Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song for a Holiday
For the director of music. By the gittith [C perhaps a musical term or instrument]. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
81 Sing for joy to God, our strength;
shout out loud to the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 ·Begin the music [Lift up a psalm]. ·Play [Sound; L Give] the tambourines [68:25; 149:3; 150:4; Ex. 15:20].
·Play pleasant music on the harps [L …the pleasant/sweet harps] and lyres.
3 Blow the ·trumpet [ram’s horn] at ·the time of the New Moon [L the month; C a monthly religious festival],
when the moon is full, when our feast begins.
4 This is the ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] for Israel;
it is the ·command [judgment] of the God of Jacob [v. 1].
5 He ·gave [set] this ·rule [decree; testimony] to the people of Joseph [C reference to the northern tribes]
when they went out of the land of Egypt [C the exodus; Ex. 12–15].
I heard a ·language [L tongue] I did not know, saying [C God now speaks]:
6 “I ·took the load off [removed the burden from] their shoulders;
·I let them put down their baskets [L Their hands were removed from the baskets].
7 When you were in ·trouble [distress], you called, and I ·saved [rescued] you.
I answered you ·with thunder [L in the secret place of thunder; Ex. 19:18–19].
I tested you at the waters of Meribah [95:8; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13]. ·
8 My people, listen. I ·am warning [bear testimony/witness against] you.
Israel, please listen to me!
9 You must not have ·foreign [strange] gods;
you must not worship any ·false [foreign] god.
10 I, the Lord, am your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
·Open [L Widen] your mouth and I will feed you [Deut. 29:6; 32:10–14].
11 “But my people did not listen to ·me [L my voice];
Israel did not ·want [accept] me.
12 So I ·let them go their stubborn way [L threw them away because of their stubborn hearts]
and ·follow [walk according to] their own advice.
13 I wish my people would listen to me;
I wish Israel would ·live [L walk on] my way.
14 Then I would quickly ·defeat [subdue; quell] their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would ·bow [cringe; cower] before him.
Their ·punishment [doom] would continue forever.
16 But I would give you the finest wheat [Deut. 32:14]
and fill you with honey from the rocks [Deut. 32:13].”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, ·family [L house] of Jacob,
all you ·family groups [L clans of the house] of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“·I was fair to your ancestors,
so why did they turn away from me? [L What wrong did your ancestors/fathers find in me
that they removed themselves from me?]
Your ·ancestors [fathers] ·worshiped [L went after] ·useless idols [worthless/meaningless things]
and became ·useless [worthless; meaningless] themselves.
6 Your ·ancestors [fathers] didn’t say,
‘Where is the Lord who brought us out of Egypt?
He led us through the ·desert [wilderness],
through a ·dry [barren] and ·rocky [broken] land,
through a dangerous [parched] and dark land.
He led us where no one ·travels [passes through] or lives.’
7 I brought you into a ·fertile land [orchard; land of plenty]
so you could eat its fruit and produce.
But you came and made my land unclean [C in a ritual sense];
you made ·it [L my inheritance] a ·hateful place [abomination].
8 The priests didn’t ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
The people who ·know [handle; deal with] the ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah] didn’t know me.
The ·leaders [L shepherds] turned against me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal [Deut. 13:1–5]
and ·worshiped useless idols [L went after unprofitable things].
9 “So now I will ·again tell what I have against [accuse; charge] you,” says the Lord.
“And I will ·tell what I have against [accuse; charge] ·your grandchildren [L the sons of your sons].
10 ·Go across the sea [L Cross over] to the ·island [or coasts] of Cyprus [C to the west] and see.
Send someone to the land of Kedar [C eastern desert nomads; Gen. 25:13; Jer. 49:28–29; Song 1:5] to look closely.
See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?
(·Of course, its gods are not really gods at all [L And they are not gods].)
But my people have exchanged their glory [C God]
for ·idols worth nothing [L unprofitable things].
12 ·Skies [Heavens], be shocked at the things that have happened
and ·shake [shudder] with great fear!” says the Lord.
13 “My people have done two evils:
They have ·turned away from [abandoned; forsaken] me,
the ·spring [fountain] of living water [17:13].
And they have dug their own ·wells [cisterns],
which are broken ·wells [cisterns] that cannot hold water [C the idols, like the wells, are useless].
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
14 When the feast was about half over, Jesus went to the Temple [courts; 2:14] and began to teach. 15 The people ·were amazed [marveled] and said, “This man has never studied in school. How did he learn so much?”
16 Jesus answered them, “The things I teach are not my own, but they come from him who sent me [C God]. 17 If people ·choose [desire; want] to do ·what God wants [L God’s will], they will know that my teaching comes from God and not from me. 18 Those who ·teach their own ideas [speak with their own authority] are trying to get ·honor [glory] for themselves. But those who try to bring ·honor [glory] to the one who sent them speak the truth, and there is nothing ·false [or unrighteous] in them. [C The Greek here is singular (“But the one who…”), so Jesus is speaking especially about himself.] 19 Moses gave you the law [L Has not Moses given you the law?; Ex. 34:29–32], but none of you obeys that law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The people answered, “A demon has come into you [L You have a demon]. We are not trying to kill you [L Who is trying to kill you?].”
21 Jesus ·said to [answered] them, “I did one ·miracle [L work; deed; 5:1–15], and you are all ·amazed [astonished]. 22 Moses gave you the law about circumcision [Ex. 12:44–49]. (But really Moses did not give you circumcision; it came from ·our ancestors [L the fathers/patriarchs; Gen. 17:9–14].) And yet you circumcise a ·baby boy [L person] on a Sabbath day. 23 If a ·baby boy [L person] can be circumcised on a Sabbath day ·to obey the law of Moses [L so the law of Moses may not be broken], why are you angry at me for healing a person’s whole body on the Sabbath day? 24 Stop judging by ·the way things look [outward appearances], but judge by ·what is really right [L right/just/righteous judgment].”
Is Jesus the Christ?
25 Then some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “·This is the man [L Isn’t this the man…?] they are trying to kill. 26 But he is ·teaching where everyone can see and hear him [L speaking publicly], and no one is ·trying to stop [L saying anything to] him. Maybe the ·leaders [rulers; authorities] have ·decided [come to recognize] he really is the ·Christ [Messiah]. 27 But we know where this man is from. Yet when the real ·Christ [Messiah] comes, no one will know where he comes from.” [C Some Jewish traditions claimed the Messiah would be unknown until he came to deliver Israel.]
28 Jesus, teaching in the Temple [courts; 2:14], cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. But I have not come ·by my own authority [on my own initiative; L from myself]. I was sent by the One who is true, whom you don’t know. 29 But I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
30 When Jesus said this, they tried to ·seize [arrest] him. But no one was able to ·touch him [L lay a hand on him], because ·it was not yet the right time [L his hour had not yet come; see 2:4]. 31 But many ·of the people [L in the crowd] believed in Jesus. They said, “When the ·Christ [Messiah] comes, will he do more ·miracles [L signs] than this man has done?”
Jesus Talks About the Spirit
37 On the last and ·most important [L greatest] day of the feast Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [C The feast of Shelters/Tabernacles featured a water pouring ritual that may stand in the background of Jesus’ speech.] 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s ·heart [L belly; gut], as the Scripture says [Is. 55:1; 58:11; Ezek. 47:1–12; Zech. 14:8, compare John 4:10–11; Rev. 7:17; 22:1].” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been ·raised to glory [glorified]. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.