◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 79:1-9 (Deliver us and forgive our sins); Jeremiah 12:14—13:11 (God’s people like a ruined loincloth); Romans 3:1-8 (The justice of God) (New English Translation)

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September 15, 2022

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 79:1-9

Psalm 79^[a]

A psalm of Asaph.

79 O God, foreigners^[b] have invaded your chosen land;^[c]
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
²They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky,^[d]
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
³They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.^[e]
⁴We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.^[f]
⁵How long will this go on, O Lord?^[g]
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage^[h] burn like fire?
⁶Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,^[i]
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.^[j]
⁷For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
⁸Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations.^[k]
Quickly send your compassion our way,^[l]
for we are in serious trouble.^[m]
⁹Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation,^[n] rescue us.
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.^[o]

Jeremiah 12:14-13:11

¹⁴“I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning^[a] the wicked nations who surround my land^[b] and have attacked and plundered^[c] the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession.^[d] I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their land and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there.^[e] ¹⁵But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent^[f] and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands^[g] and to their own country. ¹⁶But they must make sure to learn to follow the religious practices of my people.^[h] Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal.^[i] But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.”^[j] If they do these things,^[k] then they will be included among the people I call my own.^[l] ¹⁷But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’”^[m] says the Lord.

An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts

13 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts^[n] and put them on.^[o] Do not put them in water.”^[p] ²So I bought the shorts in keeping with the Lord’s instructions^[q] and put them on.^[r] ³Then the Lord’s message came to me again, ⁴“Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing^[s] and go at once^[t] to Perath.^[u] Bury the shorts there^[v] in a crack in the rocks.” ⁵So I went and buried them at Perath^[w] as the Lord had ordered me to do. ⁶Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get^[x] the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” ⁷So I went to Perath and dug up^[y] the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found^[z] that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

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

Footnotes

Jeremiah 12:14 tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning….” This structure has been adopted to prevent a long, dangling introduction to what the Lord has to say, which does not begin until the middle of the verse in Hebrew. The first person address was adopted because the speaker is still the Lord, as in vv. 7-13.
Jeremiah 12:14 tn Heb “my wicked neighbors.”
Jeremiah 12:14 tn Heb “touched.” For the nuance of this verb here see BDB 619 s.v. נָגַע Qal.3 and compare the usage in 1 Chr 16:22, where it is parallel to “do harm to,” and in Zech 2:8, where it is parallel to “plundered.”
Jeremiah 12:14 tn Heb “the inheritance which I caused my people Israel to inherit.” Compare 3:18.
Jeremiah 12:14 tn Heb “I will uproot the house of Judah from their midst.”sn There appears to be an interesting play on the Hebrew word translated “uproot” in this verse. In the first instance it refers to “uprooting the nations from upon their lands,” i.e., to exiling them. In the second instance it refers to “uprooting the Judeans from the midst of them,” i.e., to rescuing them.
Jeremiah 12:15 tn For the use of the verb “turn” (שׁוּב, shuv) in this sense, see BDB s.v. שׁוּב Qal.6.g and compare the usage in Pss 90:13; 6:4; and Joel 2:14. It does not simply mean “again” as several of the English versions render it.
Jeremiah 12:15 sn The Lord is sovereign over the nations and has allotted each of them their lands. See Deut 2:5 (Edom); 2:9 (Moab); 2:19 (Ammon). He promised to restore not only his own people Israel to their land (Jer 32:37), but also Moab (Jer 48:47) and Ammon (Jer 49:6).
Jeremiah 12:16 tn Heb “the ways of my people.” For this nuance of the word “ways” compare 10:2 and the notes there.
Jeremiah 12:16 tn Heb “taught my people to swear by Baal.”
Jeremiah 12:16 tn The words “I swear” are not in the text but are implicit to the oath formula. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 12:16 tn The words “If they do these things” are not in the text. They are part of an attempt to break up a Hebrew sentence that is long and complex into equivalent shorter sentences consistent with contemporary English style. Verse 16 in Hebrew is all one sentence with a long, complex conditional clause followed by a short consequence: “If they actually learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘By the life of the Lord,’ as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.” The translation strives to create the same contingencies and modifications by breaking up the sentence into shorter sentences in accord with contemporary English style.
Jeremiah 12:16 tn Heb “they will be built up among my people.” The expression “be built up among” is without parallel. However, what is involved here is conceptually parallel to the ideas expressed in Isa 19:23-25 and Zech 14:16-19. That is, these people will be allowed to live on their own land, to worship the Lord there, and to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. To translate literally would be meaningless or misleading for many readers.
Jeremiah 12:17 tn Heb “But if they will not listen, I will uproot that nation, uprooting and destroying.” IBHS 590-91 §35.3.2d is likely right in seeing the double infinitive construction here as an intensifying infinitive followed by an adverbial infinitive qualifying the goal of the main verb, “uproot it in such a way as to destroy it.” However, to translate that way “literally” would not be very idiomatic in contemporary English. The translation strives for the equivalent. Likewise, to translate using the conditional structure of the original seems to put the emphasis of the passage in its context on the wrong point.
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.

Romans 3:1-8

3 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? ²Actually, there are many advantages.^[a] First of all,^[b] the Jews^[c] were entrusted with the oracles of God.^[d] ³What then? If some were unfaithful, their unfaithfulness will not nullify God’s faithfulness, will it? ⁴Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being^[e] shown up as a liar,^[f] just as it is written: “so that you will be justified^[g] in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”^[h]

⁵But if our unrighteousness demonstrates^[i] the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? (I am speaking in human terms.)^[j] ⁶Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world? ⁷For if by my lie the truth of God enhances^[k] his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? ⁸And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”?—as some who slander us allege that we say.^[l] (Their^[m] condemnation is deserved!)

Footnotes

Romans 3:2 tn Grk “much in every way.”
Romans 3:2 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D² 33 M) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506 2464* latt). A few mss have γάρ, but not μέν (6 1739 1881). γάρ was frequently added by scribes as a clarifying conjunction, making it suspect here. NA²⁸ has the γάρ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.tn Grk “first indeed that.”
Romans 3:2 tn Grk “they were.”
Romans 3:2 tn The referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.
Romans 3:4 tn Grk “every man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity rather than masculinity.
Romans 3:4 tn Grk “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The words “proven” and “shown up” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning.
Romans 3:4 tn Grk “might be justified,” a subjunctive verb, but in this type of clause it carries the same sense as the future indicative verb in the latter part. “Will” is more idiomatic in contemporary English.
Romans 3:4 tn Or “prevail when you judge.” A quotation from Ps 51:4.
Romans 3:5 tn Or “shows clearly.”
Romans 3:5 sn The same expression occurs in Gal 3:15, and similar phrases in Rom 6:19 and 1 Cor 9:8.
Romans 3:7 tn Grk “abounded unto.”
Romans 3:8 tn Grk “(as we are slandered and some affirm that we say…).”
Romans 3:8 tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new sentence in the translation.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 79[a]

A psalm of Asaph.

Footnotes

An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 79^[a]