Civil war might have been avoided, but Absalom didn’t choose wisely. And I observe that my being bald has advantages in some situations! But seriously, all of the terrible things that happened here are the consequences of David’s sin.
Translation note:
23 “Whatever happens,” Ahimaaz said again, “I want to go.”
Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So Ahimaaz took the [flatter//less demanding] route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian.
https://www.bible.com/bible/68/2sa.18.nlt
Psalm 117 is a doxology that one day the whole world will sing.
https://www.bible.com/bible/116/psa.117
In John’s poetic opening to this Gospel, he call’s Jesus ‘the Word’. ‘Word’ in Greek (logos) means more than just one word. Among its several meanings, in this place its meaning is ‘communication’. Jesus is God’s personal communication or message to the world. And ‘full of grace and truth’ in more traditional translations means that Jesus is all about bringing undeserved kindness (grace) to us and true teachings that are totally worthy of being believed. And this theme is shown again in what Jesus said to Nathanael.
Translation notes:
2 He [(that is the One I am calling ‘the Word’)] existed in the beginning with God.
5 [That//The] light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth [which is the result of//resulting from] human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became humand and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and [He is worthy of being fully believed//faithfulness].e And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
16 From [the abundance of Him who we call ‘the Word’//his abundance] we have all received one gracious blessing after another.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and [true teachings that are worthy of full belief//faithfulness] came through [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ].
Verse 14 and 17 represent quite a challenge for the translator. The word ‘truth’ in Greek should be taken to mean the same thing in both verses. I think the translators desired to find one word that would work here, but I feel that ‘faithfulness’ shifts the meaning from what John intended.
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistantsh from Jerusalem to ask John, “[Whose place are you claiming to fulfill?//Who are you?]”
20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “Well then, [whose place are you taking?//who are you?]” they asked. “Are you [taking Elijah’s place//Elijah]?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”i
“No.”
22 “Then [who gave you any authority to work like this?//who are you?] We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am [the/a] voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the LORD’s coming!’”j
31 [Before now] I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest [upon, He] is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is [God’s Chosen One.//the Chosen One of God.]l”
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very [one/person] Moseso and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
50 Jesus [responded//asked him], “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”
I don’t think we use ‘asked’ to introduce rhetorical questions in English. And Greek doesn’t use this verb either.
51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see [“]heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on[” Me,] the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.
It is often necessary in other languages to include ‘I/Me’, because in most languages one just doesn’t talk of oneself using the third person, he. This is not grammatical in most languages.
https://www.bible.com/bible/116/jhn.1
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