NL-DBRP_208 JER.13 JER.14 PSA.144 1CO.1

JEREMIAH 13-14:
In yesterday’s reading, Jeremiah complained to the Lord,

12:1 “Lord, if I argued my case with you,
you would [be shown//prove] to be right.
Yet I must question you about matters of justice.
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
Why do dishonest people succeed?

And the Lord replied in an answer that bears reading in context and needs some thinking about,

“Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people,
how can you race against horses?
If you can't even stand up in open country,
how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan?

PSALM 144:
This poem is quite a contrast with what we have just heard in Jeremiah. This is the joyful prayer of a king who is leading his people according to the will of God.

1Corinthians 1:
In Paul’s day, Corinth was a metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea with a population of between 150,000 and 300,000 Roman citizens and about 460,000 slaves. There was evidently a healthy criminal population, and the city was a center of banking, so there were incredibly wealthy people there. The city was full of idol shrines of deities from Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and there was cult prostitution.

Some commentators claim that 1 Corinthians contains parts of two letters from Paul, so that 2nd Corinthians might actually be a third or fourth letter. I don’t buy that.

Key topics of the letter include the divisions in the church, the obstacles to sharing the Gospel, God’s wisdom as it appears to Greeks and Jews, partnership among apostles of Christ, vice in the church, various instructions about marriage, the Lord’s supper, food sacrificed to idols, Paul not cashing in on his rights as an apostle, spiritual gifts and the spiritual fruit of love, and the resurrection of Christ.

GNT Translation note:
Ps. 144:15 [O Lord our God,//0] Happy is the nation of whom this is true; happy are the people [who worship You!//whose God is the Lord!]
[As in other Psalms, I read verses 1-2 and 15 as a prayer made directly to God, rather than using the third person in talking to the Lord.]

NLT Translation notes:
1Cor. 1:12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,d” or [even] “I follow only Christ.”
17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, [so//for fear] that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
22 It is [foolishness/foolish] to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is [foolishness/foolish] to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.
27 Instead, God chose things [and people] the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
30 God has [joined you as one//united you] with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

Check out this episode!

GN-DBRP_207 JER.11 JER.12 PSA.143 JHN.21

JEREMIAH 11-12:
Yesterday we heard important verses in chapter 9:23-24, verses that Paul quotes more than once:

 “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
or the powerful boast in their power,
or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD …

PSALM 143:
It seems that prayer is very neglected these days. Oh yes, we might hear something vague about praying for victims right after some tragedy strikes. But it seems that every church has trouble keeping a prayer meeting going. I myself have trouble keeping my prayer life going. David shows in this psalm that he has learned secrets of effective prayer. Note how his prayer is very like how Jeremiah felt in the two chapters we just read.

JOHN 21:
This is one of my favorite chapters. John again tells us important information not given in the other gospels. Note that there is a famous exegetical fallacy here. John does use two different words for ‘love’ in the dialog between Jesus and Peter. But this should NOT be taken— as has been so frequently taught, as showing a play on words, or that John was intending different shades of meaning. Instead the use of synonyms is just a feature of John’s style in writing. John does this for poetic variation, like the parallelism in Hebrew poetry. Another example of this in this same passage is the variation of ‘little lambs’ and ‘sheep’.

GNT Translation notes:
Jer. 12:1 “Lord, if I argued my case with you, you would [be shown//prove to] be right. Yet I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed?
====
Ps. 143:9 I [come//go] to you for protection, Lord; rescue me from my enemies.

NLT Translation notes:
John 21:7 Then [I—//0] the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.
[Although John has thinly concealed his identity since chapter 1, it becomes clear in this chapter that he wants to make it clear that the eyewitness he has referred to as ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ was himself. (John did not want to boast of having been a disciple of Jesus, yet at the same time he wanted to show that this book is an eyewitness account.) Using this literary device is odd enough in English. In some languages of the world, translating this device literally would be so confusing that it is better to rephrase these passages so that John speaks in the first person. Translators who do this will add a footnote explaining why John used the third person instead of the first person. In my opinion, for a podcast like this, it will be much clearer for listeners to use the same technique, and this is my footnote explaining my changes to the NLT text.]

Check out this episode!

NL-DBRP_207 JER.11 JER.12 PSA.143 JHN.21

JEREMIAH 11-12:
Yesterday we heard important verses in chapter 9:23-24, verses that Paul quotes more than once:

 “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
or the powerful boast in their power,
or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD …

PSALM 143:
It seems that prayer is very neglected these days. Oh yes, we might hear something vague about praying for victims right after some tragedy strikes. But it seems that every church has trouble keeping a prayer meeting going. I myself have trouble keeping my prayer life going. David shows in this psalm that he has learned secrets of effective prayer. Note how his prayer is very like how Jeremiah felt in the two chapters we just read.

JOHN 21:
This is one of my favorite chapters. John again tells us important information not given in the other gospels. Note that there is a famous exegetical fallacy here. John does use two different words for ‘love’ in the dialog between Jesus and Peter. But this should NOT be taken— as has been so frequently taught, as showing a play on words, or that John was intending different shades of meaning. Instead the use of synonyms is just a feature of John’s style in writing. John does this for poetic variation, like the parallelism in Hebrew poetry. Another example of this in this same passage is the variation of ‘little lambs’ and ‘sheep’.

GNT Translation notes:
Jer. 12:1 “Lord, if I argued my case with you, you would [be shown//prove to] be right. Yet I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed?
====
Ps. 143:9 I [come//go] to you for protection, Lord; rescue me from my enemies.

NLT Translation notes:
John 21:7 Then [I—//0] the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.
[Although John has thinly concealed his identity since chapter 1, it becomes clear in this chapter that he wants to make it clear that the eyewitness he has referred to as ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ was himself. (John did not want to boast of having been a disciple of Jesus, yet at the same time he wanted to show that this book is an eyewitness account.) Using this literary device is odd enough in English. In some languages of the world, translating this device literally would be so confusing that it is better to rephrase these passages so that John speaks in the first person. Translators who do this will add a footnote explaining why John used the third person instead of the first person. In my opinion, for a podcast like this, it will be much clearer for listeners to use the same technique, and this is my footnote explaining my changes to the NLT text.]

Check out this episode!

GN-DBRP_206 JER.9 JER.10 PSA.142 JHN.20

JEREMIAH 9-10:
Being a prophet is not exactly an easy job. In 7:27 God told him,

“Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.”

We’ll find that God told the same thing to more than one prophet around this same time.

PSALM 142:
When you are discouraged, here is a psalm to pray!

JOHN 20:
There are so many fulfillments of Scripture that happen in the crucifixion chapters in the Gospels that many times the authors didn’t take the time to highlight each one of them. The Jewish readers would have picked up on them without the need for an explanation. In verse 36, John highlighted one fulfillment, saying, “This was done to make the scripture come true: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken.’” I hope you remember what that was about! See Ps. 34:20, Ex. 12:46, Num. 9:12. If you don’t know, I hope this teaser will encourage you, because this is a golden gem. And Jesus’ death did not mean that he stopped fulfilling Scriptures.

GNT Translation note:
Jer. 9:22 Dead bodies are scattered everywhere, like piles of manure on the fields, like grain cut and left behind by the reapers, grain that no one gathers. [And] This is what the Lord has told me to say.”
====
John 20:1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary [— the one from the village of] Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance.
2 She went running to [Peter— who was also called Simon//Simon Peter] and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!”
[In the podcast recording, I reduced the other double-name instances later in the chapter to just Mary/Peter. The context makes it clear who is being referred to, and doing so is more natural in English.]
13 [One of them asked her,//0] “[0//Woman,] why are you crying?” [0//they asked her.] She answered, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!”
15 “[0//Woman,] why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who is it that you are looking for?” She thought he was the gardener, so she said to him, “If you took him away, sir, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
31 But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your [believing//faith] in him you may have life.

NLT Translation note:
Jer. 9:10 But [YOU/the] LORD [are/is] the only true God.
[You are//He is] the living God and the everlasting King!
The whole earth trembles at [your/his] anger.
The nations cannot stand up to [your/his] wrath.
====
Ps. 142:1 I cry out to [You, O/the] LORD;
I plead for [your/the LORD’s] mercy.
2 I pour out my complaints before [You/him]
and tell [You/him] all my troubles.
====
John 20:1 Early on Sunday morning,a while it was still dark, Mary [— the woman from the village of Magdalene//Magdalene] came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
3 Peter and [I, John,//the other disciple] started out for the tomb.
[This is so strange in many languages that it is translated in the first person. It is clear that John wanted that people know that this is an eye-witness account. This change I am making goes through this paragraph.]
27 Then he said to Thomas, “[Thomas,] Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. [Instead] Believe!”
31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in [Jesus/him] you will have life [through His power//by the power of his name].

Check out this episode!

NL-DBRP_206 JER.9 JER.10 PSA.142 JHN.20

JEREMIAH 9-10:
Being a prophet is not exactly an easy job. In 7:27 God told him,

“Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.”

We’ll find that God told the same thing to more than one prophet around this same time.

PSALM 142:
When you are discouraged, here is a psalm to pray!

JOHN 20:
There are so many fulfillments of Scripture that happen in the crucifixion chapters in the Gospels that many times the authors didn’t take the time to highlight each one of them. The Jewish readers would have picked up on them without the need for an explanation. In verse 36, John highlighted one fulfillment, saying, “This was done to make the scripture come true: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken.’” I hope you remember what that was about! See Ps. 34:20, Ex. 12:46, Num. 9:12. If you don’t know, I hope this teaser will encourage you, because this is a golden gem. And Jesus’ death did not mean that he stopped fulfilling Scriptures.

GNT Translation note:
Jer. 9:22 Dead bodies are scattered everywhere, like piles of manure on the fields, like grain cut and left behind by the reapers, grain that no one gathers. [And] This is what the Lord has told me to say.”
====
John 20:1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary [— the one from the village of] Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance.
2 She went running to [Peter— who was also called Simon//Simon Peter] and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!”
[In the podcast recording, I reduced the other double-name instances later in the chapter to just Mary/Peter. The context makes it clear who is being referred to, and doing so is more natural in English.]
13 [One of them asked her,//0] “[0//Woman,] why are you crying?” [0//they asked her.] She answered, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!”
15 “[0//Woman,] why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who is it that you are looking for?” She thought he was the gardener, so she said to him, “If you took him away, sir, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
31 But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your [believing//faith] in him you may have life.

NLT Translation note:
Jer. 9:10 But [YOU/the] LORD [are/is] the only true God.
[You are//He is] the living God and the everlasting King!
The whole earth trembles at [your/his] anger.
The nations cannot stand up to [your/his] wrath.
====
Ps. 142:1 I cry out to [You, O/the] LORD;
I plead for [your/the LORD’s] mercy.
2 I pour out my complaints before [You/him]
and tell [You/him] all my troubles.
====
John 20:1 Early on Sunday morning,a while it was still dark, Mary [— the woman from the village of Magdalene//Magdalene] came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
3 Peter and [I, John,//the other disciple] started out for the tomb.
[This is so strange in many languages that it is translated in the first person. It is clear that John wanted that people know that this is an eye-witness account. This change I am making goes through this paragraph.]
27 Then he said to Thomas, “[Thomas,] Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. [Instead] Believe!”
31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in [Jesus/him] you will have life [through His power//by the power of his name].

Check out this episode!

DBRP Categories Explained

You can access the Categores through the Episodes menu at this site, and from the menu button on the upper left in our DBRP listening app.

Blog Posts are text-only posts like this one, and they hold the most important information about the DBRP. The About link in this site's menu will give you a directory of these posts.

The main categories for Bible readings are:

GNT devotional Bible readings and NLT devotional Bible readings

The podcasts of the whole Good News Translation we done in 2016. And the podcasts of the whole New Living Translation were first made in 2014 and some of them were revised and improved in 2015 and 2017.

NET devotional Bible readings is a series that I have just started. These podcasts follow the same Digging Deeper Daily reading plan, but there are two parts to each episode. The first part has a plain number (like 001, 002, etc.) and the second part has a number followed by the letter C. The plain numbered episodes follow my normal pattern of 22 minute podcasts— three readings and a prayer. The podcasts numbered 001C, 002C, etc., contain extended comments on the readings, which I hope will help you to dig deeper.

JoySightings are for fun! This is where I share my love of parables, and especially those of Safed the Sage. I also have recorded the allegorical Tales of the Kingdom and Tales of the Restoration by David and Karen Mains. The two books by the Mains are great for grade school children, and adults enjoy them too! The parables of Safed are delightful, but they contain King James-styled English that can be difficult for children.

News Posts are audio podcasts where I share information about such things as changes in our listening apps, community information of note, and news about our family and our mission work.

Joy of Translating is a series I began with four podcasts on the translation of Mark 1-2. The episodes include my own translation of those chapters, and more in-depth commentary about the challenges of translating the Bible. I'll get back to this project someday!

Devotional Bible readings is the category I first used from 2014 to 2016. I don't recommend you use this category. If you are searching for an episode from that time frame that has not been re-released this year in the GNT or NLT categories, it would be easier to search for the episode you want by number (such as _365, or NL-DBRP_365, etc.). 

 

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About our reading plan

What’s special about the Digging Deeper reading plan?

 It is important to consider what plan to follow in reading the Bible! I find I can't share about this without telling my age and sounding like I am boasting, so here goes: I will soon be 66 and have read the whole Bible yearly for the last 46 years. I know from experience that some reading plans are not fun to follow. That is why I designed this plan to be practical and doable— taking only 20 minutes per day to finish the whole Bible in a year. And these things make the DBRP plan unique and interesting:

• I like a plan that gives you something from the New Testament every day. I have arranged the New Testament books according to chronological and thematic considerations and with the Gospels spread out during the year. My goal was to help the reader see correspondences between the Old and New Testaments and follow themes in the New Testament. For instance, the Gospel written for the Jewish audience— Matthew, is followed by NT letters directed to the same audience.
• In the first half of the year, the DBRP plan tells the Old Testament story in its logical and chronological order— which is also the ordering given in the Bible. In the second half of the year, some retelling of history (starting with 1st Chronicles) is mixed in with the major prophets of Jeremiah and Ezekiel— so that correspondences between what was foretold and the fulfillment are more easily seen.
• Each day there is a reading from Old Testament poetry, and those books are taken in Bible order starting with Job and ending with Isaiah.
• Cohesion and Seeing Correspondences: The DBRP plan begins the year with the Bible's oldest book (Job), plus the story of the beginning of the world (Genesis), and the earliest written Gospel (Mark). At the end of the year, stunning correspondences can be seen between the minor prophets, Isaiah, and the book of Revelation. If you listen to the podcasts, I give brief introductions to each reading— reminding you of what has gone before and pointing out correspondences that show the amazing unity in God's Word.
• Convenience: The integration of our Digging Deeper Daily reading plan in the YouVersion Bible reading app makes it easy to keep track of your reading progress using any smart device. Our own DBRP podcast app for Android and Apple devices makes it easy to automate listening to the podcasts. See how to get the DBRP app for your device by scrolling down on the landing page of this site. The Bible app and the listening app make it easy to do what you want— whether that be to just read the plan, just listen to the podcasts, or do both at the same time.

You can listen to the DBRP using two translations.

I (Phil) read the  Good News Translation (GNT) for the 2016 podcasts. This is one of my favorite translations and it has excellent scholarly backing. The GNT New Testament  translation was first published under the name of Today's English Version in 1966— when I was 16. This translation meant a lot to me in my teenage years and after, and I want to share this with my grand kids. The GNT has been very helpful in my own translation work in Indonesia, and it has influenced every other Bible translation published since 1970. In the podcast readings, I have made minor changes to the GNT based on my Bible translation experience, and these are documented in the episode notes. The GNT series of podcasts have file names like this: DBRP_001.mp3 (for the first episode). There are several GNT in YouVersion. The one I am reading from is the USA version, GNTD.

In the 2014-2015 podcasts I read the New Living Translation (NLT). The NLT translation is my all-time favorite. It conveys the meaning of the original texts in modern, clear, and natural language. In the NLT podcast series, I made minor changes to the NLT based on my Bible translation experience, and these are documented in the episode notes. If you listen to the NLT podcast series, the file names are like this: 2015DBRP_001.mp3 (for the first episode).

Both the GNT and the NLT are meaning based translations, which makes them easy to understand for podcast listeners. For more information about how the GNT and NLT compare to other translations, please see the bottom of the Shovels page.

In 2017, choose episodes that have names starting with GN- for the GNT podcast series. The GNT series have a yellow icon. The NLT series of podcasts have names starting with NL- and the episode icons are dark blue.

 

 

 

 

 

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