“Thus,
The twelve went out.
They proclaimed
That all people
Should repent.”
Καὶ ἐξελθόντες ἐκήρυξαν ἵνα μετανοῶσιν,
There is no equivalent to this saying of Mark, as he explained their mission. Mark said that the 12 apostles went out (Καὶ ἐξελθόντες). They proclaimed or preached (ἐκήρυξαν) that all people should repent, have a change of heart or a metanoia (ἵνα μετανοῶσιν), just like John the Baptist and Jesus had done. These 12 apostles were to continue the work and preaching of Jesus.
Usually included with the writings of the Bible is the story of Daniel, from the 6th-2th century BCE. The story of the return from the exile can be found in Ezra-Nehemiah, a 4th century BCE writing. Finally, the work of Chronicles, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles, from the 5th–3rd century BCE rounded out the Hebrew Bible.
“Then Haggai said.
‘So is it with this people,
With this nation before me.
Says Yahweh.
So is it
With every work
Of their hands.
What they offer there
Is unclean.’”
Haggai explained the situation about the people of Israel, the nation before him. He said that Yahweh felt the same way about all the work of their hands because of their uncleanness. Whatever they offered up would be unclean also.
“Cursed be
The one
Who is slack
In doing
The work of Yahweh!
Cursed be
The one
Who keeps back
The sword
From bloodshed.”
Jeremiah seems to indicate here that you should not be slack in doing the work of Yahweh. Since the work of Yahweh here is killing the Moabites, holding back your sword from bringing bloodshed would mean that you would be cursed also.
“Woe to him
Who builds his house
With unrighteousness!
Woe to him
Who builds his upper rooms
With injustice!
Woe to him
Who makes his neighbors
Work for nothing!
Woe to him
Who does not give them
Their wages!
Woe to him
Who says
‘I will build myself
A spacious house
With large upper rooms.’
He cuts out windows for it.
He panels it with cedar.
He paints it with vermilion.”
This seems to be a swipe at King Jehoiakim or King Eliakim (609-598 BCE) who was put in charge by the Egyptian king. Apparently, he decided to expand the palace using Egyptian styles, like large upper rooms, lots of windows, paneled cedar, and vermilion paint. Jeremiah seems to censure him for building this great palace with injustice and unrighteousness, since he did not correctly pay the people who did the work.
“Your people shall all be righteous.
They shall possess the land forever.
They are the shoot
That I planted.
They are the work of my hands.
Thus I might be glorified.
The least of them
Shall become a clan.
The smallest one
Shall become a mighty nation.
I am Yahweh.
In its time,
I will accomplish it quickly.”
Yahweh, in the first person singular, says that all his people will be righteous and possess the land forever. They are the shoots that he has planted, the work of his hands, so that he could be glorified. The least of them will become a clan and the smallest a mighty nation. Yahweh ends by saying it will take time, but it will be done quickly.
“Woe to you
Who strive with your Maker!
Woe to you
Earthen vessels who strive
With the potter!
Does the clay say
To the one him who fashions it?
‘What are you making?’
Does it say?
‘Your work has no handles.’
Woe to anyone
Who says to a father!
‘What are you begetting?’
Woe to anyone
Who says to a woman!
‘With what are you in labor with?’”
This curse is the only time in Second Isaiah that any curse appears. Yahweh was against anyone who talks back to their maker. We are all clay. Do not ask your potter, what are you making? Do not complain about the work made by others that does not have handles. You do not ask your father what he is begetting. The same thing applies to a woman in labor. You do not ask her with what is she in labor with?
“Honor physicians
For their services!
The Lord created them.
Their gift of healing
Comes from the Most High.
They are rewarded by the king.
The skill of the physicians
Makes them distinguished.
In the presence of the great men,
They are admired.
The Lord created medicines
Out of the earth.
The sensible ones
Will not despise them.
Was not water made sweet
With a tree?
Thus its power might be known.
He gave skill to human beings.
Thus he might be glorified
In his marvelous works.
By them,
The physician heals.
He takes away pain.
The pharmacist makes a mixture
From them.
God’s works
Will never be finished.
From him,
Health spreads over all the earth.”
Were physicians thought of as witch doctors or a kind of false idol worship? Sirach has a strong defense of these physicians. They are actually continuing the creative work of the Most High God with his gift of healing to the people. These distinguished and admired medical doctors are honored by kings because of their skills. The Lord has created healing medicines from the earth. Do not despise their human skills that heal and take away pain. The pharmacists make these mixtures to help the work of God, whose work is never finished. Thus health will spread over all the earth. Sirach has a definite pro-physician and pro-pharmacist attitude, unlike some Christian Scientists who are against medical doctors.
“A work is praised
For the skill of the artisan.
Thus a people’s leader
Is proved wise
By his words.
The loud of mouth
Are feared in their city.
The one who is reckless
In speech
Is hated.”
We praise the work of an artisan craftsman. So too, we praise the wise words of a leader. On the other hand, the loud-mouthed are feared in their city. We hate them for their reckless speech.
“You make springs gush forth in the valleys.
They flow between the hills.
They give drink to every wild animal.
The wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streams,
The birds of the air have their habitation.
They sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode
You water the mountains.
The earth is satisfied
With the fruit of your work.”
The waters came under the control of Yahweh. The springs of the valleys flow between the mountain hills to produce rivers that give drink to the wild animals. The only animals mentioned are the wild asses. The birds of the air sing from their branches and refresh themselves in the streams of water. Yahweh even waters the mountains with rain. Thus the earth is satisfied with enough water. The fruit of the earth is really the fruit of the work of Yahweh.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 