◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Acts 11:1-18 (God saves the Gentiles); Psalm 148 (God’s splendor is over earth and heaven); Revelation 21:1-6 (New heaven new earth); John 13:31-35 (Love one another) (New English Translation)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Acts 11:1-18

Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church

11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted^[a] the word of God.^[b] ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers^[c] took issue with^[d] him, ³saying, “You went to^[e] uncircumcised men and shared a meal with^[f] them.” ⁴But Peter began and explained it to them point by point,^[g] saying, ⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision,^[h] an object something like a large sheet descending,^[i] being let down from heaven^[j] by its four corners, and it came to me. ⁶As I stared^[k] I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles,^[l] and wild birds.^[m] ⁷I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; slaughter^[n] and eat!’ ⁸But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean^[o] has ever entered my mouth!’ ⁹But the voice replied a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider^[p] ritually unclean!’ ¹⁰This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up to heaven again. ¹¹At that very moment,^[q] three men sent to me from Caesarea^[r] approached^[s] the house where we were staying.^[t] ¹²The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers^[u] also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³He informed us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, ¹⁴who will speak a message^[v] to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ ¹⁵Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on^[w] them just as he did^[x] on us at the beginning.^[y] ¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord,^[z] as he used to say,^[aa] ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’^[ab] ¹⁷Therefore if God^[ac] gave them the same gift^[ad] as he also gave us after believing^[ae] in the Lord Jesus Christ,^[af] who was I to hinder^[ag] God?” ¹⁸When they heard this,^[ah] they ceased their objections^[ai] and praised^[aj] God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance^[ak] that leads to life even to the Gentiles.”^[al]

Footnotes

Acts 11:1 tn See BDAG 221 s.v. δέχομαι 5 for this translation of ἐδέξαντο (edexanto) here.
Acts 11:1 tn Here the phrase “word of God” is another way to describe the gospel (note the preceding verb ἐδέξαντο, edexanto, “accepted”). The phrase could also be translated “the word [message] from God.”
Acts 11:2 tn Or “the Jewish Christians”; Grk “those of the circumcision.” Within the larger group of Christians were some whose loyalties ran along ethnic-religious lines.
Acts 11:2 tn Or “believers disputed with,” “believers criticized” (BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 5.b).
Acts 11:3 tn Or “You were a guest in the home of” (according to L&N 23.12).
Acts 11:3 tn Or “and ate with.” It was table fellowship and the possibility of eating unclean food that disturbed them.
Acts 11:4 tn Or “to them in logical sequence,” “to them in order.” BDAG 490 s.v. καθεξῆς has “explain to someone point by point” for this phrase. This is the same term used in Luke 1:3.
Acts 11:5 tn This term describes a supernatural vision and reflects a clear distinction from something imagined (BDAG 718 s.v. ὅραμα 1). Peter repeated the story virtually word for word through v. 13. The repetition with this degree of detail shows the event’s importance.
Acts 11:5 tn Or “coming down.”
Acts 11:5 tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
Acts 11:6 tn Grk “Staring I looked into it.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 11:6 tn Or “snakes.” Grk “creeping things.” According to L&N 4.51, in most biblical contexts the term (due to the influence of Hebrew classifications such as Gen 1:25-26, 30) included small four-footed animals like rats, mice, frogs, toads, salamanders, and lizards. In this context, however, where “creeping things” are contrasted with “four-footed animals,” the English word “reptiles,” which primarily but not exclusively designates snakes, is probably more appropriate.
Acts 11:6 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
Acts 11:7 tn Or “kill.” Traditionally θῦσον (thuson) is translated “kill,” but in the case of animals intended for food, “slaughter” is more appropriate.
Acts 11:8 tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akathartos) here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts. The sentiment Peter expressed is like Ezek 4:14.
Acts 11:9 tn Or “declare.” The wording matches Acts 10:15.
Acts 11:11 tn Grk “And behold.”
Acts 11:11 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
Acts 11:11 tn See BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1 for this meaning for ἐπέστησαν (epestēsan) here.
Acts 11:11 tn The word “staying” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
Acts 11:12 sn Six witnesses is three times more than what would normally be required. They could confirm the events were not misrepresented by Peter.
Acts 11:14 tn Grk “words” (ῥήματα, rhēmata), but in this context the overall message is meant rather than the individual words.
Acts 11:15 tn Or “came down on.”
Acts 11:15 tn The words “he did” are not in the Greek text but are implied. They form an ellipsis which must be supplied for the modern English reader. Some modern translations supply “it” rather than “he” because the gender of πνεῦμα (pneuma) in Greek is neuter, but there are sufficient NT contexts that use masculine pronouns to refer to the Spirit to justify the use of a masculine pronoun here in the translation.
Acts 11:15 sn At the beginning is an allusion to Acts 2 and Pentecost. The beginning is a way to refer to the start of the period of the realization of Jesus’ promise in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. Peter was arguing that God gave Gentiles the same benefits he gave the Jews at the start of their mission.
Acts 11:16 sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rhēma tou kuriou; here and in Luke 22:61, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logos tou kuriou; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8; 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.
Acts 11:16 tn The imperfect verb ἔλεγεν (elegen) is taken as a customary imperfect.
Acts 11:16 sn John…Spirit. This remark repeats Acts 1:5.
Acts 11:17 tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other Western witnesses here lack ὁ θεός (ho theos, “God”), perhaps because these scribes considered the Holy Spirit to be the gift of Christ rather than the gift of God; thus leaving the subject implicit would naturally draw the reader back to v. 16 to see the Lord Jesus as the bestower of the Spirit.
Acts 11:17 sn That is, the same gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 11:17 tn Or “gave us when we believed”; or “gave us after we believed”; or “gave us who believed”; or “gave them when they believed the same gift as he also gave us.” The aorist dative plural participle πιστεύσασιν (pisteusasin) can be understood in several different ways: (1) It could modify ἡμῖν (hēmin, “us”) or αὐτοῖς (autois, “them”). Proximity (it immediately follows ἡμῖν) would suggest that it belongs with ἡμῖν, so the last option (“gave them when they believed the same gift he also gave us”) is less likely. (2) The participle could be either adverbial or adjectival, modifying ἡμῖν. This decision is primarily a contextual one. The point Peter made is not whether or not the Gentiles believed, since both groups (“us” and “they”) had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The point was whether or not the Gentiles received the Spirit when they believed, just as Jewish Christians had received the Spirit on the day of Pentecost when they believed. Translated as an adjectival participle, πιστεύσασιν only affirms the fact of belief, however, and raises somewhat of a theological problem if one realizes, “Would God have given the Gentiles the Spirit if they had not believed?” (In other words, belief in itself is a theological prerequisite for receiving the Spirit. As such, in the case of the Gentiles, it is assumed.) Thus in context it makes more sense to understand the participle πιστεύσασιν as adverbial, related to the time of belief in connection with the giving of the Spirit. (3) The participle πιστεύσασιν as a temporal participle can refer to action antecedent to the action of the main verb ἔδωκεν (edōken) or contemporaneous with it. Logically, at least, the gift of the Spirit followed belief in the case of the original Christians, who had believed before the day of Pentecost. In the case of Cornelius and his household, belief and the reception of the Spirit were virtually simultaneous. One can argue that Peter is “summarizing” the experience of Jewish Christians, and therefore the actions of belief and reception of the Spirit, while historically separate, have been “telescoped” into one (“gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed”), but to be technically accurate the participle πιστεύσασιν should be translated “gave them the same gift as he also gave us after we believed.” A number of these problems can be avoided, however, by using a translation in English that maintains some of the ambiguity of the Greek original. Thus “if God gave them the same gift as he also gave us after believing” is used, where the phrase “after believing” can refer either to “them” or to “us,” or both.
Acts 11:17 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
Acts 11:17 tn Or “prevent,” “forbid” (BDAG 580 s.v. κωλύω 1.a). Peter’s point is that he will not stand in the way of God.
Acts 11:18 tn Grk “these things.”
Acts 11:18 tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.
Acts 11:18 tn Or “glorified.”
Acts 11:18 sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).
Acts 11:18 sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

Psalm 148

Psalm 148^[a]

148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
²Praise him, all his angels.^[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.^[c]
³Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.^[d]
⁴Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.^[e]
⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
⁶He established them so they would endure;^[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.^[g]
⁷Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
⁸O fire and hail, snow and clouds,^[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,^[i]
⁹you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
¹⁰you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
¹¹you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders^[j] on the earth,
¹²you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
¹³Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
¹⁴He has made his people victorious,^[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.^[l]
Praise the Lord!

Revelation 21:1-6

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21 Then^[a] I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist,^[b] and the sea existed no more. ²And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence^[c] of God is among human beings.^[d] He^[e] will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.^[f] ⁴He^[g] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”^[h]

⁵And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then^[i] he said to me, “Write it down,^[j] because these words are reliable^[k] and true.” ⁶He also said to me, “It is done!^[l] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water^[m] free of charge^[n] from the spring of the water of life.

Footnotes

Revelation 21:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
Revelation 21:1 tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (aperchomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [apēlthan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence—‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”
Revelation 21:3 tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”
Revelation 21:3 tn Or “people”; Grk “men” (ἀνθρώπων, anthrōpōn), a generic use of the term. In the translation “human beings” was used here because “people” occurs later in the verse and translates a different Greek word (λαοί, laoi).
Revelation 21:3 tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Revelation 21:3 tc ‡ Most mss (א M^K) do not add the words “[as] their God” (αὐτῶν θεός, autōn theos) after “he will be with them.” The mss with these words include A 2030 2050 2329 al. The Andreas group (M^A) also has the words, but in a different arrangement with the preceding (ἔσται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν θεὸς αὐτῶν, estai met’ autōn theos autōn). Not only do the words float, but scribes may have been motivated to make a connection here more directly with Isa 7:14; 8:8; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Zech 8:8. In light of sufficient external evidence as well as the possibility that the longer reading is theologically motivated, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁸ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.
Revelation 21:4 tn Grk “God, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Revelation 21:4 tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (aperchomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [apēlthan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence—‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”
Revelation 21:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
Revelation 21:5 tn The words “it down” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
Revelation 21:5 tn Grk “faithful.”
Revelation 21:6 tn Or “It has happened.”
Revelation 21:6 tn The word “water” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
Revelation 21:6 tn Or “as a free gift” (see L&N 57.85).

John 13:31-35

The Prediction of Peter’s Denial

³¹When^[a] Judas^[b] had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. ³²If God is glorified in him,^[c] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him right away.^[d] ³³Children, I am still with you for a little while. You will look for me,^[e] and just as I said to the Jewish religious leaders,^[f] ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’^[g] now I tell you the same.^[h]

³⁴“I give you a new commandment—to love^[i] one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.^[j] ³⁵Everyone^[k] will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.”

Footnotes

John 13:31 tn Grk “Then when.”
John 13:31 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:32 tc A number of early mss (P⁶⁶ א* B C* D L W al as well as several versional witnesses) do not have the words “If God is glorified in him,” while the majority of mss have the clause (so א² A C² Θ Ψ ƒ¹³ 33 M lat). Although the mss that omit the words are significantly better witnesses, the omission may have occurred because of an error of sight due to homoioteleuton (v. 31 ends in ἐν αὐτῷ [en autō, “in him”], as does this clause). Further, the typical step-parallelism found in John is retained if the clause is kept intact (TCGNT 205-6). At the same time, it is difficult to explain how such a wide variety of witnesses would have accidentally deleted this clause, and arguments for intentional deletion are not particularly convincing. NA²⁸ rightly places the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.
John 13:32 tn Or “immediately.”
John 13:33 tn Or “You will seek me.”
John 13:33 tn Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem in general, or to the Jewish religious leaders in particular, who had sent servants to attempt to arrest Jesus on that occasion (John 7:33-35). The last option is the one adopted in the translation above.
John 13:33 sn See John 7:33-34.
John 13:33 tn The words “the same” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
John 13:34 tn The ἵνα (hina) clause gives the content of the commandment. This is indicated by a dash in the translation.
John 13:34 sn The idea that love is a commandment is interesting. In the OT the ten commandments have a setting in the covenant between God and Israel at Sinai; they were the stipulations that Israel had to observe if the nation were to be God’s chosen people. In speaking of love as the new commandment for those whom Jesus had chosen as his own (John 13:1; 15:16) and as a mark by which they could be distinguished from others (13:35), John shows that he is thinking of this scene in covenant terminology. But note that the disciples are to love “Just as I have loved you” (13:34). The love Jesus has for his followers cannot be duplicated by them in one sense, because it effects their salvation, since he lays down his life for them: It is an act of love that gives life to people. But in another sense, they can follow his example (recall to the end, 13:1; also 1 John 3:16; 4:16 and the interpretation of Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet). In this way Jesus’ disciples are to love one another: They are to follow his example of sacrificial service to one another, to death if necessary.
John 13:35 tn Grk “All people,” although many modern translations have rendered πάντες (pantes) as “all men” (ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV). While the gender of the pronoun is masculine, it is collective and includes people of both genders.

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church

Footnotes

Psalm 148[a]

Footnotes

A New Heaven and a New Earth

Footnotes

The Prediction of Peter’s Denial

Footnotes

Psalm 148^[a]