NL-DBRP_284 EZK.1 SNG.1 MAT.23.13-39

EZEKIEL 1:
Yesterday in the last chapter of 2nd Chronicles, we heard of the quick succession of the kings of Judah at the very end before the exile to Babylon: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. And after the fall of Jerusalem, chapter 36 also told of the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy about Cyrus, who gave the decree to rebuild the Temple of God. While Jeremiah prophesied about the fall of Babylon and specified the 70 year duration of the exile, it was Isaiah who mentioned King Cyrus by name— one of the most stunning of all prophecies.

Ezekiel was not only a prophet, but also a priest. When he was 25 years old, he was carried into exile in Babylon along with the upper class of people in 597 BC. Ezekiel was no doubt a pupil of Jeremiah before Ezekiel was taken into exile. The 48 chapters of this book are divided right in the middle.

*1-24 Pre-siege, prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem.

*The second half can also be divided into two parts: Chapters 25-32 talk about after the fall of Jerusalem, prophecies dealing with the punishment of Judah’s enemies.

*33-48 Prophecies about the restoration of Judah.

Ezekiel is a book that is highly important for understanding the book of Revelation in the New Testament, because things that Ezekiel saw, John also saw.

SONG OF SOLOMON 1:
In this book Solomon extols how wonderful love is. This may be a series of wedding songs. (And Solomon needed such songs frequently!) The main question is: Is this book merely a series of songs calling for sexual faithfulness to one’s spouse? The well-known allegorical interpretation goes back at least to the Puritan period, but probably much farther to the church fathers. However, it usually seems to me that making this about Christ and the church is a bit forced. I don’t think Solomon had Christ and the church in mind. However I think Jesus may have been inspiring things that Solomon did not know.

MATTHEW 23b:
Yesterday we heard the first part of Jesus’ invective against the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. Jesus told the truth. In a way, it was a loving act— to warn them. He already knew that these were the very men who would crucify him.

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DayStarters_071 LUK.12.1-32

Re-release of the New Testament reading from GN series edition 60.

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GN-DBRP_283 2CH.36 ECC.12 MAT.23.1-28

2CHRONICLES 36:
Josiah’s Passover celebration showed wonderful ability to get everyone to work together and great organizational talent. It is the capstone of the revival that he led. Unfortunately, he was stubborn about going to war with Pharaoh Neco, which cost him both his own life and his son’s life.

ECCLESIASTES 12:
Yesterday’s short chapter recorded proverbial advice to young and old, and that theme continues in today’s reading.

MATTHEW 23a:
In yesterday’s reading Jesus roundly defeated the Sadducees, telling them that they did not know the Scriptures or the power of God. He answered the question about the most important Law, and he asked the question no one could answer.

GNT Translation notes:
Ecc. 12:8 Useless, useless, [says I,//said] the Philosopher. It is all useless.
9 But because [I,] the Philosopher [have been//was] wise, [I//he] kept on teaching the people what [I know//he knew]. [I//He] studied proverbs and honestly tested their truth.
10 [I have//The Philosopher] tried to find comforting words, but the words [I have written are at least//he wrote were] honest.

NLT Translation notes:
[For Ecc. 12:1-6, I prefer the 1996 first edition NLT. That version drops the obscure figures of speech and zeros right in on the meaning. Keeping obscure figures of speech and adding the meaning, in this case, adds an element of strangeness and lessens the impact.]
1 NLT96 Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living.
2 It will be too late then to remember him, when the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among the clouds.
3 Your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to do their work, and you will be blind, too.
4 And when your teeth are gone, keep your lips tightly closed when you eat! Even the chirping of birds will wake you up. But you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with a quavering voice.
5 You will be afraid of heights and of falling, white-haired and withered, dragging along without any sexual desire. You will be standing at death's door. And as you near your everlasting home, the mourners will walk along the streets.
6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.
Ecc. 12:7 For then the dust [of your body] will return to the earth, and [your//the] spirit will return to God who gave it.
====
Mat. 23:15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you [are yourselves//yourselves are]!

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NL-DBRP_283 2CH.36 ECC.12 MAT.23.1-28

2CHRONICLES 36:
Josiah’s Passover celebration showed wonderful ability to get everyone to work together and great organizational talent. It is the capstone of the revival that he led. Unfortunately, he was stubborn about going to war with Pharaoh Neco, which cost him both his own life and his son’s life.

ECCLESIASTES 12:
Yesterday’s short chapter recorded proverbial advice to young and old, and that theme continues in today’s reading.

MATTHEW 23a:
In yesterday’s reading Jesus roundly defeated the Sadducees, telling them that they did not know the Scriptures or the power of God. He answered the question about the most important Law, and he asked the question no one could answer.

GNT Translation notes:
Ecc. 12:8 Useless, useless, [says I,//said] the Philosopher. It is all useless.
9 But because [I,] the Philosopher [have been//was] wise, [I//he] kept on teaching the people what [I know//he knew]. [I//He] studied proverbs and honestly tested their truth. 
10 [I have//The Philosopher] tried to find comforting words, but the words [I have written are at least//he wrote were] honest.

NLT Translation notes:
[For Ecc. 12:1-6, I prefer the 1996 first edition NLT. That version drops the obscure figures of speech and zeros right in on the meaning. Keeping obscure figures of speech and adding the meaning, in this case, adds an element of strangeness and lessens the impact.]
1 NLT96 Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living.
2 It will be too late then to remember him, when the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among the clouds.
3 Your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to do their work, and you will be blind, too.
4 And when your teeth are gone, keep your lips tightly closed when you eat! Even the chirping of birds will wake you up. But you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with a quavering voice.
5 You will be afraid of heights and of falling, white-haired and withered, dragging along without any sexual desire. You will be standing at death's door. And as you near your everlasting home, the mourners will walk along the streets.
6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.
Ecc. 12:7 For then the dust [of your body] will return to the earth, and [your//the] spirit will return to God who gave it.
====
Mat. 23:15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you [are yourselves//yourselves are]!

Check out this episode!

DayStarters_070 LUK.11.29-54

Re-release of the New Testament reading from GN series edition 59.

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GN-DBRP_282 2CH.35 ECC.11 MAT.22.23-46

2CHRONICLES 35:
It is simply amazing that we have books like Deuteronomy, since we see that it (or perhaps Leviticus) was almost lost. And it shows how far Judah had slipped that they didn’t know of any copies. Josiah sincerely repented after hearing God’s Word.

ECCLESIASTES 11:
Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes was mainly separate proverbs. As an example I quote verse 3, which I like in the NLT:

3 You can identify fools just by the way t”hey walk down the street!

MATTHEW 22b:
Jesus told a pointed parable yesterday in the one about the King’s wedding feast for his son. And the people sent by the Pharisees with friends of King Herod failed miserably to trap Jesus. And why did the man at the wedding feast get thrown out for not wearing wedding clothes? If you don’t know the answer, there’s a golden treasure there waiting for you to find it.

GNT Translation notes:
2Chr. 35:15 [NET The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by [King] David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet.// GNT The following musicians of the Levite clan of Asaph were in the places assigned to them by King David's instructions: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's prophet.] The guards at the Temple gates did not need to leave their posts, because the other Levites prepared the Passover for them.
====
Ecc. 11:3 GNT Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools.

[One can be sure that ESV is overly literal with the last phrase, “he says to everyone that he is a fool.” I’ve met plenty of fools, and such a person doesn’t actually “let everyone know” (GNT) that he/she is a fool. CEV is probably right that ‘walking’ also is to be taken in its other more general meaning of ‘live’.]
3 CEV Fools show their stupidity by the way they live; it’s easy to see they have no sense.
====
Mat. 22:1 NLT That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees— [who are] religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:// GNT That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus and claimed that people will not rise from death.]
45 If, then, David called him ‘[my] Lord,’ how can the Messiah [just] be David's descendant?”

NLT Translation note:
Mat. 22:45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah [just] be his son?”

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NL-DBRP_282 2CH.35 ECC.11 MAT.22.23-46

2CHRONICLES 35:
It is simply amazing that we have books like Deuteronomy, since we see that it (or perhaps Leviticus) was almost lost. And it shows how far Judah had slipped that they didn’t know of any copies. Josiah sincerely repented after hearing God’s Word.

ECCLESIASTES 11:
Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes was mainly separate proverbs. As an example I quote verse 3, which I like in the NLT:

3 You can identify fools just by the way t”hey walk down the street!

MATTHEW 22b:
Jesus told a pointed parable yesterday in the one about the King’s wedding feast for his son. And the people sent by the Pharisees with friends of King Herod failed miserably to trap Jesus. And why did the man at the wedding feast get thrown out for not wearing wedding clothes? If you don’t know the answer, there’s a golden treasure there waiting for you to find it.

GNT Translation notes:
2Chr. 35:15 [NET The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by [King] David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet.// GNT The following musicians of the Levite clan of Asaph were in the places assigned to them by King David's instructions: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's prophet.] The guards at the Temple gates did not need to leave their posts, because the other Levites prepared the Passover for them.
====
Ecc. 11:3 GNT Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools.

[One can be sure that ESV is overly literal with the last phrase, “he says to everyone that he is a fool.” I’ve met plenty of fools, and such a person doesn’t actually “let everyone know” (GNT) that he/she is a fool. CEV is probably right that ‘walking’ also is to be taken in its other more general meaning of ‘live’.]
3 CEV Fools show their stupidity by the way they live; it’s easy to see they have no sense.
====
Mat. 22:1 NLT That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees— [who are] religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:// GNT That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus and claimed that people will not rise from death.]
45 If, then, David called him ‘[my] Lord,’ how can the Messiah [just] be David's descendant?”

NLT Translation note:
Mat. 22:45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah [just] be his son?”

Check out this episode!