◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 131 (I rest like a weaned child on God); Jeremiah 13:1-11 (Jeremiah’s loincloth); John 13:1-17 (Jesus washes the disciples’ feet) (New English Translation)

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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 131

Psalm 131^[a]

A song of ascents,^[b] by David.

131 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look.^[c]
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me.^[d]
²Indeed,^[e] I have calmed and quieted myself^[f]
like a weaned child with its mother;^[g]
I am content like a young child.^[h]
³O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!

Jeremiah 13:1-11

An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts

13 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts^[a] and put them on.^[b] Do not put them in water.”^[c] ²So I bought the shorts in keeping with the Lord’s instructions^[d] and put them on.^[e] ³Then the Lord’s message came to me again, ⁴“Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing^[f] and go at once^[g] to Perath.^[h] Bury the shorts there^[i] in a crack in the rocks.” ⁵So I went and buried them at Perath^[j] as the Lord had ordered me to do. ⁶Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get^[k] the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” ⁷So I went to Perath and dug up^[l] the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found^[m] that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

⁸Then the Lord’s message came to me, ⁹“I, the Lord, say:^[n] ‘This shows how^[o] I will ruin the highly exalted position^[p] in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. ¹⁰These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said.^[q] They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance^[r] to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So^[s] they will become just like these linen shorts that are good for nothing. ¹¹For,’ I say,^[t] ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah^[u] tightly^[v] to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise.^[w] But they would not obey me.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 13:1 tn The term here (אֵזוֹר, ʾezor) has been rendered in various ways: “girdle” (KJV, ASV), “waistband” (NASB), “waistcloth” (RSV), “sash” (NKJV), “belt” (NIV, NCV, NLT), and “loincloth” (NAB, NRSV, NJPS, REB). The latter is most accurate according to J. M. Myers, “Dress and Ornaments,” IDB 1:870, and W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:399. It was a short, skirt-like garment reaching from the waist to the knees and worn next to the body (cf. v. 9). The modern equivalent is “shorts” as in TEV/GNB, CEV.sn The linen shorts (Heb “loincloth”) were representative of Israel and the wearing of them was to illustrate the Lord’s close relation to his people (v. 11). Since the priests’ garments were to be made wholly of linen (cf. Exod 28; Ezek 44:17-18), the fact that the shorts were to be made of linen probably was to symbolize the nature of Israel’s calling: they were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod 19:5-6). Just as the linen garments of the priest were to give him special honor and glory (Exod 28:40), so the linen garment was to be a source of praise and glory to the Lord (v. 11).
Jeremiah 13:1 tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see, IDB, “Loins,” 3:149.
Jeremiah 13:1 tn Or “Do not ever put them in water,” i.e., “Do not even wash them.”sn The fact that the garment was not to be put in water is not explained. A possible explanation within the context is that it was to be worn continuously, not even taken off to wash it. That would illustrate that the close relationship that the Lord had with his people was continuous and indissoluble. Other explanations are that it was not to be gotten wet because (1) that would have begun the process of rotting (This assumes that the rotting was done by the water of the Euphrates. But it was buried in a crack in the rocks, not in the river itself); (2) that would have made it softer and easier to wear; or (3) that showed that the garment was new, clean, and fresh from the merchant. For this latter interpretation see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 64. For a fuller discussion of most of the issues connected with this acted-out parable see W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:285-92. However, the reason is not explained in the text, and there is not enough evidence in the text to come to a firm conclusion, though the most likely possibility is that it was not to be taken off and washed but worn continuously.
Jeremiah 13:2 tn Heb “word, message.”
Jeremiah 13:2 tn Heb “on my loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion, including the figurative uses, see R. C. Dentan, “Loins,” IDB 3:149-50.
Jeremiah 13:4 tn Heb “which are upon your loins.” See further the notes on v. 1.
Jeremiah 13:4 tn Heb “Get up and go.” The first verb is not literal but is idiomatic for the initiation of an action.
Jeremiah 13:4 tn There has been a great deal of debate about whether the place referred to here is a place (Parah [= Perath] mentioned in Josh 18:23, modern Khirbet Farah, near a spring ʿain Farah) about three-and-a-half miles from Anathoth, which was Jeremiah’s home town, or the Euphrates River. Elsewhere the word “Perath” always refers to the Euphrates, but it is either preceded by the word “river of” or there is contextual indication of reference to the Euphrates. Because a journey to the Euphrates and back would involve a journey of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) and take some months, scholars both ancient and modern have questioned whether “Perath” refers to the Euphrates here and, if it does, whether a real journey was involved. Most of the attempts to identify the place with the Euphrates involve misguided assumptions that this action was a symbolic message to Israel about exile or the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon. However, unlike the other symbolic acts in Jeremiah (and in Isaiah and Ezekiel), the symbolism is not part of a message to the people but to Jeremiah; the message is explained to him (vv. 9-11), not the people. In keeping with some of the wordplays that are somewhat common in Jeremiah, it is likely that the reference here is to a place, Parah, which was near Jeremiah’s hometown but whose name would naturally suggest to Jeremiah, later in the Lord’s explanation in vv. 9-11, Assyria-Babylon as a place connected with Judah’s corruption (see the notes on vv. 9-10). For further discussion the reader should consult the commentaries, especially W. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:396, and W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:285-92, who take opposite positions on this issue.
Jeremiah 13:4 sn The significance of this act is explained in vv. 9-10. See the notes there for explanation.
Jeremiah 13:5 tc The translation reads בִּפְרָתָה (bifratah) with 4QJer^a as noted in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:393 instead of בִּפְרָת (bifrat) in the MT.
Jeremiah 13:6 tn Heb “Get from there.” The words “from there” are not necessary to the English sentence. They would lead to a redundancy later in the verse, i.e., “from there…bury there.”
Jeremiah 13:7 tn Heb “dug and took.”
Jeremiah 13:7 tn Heb “And behold.”
Jeremiah 13:9 tn Heb “Thus says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 13:9 tn In a sense this phrase, which is literally “according to thus” or simply “thus,” points both backward and forward: backward to the acted-out parable and forward to the explanation which follows.
Jeremiah 13:9 tn Many of the English versions have erred in rendering this word “pride” or “arrogance,” with the resultant implication that the Lord is going to destroy Israel’s pride, i.e., humble them through the punishment of exile. However, BDB 144-45 s.v. גָּאוֹן 1 is more probably correct when they classify this passage among those that deal with the “‘majesty, excellence’ of nations, their wealth, power, magnificence of buildings….” The closest parallels to the usage here are in Zech 10:11 (parallel to scepter of Egypt); Ps 47:4 (47:5 HT; parallel to “our heritage” = “our land”); Isa 14:11; and Amos 8:7. The term is further defined in v. 11, where it refers to their special relationship and calling. To translate it “pride” or “arrogance” also ruins the wordplay on “ruin” (נִשְׁחַת [nishkhat] in v. 7 and אַשְׁחִית [ʾashkhit] in v. 9).sn Scholars ancient and modern are divided over the significance of the statement I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride (Heb “I will ruin the pride of Judah and Jerusalem”). Some feel that it refers to the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon, and others feel that it refers to the threat of Babylonian exile. However, F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 144) is correct in observing that the Babylonian exile did not lead to the rottenness of Judah; the corrupting influence of the foreign nations did. In Jeremiah’s day this came through the age-old influences of the Canaanite worship of Baal, but also through the astral worship introduced by Ahaz and Manasseh. For an example of the corrupting influence of Assyria on Judah through Ahaz’s political alliances, see 2 Kgs 16 and also compare the allegory in Ezek 23:14-21. It was while the “linen shorts” were off Jeremiah’s body and buried in the rocks that the linen shorts were ruined. So the Lord “ruined” the privileged status that resulted from Israel’s close relationship to him (cf. v. 11). For the “problem” created by the Lord ruining Israel through corrupting influence, compare the notes on Jer 4:10 and also passages like Isa 63:17 and Isa 6:10. If the parable simply emphasized ruin, though, the exile could be in view.
Jeremiah 13:10 tn Heb “to listen to my words.”
Jeremiah 13:10 tn Heb “and [they follow] after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
Jeremiah 13:10 tn The structure of this verse is a little unusual. It consists of a subject, “this wicked people,” qualified by several “which” clauses preceding a conjunction and a form which would normally be taken as a third person imperative (a Hebrew jussive; וִיהִי, vihi). This construction, called casus pendens by Hebrew grammarians, lays focus on the subject, here calling attention to the nature of Israel’s corruption that makes it rotten and useless to God. See GKC 458 §143.d for other examples of this construction.
Jeremiah 13:11 tn The words “I say” are “Oracle of the Lord” in Hebrew, and are located at the end of this statement in the Hebrew text rather than the beginning. However, they are rendered in the first person and placed at the beginning for smoother English style.
Jeremiah 13:11 tn Heb “all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 13:11 tn It would be somewhat unnatural in English to render the play on the word translated here “cling tightly” and “bound tightly” in a literal way. They are from the same root word in Hebrew (דָּבַק, davaq), a word that emphasizes the closest of personal relationships and the loyalty connected with them. It is used, for example, of the relationship of a husband and a wife and the loyalty expected of them (cf. Gen 2:24; for other similar uses see Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam 20:2; Deut 11:22).
Jeremiah 13:11 tn Heb “I bound them…in order that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for praise and for honor.” The sentence has been separated from the preceding and an equivalent idea expressed that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

John 13:1-17

Washing the Disciples’ Feet

13 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that his time^[a] had come to depart^[b] from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end.^[c] ²The evening meal^[d] was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart^[e] of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray^[f] Jesus.^[g] ³Because Jesus^[h] knew that the Father had handed all things over to him,^[i] and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴he got up from the meal, removed^[j] his outer clothes,^[k] took a towel and tied it around himself.^[l] ⁵He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.^[m]

⁶Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter^[n] said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash^[o] my feet?” ⁷Jesus replied,^[p] “You do not understand^[q] what I am doing now, but you will understand^[r] after these things.” ⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!”^[s] Jesus replied,^[t] “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”^[u] ⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, wash^[v] not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰Jesus replied,^[w] “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet,^[x] but is completely^[y] clean.^[z] And you disciples^[aa] are clean, but not every one of you.” ¹¹(For Jesus^[ab] knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is^[ac] clean.”)^[ad]

¹²So when Jesus^[ae] had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table^[af] again and said to them, “Do you understand^[ag] what I have done for you? ¹³You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly,^[ah] for that is what I am.^[ai] ¹⁴If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have given you an example^[aj]—you should do just as I have done for you. ¹⁶I tell you the solemn truth,^[ak] the slave^[al] is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger^[am] greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you understand^[an] these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Footnotes

John 13:1 tn Grk “his hour.”
John 13:1 tn Grk “that he should depart.” The ἵνα (hina) clause in Koine Greek frequently encroached on the simple infinitive (for the sake of greater clarity).
John 13:1 tn Or “he now loved them completely,” or “he now loved them to the uttermost” (see John 19:30). All of John 13:1 is a single sentence in Greek, although in English this would be unacceptably awkward. At the end of the verse the idiom εἰς τέλος (eis telos) was translated literally as “to the end” and the modern equivalents given in the note above, because there is an important lexical link between this passage and John 19:30, τετέλεσται (tetelestai, “It is ended”). sn The full extent of Jesus’ love for his disciples is not merely seen in his humble service to them in washing their feet (the most common interpretation of the passage). The full extent of his love for them is demonstrated in his sacrificial death for them on the cross. The footwashing episode which follows then becomes a prophetic act, or acting out beforehand, of his upcoming death on their behalf. The message for the disciples was that they were to love one another not just in humble, self-effacing service, but were to be willing to die for one another. At least one of them got this message eventually, though none understood it at the time (see 1 John 3:16).
John 13:2 tn Or “Supper.” To avoid possible confusion because of different regional English usage regarding the distinction between “dinner” and “supper” as an evening meal, the translation simply refers to “the evening meal.”
John 13:2 sn At this point the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 365) thought this was a reference to the idea entering the devil’s own heart, but this does not seem likely. It is more probable that Judas’ heart is meant, since the use of the Greek article (rather than a possessive pronoun) is a typical idiom when a part of one’s own body is indicated. Judas’ name is withheld until the end of the sentence for dramatic effect (emphasis). This action must be read in light of 13:27, and appears to refer to a preliminary idea or plan.
John 13:2 tn Or “that he should hand over.”
John 13:2 tn Grk “betray him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:3 tn Grk “Because he knew”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:3 tn Grk “had given all things into his hands.”
John 13:4 tn Grk “and removed”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
John 13:4 tn The plural τὰ ἱμάτια (ta himatia) is probably a reference to more than one garment (cf. John 19:23-24). If so, this would indicate that Jesus stripped to a loincloth, like a slave. The translation “outer clothes” is used to indicate that Jesus was not completely naked, since complete nudity would have been extremely offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context.
John 13:4 tn Grk “taking a towel he girded himself.” Jesus would have wrapped the towel (λέντιον, lention) around his waist (διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν, diezōsen heauton) for use in wiping the disciples’ feet. The term λέντιον is a Latin loanword (linteum) which is also found in the rabbinic literature (see BDAG 592 s.v.). It would have been a long piece of linen cloth, long enough for Jesus to have wrapped it about his waist and still used the free end to wipe the disciples’ feet.
John 13:5 tn Grk “with the towel with which he was girded.”
John 13:6 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) is specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:6 tn Grk “do you wash” or “are you washing.”
John 13:7 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
John 13:7 tn Grk “You do not know.”
John 13:7 tn Grk “you will know.”
John 13:8 tn Grk “You will never wash my feet forever.” The negation is emphatic in Greek but somewhat awkward in English. Emphasis is conveyed in the translation by the use of an exclamation point.
John 13:8 tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”
John 13:8 tn Or “you have no part in me.”
John 13:9 tn The word “wash” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Here it is supplied to improve the English style by making Peter’s utterance a complete sentence.
John 13:10 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
John 13:10 tn Grk “has no need except to wash his feet.”
John 13:10 tn Or “entirely.”
John 13:10 sn The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet. A common understanding is that the “bath” Jesus referred to is the initial cleansing from sin, which necessitates only “lesser, partial” cleansings from sins after conversion. This makes a fine illustration from a homiletic standpoint, but is it the meaning of the passage? This seems highly doubtful. Jesus stated that the disciples were completely clean except for Judas (vv. 10b, 11). What they needed was to have their feet washed by Jesus. In the broader context of the Fourth Gospel, the significance of the foot-washing seems to point not just to an example of humble service (as most understand it), but something more—Jesus’ self-sacrificial death on the cross. If this is correct, then the foot-washing which they needed to undergo represented their acceptance of this act of self-sacrifice on the part of their master. This makes Peter’s initial abhorrence of the act of humiliation by his master all the more significant in context; it also explains Jesus’ seemingly harsh reply to Peter (above, v. 8; compare Matt 16:21-23 where Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”).
John 13:10 tn The word “disciples” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb. Peter is not the only one Jesus is addressing here.
John 13:11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:11 tn Grk “Not all of you are.”
John 13:11 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
John 13:12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:12 tn Grk “he reclined at the table.” The phrase reflects the normal 1st century Near Eastern practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.
John 13:12 tn Grk “Do you know.”
John 13:13 tn Or “rightly.”
John 13:13 tn Grk “and I am these things.”
John 13:15 sn I have given you an example. Jesus tells his disciples after he has finished washing their feet that what he has done is to set an example for them. In the previous verse he told them they were to wash one another’s feet. What is the point of the example? If it is simply an act of humble service, as most interpret the significance, then Jesus is really telling his disciples to serve one another in humility rather than seeking preeminence over one another. If, however, the example is one of self-sacrifice up to the point of death, then Jesus is telling them to lay down their lives for one another (cf. 15:13).
John 13:16 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
John 13:16 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.
John 13:16 tn Or “nor is the apostle” (“apostle” means “one who is sent” in Greek).
John 13:17 tn Grk “If you know.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 131[a]

A song of ascents,[b] by David.

Footnotes

An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts

Footnotes

Washing the Disciples’ Feet

Footnotes

Psalm 131^[a]

A song of ascents,^[b] by David.