◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Genesis 2:18-24 (Created for relationship); Psalm 8 (You adorn us with glory and honor); Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 (God has spoken by a Son); Mark 10:2-16 (Teaching on marriage) (New English Translation)

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October 3, 2027

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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

Genesis 2:18-24

¹⁸The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.^[a] I will make a companion^[b] for him who corresponds to him.”^[c] ¹⁹The Lord God formed^[d] out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would^[e] name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam^[f] no companion who corresponded to him was found.^[g] ²¹So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep,^[h] and while he was asleep,^[i] he took part of the man’s side^[j] and closed up the place with flesh.^[k] ²²Then the Lord God made^[l] a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. ²³Then the man said,

“This one at last^[m] is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called^[n] ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of^[o] man.”^[p]

²⁴That is why^[q] a man leaves^[r] his father and mother and unites with^[s] his wife, and they become one family.^[t]

Footnotes

Genesis 2:18 tn Heb “The man’s being alone is not good.” The meaning of “good” must be defined contextually. Within the context of creation, in which God instructs humankind to be fruitful and multiply, the man alone cannot comply. Being alone prevents the man from fulfilling the design of creation and therefore is not good.sn The statement about Adam being alone precedes the naming of the animals, and the command to be fruitful (1:28) came after the creation of woman (1:27). Naming the animals will show that none of them qualify as a companion for Adam (v. 20).
Genesis 2:18 tn Traditionally “helper.” The English word “helper,” because it can connote so many different ideas, does not accurately convey the connotation of the Hebrew word עֵזֶר (ʿezer). Usage of the Hebrew term does not suggest a subordinate role, a connotation which English “helper” can have. In the Bible God is frequently described as the “helper,” the one who does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, the one who meets our needs. In this context the word seems to express the idea of an “indispensable companion.” The woman would supply what the man was lacking in the design of creation and logically it would follow that the man would supply what she was lacking, although that is not stated here. See further M. L. Rosenzweig, “A Helper Equal to Him,” Jud 139 (1986): 277-80.
Genesis 2:18 tn The Hebrew expression כְּנֶגְדּוֹ (k^enegdo) literally means “according to the opposite of him.” Translations such as “suitable [for]” (NASB, NIV), “matching,” “corresponding to” all capture the idea. (Translations that render the phrase simply “partner” [cf. NEB, NRSV], while not totally inaccurate, do not reflect the nuance of correspondence and/or suitability.) The man’s form and nature are matched by the woman’s as she reflects him and complements him. Together they correspond. In short, this prepositional phrase indicates that she has everything that God had invested in him.
Genesis 2:19 tn Or “fashioned.” To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect (“had formed,” cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. See S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 84-88, and especially R. Buth, “Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 138-54. For a contrary viewpoint see IBHS 552-53 §33.2.3 and C. J. Collins, “The Wayyiqtol as ‘Pluperfect’: When and Why,” TynBul 46 (1995): 117-40.
Genesis 2:19 tn The imperfect verb form is future from the perspective of the past time narrative.
Genesis 2:20 tn Here for the first time the Hebrew word אָדָם (ʾadam) appears without the article, suggesting that it might now be the name “Adam” rather than “[the] man.” Translations of the Bible differ as to where they make the change from “man” to “Adam” (e.g., NASB and NIV translate “Adam” here, while NEB and NRSV continue to use “the man”; the KJV uses “Adam” twice in v. 19).
Genesis 2:20 tn Heb “there was not found a companion who corresponded to him.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is indefinite. Without a formally expressed subject the verb may be translated as passive: “one did not find = there was not found.”
Genesis 2:21 tn Heb “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man.”
Genesis 2:21 tn Heb “and he slept.” In the sequence the verb may be subordinated to the following verb to indicate a temporal clause (“while…”).
Genesis 2:21 tn Traditionally translated “rib,” the Hebrew word actually means “side.” The Hebrew text reads, “and he took one from his sides,” which could be rendered “part of his sides.” That idea may fit better the explanation by the man that the woman is his flesh and bone.
Genesis 2:21 tn Heb “closed up the flesh under it.”
Genesis 2:22 tn The Hebrew verb is בָּנָה (banah, “to make, to build, to construct”). The text states that the Lord God built the rib into a woman. Again, the passage gives no indication of precisely how this was done.
Genesis 2:23 tn The Hebrew term הַפַּעַם (happaʿam) means “the [this] time, this place,” or “now, finally, at last.” The expression conveys the futility of the man while naming the animals and finding no one who corresponded to him.
Genesis 2:23 tn The Hebrew text is very precise, stating: “of this one it will be said, ‘woman’.” The text is not necessarily saying that the man named his wife—that comes after the fall (Gen 3:20).sn Some argue that naming implies the man’s authority or ownership over the woman here. Naming can indicate ownership or authority if one is calling someone or something by one’s name and/or calling a name over someone or something (see 2 Sam 12:28; 2 Chr 7:14; Isa 4:1; Jer 7:14; 15:16), especially if one is conquering and renaming a site. But the idiomatic construction used here (the Niphal of קָרָא [qaraʾ] with the preposition ל [lamed]) does not suggest such an idea. In each case where it is used, the one naming discerns something about the object being named and gives it an appropriate name (See 1 Sam 9:9; 2 Sam 18:18; Prov 16:21; Isa 1:26; 32:5; 35:8; 62:4, 12; Jer 19:6). Adam is not so much naming the woman as he is discerning her close relationship to him and referring to her accordingly. He may simply be anticipating that she will be given an appropriate name based on the discernible similarity.
Genesis 2:23 tn Or “from” (but see v. 22).
Genesis 2:23 sn This poetic section expresses the correspondence between the man and the woman. She is bone of his bones, flesh of his flesh. Note the wordplay (paronomasia) between “woman” (אִשָּׁה, ʾishah) and “man” (אִישׁ, ʾish). On the surface it appears that the word for woman is the feminine form of the word for man. But the two words are not etymologically related. The sound and the sense give that impression, however, and make for a more effective wordplay.
Genesis 2:24 tn This statement, introduced by the Hebrew phrase עַל־כֵּן (ʿal ken, “therefore” or “that is why”), is an editorial comment, not an extension of the quotation. The statement is describing what typically happens, not what will or should happen. It is saying, “This is why we do things the way we do.” It links a contemporary (with the narrator) practice with the historical event being narrated. The historical event narrated in v. 23 provides the basis for the contemporary practice described in v. 24. That is why the imperfect verb forms are translated with the present tense rather than future.
Genesis 2:24 tn The prefixed verb form יַעֲזָב (yaʿzov) may be an imperfect, “leaves,” with a gnomic or characteristic nuance, or a jussive, “should leave” (possibly indicated by the short o-vowel). The next two verbs, each a perfect consecutive, continue the force of this verb. For other examples of עַל־כֵּן (ʿal ken, “therefore, that is why”) with the imperfect in a narrative framework, see Gen 10:9; 32:32 (the phrase “to this day” indicates characteristic behavior is in view); Num 21:14, 27; 1 Sam 5:5 (note “to this day”); 19:24 (perhaps the imperfect is customary here, “were saying”); 2 Sam 5:8. The verb translated “leave” (עָזָב, ʿazav) normally means “to abandon, to forsake, to leave behind,” when used with human subject and object (see Josh 22:3; 1 Sam 30:13; Ps 27:10; Prov 2:17; Isa 54:6; 60:15; 62:4; Jer 49:11). Within the context of the ancient Israelite extended family structure, this cannot refer to emotional or geographical separation. The narrator is using hyperbole to emphasize the change in perspective that typically overtakes a young man when his thoughts turn to love and marriage.
Genesis 2:24 tn The verb is traditionally translated “cleaves [to]”; it has the basic idea of “stick with/to” (e.g., it is used of Ruth resolutely staying with her mother-in-law in Ruth 1:14). In this passage it describes the inseparable relationship between the man and the woman in marriage as God intended it.
Genesis 2:24 tn Heb “and they become one flesh.” The retention of the word “flesh” (בָּשָׂר, basar) in the translation often leads to an incomplete interpretation. The Hebrew word refers to more than just a sexual union. The man and woman bring into being a new family unit (הָיָה plus preposition ל [hayah plus lamed] means “become”). The phrase “one flesh” occurs only here and must be interpreted in light of v. 23. There the man declares that the woman is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be related by blood to someone. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Laban and Jacob (Gen 29:14); Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13; see 2 Sam 17:25; 1 Chr 2:16-17). The expression “one flesh” seems to indicate that they become, as it were, “kin,” at least legally (a new family unit is created) or metaphorically. In this first marriage in human history, the woman was literally formed from the man’s bone and flesh. The first marriage sets the pattern for how later marriages are understood and explains why marriage supersedes the parent-child relationship. See NT use of this passage in Matt 19:5-6; Mark 10:8; 1 Cor 6:16; and Eph 5:31.

Psalm 8

Psalm 8^[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;^[b] a psalm of David.

8 O Lord, our Lord,^[c]
how magnificent^[d] is your reputation^[e] throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.^[f]
²From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,^[g]
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.^[h]
³When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,^[i]
⁴Of what importance is the human race,^[j] that you should notice^[k] them?
Of what importance is mankind,^[l] that you should pay attention to them?^[m]
⁵You made them^[n] a little less than^[o] the heavenly beings.^[p]
You crowned mankind^[q] with honor and majesty.^[r]
⁶you appoint them to rule over your creation;^[s]
you have placed^[t] everything under their authority,^[u]
⁷including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,^[v]
⁸the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents^[w] of the seas.
⁹O Lord, our Lord,^[x]
how magnificent^[y] is your reputation^[z] throughout the earth!^[aa]

Footnotes

Psalm 8:1 sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.
Psalm 8:1 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.
Psalm 8:1 tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.
Psalm 8:1 tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”
Psalm 8:1 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
Psalm 8:1 tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (t^enah; an imperative?) should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natattah) or imperfect (תִתֵּן, titten) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.
Psalm 8:2 tn Heb “you establish strength because of your foes.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation follows the reading of the LXX which has “praise” (αἶνος, ainos) in place of “strength” (עֹז, ʿoz); cf. NIV, NCV, NLT.
Psalm 8:2 tn Heb “to cause to cease an enemy and an avenger.” The singular forms are collective. The Hitpael participle of נָקַם (naqam) also occurs in Ps 44:16.
Psalm 8:3 tn Heb “when I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars which you established.” The verb “[and] see” is understood by ellipsis in the second half of the verse.
Psalm 8:4 tn Heb “What is man[kind]?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (ʾenosh, “man”) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race.
Psalm 8:4 tn Heb “remember him.”
Psalm 8:4 tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.
Psalm 8:4 tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.
Psalm 8:5 tn Heb “him.” The antecedent is “son of man,” so the pronoun is third masculine singular. But since “son of man” is taken in a generic sense, the translation says “them” referring to the human race.
Psalm 8:5 tn Heb “and you make him lack a little from אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim, “God” or “the heavenly beings”). The Piel form of חָסַר (khasar, “to decrease, to be devoid”) is used only here and in Eccl 4:8, where it means “to deprive, to cause to be lacking.” The verb form is past tense, as confirmed both by the preterite pointing of the initial vav (ו) and by the form of the pronominal suffix (without nun as with the forms in the previous verse). Some see this as an allusion to the creation of Adam and Eve in Gen 1:26-27, but it may also be a general reference to the status of humanity. Any connection is theological as Ps 8:5 does not share any terminology with Gen 1:26-27.
Psalm 8:5 tn The Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim) can refer to the one true God, to false gods, or the heavenly beings. In this context it would refer either to God or to the angels. The LXX (the ancient Greek translation of the OT) reads “angels” in Ps 8:5 (and is the source of the quotation of Ps 8:5 in Heb 2:7). The term אֱלֹהִים may refer to heavenly beings (angels) in Gen 3:5, where the serpent says to the woman, “you will be like the heavenly beings who know good and evil.” (Note Gen 3:22, where God says, “the man has become like one of us.” Also see the notes at Gen 1:26-27 regarding the plural forms.) In Ps 82:1, 6 אֱלֹהִים may refer to the members of the heavenly assembly (or may be a polemic against false gods).
Psalm 8:5 tn Heb “him.” The antecedent, “son of man” is understood generically as representing the human race. The form of the third masculine singular pronoun on the verb (i.e., without nun connector as in the previous verse) confirms that the verb is a preterite. Although beginning with vav-patakh-dagesh commonly the characterizes the preterite form, it is not always present in poetry. This form of the third masculine singular suffix is used with the short prefixed paradigms, preterite and jussive, of which only the preterite fits the context.
Psalm 8:5 sn Honor and majesty. These terms allude to mankind’s royal status as God’s vice-regents (cf. v. 6 and Gen 1:26-30).
Psalm 8:6 tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”
Psalm 8:6 tn The perfect verbal form probably has a present perfect nuance here. It refers to the continuing effects of God’s original mandate (see Gen 1:26-30).
Psalm 8:6 tn Heb “under his feet.”sn Placed everything under their authority. This verse affirms that mankind rules over God’s creation as his vice-regent. See Gen 1:26-30.
Psalm 8:7 tn Heb “and also the beasts of the field.”
Psalm 8:8 tn Heb “paths.”
Psalm 8:9 tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.
Psalm 8:9 tn Or “awesome, majestic.”
Psalm 8:9 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
Psalm 8:9 sn Using the poetic device of inclusio, the psalmist ends the psalm the way he began it. The concluding refrain is identical to v. 1.

Hebrews 1:1-4

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1 After God spoke long ago^[a] in various portions^[b] and in various ways^[c] to our ancestors^[d] through the prophets, ²in these last days he has spoken to us in a son,^[e] whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world.^[f] ³The Son is^[g] the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word,^[h] and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.^[i] ⁴Thus he became^[j] so far better than the angels as^[k] he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

Footnotes

Hebrews 1:1 tn Or “spoke formerly.”
Hebrews 1:1 tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerōs) in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropōs) mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).
Hebrews 1:1 tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.
Hebrews 1:1 tn Grk “to the fathers.”
Hebrews 1:2 tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).sn The phrase in a son is the fulcrum of Heb 1:1-4. It concludes the contrast of God’s old and new revelation and introduces a series of seven descriptions of the Son. These descriptions show why he is the ultimate revelation of God.
Hebrews 1:2 tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.
Hebrews 1:3 tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.
Hebrews 1:3 tn Grk “by the word of his power.”
Hebrews 1:3 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.
Hebrews 1:4 tn Grk “having become.” This is part of the same sentence that extends from v. 1 through v. 4 in the Greek text.
Hebrews 1:4 tn Most modern English translations attempt to make the comparison somewhat smoother by treating “name” as if it were the subject of the second element: “as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, CEV). However, the Son is the subject of both the first and second elements: “he became so far better”; “he has inherited a name.” The present translation maintains this parallelism even though it results in a somewhat more awkward rendering.sn This comparison is somewhat awkward to express in English, but it reflects an important element in the argument of Hebrews: the superiority of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:5-12

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

⁵For he did not put the world to come,^[a] about which we are speaking,^[b] under the control of angels. ⁶Instead someone testified somewhere:

“What is man that you think of him^[c] or the son of man that you care for him?
⁷You made him lower than the angels for a little while.
You crowned him with glory and honor.^[d]
⁸You put all things under his control.”^[e]

For when he put all things under his control, he left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see all things under his control,^[f] ⁹but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while,^[g] now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death,^[h] so that by God’s grace he would experience^[i] death on behalf of everyone. ¹⁰For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist,^[j] in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer^[k] of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin,^[l] and so^[m] he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,^[n] ¹²saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers;^[o] in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”^[p]

Footnotes

Hebrews 2:5 sn The phrase the world to come means “the coming inhabited earth,” using the Greek term which describes the world of people and their civilizations.
Hebrews 2:5 sn See the previous reference to the world in Heb 1:6.
Hebrews 2:6 tn Grk “remember him.”
Hebrews 2:7 tc Several witnesses, many of them early and significant (א A C D* P Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat co), have at the end of v 7, “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands.” Other mss, not quite as impressive in weight, lack the words (P⁴⁶ B D² M). In spite of the impressive external evidence for the longer reading, it is most likely a scribal addition to conform the text of Hebrews to Ps 8:6 (8:7 LXX). Conformity of a NT quotation of the OT to the LXX was a routine scribal activity, and can hardly be in doubt here as to the cause of the longer reading.
Hebrews 2:8 tn Grk “you subjected all things under his feet.”sn A quotation from Ps 8:4-6.
Hebrews 2:8 sn The expression all things under his control occurs three times in 2:8. The latter two occurrences are not exactly identical to the Greek text of Ps 8:6 quoted at the beginning of the verse, but have been adapted by the writer of Hebrews to fit his argument.
Hebrews 2:9 tn Or “who was made a little lower than the angels.”
Hebrews 2:9 tn Grk “because of the suffering of death.”
Hebrews 2:9 tn Grk “would taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
Hebrews 2:10 tn Grk “for whom are all things and through whom are all things.”
Hebrews 2:10 sn The Greek word translated pioneer is used of a “prince” or leader, the representative head of a family. It also carries nuances of “trailblazer,” one who breaks through to new ground for those who follow him. It is used some thirty-five times in the Greek OT and four times in the NT, always of Christ (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2).
Hebrews 2:11 tn Grk “are all from one.”
Hebrews 2:11 tn Grk “for which reason.”
Hebrews 2:11 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The context here also indicates both men and women are in view; note especially the collective τὰ παιδία (ta paidia) in v. 14.
Hebrews 2:12 tn Here, because of its occurrence in an OT quotation, τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς (tois adelphois) has been translated simply as “brothers” rather than “brothers and sisters” (see the note on the latter phrase in the previous verse).
Hebrews 2:12 sn A quotation from Ps 22:22.

Mark 10:2-16

²Then some Pharisees^[a] came, and to test him^[b] they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his^[c] wife?”^[d] ³He answered them,^[e] “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”^[f] ⁵But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts.^[g] ⁶But from the beginning of creation he^[h] made them male and female.^[i] ⁷For this reason a man will leave his father and mother,^[j] ⁸and the two will become one flesh.^[k] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰In the house once again, the disciples asked him about this. ¹¹So^[l] he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. ¹²And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”^[m]

Jesus and Little Children

¹³Now^[n] people were bringing little children to him for him to touch,^[o] but the disciples scolded those who brought them.^[p] ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God^[q] belongs to such as these.^[r] ¹⁵I tell you the truth,^[s] whoever does not receive^[t] the kingdom of God like a child^[u] will never^[v] enter it.” ¹⁶After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Footnotes

Mark 10:2 tc The Western text (D it) and a few others have only καί (kai) here, rather than καὶ προσελθόντες Φαρισαῖοι (kai proselthontes Pharisaioi, here translated as “then some Pharisees came”). The longer reading, a specific identification of the subject, may have been prompted by the parallel in Matt 19:3. The fact that the mss vary in how they express this subject lends credence to this judgment: οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι προσελθόντες (hoi de Pharisaioi proselthontes, “now the Pharisees came”) in W Θ 565 2542; καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι (kai proselthontes hoi Pharisaioi, “then the Pharisees came”) in א C N (ƒ¹: καὶ προσελθόντες ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι) 579 1241 1424 pm; and καὶ προσελθόντες Φαρισαῖοι in A B K L Γ Δ Ψ ƒ¹³ 28 700 892 pm. Further, the use of an indefinite plural (a general “they”) is a Markan feature, occurring over twenty times. Thus, internally the evidence looks rather strong for the shorter reading, in spite of the minimal external support for it. However, if scribes assimilated this text to Matt 19:3, a more exact parallel might have been expected: Matthew has καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ Φαρισαῖοι (kai prosēlthon autō Pharisaioi, “then Pharisees came to him”). Although the verb form needs to be different according to syntactical requirements of the respective sentences, the word order variety, as well as the presence or absence of the article and the alternation between δέ and καί as the introductory conjunction, all suggest that the variety of readings might not be due to scribal adjustments toward Matthew. At the same time, the article with Φαρισαῖοι is found in both Gospels in many of the same witnesses (א M in Matt; א pm in Mark), and the anarthrous Φαρισαῖοι is likewise parallel in many mss (B L ƒ¹³ 700 892). Another consideration is the possibility that very early in the transmissional history, scribes naturally inserted the most obvious subject (the Pharisees would be the obvious candidates as the ones to test Jesus). This may account for the reading with δέ, since Mark nowhere else uses this conjunction to introduce the Pharisees into the narrative. As solid as the internal arguments against the longer reading seem to be, the greatest weakness is the witnesses that support it. The Western mss are prone to alter the text by adding, deleting, substituting, or rearranging large amounts of material. There are times when the rationale for this seems inexplicable. In light of the much stronger evidence for “the Pharisees came,” even though it occurs in various permutations, it is probably wisest to retain the words. This judgment, however, is hardly certain.sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.
Mark 10:2 tn In Greek this phrase occurs at the end of the sentence. It has been brought forward to conform to English style.
Mark 10:2 tn The personal pronoun “his” is not in the Greek text, but is certainly implied and has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the statement (cf. “his wife” in 10:7).
Mark 10:2 tn The particle εἰ (ei) is often used to introduce both indirect and direct questions. Thus, another possible translation is to take this as an indirect question: “They asked him if it were lawful for a man to divorce his wife.” See BDF §440.3.sn The question of the Pharisees was anything but sincere; they were asking it to test him. Jesus was now in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (i.e., Judea and beyond the Jordan) and it is likely that the Pharisees were hoping he might answer the question of divorce in a way similar to John the Baptist and so suffer the same fate as John, i.e., death at the hands of Herod (cf. 6:17-19). Jesus answered the question not on the basis of rabbinic custom and the debate over Deut 24:1, but rather from the account of creation and God’s original design.
Mark 10:3 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”
Mark 10:4 tn Grk “to divorce.” The pronoun has been supplied in the translation for clarity.sn An allusion to Deut 24:1. The Pharisees were all in agreement that the OT permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and divorce his wife (not vice-versa) and that remarriage was therefore sanctioned. But the two rabbinic schools of Shammai and Hillel differed on the grounds for divorce. Shammai was much stricter than Hillel and permitted divorce only in the case of sexual immorality. Hillel permitted divorce for almost any reason (cf. the Mishnah, m. Gittin 9.10).
Mark 10:5 tn Grk “heart” (a collective singular).
Mark 10:6 tc Most mss have ὁ θεός (ho theos, “God”) as the explicit subject of ἐποίησεν (epoiēsen, “he made”; A D W Θ Ψ ƒ^1,13 M lat sy), while the most significant witnesses, along with a few others, lack ὁ θεός (א B C L Δ 579 co). On the one hand, it is possible that the shorter reading is an assimilation to the wording of the LXX of Gen 1:27b where ὁ θεός is lacking. However, since it is mentioned at the beginning of the verse (Gen 1:27a) with ἐποίησεν scribes may have been motivated to add it in Mark to make the subject clear. Further, confusion could easily arise in this dominical saying, because Moses was the previously mentioned subject (v. 5) and inattentive readers might regard him as the subject of ἐποίησεν in v. 6. Thus, both on internal and external grounds, the most probable wording of the Ausgangstext here lacked ὁ θεός.
Mark 10:6 sn A quotation from Gen 1:27; 5:2.
Mark 10:7 tc ‡ The earliest witnesses, as well as a few other significant mss (א B Ψ 892* sy^s), lack the rest of the quotation from Gen 2:24, “and will be united with his wife.” Most mss ([A C] D [L N] W [Δ] Θ ƒ^[1],13 [579] M lat co) have the clause. It could be argued that the shorter reading was an accidental omission, due to this clause and v. 8 both beginning with καί (kai, “and”). But if that were the case, one might expect to see corrections in א or B. This can be overstated, of course; both mss combine in their errors on several other occasions. However, the nature of the omission here (both its length and the fact that it is from the OT) argues that א and B reflect the autographic wording. Further, the form of the longer reading is identical with the LXX of Gen 2:24, but different from the quotation in Matt 19:5 (προσκολληθήσεται vs. κολληθήσεται [proskollēthēsetai vs. kollēthēsetai], πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα vs. τῇ γυναικί [pros tēn gunaika vs. tē gunaiki]). The significance of this is that Matthew’s quotations of the OT are often, if not usually, directly from the Hebrew—except when he is following Mark’s quotation of the OT. Matthew in fact only departs from Mark’s verbatim quotation of the LXX in 15:4 and 19:19, both texts quoting from Exod 20:12/Deut 5:6 (and in both places the only difference from Mark/LXX is the dropping of σου [sou, “your”]). This might suggest that the longer reading here was not part of what the first evangelist had in his copy of Mark. Further, the reading without this line is harder, for the wife is not explicitly mentioned in v. 7; the casual reader could read “the two” of v. 8 as referring to father and mother rather than husband and wife. (And Mark is known for having harder, shorter readings that scribes tried to soften by explanatory expansion: In this chapter alone, cf. the textual problems in v. 6 [the insertion of ὁ θεός]; in v. 13 [the replacement of αὐτοῖς with τοῖς προσφέρουσιν or τοῖς φέρουσιν]; in v. 24 [insertion of ἐστιν τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ χρήμασιν, πλούσιον, or τὰ χρήματα ἔχοντες; and perhaps in v. 2 [possible insertion of προσελθόντες Φαρισαῖοι or similar permutations].) Although a decision is difficult, the preferred reading lacks “and will be united with his wife.” NA²⁸ has the longer reading in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
Mark 10:8 sn A quotation from Gen 2:24. The “two” refers to husband and wife, not father and mother mentioned in the previous verse. See the tc note on “mother” in v. 7 for discussion.
Mark 10:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that Jesus’ statement is in response to the disciples’ question (v. 10).
Mark 10:12 sn It was not uncommon in Jesus’ day for a Jewish man to divorce his wife, but it was extremely rare for a wife to initiate such an action against her husband, since among many things it would have probably left her destitute and without financial support. Mark’s inclusion of the statement And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery (v. 12) reflects more the problem of the predominantly Gentile church in Rome to which he was writing. As such it may be an interpretive and parenthetical comment by the author rather than part of the saying by Jesus, which would stop at the end of v. 11. As such it should then be placed in parentheses. Further NT passages that deal with the issue of divorce and remarriage are Matt 5:31-32; 19:1-12; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor 7.
Mark 10:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
Mark 10:13 tn Grk “so that he would touch them.” Here the touch is connected with (or conveys) a blessing (cf. v. 16; also BDAG 126 s.v. ἅπτω 2.c).
Mark 10:13 tc “Those who brought them” (ἐπετιμῶν τοῖς προσφέρουσιν, epetimōn tois prospherousin) is the reading of most mss (A D W [Θ ƒ^1,13] M lat sy), but it is probably a motivated reading. Since the subject is not explicit in the earliest and best witnesses as well as several others (א B C L Δ Ψ 579 892), scribes would be prone to add “those who brought them” here to clarify that the children were not the ones being scolded. Both on external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is strongly preferred. Similar motivations are behind the translation here, namely, “those who brought them” has been supplied to ensure that the parents who brought the children are in view, not the children themselves.tn Grk “the disciples scolded them.”
Mark 10:14 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself.
Mark 10:14 sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.
Mark 10:15 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
Mark 10:15 sn On receive see John 1:12.
Mark 10:15 sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.
Mark 10:15 tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mē) is very strong here.

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Psalm 8[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] a psalm of David.

Footnotes

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

Footnotes

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

Footnotes

Jesus and Little Children

Footnotes

Psalm 8^[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;^[b] a psalm of David.