Oct 5, 2025
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.
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.
HOWEVER, beginning with the 2022 podcast, I read the newest edition
of the NLT, making some slight changes to help listeners understand
where the next now uses m-dashes. The newer edition is more
conservative in retaining the figures of speech in the
Hebrew.]
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]!
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.