This translation is from the New American Bible. The bolded hyperlinks will take you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context.
Information about the meaning the original Hebrew or Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue. It is provided beneath the specific reading it relates to.
Hyperlinks to collections or analysis of other scriptures addressing principles similar to those set out in these readings are after each reading.
Excerpts collected in yellow at the end of this post tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him.
Excerpts collected in green at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us to do.
Excerpts collected in red at the end of this post tell us about something God does not want us to do.
Reading I: Isaiah 43:16-21
Thus says the LORD, who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, till they lie prostrate together, never to rise, snuffed out and quenched like a wick.
Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Wild beasts honor me, jackals and ostriches, for I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink, the people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise.
opens = נָתַן= nāṯan Blue Letter Bible to give, bestow, grant; consecrate, devote, dedicate; entrust, give over, deliver up; yield produce; be (healed); pour; print; teach; to apply the heart to; to constitute, to make a thing like or similar to
way = דֶּרֶךְ= dereḵ Blue Letter Bible way, road, distance, journey, manner; path; mode; manner, habit, way; course of life; mode of action; figuratively, a course of life or mode of action
path = נָתִיב= nāṯîḇ Blue Letter Bible trodden with the feet, path, pathway; path, pathway, traveler; foot path, by way; course of life
leads = יָצָא=yāṣā' Blue Letter Bible to cause to go or come out, bring out, lead out; to go out, to carry, pluck, pull out; send with commandment, shoot forth; carry or bring out; take or draw out; come out, exit, go forth;to deliver; bring forth (out, up), carry out; go forth; to rise
Remember = זָכַר= zakar Blue Letter Bible Recall, call to mind; be mindful; think on; penetrating, infixing; preserve; consider; meditate, think on;
events of the past= רִאשׁוֹן= ri'šôn Blue Letter Bible first, primary, former; former things;before, formerly, at first; previous
things of long ago = קַדְמֹנִי= qaḏmōnî Blue Letter Bible former, ancient, eastern; anterior, that went before; old
consider = בִּין= bîn Blue Letter Bible to discern, understand, consider; perceive; to observe, mark, give heed to, distinguish, consider; attend to; turn the mind to; regard as a thing understood; teach, instruct; skilled in; attentively consider; consider diligently; teach
new = חָדָשׁ= ḥāḏāš Blue Letter Bible fresh, unheard of
perceive =יָדַע= yāḏaʿ Blue Letter Bible to perceive and see, find out and discern; to discriminate, distinguish; to know by experience; to recognize; be acquainted with;to know (a person carnally);to know how, be skillful in; to have knowledge, be wise; to be made known, be or become known, be revealed; to be instructed; privy to; seeing; observe with the eyes; be aware of; to get to know, discover; to turn the mind to anything, to care about, to see about
put = נָתַן= nāṯan Blue Letter Bible to give, bestow, grant; consecrate, devote, dedicate; entrust, give over, deliver up; yield produce; be (healed); pour; print; teach; to apply the heart to; to constitute, to make a thing like or similar to
announce= סָפַר= caphar Blue Letter Bible recount, relate, to recount (something); take account of, reckon; take account of, carefully observe and consider; rehearse, declare; speak, talk; relate; narrate; celebrate; polish, inscribe
praise = תְּהִלָּה= tᵊhillâ Blue Letter Bible song, a hymn;adoration, thanksgiving (paid to God); laudation, glory
Other scriptures addressing this dynamic are collected at Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
done = עָשָׂה=ʿāśâ Blue Letter Bible to do, fashion, accomplish, make; work, make, produce; to deal (with); to act, act with effect, effect;to attend to, put in order; to observe, celebrate;accomplish, advance; follow, fulfill;be industrious, labor; yield; produce by labor
great = גָּדַל= gāḏal Blue Letter Bible to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things; twist a cord, make firm; become strong, (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride); advance; increase, lift up, magnify; to make much of
joy, glad = שָׂמֵחַ= śāmēaḥ Blue Letter Bible joyful, merry, glad
brought back = שׁוּב= shuwb Blue Letter Bible to return, turn back;to restore, refresh, repair; to bring back, allow to return, put back, draw back, give back, restore, relinquish; to bring back to mind; to turn one’s self
rejoicing = רִנָּה= rinnâ Blue Letter Bible ringing cry; in proclamation, joy, praise; cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing(-ing), triumph;
filled = מָלָא= mālā'Blue Letter Bible fulness, abundance; to be full; make full; fill a place; mutually fill; satisfied
Restore—See brought back above
go forth = הָלַךְ= halak Blue Letter Bible to go; proceed, move; enter; follow; go along; proceed; to go with, have intercourse with; to go after; pursue; live, manner of life; to go on, go forward; traverse; march; to flow, be poured out
weeping = בָּכָה= bakah Blue Letter Bible bewail, cry, shed tears; to weep (in grief, humiliation); make lamentation; mourn
carrying = נָשָׂא= nāśā' Blue Letter Bible to lift, bear up, carry, take; to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure; bear continuously; take, receive, take hold of; accept
Other scriptures addressing this dynamic are collected at Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin
Reading II: Philippians 3:8-14
I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.
supreme = ὑπερέχω = hyperechō Blue Letter Bible to hold or have above; to be superior to, to be better than; surpassing; to excel; to stand out, rise above, overtop;to excel, to be superior, better than, to surpass; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon to be above; overtop, be prominent above; exceed; excel, outdo
knowing = γνῶσις = gnosis Blue Letter Bible a seeking to know, an enquiry, investigation; Science in the modern sense of the word, viz., the investigation, discovery, and classification of secondary laws; general intelligence, understandingHenry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon seeking to know, inquiry, investigation, esp. judicial; result of investigation; means of knowing
Lord = κύριος = kyrios Blue Letter Bible variously translated in the NT, "'Lord,' 'master,' 'Master,' 'owner,' 'Sir;' one who has the disposal of anything; one to whom service is due on any ground; one who exercises power;he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding;the sovereign, prince, chief; a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence; supreme in authority; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon supreme power, authority; one invested with authority
accepted the loss = ζημιόω = zēmioō Blue Letter Bible to suffer loss, forfeit; to sustain damage, to receive injury, suffer loss; experience detriment; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexiconsuffer great losses; suffer financial loss
gain = κερδαίνω = kerdainō Blue Letter Bible to gain something; to get gain, make a profit; acquire; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon gain, derive profit or advantage; gain by doing
found = εὑρίσκω = heyriskō Blue Letter Bible to find, either with previous search or without; to find out by enquiry, or to learn, discover; to find for oneself, to procure, get, obtain, with the suggestion of accomplishing the end which had been in view;to come upon, hit upon, to meet with; get, obtain, perceive, see;Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon find out, discover; devise, invent; get, gain; bring about, acquire; fetch
in = ἐν = en Blue Letter Bible in, by, with, among, under, at, near, by; in the presence of;within, in the course of; motion into something, entering into, mingling in; that which one either leads or brings with him, or with which he is furnished or equipped; the instrument or means by or with which anything is accomplished; aided by one, by the intervention or agency of someone, by (means of) one; the state or condition in which anything is done or anyone exists, acts, suffers; the form in which anything appears or is exhibited; the measure or standard; the things in (with) which one is busied; that in which other things are contained and upheld, as their cause and origin; that which gives opportunity; to exchange one thing for another; remaining, staying, continuing in some place, state, or condition; that in which any person or thing is inherently fixed, implanted, or with which it is intimately connected; of the whole in which a part inheres; of a person to whom another is wholly joined and to whose power and influence he is subject, so that the former may be likened to the place in which the latter lives and moves; ingrafted; in fellowship and union with; spiritual fellowship or union with; to be in the power of, be actuated by, inspired by; give self wholly to;
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon in, within, surrounded by; in the number of, amongst; in the presence of; in one's hands, within one's reach or power; depends on, rests with; implying both motion to and subsequent position in a place; in the practice of
righteousness = δικαιοσύνη = dikaiosynē Blue Letter Bible integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting; "the character or quality of being right or just;" it was formerly spelled "rightwiseness"; faithfulness, or truthfulness; the sum total of the requirements of God; "right action"; state of him who is as he ought to be; the condition acceptable to God; virtue which gives each his due; a state approved of God; manifests itself in beneficence; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon justice, fulfillment of the Law
faith=πίστις = pistis Blue Letter Bible firm persuasion, a conviction; trust; an assurance; the main element in "faith" in its relation to the invisible God, as distinct from "faith" in man; trust and holy fervor; a strong and welcome conviction; belief with the predominate idea of trust(or confidence); the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things; a power that seizes upon the soul; fidelity, faithfulness; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon trust; persuasion of a thing, confidence, assurance; credit
knowing =γινώσκω =ginōskō Blue Letter Bible knowledge as the effect of experience; perceive, feel; "to be taking in knowledge, to come to know, recognize, understand," or "to understand completely"; in its past tenses it frequently means "to know in the sense of realizing";"to know by observation and experience," is translated "to learn;"to become acquainted with;to come to know; idiom: to have sexual relations with; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon come to know, perceive; now by reflection, know by observation;discern, distinguish, recognize; perceive; feel
power = δύναμις = dynamis Blue Letter Bible ability; force, inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth; moral power and excellence of soul; might; power for performing miracles; R. Trench, New Testament Synonymsoutcomings of that mighty power of God; powers being by Him lent to those who were his witnesses and ambassadors; pointing ... to new and higher forces ... which have entered and are working in this lower world of ours;Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon might; strength, power, ability to do anything; influence, authority; faculty, capacity
sharing = κοινωνία =koinonia Blue Letter Bible having in common (koinos), partnership; participation, fellowship recognized and enjoyed; fellowship manifested in acts, the practical effects of fellowship with God, wrought by the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers; sharing in common; intimacy; communication; communion; intercourse, fellowship, intimacy; joint participation; community; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon communion, association, partnership; fellowship
sufferings = πάθημα = pathēma Blue Letter Bible affliction; passion; externally, a suffering, misfortune, calamity, evil, affliction; an inward state, an affliction, passion; an enduring, undergoing; something undergone, i.e. hardship or pain; subjectively, an emotion or influence; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexiconthat which befalls one, suffering, misfortune; emotion or condition, affection; feelings; troubles, symptoms
conformed = συμμορφίζω = symmorphizō Blue Letter Bibleto make of like form with another person or thing, to render like; receive the same form as; to render like; to assimilate
perfect maturity = τελειόω = teleioō Blue Letter Bible to bring to an end" in the sense of completing or perfecting; fulfill; to bring to the end (goal) proposed; to complete, accomplish, or consummate; to carry through completely; to accomplish, finish, bring to an end; add what is yet lacking in order to render a thing full; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon make perfect, complete; accomplish; bring to perfection or consummation; bring fruit to maturity, come to maturity; execute
pursuit = διώκω = diōkō Blue Letter Bible follow after; seeking eagerly; speeding on earnestly; to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after; to run after, follow after: someone; to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavour to acquire; press on; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,A Greek-English Lexicon pursue an object, seek after; follow or wait for
possess, possession = καταλαμβάνω = katalambanō Blue Letter Bible apprehend, lay hold of, seize, take possession of; attain; comprehend, find; perceive; to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own, to take into one's self, appropriate; to lay hold of with the mind; to understand, perceive, learn, comprehend; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon seize, lay hold of; seize for oneself; arrive at; possessed; seize with the mind, comprehend, accept; catch, overtake, come up with; find on arrival; hold down, cover, keep under, repress, check
forgetting = ἐπιλανθάνομαι = epilanthanomai Blue Letter Bible neglecting, no longer caring for; given over to oblivion, i.e. uncared for; to lose out of mind
straining fprward= ἐπεκτείνομαι = epekteinomai Blue Letter Bible stretching forward; to stretch out to or towards; to stretch (oneself) forward upon; reach forth
prize = βραβεῖον = brabeion Blue Letter Bible reward; the award to the victor in the games
upward = ἄνω = anō Blue Letter Bible above, in a higher place; up, upwards, above, on high; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon higher
calling = κλῆσις = klēsis Blue Letter Bible invitation; divine invitation; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexiconinvitation
Other scriptures addressing similar dynamics are collected at Wisdom Principles: We Must Make Real Effort/Sacrifice to Receive All that God Offers, But It Is Well Worth It
Verse before the Gospel: Joel 2:12, 13
Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart; for I am gracious and merciful.
return = שׁוּב= shuwb Blue Letter Bible to return, turn back;to restore, refresh, repair; to bring back, allow to return, put back, draw back, give back, restore, relinquish; to bring back to mind; to turn one’s self [ note that this same word is used in the psalm. See “brought back” above]
whole = כֹּל= kol Blue Letter Bible the whole; any, each, every, anything;totality, everything, of all kinds, every sort
heart = לֵבָב= lebab Blue Letter Bibleinner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding; mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory; inclination, resolution, determination (of will); seat of appetites; seat of emotions and passions; mode of thinking and acting; will and purpose; intellect
gracious = חַנּוּן= channuwn Blue Letter Bible gracious, merciful, benignant
merciful = רַחוּם= rachuwm; from racham= רָחַם Blue Letter Bible to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion; pity; cherishing
Other scriptures addressing this dynamic are collected at Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin
Gospel: John 8:1-11
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
early in the morning = ὄρθρος = orthros Blue Letter Bible daybreak, early dawn; sun rise; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon the time just before or about daybreak, dawn, cock-crow; dim morning twilight
again = πάλιν = palin Blue Letter Bible reference to repeated action; renewal or repetition of the action; once more; to be back; rhetorically, in the sense of "moreover" or "further," indicating a statement to be added in the course of an argument; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon again, once more
coming = ἔρχομαι = erchomai Blue Letter Bible denoting either "to come, or to go," signifies the act, in contrast with heko, which stresses the arrival; to come from one place to another; to come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence; to come to a thing; to go; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon start, set out; come or go; to go a journey; any kind of motion
teach = διδάσκω = didaskō Blue Letter Bibleto hold discourse with others in order to instruct them; to impart instruction; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon instruct a person, or teach a thing; explain, show by argument; prove
bent = κύπτω = kyptō Blue Letter Bible to stoop down, bend forward, to bow the head; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon bow down upon
down = κάτω = katō Blue Letter Bible down, downwards; below, beneath; to the bottom; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon downwards; down from; at the lowest part
write = γράφω = graphō Blue Letter Bible to write, with reference to the form of the letters; to express in written characters; to write, with reference to the contents of the writing; to "grave", especially to write; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexiconscratch, graze; marked or drawn signs; represent by lines, draw, paint; express by written characters, write; inscribe; write for oneself or for one's own use, note down
went away = ἐξέρχομαι = exerchomai Blue Letter Bible to go out of an assembly, i.e. forsake it; to go or come forth of; depart; escape; get out; leave a place of their own accord; expelled or cast out; of those who come forth, or are let go, from confinement in which they have been kept; to go forth from one's power, escape from it in safety; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon go or come out of; withdraw from
alone = μόνος = monos Blue Letter Bible alone (without a companion), forsaken, destitute of help, alone, only, merely; by themselves; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon alone, solitary; expressing rhetorically pre-eminence in an action or quality; one above all others; on one condition only; alone, only
straightened up = ἀνακύπτω = anakyptō Blue Letter Bible lift one’s self up;to raise; be elated or exalted; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon lift up the head; keep your head up; come up out of the water, pop up; emerge, crop up; rise out of difficulties, breathe again
woman = γυνή= gynē Blue Letter Biblea woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow; in the vocative case, used in addressing a "woman," it is a term not of reproof or severity, but of endearment or respect
condemn = κατακρίνω = katakrinō Blue Letter Bible to give judgment against, pass sentence upon; to judge worthy of punishment;by one's good example to render another's wickedness the more evident and censurable; judge against; damn; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon give as sentence against; deem guilty of a thing; to be judged
sin = ἁμαρτάνω = hamartanō Blue Letter Bible trespass; to be without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken; to miss or wander from the path of uprightness; to do or go wrong; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon miss the mark; fail of one's purpose, go wrong; mistake; fail of having, be deprived of; do wrong, err, sin; frustrate
Other scriptures addressing this dynamic are collected at Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin
What these readings tell us about God/His ways:
who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters
who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
I am doing something new!
In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers
Wild beasts honor me
I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink
people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy
the LORD brought back the captives of Zion
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy
The LORD has done great things for them
The LORD has done great things for us
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy
Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy
Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown ... They shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy
the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord
Christ, the righteousness from God
I am gracious and merciful
he sat down and taught them
Neither do I condemn you
What these readings tell us to do:
Remember not the events of the past
I am doing something new ... perceive it
announce my praise
[asking God to] Restore our fortunes
For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord
gain Christ and be found in him
depending on faith to know him
sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death
continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it
taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
forgetting what lies behind
straining forward to what lies ahead
continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus
return to me with your whole heart
people started coming to him
Go, and from now on do not sin any more
What these readings tell us not to do:
condemn
sin
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