From Matthew’s record of Jesus’ teaching (chapter 18: 23-35) comes a confronting story which is about responding to mercy (although the context has Peter asking about the quantity of forgiveness for “brothers"):
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to collect all the money his servants owed him. As the king began to do it, a man who owed him 10,000 bags of gold was brought to him. The man was not able to pay. So his master gave an order. The man, his wife, his children, and all he owned had to be sold to pay back what he owed.
“Then the servant fell on his knees in front of him. ‘Give me time,’ he begged. ‘I’ll pay everything back.’ His master felt sorry for him. He forgave him what he owed and let him go.
What did the master see when he looked at the servant? Firstly his slave who had completely let him down. A person deserving the disaster he was getting. But then - a person without option or hope just asking for mercy! No bargaining or excuses. Everything changes. What an experience for “our hero” - of breathtaking generosity - he surely went forth in a glow of gratitude and overflowing good-will? At least it would inspire a “softly, softly” approach to another…? Sorry, no - that does not suit the story - would it reflect human nature? Let’s read on please:
“But then that servant went out and found one of the other servants who owed him 100 silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.
“The other servant fell on his knees. ‘Give me time,’ he begged him. ‘I’ll pay it back.’
“But the first servant refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison. The man would be held there until he could pay back what he owed.
The other servants saw what had happened and were very angry. They went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the first servant in. ‘You evil servant,’ he said. ‘I forgave all that you owed me because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on the other servant just as I had mercy on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers. He would be punished until he paid back everything he owed.
So “our hero” did not measure up. Hold on, how was that servant supposed to recognise what he “should” have done? What was to impel him to give up his rights? Mercy received could surely have informed his action when he was asked for patience (same word). He had owed a vast sum and been completely let off the lot! He had received incredibly more than he could have imagined but he had no inclination to giving. The overwhelming generosity extended freely to him did not generate relevance to another, even on the very same day! He showed no compassion or pity; he was not sorry for the other’s difficulty; there was no mercy for the other, his own failure was nothing and not relevant. Can non-criminal humans be like such a man? Are ordinary people able to focus on their own entitlements whilst ignoring their own obligations?
Earlier in the day, begged for patience, the king instead gave forgiveness, extravagant forgiveness! Far more than the heavily indebted servant could ask or think. The king felt sorry (or pity or compassion) for the senior servant. Why did the king act in that unlikely manner? The reason lay within the person of the king. But - grim “but” this - the king was provoked into reversing that initial generous decision. We may struggle with the idea of forgiveness becoming “unforgiveness”. For certain, God is not like that, no "shadow of turning" with God. Nonetheless, Jesus makes mercilessness rather serious, does he not?
The tale has an ending, although an ominous one.
“This is how my Father in heaven will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35, NIRV)
Already there were "brothers" (ie, fellow believers) and there would be so many more. They would not all be identical! Perhaps Peter was having problems with one or another? I wonder what Peter and the others with him thought at the time? This grim word was spoken to two or more and must come down the years to - us! (More than once Jesus addressed this issue.)
God’s vast kindness may or could motivate and move us to a changed (see Romans 12, below) “unworldly” mindset, naturally giving freely as having received freely. He portrays same person, different outlook.
Matthew (alone) tells us Jesus said the merciful will receive mercy.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (Matthew 5:7, ESV)
(That is actually the other way round but I am sure he did not teach you can earn mercy.)
Further on in the record we read times of opposition and conflict. At one point we have the criticism:
But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?[c]”
When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’[d] For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:11-13, NLT).
This was a memorable moment - all the synoptics record it similarly, apart from the name of Matthew (Levi) and except that only Matthew (twice) has the quotation from Hosea 6:6 (LXX Greek version). Jesus came (had come) for those who know they need him; God's priority is definitely not religious observance.
(Note: The translation of the Hebrew of Hosea 6:6 goes something like this example from the NLT:
I want you to show love,[a]
not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me[b]
more than I want burnt offerings.) As to the Jewish (Hebrew Bible) background, see below.
Turn a few pages in Matthew and we read another confrontation recorded by all the synoptics:
One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields.[a] His disciples were hungry and began picking and eating grains of wheat. Some Pharisees noticed this and said to Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”
Jesus answered: You surely must have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry. He went into the house of God, and then they ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are supposed to eat. Haven’t you read in the Law of Moses that the priests are allowed to work in the temple on the Sabbath? But no one says that they are guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath. I tell you that there is something here greater than the temple. Don’t you know what the Scriptures mean when they say, “Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others?” If you knew what this means, you would not condemn these innocent disciples of mine. So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath. (Matthew 12: 1-8, CEV).
Mercy mattered (matters) over religious activity, even over commanded sacrifices. The implications may not be entirely obvious but God’s priority is! (Interestingly, once again only Matthew has the Hosea quote.) I am sure that God lays down no obligations today comparable to the Law’s animal sacrifices - rather followers of “The Way” are to love one another… The passage has more to say to us - don't they often - but my focus is “mercy".
All the synoptics tell us Jesus who spoke of mercy was also asked for mercy. Consider the foreign woman who came to a house where Jesus was trying to keep a low-profile (see Mark 7:24) somewhere west of Galilee:
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.[e] (Matthew 15: 21-28, ESV)
There, even near (or beyond) the borders of “Jewish territory”, it looks like “the word was out” amongst non-Jewish people - the magic word which people used for Jesus to give healing (“mercy…Lord…Son of David”) - see Matthew 9:27. Not an easy episode as this outsider came to Jesus. There are differences in the accounts of Matthew and Mark but both report that the undaunted mother was on her knees before him. Nonetheless, she was able to recognise that she had no call upon Israel’s Christ. (Then again, who did? So the frequent and appropriate request for - “mercy”.) Only Matthew and Mark record Jesus in or so near to “Gentile” territory.
One time the call for mercy came from a blind man in Judaea (Mark names him Bartimaeus). It goes this way in Luke:
As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth[d] is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” (Luke 18: 35-42, NRSV).
Here is an addition from Matthew’s Jericho:
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him. (Matthew 20:34, NRSV).
(There are thought-provoking differences in the reports; e.g., Matthew refers to two men - and in fact has a comparable episode in chapter 9.)
Why did they (and others) ask for “mercy”, rather than to be healed or to be saved? They had no entitlement. “Please favour me” was the request. “Out of your compassion, bring me into the blessings of your mighty power. There is no way I have earned or can earn your goodness; please extend your grace to me.”
Paul has quite a lot to say about God’s mercy and its recipients (eg, Romans 9-11). He wraps up his somewhat difficult discussion by saying:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him (Romans 12:1, NLT).
Further on we read his commentary on God’s grace to the ancient people of God, and to those by God's mercy being unexpectedly added in during those early years. Paul found this truth in his Bible, the ancient texts - mercy was then (and is now) offered:
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will confess[a] you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name”;
and again he says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people” (Romans 15:8-10, NRSV)
So - there are people who know for sure today they are the oh-so-fortunate recipients of God’s gracious mercy. They then would glow with gratitude and naturally be generous, wouldn’t they? Maybe. Sadly there are grounds for serious questions, as for example in Philip Yancey’s book “Vanishing Grace”. That is another story.
How much do you and I depend on mercy? It is available. How good am I and you at being merciful?
OT Background
In the OT the word “mercy” is used many times of the “mercy seat”, or atonement cover. Other words may also be translated by “mercy”, “compassion” and “kindness”. (These may be checked out on-line through Bible Gateway, etc.) It is surely clear enough that God expected mercy (kindness) to be shown and that God extended mercy.
Some relevant OT examples, which I dare say Jesus knew well :
I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. (Isaiah 63:7, NRSV; However, see the Isaiah chapter for the conditions…)
So once again, I, the Lord All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! Don’t mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.” (Zechariah 7:8-10, CEV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;[a]
he restores my soul.[b]
He leads me in right paths[c]
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[d]
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely[e] goodness and mercy[f - or, kindness] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.[g]
(Psalm 23, NRSV)
So then, God does expect and require that people reflect God's image. I have heard the view that people make their God(s) in their own image. That seems sadly all too true of the ways of humanity over the ages. The revelation of the Bible turns the proposition on its head.
(Incidentally, re the Matthew 18 parable: Advancement under Rome was dependent on purchase and huge amounts of wealth did change hands and were accumulated. War, politics and construction were expensive. My NRSV margin has the 10,000 talents as worth 150,000 labourers for a year, whilst 100 denariuses [- OK; denarii] were worth 100 days’ labour. Slaves and any "possessions" were entirely at the master's disposal.)
Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIRV) are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION®.Copyright © 1996, 1998 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Note: I retain in the publishers' text the references to footnotes where they occur. You can check them out by viewing the text on-line. Often they are replicated in different translations.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to collect all the money his servants owed him. As the king began to do it, a man who owed him 10,000 bags of gold was brought to him. The man was not able to pay. So his master gave an order. The man, his wife, his children, and all he owned had to be sold to pay back what he owed.
“Then the servant fell on his knees in front of him. ‘Give me time,’ he begged. ‘I’ll pay everything back.’ His master felt sorry for him. He forgave him what he owed and let him go.
What did the master see when he looked at the servant? Firstly his slave who had completely let him down. A person deserving the disaster he was getting. But then - a person without option or hope just asking for mercy! No bargaining or excuses. Everything changes. What an experience for “our hero” - of breathtaking generosity - he surely went forth in a glow of gratitude and overflowing good-will? At least it would inspire a “softly, softly” approach to another…? Sorry, no - that does not suit the story - would it reflect human nature? Let’s read on please:
“But then that servant went out and found one of the other servants who owed him 100 silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.
“The other servant fell on his knees. ‘Give me time,’ he begged him. ‘I’ll pay it back.’
“But the first servant refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison. The man would be held there until he could pay back what he owed.
The other servants saw what had happened and were very angry. They went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the first servant in. ‘You evil servant,’ he said. ‘I forgave all that you owed me because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on the other servant just as I had mercy on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers. He would be punished until he paid back everything he owed.
So “our hero” did not measure up. Hold on, how was that servant supposed to recognise what he “should” have done? What was to impel him to give up his rights? Mercy received could surely have informed his action when he was asked for patience (same word). He had owed a vast sum and been completely let off the lot! He had received incredibly more than he could have imagined but he had no inclination to giving. The overwhelming generosity extended freely to him did not generate relevance to another, even on the very same day! He showed no compassion or pity; he was not sorry for the other’s difficulty; there was no mercy for the other, his own failure was nothing and not relevant. Can non-criminal humans be like such a man? Are ordinary people able to focus on their own entitlements whilst ignoring their own obligations?
Earlier in the day, begged for patience, the king instead gave forgiveness, extravagant forgiveness! Far more than the heavily indebted servant could ask or think. The king felt sorry (or pity or compassion) for the senior servant. Why did the king act in that unlikely manner? The reason lay within the person of the king. But - grim “but” this - the king was provoked into reversing that initial generous decision. We may struggle with the idea of forgiveness becoming “unforgiveness”. For certain, God is not like that, no "shadow of turning" with God. Nonetheless, Jesus makes mercilessness rather serious, does he not?
The tale has an ending, although an ominous one.
“This is how my Father in heaven will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35, NIRV)
Already there were "brothers" (ie, fellow believers) and there would be so many more. They would not all be identical! Perhaps Peter was having problems with one or another? I wonder what Peter and the others with him thought at the time? This grim word was spoken to two or more and must come down the years to - us! (More than once Jesus addressed this issue.)
God’s vast kindness may or could motivate and move us to a changed (see Romans 12, below) “unworldly” mindset, naturally giving freely as having received freely. He portrays same person, different outlook.
Matthew (alone) tells us Jesus said the merciful will receive mercy.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (Matthew 5:7, ESV)
(That is actually the other way round but I am sure he did not teach you can earn mercy.)
Further on in the record we read times of opposition and conflict. At one point we have the criticism:
But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?[c]”
When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’[d] For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:11-13, NLT).
This was a memorable moment - all the synoptics record it similarly, apart from the name of Matthew (Levi) and except that only Matthew (twice) has the quotation from Hosea 6:6 (LXX Greek version). Jesus came (had come) for those who know they need him; God's priority is definitely not religious observance.
(Note: The translation of the Hebrew of Hosea 6:6 goes something like this example from the NLT:
I want you to show love,[a]
not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me[b]
more than I want burnt offerings.) As to the Jewish (Hebrew Bible) background, see below.
Turn a few pages in Matthew and we read another confrontation recorded by all the synoptics:
One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields.[a] His disciples were hungry and began picking and eating grains of wheat. Some Pharisees noticed this and said to Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”
Jesus answered: You surely must have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry. He went into the house of God, and then they ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are supposed to eat. Haven’t you read in the Law of Moses that the priests are allowed to work in the temple on the Sabbath? But no one says that they are guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath. I tell you that there is something here greater than the temple. Don’t you know what the Scriptures mean when they say, “Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others?” If you knew what this means, you would not condemn these innocent disciples of mine. So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath. (Matthew 12: 1-8, CEV).
Mercy mattered (matters) over religious activity, even over commanded sacrifices. The implications may not be entirely obvious but God’s priority is! (Interestingly, once again only Matthew has the Hosea quote.) I am sure that God lays down no obligations today comparable to the Law’s animal sacrifices - rather followers of “The Way” are to love one another… The passage has more to say to us - don't they often - but my focus is “mercy".
All the synoptics tell us Jesus who spoke of mercy was also asked for mercy. Consider the foreign woman who came to a house where Jesus was trying to keep a low-profile (see Mark 7:24) somewhere west of Galilee:
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.[e] (Matthew 15: 21-28, ESV)
There, even near (or beyond) the borders of “Jewish territory”, it looks like “the word was out” amongst non-Jewish people - the magic word which people used for Jesus to give healing (“mercy…Lord…Son of David”) - see Matthew 9:27. Not an easy episode as this outsider came to Jesus. There are differences in the accounts of Matthew and Mark but both report that the undaunted mother was on her knees before him. Nonetheless, she was able to recognise that she had no call upon Israel’s Christ. (Then again, who did? So the frequent and appropriate request for - “mercy”.) Only Matthew and Mark record Jesus in or so near to “Gentile” territory.
One time the call for mercy came from a blind man in Judaea (Mark names him Bartimaeus). It goes this way in Luke:
As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth[d] is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” (Luke 18: 35-42, NRSV).
Here is an addition from Matthew’s Jericho:
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him. (Matthew 20:34, NRSV).
(There are thought-provoking differences in the reports; e.g., Matthew refers to two men - and in fact has a comparable episode in chapter 9.)
Why did they (and others) ask for “mercy”, rather than to be healed or to be saved? They had no entitlement. “Please favour me” was the request. “Out of your compassion, bring me into the blessings of your mighty power. There is no way I have earned or can earn your goodness; please extend your grace to me.”
Paul has quite a lot to say about God’s mercy and its recipients (eg, Romans 9-11). He wraps up his somewhat difficult discussion by saying:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him (Romans 12:1, NLT).
Further on we read his commentary on God’s grace to the ancient people of God, and to those by God's mercy being unexpectedly added in during those early years. Paul found this truth in his Bible, the ancient texts - mercy was then (and is now) offered:
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will confess[a] you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name”;
and again he says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people” (Romans 15:8-10, NRSV)
So - there are people who know for sure today they are the oh-so-fortunate recipients of God’s gracious mercy. They then would glow with gratitude and naturally be generous, wouldn’t they? Maybe. Sadly there are grounds for serious questions, as for example in Philip Yancey’s book “Vanishing Grace”. That is another story.
How much do you and I depend on mercy? It is available. How good am I and you at being merciful?
OT Background
In the OT the word “mercy” is used many times of the “mercy seat”, or atonement cover. Other words may also be translated by “mercy”, “compassion” and “kindness”. (These may be checked out on-line through Bible Gateway, etc.) It is surely clear enough that God expected mercy (kindness) to be shown and that God extended mercy.
Some relevant OT examples, which I dare say Jesus knew well :
I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. (Isaiah 63:7, NRSV; However, see the Isaiah chapter for the conditions…)
So once again, I, the Lord All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! Don’t mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.” (Zechariah 7:8-10, CEV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;[a]
he restores my soul.[b]
He leads me in right paths[c]
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[d]
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely[e] goodness and mercy[f - or, kindness] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.[g]
(Psalm 23, NRSV)
So then, God does expect and require that people reflect God's image. I have heard the view that people make their God(s) in their own image. That seems sadly all too true of the ways of humanity over the ages. The revelation of the Bible turns the proposition on its head.
(Incidentally, re the Matthew 18 parable: Advancement under Rome was dependent on purchase and huge amounts of wealth did change hands and were accumulated. War, politics and construction were expensive. My NRSV margin has the 10,000 talents as worth 150,000 labourers for a year, whilst 100 denariuses [- OK; denarii] were worth 100 days’ labour. Slaves and any "possessions" were entirely at the master's disposal.)
Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIRV) are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION®.Copyright © 1996, 1998 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Note: I retain in the publishers' text the references to footnotes where they occur. You can check them out by viewing the text on-line. Often they are replicated in different translations.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are not moderated. Allen Hampton