Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 106[a]
106 Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,
or relate all his praiseworthy deeds?[c]
3 How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time.
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people.
Pay attention to me, when you deliver,
5 so I may see the prosperity[d] of your chosen ones,
rejoice along with your nation,[e]
and boast along with the people who belong to you.[f]
6 We have sinned like[g] our ancestors;[h]
we have done wrong, we have done evil.
7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds.
They failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,
and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea.[i]
8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation,[j]
that he might reveal his power.
9 He shouted at[k] the Red Sea and it dried up;
he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power[l] of the one who hated them,
and rescued[m] them from the power[n] of the enemy.
11 The water covered their enemies;
not even one of them survived.[o]
12 They believed his promises;[p]
they sang praises to him.
Footnotes
- Psalm 106:1 sn Psalm 106. The psalmist recalls Israel’s long history of rebellion against God, despite his mighty saving deeds on their behalf.
- Psalm 106:1 tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.”
- Psalm 106:2 tn Heb “[or] cause to be heard all his praise.”
- Psalm 106:5 tn Heb “good.”
- Psalm 106:5 tn Heb “in order that [I may] rejoice with the rejoicing of your nation.”
- Psalm 106:5 tn Heb “with your inheritance.”
- Psalm 106:6 tn Heb “with.”
- Psalm 106:6 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).
- Psalm 106:7 tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.sn They rebelled. The psalmist recalls the people’s complaint recorded in Exod 14:12.
- Psalm 106:8 tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
- Psalm 106:9 tn Or “rebuked.”
- Psalm 106:10 tn Heb “hand.”
- Psalm 106:10 tn Or “redeemed.”
- Psalm 106:10 tn Heb “hand.”
- Psalm 106:11 tn Heb “remained.”
- Psalm 106:12 tn Heb “his words.”
Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing
27 When[a] Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind,[b] he called his older[c] son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau[d] replied. 2 Isaac[e] said, “Since[f] I am so old, I could die at any time.[g] 3 Therefore, take your weapons—your quiver and your bow—and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game[h] for me. 4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then[i] I will eat it so that I may bless you[j] before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau.[k] When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back,[l] 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat[m] it and bless you[n] in the presence of the Lord[o] before I die.’ 8 Now then, my son, do exactly[p] what I tell you![q] 9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare[r] them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 10 Then you will take[s] it to your father. Thus he will eat it[t] and[u] bless you before he dies.”
11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin![v] 12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him[w] and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me,[x] my son! Just obey me![y] Go and get them for me!”
14 So he went and got the goats[z] and brought them to his mother. She[aa] prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She put the skins of the young goats[ab] on his hands[ac] and the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed[ad] the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac[ae] replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?”[af] 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up[ag] and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.”[ah] 20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world[ai] did you find it so quickly,[aj] my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,”[ak] he replied.[al] 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you,[am] my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.”[an] 22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob.[ao] 24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob[ap] replied. 25 Isaac[aq] said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son.[ar] Then I will bless you.”[as] So Jacob[at] brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac[au] drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27 So Jacob[av] went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent[aw] of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes,[ax] my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you
the dew of the sky[ay]
and the richness[az] of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be[ba] lord[bb] over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you.[bc]
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 27:1 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
- Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
- Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
- Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:2 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
- Genesis 27:2 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
- Genesis 27:3 tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).
- Genesis 27:4 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 27:4 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
- Genesis 27:5 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
- Genesis 27:5 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
- Genesis 27:7 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 27:7 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
- Genesis 27:7 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the Lord,” she stresses how serious this matter is.
- Genesis 27:8 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
- Genesis 27:8 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
- Genesis 27:9 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 27:10 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
- Genesis 27:10 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
- Genesis 27:10 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 27:11 tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 27:12 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
- Genesis 27:13 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
- Genesis 27:13 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
- Genesis 27:14 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 27:14 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 27:16 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
- Genesis 27:16 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
- Genesis 27:17 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of her . . . .”
- Genesis 27:18 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:18 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
- Genesis 27:19 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
- Genesis 27:19 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
- Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
- Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
- Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
- Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the Lord your God….’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 27:21 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 27:21 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
- Genesis 27:23 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
- Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “see.”
- Genesis 27:28 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
- Genesis 27:28 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
- Genesis 27:29 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority over his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
- Genesis 27:29 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
- Genesis 27:29 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
Personal Greetings
16 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant[a] of the church in Cenchrea, 2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila,[b] my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus,[c] who was the first convert[d] to Christ in the province of Asia.[e] 6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,[f] my compatriots[g] and my fellow prisoners. They are well known[h] to the apostles,[i] and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my good friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my compatriot.[j] Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena[k] and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend[l] Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother who was also a mother to me.[m] 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters[n] with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the believers[o] who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
Footnotes
- Romans 16:1 tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.
- Romans 16:3 sn On Prisca and Aquila see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. Paul uses the name Prisca, while the author of Acts uses the diminutive form of the name Priscilla.
- Romans 16:5 sn The spelling Epenetus is also used by NIV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Epaenetus (NASB, NKJV, NRSV).
- Romans 16:5 tn Grk “firstfruit.” This is a figurative use referring to Epenetus as the first Christian convert in the region.
- Romans 16:5 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia. The Roman province of Asia made up about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
- Romans 16:7 tn Or “Junias.” sn The feminine name Junia, though common in Latin, is quite rare in Greek (apparently only three instances of it occur in Greek literature outside Rom 16:7, according to the data in the TLG [D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 922]). The masculine Junias (as a contraction for Junianas), however, is rarer still: Only one instance of the masculine name is known in extant Greek literature (Epiphanius mentions Junias in his Index discipulorum 125). Further, since there are apparently other husband-wife teams mentioned in this salutation (Prisca and Aquila [v. 3], Philologus and Julia [v. 15]), it might be natural to think of Junia as a feminine name. (This ought not be pressed too far, however, for in v. 12 all three individuals are women [though the first two are linked together], and in vv. 9-11 all the individuals are men.) In Greek only a difference of accent distinguishes between Junias (male) and Junia (female). If it refers to a woman, it is possible (1) that she had the gift of apostleship (not the office), or (2) that she was not an apostle but along with Andronicus was esteemed by (or among) the apostles. As well, the term “prominent” probably means “well known,” suggesting that Andronicus and Junia(s) were well known to the apostles (see note on the phrase “well known” which follows).
- Romans 16:7 tn Or “kinsmen,” “relatives,” “fellow countrymen.”
- Romans 16:7 tn Or “prominent, outstanding, famous.” The term ἐπίσημος (episēmos) is used either in an implied comparative sense (“prominent, outstanding”) or in an elative sense (“famous, well known”). The key to determining the meaning of the term in any given passage is both the general context and the specific collocation of this word with its adjuncts. When a comparative notion is seen, that to which ἐπίσημος is compared is frequently, if not usually, put in the genitive case (cf., e.g., 3 Macc 6:1 [Ελεαζαρος δέ τις ἀνὴρ ἐπίσημος τῶν ἀπὸ τής χώρας ἱερέων “Eleazar, a man prominent among the priests of the country”]; cf. also Pss. Sol. 17:30). When, however, an elative notion is found, ἐν (en) plus a personal plural dative is not uncommon (cf. Pss. Sol. 2:6). Although ἐν plus a personal dative does not indicate agency, in collocation with words of perception, (ἐν plus) dative personal nouns are often used to show the recipients. In this instance, the idea would then be “well known to the apostles.” See M. H. Burer and D. B. Wallace, “Was Junia Really an Apostle? A Re-examination of Rom 16.7,” NTS 47 (2001): 76-91, who argue for the elative notion here.
- Romans 16:7 tn Or “among the apostles.” See discussion in the note on “well known” for these options.
- Romans 16:11 tn Or “kinsman,” “relative,” “fellow countryman.”
- Romans 16:12 sn The spelling Tryphena is also used by NIV, NKJV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Tryphaena (NASB, NRSV).
- Romans 16:12 tn Grk “Greet the beloved.”
- Romans 16:13 tn Grk “and his mother and mine.”
- Romans 16:14 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
- Romans 16:15 tn Grk “saints.”
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