the uncritical adoption of a philosophy that is at odds with a proper view of Christ and the ethics of the Christian life.
Colossians 2:5 tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).
Colossians 2:5 tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”
Colossians 2:5 tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).
Colossians 2:6 tn Though the verb παρελάβετε (parelabete) does not often take a double accusative, here it seems to do so. Both τὸν Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton Christon Iēsoun) and τὸν κύριον (ton kurion) are equally definite insofar as they both have an article, but both the word order and the use of “Christ Jesus” as a proper name suggest that it is the object (cf. Rom 10:9, 10). Thus Paul is affirming that the tradition that was delivered to the Colossians by Epaphras was Christ-centered and focused on him as Lord.
Colossians 2:6 tn The present imperative περιπατεῖτε (peripateite) implies, in this context, a continuation of something already begun. This is evidenced by the fact that Paul has already referred to their faith as “orderly” and “firm” (2:5), despite the struggles of some of them with this deceptive heresy (cf. 2:16-23). The verb is used literally to refer to a person “walking” and is thus used metaphorically (i.e., ethically) to refer to the way a person lives his or her life.
Colossians 2:7 tn Or “having been rooted.”
Colossians 2:7 sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).
Colossians 2:7 tn Or “the.” The Greek text has the article τῇ (tē), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (humōn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

מ (Mem)

Footnotes

The Advice of Jethro

Footnotes

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

Footnotes