◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Acts 17:22-31 (Paul’s message to the Athenians); Psalm 66:8-20 (Be joyful in God all you lands); 1 Peter 3:13-22 (The days of Noah a sign of baptism); John 14:15-21 (Christ our advocate) (New English Translation)

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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

Acts 17:22-31

²²So Paul stood^[a] before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious^[b] in all respects.^[c] ²³For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship,^[d] I even found an altar with this inscription:^[e] ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it,^[f] this I proclaim to you. ²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it,^[g] who is^[h] Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,^[i] ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything,^[j] because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone.^[k] ²⁶From one man^[l] he made every nation of the human race^[m] to inhabit the entire earth,^[n] determining their set times^[o] and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,^[p] ²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around^[q] for him and find him,^[r] though he is^[s] not far from each one of us. ²⁸For in him we live and move about^[t] and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’^[u] ²⁹So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity^[v] is like gold or silver or stone, an image^[w] made by human^[x] skill^[y] and imagination.^[z] ³⁰Therefore, although God has overlooked^[aa] such times of ignorance,^[ab] he now commands all people^[ac] everywhere to repent,^[ad] ³¹because he has set^[ae] a day on which he is going to judge the world^[af] in righteousness, by a man whom he designated,^[ag] having provided proof to everyone by raising^[ah] him from the dead.”

Footnotes

Acts 17:22 tn Grk “standing…said.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zēlōsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 17:22 tn The term δεισιδαιμονεστέρους (deisidaimonesterous) is difficult. On the one hand it can have the positive sense of “devout,” but on the other hand it can have the negative sense of “superstitious” (BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαίμων). As part of a laudatory introduction (the technical rhetorical term for this introduction was capatatio), the term is probably positive here. It may well be a “backhanded” compliment, playing on the ambiguity.
Acts 17:22 tn BDAG 513 s.v. κατά B.6 translates the phrase κατὰ πάντα (kata panta) as “in all respects.”
Acts 17:23 tn Or “your sanctuaries.” L&N 53.54 gives “sanctuary” (place of worship) as an alternate meaning for the word σεβάσματα (sebasmata).
Acts 17:23 tn Grk “on which was written,” but since it would have been carved in stone, it is more common to speak of an “inscription” in English. To simplify the English the relative construction with a passive verb (“on which was inscribed”) was translated as a prepositional phrase with a substantive (“inscription”).
Acts 17:23 tn BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b has “Abs. ὅ ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε what you worship without knowing it (on the subject matter Maximus Tyr. 11, 5e: all sorts of philosophers ἴσασιν οὐκ ἑκόντες καὶ λέγουσιν ἄκοντες sc. τὸ θεῖον = they know and name God without intending to do so) Ac 17:23.” Paul, in typical Jewish Christian style, informs them of the true God, of whom their idols are an ignorant reflection.
Acts 17:24 tn Grk “all the things that are in it.” The speech starts with God as Creator, like 14:15.
Acts 17:24 tn Or “because he is.” The participle ὑπάρχων (huparchōn) could be either adjectival, modifying οὗτος (houtos, “who is Lord…”) or adverbial of cause (“because he is Lord…”). Since the participle διδούς (didous) in v. 25 appears to be clearly causal in force, it is preferable to understand ὑπάρχων as adjectival in this context.
Acts 17:24 sn On the statement does not live in temples made by human hands compare Acts 7:48. This has implications for idols as well. God cannot be represented by them or, as the following clause also suggests, served by human hands.
Acts 17:25 tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”
Acts 17:25 tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”
Acts 17:26 sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).
Acts 17:26 tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”
Acts 17:26 tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”
Acts 17:26 tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.
Acts 17:26 tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.
Acts 17:27 tn See BDAG 1097-98 s.v. ψηλαφάω, which lists “touch, handle” and “to feel around for, grope for” as possible meanings.
Acts 17:27 sn Perhaps grope around for him and find him. The pagans’ struggle to know God is the point here. Conscience alone is not good enough.
Acts 17:27 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (huparchonta) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.
Acts 17:28 tn According to L&N 15.1, “A strictly literal translation of κινέω in Ac 17:28 might imply merely moving from one place to another. The meaning, however, is generalized movement and activity; therefore, it may be possible to translate κινούμεθα as ‘we come and go’ or ‘we move about’ or even ‘we do what we do.’”
Acts 17:28 sn This quotation is from Aratus (ca. 310-245 b.c.), Phaenomena 5. Paul asserted a general relationship and accountability to God for all humanity.
Acts 17:29 tn Or “the divine being.” BDAG 446 s.v. θεῖος 1.b has “divine being, divinity” here.
Acts 17:29 tn Or “a likeness.” Again idolatry is directly attacked as an affront to God and a devaluation of him.
Acts 17:29 tn Grk “by the skill and imagination of man,” but ἀνθρώπου (anthrōpou) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
Acts 17:29 tn Or “craftsmanship” (cf. BDAG 1001 s.v. τέχνη).
Acts 17:29 tn Or “thought.” BDAG 336 s.v. ἐνθύμησις has “thought, reflection, idea” as the category of meaning here, but in terms of creativity (as in the context) the imaginative faculty is in view.
Acts 17:30 tn Or “has deliberately paid no attention to.”
Acts 17:30 tn Or “times when people did not know.”
Acts 17:30 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
Acts 17:30 sn He now commands all people everywhere to repent. God was now asking all mankind to turn to him. No nation or race was excluded.
Acts 17:31 tn Or “fixed.”
Acts 17:31 sn The world refers to the whole inhabited earth.
Acts 17:31 tn Or “appointed.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “of persons appoint, designate, declare: God judges the world ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν through a man whom he has appointed Ac 17:31.”sn A man whom he designated. Jesus is put in the position of eschatological judge. As judge of the living and the dead, he possesses divine authority (Acts 10:42).
Acts 17:31 tn The participle ἀναστήσας (anastēsas) indicates means here.

Psalm 66:8-20

⁸Praise^[a] our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.^[b]
⁹He preserves our lives^[c]
and does not allow our feet to slip.
¹⁰For^[d] you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
¹¹You led us into a trap;^[e]
you caused us to suffer.^[f]
¹²You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.^[g]
¹³I will enter^[h] your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
¹⁴which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
¹⁵I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
¹⁶Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.^[i]
I will declare what he has done for me.
¹⁷I cried out to him for help^[j]
and praised him with my tongue.^[k]
¹⁸If I had harbored sin in my heart,^[l]
the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
²⁰God deserves praise,^[m]
for^[n] he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.^[o]

1 Peter 3:13-22

¹³For^[a] who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good? ¹⁴But in fact, if you happen to suffer^[b] for doing what is right,^[c] you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them^[d] or be shaken.^[e] ¹⁵But set Christ^[f] apart^[g] as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.^[h] ¹⁶Yet do it with courtesy and respect,^[i] keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you.^[j] ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it,^[k] than for doing evil.

¹⁸^[l] Because Christ also suffered^[m] once for sins,
the just for the unjust,^[n]
to bring you to God,
by being put to death in the flesh
but^[o] by being made alive in the spirit.^[p]
¹⁹In it^[q] he went and preached to the spirits in prison,^[r]

²⁰after they were disobedient long ago^[s] when God patiently waited^[t] in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark^[u] a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. ²¹And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you^[v]—not the washing off of physical dirt^[w] but the pledge^[x] of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God^[y] with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.^[z]

Footnotes

1 Peter 3:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “For” to indicate that what follows gives an explanation.
1 Peter 3:14 sn The Greek construction here implies that such suffering was not the norm, even though it could happen, and in fact may well have happened to some of the readers (cf. 4:4, 12-19).
1 Peter 3:14 tn Grk “because of righteousness.”
1 Peter 3:14 tn Grk “do not fear their fear,” referring to those who cause their suffering. The phrase “their fear” may mean “what they fear” (subjective genitive), but in a situation of persecution it more likely means “fear of them” (objective genitive).
1 Peter 3:14 sn A quotation from Isa 8:12.
1 Peter 3:15 tc Most later mss, including some significant ones (P 5 81 436 442 1735 2344 2492 M) have θεόν (theon, “God”) instead of Χριστόν (Christon; “Christ”) here. But Χριστόν is widely supported by excellent and early witnesses (P⁷² א A B C Ψ 33 1175 1243 1611 1739 1852 latt sy co), and as a less common idiom better explains the rise of the other reading.
1 Peter 3:15 tn Or “sanctify Christ as Lord.”
1 Peter 3:15 tn Grk “the hope in you.”
1 Peter 3:16 tn Grk “but with courtesy and respect,” continuing the command of v. 15. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
1 Peter 3:16 tn Grk “when you are spoken against.”
1 Peter 3:17 tn Grk “if the will of God should will it.” As in 3:14 the Greek construction here implies that suffering for doing good was not what God normally willed, even though it could happen, and in fact may have happened to some of the readers (cf. 4:4, 12-19).
1 Peter 3:18 sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
1 Peter 3:18 tc The variants here are legion (B. M. Metzger produces eight variants in a nice layout of the evidence [TCGNT 622]). Most of these variants involve pronouns, prepositions, or word order changes, but the major problem involves whether Christ “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epathen) or “died” (ἀπέθανεν, apethanen). The witnesses that read ἀπέθανεν are P⁷² א*^,2 A C^vid Ψ 0285 5 436 442 614 630 945 1175 1241 1243 1505 1611 1735 1739 1852 2344; the witnesses that read ἔπαθεν are B L P 81 2492 M. Although the external evidence slightly favors ἀπέθανεν, such may be a secondary reading. Intrinsically, ἔπαθεν both fits the context better, especially the verbal link between v. 17 and v. 18 (note in particular the introductory causal ὅτι [hoti, “because”] and the emphatic καί [kai, “also”]), and fits the author’s style (1 Peter never uses ἀποθνῄσκω [apothnēskō], but uses πάσχω [paschō] 11 other times, more than any other NT book). However, scribes would most likely realize this, and might conform the verb in v. 18 to the author’s typical usage. It may be argued, however, that scribes tended to alter the text in light of more common NT idioms, and did not have as much sensitivity to the literary features in the immediate context. In this instance, it may not be insignificant that the NT collocates ἀποθνῄσκω with ἁμαρτία (hamartia, “sin”) seven other times, though only once (1 Cor 15:3) with a meaning similar to what would be demanded here, but collocates πάσχω with ἁμαρτία in only one other place, 1 Pet 4:1, where the meaning also detours from what is seen here. All in all, a decision is difficult, but ἔπαθεν is to be preferred slightly.
1 Peter 3:18 sn The reference to the just suffering for the unjust is an allusion to Isa 53:11-12.
1 Peter 3:18 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two phrases more than can be easily expressed in English.
1 Peter 3:18 sn Put to death in the flesh…made alive in the spirit. The contrast of flesh and spirit is not between two parts of Christ’s person (material versus immaterial) but between two broader modes of existence: the realm of unregenerate earthly life versus eternal heavenly life. The reference may not be to the Holy Spirit directly, but indirectly, since the Spirit permeates and characterizes the spiritual mode of existence. However, ExSyn 343 (n. 76) states “It is often objected that the Holy Spirit cannot be in view because the two datives of v 18 (σαρκί, πνεύματι [sarki, pneumati]) would then have a different syntactical force (sphere, means). But if 1 Pet 3:18 is a hymnic or liturgical fragment, this can be no objection because of ‘poetic license’: poetry is replete with examples of grammatical and lexical license, not the least of which is the use of the same morpho-syntactic categories, in parallel lines, with entirely different senses (note, e.g., the dat. expressions in 1 Tim 3:16).”
1 Peter 3:19 tn Grk “in which.” ExSyn 343 notes: “The antecedent of the RP [relative pronoun] is by no means certain. Some take it to refer to πνεύματι immediately preceding, the meaning of which might be either the Holy Spirit or the spiritual state. Others see the phrase as causal (‘for which reason,’ ‘because of this’), referring back to the entire clause, while still other scholars read the phrase as temporal (if so, it could be with or without an antecedent: ‘on which occasion’ or ‘meanwhile’). None of these options is excluded by syntax. It may be significant, however, that every other time ἐν ᾧ is used in 1 Peter it bears an adverbial/conjunctive force (cf. 1:6; 2:12; 3:16 [here, temporal]; 4:4).” Also, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
1 Peter 3:19 sn And preached to the spirits in prison. The meaning of this preaching and the spirits to whom he preached are much debated. It is commonly understood to be: (1) Christ’s announcement of his victory over evil to the fallen angels who await judgment for their role in leading the Noahic generation into sin; this proclamation occurred sometime between Christ’s death and ascension; or (2) Christ’s preaching of repentance through Noah to the unrighteous humans, now dead and confined in hell, who lived in the days of Noah. The latter is preferred because of the temporal indications in v. 20a and the wider argument of the book. These verses encourage Christians to stand for righteousness and try to influence their contemporaries for the gospel in spite of the suffering that may come to them. All who identify with them and their Savior will be saved from the coming judgment, just as in Noah’s day.
1 Peter 3:20 tn This reflects a Greek participle, literally “having been disobedient formerly,” that refers to the “spirits” in v. 19. Many translations take this as adjectival describing the spirits (“who had once been disobedient”; cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NRSV, TEV), but the grammatical construction strongly favors an adverbial interpretation describing the time of the preaching, as reflected above.
1 Peter 3:20 tn Grk “the patience of God waited.”
1 Peter 3:20 tn Grk “in which,” referring to the ark; the referent (the ark) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
1 Peter 3:21 tn Grk “which also, [as] an antitype, now saves you, [that is] baptism.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
1 Peter 3:21 tn Grk “the removal of the dirt of the flesh,” where flesh refers to the physical make-up of the body with no moral connotations.
1 Peter 3:21 tn Or “response”; “answer.”
1 Peter 3:22 tn Grk “who is at the right hand…having gone into heaven.”
1 Peter 3:22 tn Grk “angels…having been subjected to him.”

John 14:15-21

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

¹⁵“If you love me, you will obey^[a] my commandments.^[b] ¹⁶Then^[c] I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate^[d] to be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,^[e] because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides^[f] with you and will be^[g] in you.

¹⁸“I will not abandon^[h] you as orphans,^[i] I will come to you.^[j] ¹⁹In a little while^[k] the world will not see me any longer, but you will see me; because I live, you will live too. ²⁰You will know at that time^[l] that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you. ²¹The person who has my commandments and obeys^[m] them is the one who loves me.^[n] The one^[o] who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal^[p] myself to him.”

Footnotes

John 14:15 tn Or “will keep.”
John 14:15 sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.
John 14:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the implied sequence in the discourse.
John 14:16 tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklētos). Finding an appropriate English translation for παράκλητος is a very difficult task. No single English word has exactly the same range of meaning as the Greek word. “Comforter,” used by some of the older English versions, appears to be as old as Wycliffe. But today it suggests a quilt or a sympathetic mourner at a funeral. “Counselor” is adequate, but too broad, in contexts like “marriage counselor” or “camp counselor.” “Helper” or “Assistant” could also be used, but could suggest a subordinate rank. “Advocate,” the word chosen for this translation, has more forensic overtones than the Greek word does, although in John 16:5-11 a forensic context is certainly present. Because an “advocate” is someone who “advocates” or supports a position or viewpoint and since this is what the Paraclete will do for the preaching of the disciples, it was selected in spite of the drawbacks.
John 14:17 tn Or “cannot receive.”
John 14:17 tn Or “he remains.”
John 14:17 tc Some early and significant witnesses (P^66* B D* W 1 565 it) have ἐστιν (estin, “he is”) instead of ἔσται (estai, “he will be”) here, while other weighty witnesses (P^66c,75vid א A D¹ L Θ Ψ ƒ¹³ 33^vid M as well as several versions and fathers), read the future tense. When one considers transcriptional evidence, ἐστιν is the more difficult reading and better explains the rise of the future tense reading, but it must be noted that both P⁶⁶ and D were corrected from the present tense to the future. If ἐστιν were the original reading, one would expect a few manuscripts to be corrected to read the present when they originally read the future, but that is not the case. When one considers what the author would have written, the future is on much stronger ground. The immediate context (both in 14:16 and in the chapter as a whole) points to the future, and the theology of the book regards the advent of the Spirit as a decidedly future event (see, e.g., 7:39 and 16:7). The present tense could have arisen from an error of sight on the part of some scribes or more likely from an error of thought as scribes reflected upon the present role of the Spirit. Although a decision is difficult, the future tense is most likely authentic. For further discussion on this textual problem, see James M. Hamilton, Jr., “He Is with You and He Will Be in You” (Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 213-20.
John 14:18 tn Or “leave.”
John 14:18 tn The entire phrase “abandon you as orphans” could be understood as an idiom meaning, “leave you helpless.”
John 14:18 sn I will come to you. Jesus had spoken in 14:3 of going away and coming again to his disciples. There the reference was both to the parousia (the second coming of Christ) and to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. Here the postresurrection appearances are primarily in view, since Jesus speaks of the disciples “seeing” him after the world can “see” him no longer in the following verse. But many commentators have taken v. 18 as a reference to the coming of the Spirit, since this has been the topic of the preceding verses. Still, vv. 19-20 appear to contain references to Jesus’ appearances to the disciples after his resurrection. It may well be that another Johannine double meaning is found here, so that Jesus ‘returns’ to his disciples in one sense in his appearances to them after his resurrection, but in another sense he ‘returns’ in the person of the Holy Spirit to indwell them.
John 14:19 tn Grk “Yet a little while, and.”
John 14:20 tn Grk “will know in that day.”sn At that time could be a reference to the parousia (second coming of Christ). But the statement in 14:19, that the world will not see Jesus, does not fit. It is better to take this as the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples (which has the advantage of taking in a little while in v. 19 literally).
John 14:21 tn Or “keeps.”
John 14:21 tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”
John 14:21 tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.
John 14:21 tn Or “will disclose.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

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Teaching on the Holy Spirit

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