CJB emphasis in blue, green, red, and blue; NIV in magenta; Nomads* comments in yellow; and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton. My continually improved statement re Genesis 1:26-28 is at the end.

Key advice in the scripture that follows:

 1.     Yeshua influences chosen people alienated from Israel by God the Father.
2.     Chosen to be born again to hope in a mystery.
3.     Yeshua’s resurrection from the dead is key to future deliverance.
4.     Genuinely trust deliverance at the moment Yeshua’s Messiah-ship is proven.
5.     There’s joy, even though the prophets did not learn the future.
6.     Meanwhile don’t yield to desires your ancestor’s taught: be perfect “in your entire way of living”.
7.     Fear, even though you’ve been ransomed by “costly bloody sacrificial death”.

8.     Love fellow believers.

I don’t think this advice fulfills Genesis 1:26-28’s 5500 year-old reliability. For example, modern humans know the sun is a natural nuclear reactor rather than imagine it a god. And we safely fly friendly skies.

^1:1 From: Kefa, an emissary of Yeshua [Scholars tell us “Yeshua” is Aramaic, which was spoken in Nazareth during Yeshua’s time and at the Conference of Jerusalem, 50 CE.] the Messiah [Christ competes with the Messiah, whereas Yeshua does not. Nomads recently studied Acts 15. Jews -- John with elders, Peter, and James (ne Yochanan, Kefa, and Ya’akov, respectively) compromised circumcision and the Torah to support Paul (ne Saul) in his mission work to Gentiles (ne pagans). Yeshua’s civic influence was not represented in the conference. Civic means reliable responsibility in human connections and transactions.]

To: God’s chosen people, living as aliens [I, PRB, am an alien to church competition and an ally to the faction who accept the power and authority to pursue human being (verb). Human power and authority is expressed in Genesis 1:26-28. See insert below this commentary.] in the Diaspora — in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bythinia [Modern Turkey. There, “Yeshua” might be “Isa” in Arabic, ishoʿ in Persian, or Ἰησοῦς in Greek.]— ² chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and set apart by the Spirit for obeying Yeshua the Messiah and for sprinkling with his blood [NIV: “and sprinkled with his blood” [The NIV wording reminds me of the annual sprinkling of blood inside the holy place. Perhaps sprinkling of blood is a metaphor for accepting Yeshua’s civic influence and thereby pursuing perfection during life.]:

Grace and shalom be yours in full measure.

³ Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope [mystery rather than promise], ⁴ to an inheritance that cannot decay, spoil or fade, kept safe for you in heaven [See Matthew 18:18.]. ⁵ Meanwhile, through trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a deliverance [Yashua is both a name and a verb, to deliver/rescue] ready to be revealed at the Last Time. ⁶ Rejoice in this, even though for a little while you may have to experience grief in various trials [recall James, ne Ya’akov, suggests to glory when you have intentions to meet the trials]. ⁷ Even gold is tested for genuineness by fire. The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuineness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy [According to Genesis 1:26-28, the God deems you worthy to accept the power and authority to rule on earth. Yeshua affirms this principle many times, e.g., Matthew 18:18.] of praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Yeshua the Messiah.

⁸ Without having seen him, you love [appreciate] him. Without seeing him now, but trusting in him, you continue to be full of joy [My joy is to aid modern civic citizens’ applications of Yeshua’s principles.] that is glorious beyond words. ⁹ And you are receiving what your trust is aiming at, namely, your deliverance [Deliverance from church but not from obligation to civic integrity.].

¹⁰ The prophets, who prophesied about this gift of deliverance that was meant for you, pondered and inquired diligently about it. [Don’t accept prophets’ errors. For example, human sacrifice – blood --- is just as awful as it sounds.] ¹¹ They were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of the Messiah in them was referring in predicting the Messiah’s sufferings and the glorious things to follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that their service when they spoke about these things was not for their own benefit, but for yours. And these same things have now been proclaimed to you by those who communicated the Good News to you through the Ruach HaKodesh [Holy Spirit] sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things!

¹³ Therefore, get your minds ready for work, keep yourselves under control, and fix your hopes fully on the gift you will receive when Yeshua the Messiah is revealed [I perceive comfort by accepting Yeshua of Nazareth and doubting observers’ opinion about his messages, including mine.]. ¹⁴ As people who obey God, do not let yourselves be shaped by the evil desires you used to have when you were still ignorant. ¹⁵ On the contrary, following the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in your entire way of life [constrain the bad and aid the good in your way of living]; ¹⁶ since the Tanakh [The Tanakh is the main sacred text of the Jews and is made up of 24 books. It consists of three parts: the Torah (the law), Nevi'im (the prophets), and the Ketuvim (the writings).] says,

“You are to be holy because I am holy.” [Quoting Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7 about Adonai your God (3) and Adonai . . . to be your God.]

¹⁷ Also, if you are addressing as Father the one who judges impartially according to each person’s actions, you should live out your temporary stay on earth in fear [Genesis 1:26-28 instills confidence rather than fear.]. ¹⁸ You should be aware that the ransom paid to free you from the worthless way of life which your fathers passed on to you did not consist of anything perishable like silver or gold; ¹⁹ on the contrary, it was the costly bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah [Peter seems to oppose Paul’s church and advocate Yeshua’s message.], as of a lamb without defect or spot. ²⁰ God knew him before the founding of the universe, but revealed him in the acharit-hayamim [last times] for your sakes. ²¹ Through him you trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory; so that your trust and hope are in God. [replacing Adonai and God with Yeshua and the God?]

²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so that you have a sincere love for [civic integrity to] your brothers, love [appreciate] each other deeply, with all your heart. ²³ You have been born again not from some seed that will decay, but from one that cannot decay, through the living Word of God that lasts forever [Perhaps Yeshua’s messages like be perfect in the God’s image and you are gods facing death]. ²⁴ For

all humanity is like grass,
all its glory is like a wildflower —
the grass withers, and the flower falls off;
²⁵ but the Word of Adonai lasts forever [quoting Isaiah 40:6-8].

Moreover, this Word is the Good News which has been proclaimed to you. [Is this the famous gospel message?]

[I read to apply perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28; in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, choose to independently and together constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power and authority to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Civic citizens may use the rule of law to develop justice. Yeshua* affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. The next Bible canon could and should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiah** vs the God competition.*** Competition egregiously deludes Yeshua’s civic influence. The collaborative view could accelerate mutual pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*In 4 BC, Yosef and Myriam of Nazareth begot Yeshua. 250 years beforehand, Greek translation of the Torah provided Ἰησοῦς and χριστός, both of which competed with Yeshua, the former during life and the later in death. By the 16^th century, Christianity used “Jesus Christ” to repress Yeshua. The person, Yeshua, said, in my paraphrase: if people don’t speak my name they can’t consider my civic influence.

**Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

***Competitive monotheism survives on war.] 

 

Psalm 37 self-interestedly choosing the good

CJB emphasis in blue, green, red, and blue; Nomads* comments in yellow; and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton. My continually improved statement re Genesis 1:26-28 is at the end.

Word study

Adonai 18:  [dominant word]

Commit 1:

Do good 2:

Evildoers 2:

Forever 4:

Generous 2:

God 1:

Hope 1 hoping 1:

Inherit the land 5:

Justice 3:

Trust 2:

Wicked 15: [dominant word]

Key phrases from below:

·         Trust, delight, commit, hope re Adonai

·         do good

·         justice of your cause

·        The Torah of his God

·         Adonai  will raise you up

·         posterity

·         Paul’s zeal to establish his church on Christ further hid Yeshua’s civic influence or Yeshua’s church.

 

Psalm 37 CJB: ^37 (0) By David:

⁽¹⁾ Don’t be upset by evildoers [villains?]
or envious of those who do wrong [dissidents and rebels?],
² for soon they will wither like grass
and fade like the green in the fields.
³ Trust in Adonai, and do good [Ken felt the class on 4/21/24 had pointed to the good as generosity.];
settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness.
⁴ Then you will delight yourself in Adonai,
and he will give you your heart’s desire.

⁵ Commit your way to Adonai;
trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will make your vindication shine forth like light,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before Adonai;
wait patiently till he comes.
Don’t be upset by those whose way
succeeds because of their wicked plans.
⁸ Stop being angry, put aside rage,
and don’t be upset — it leads to evil.

⁹ For evildoers will be cut off,
but those hoping in Adonai will inherit the land.
¹⁰ Soon the wicked will be no more;
you will look for his place, and he won’t be there.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land [Matt 5:5 has the earth.]
and delight themselves in abundant peace.

¹² The wicked plots against the righteous
and grinds his teeth at him;
¹³ but Adonai laughs at the wicked,
knowing his day will come.
¹⁴ The wicked have unsheathed their swords,
they have strung their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slaughter those whose way is upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous has
than the wealth of all the wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but Adonai upholds the righteous.
¹⁸ Adonai knows what the wholehearted suffer,
but their inheritance lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be distressed when times are hard;
when famine comes, they will have plenty.

²⁰ For the wicked will perish;
Adonai’s enemies will be like sheep fat,
ending up as smoke, finished.
²¹ The wicked borrows and doesn’t repay,
but the righteous is generous and gives.
²² For those blessed by [Adonai] will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be cut off.

²³ Adonai directs a person’s steps,
and he delights in his way.
²⁴ He may stumble, but he won’t fall headlong,
for Adonai holds him by the hand.

²⁵ I have been young; now I am old;
yet not once have I seen the righteous abandoned
or his descendants begging for bread.
²⁶ All day long he is generous and lends,
and his descendants are blessed.

²⁷ If you turn from evil and do good,
you will live safely forever [? Suggests this is addressed to a group?].
²⁸ For Adonai loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful;
they are preserved forever.
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
and live in it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous articulates wisdom,
his tongue speaks justice.
³¹ The Torah of his God [Adonai seems a civic mediator between the bad and the good] is in his heart;
his footsteps do not falter.

³² The wicked keeps his eye on the righteous,
seeking a chance to kill him.
³³ But Adonai will not leave him in his power
or let him be condemned when judged.
³⁴ Put your hope in Adonai, keep to his way,
and he will raise you up [suggests the cross but in a positive association with Yeshua to those how choose the good? If so, I think it is an error. The good is good on its own. If Yeshua suggest the good, that’s a benefit, but each person is empowered and has the authority to choose the good.] to inherit the land.

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
³⁵ I have seen a wicked man wielding great power,
flourishing like a shade tree in its native soil.
³⁶ But I passed by again, and he was no longer there;
I looked for him, but he could not be found. [Does this image foretell Yeshua damning a fig tree? If so, it’s poor judgement on the writers to insist on fulfilling a bad suggestion.]

³⁷ Observe the pure person, consider the upright;
for the peaceful person will have posterity.
³⁸ But transgressors will all be destroyed;
the posterity [future generations] of the wicked will be cut off. [See the non-religious preamble to the U.S. Constitution.]
³⁹ Adonai is the one who saves the righteous;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ Adonai helps them and rescues them,
rescues them from the wicked and saves them;
because they take refuge in him [Today, 4/21/24, I perceive pursuing Yeshua’s-civic-influence-to-the-good as the prophesied fulfillment of Psalm 37’s false claims that Adonai guarantees success to the righteous. The Greek introduction of “Iesous” 250 years before Yeshua was born confused contemporaries who heard the Aramaic-speaking Yeshua. (Wikipedia, “Greek Iesous (Ἰησοῦς), from which, through the Latin IESVS/Iesus, comes the English spelling Jesus. The Hebrew spelling Yēšūaʿ (ישוע) appears in some later books of the Hebrew Bible.”) Moreover, Paul’s zeal to establish his church on Christ further hid Yeshua’s civic influence or Yeshua’s church. However, Yeshua will overcome all the confusion.].

 

[I read to apply perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28; in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independently choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power and authority to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Civic citizens may use the rule of law to develop justice. Yeshua* affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. The next Bible canon could and should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiah** vs God competition.*** Competition egregiously deludes Yeshua’s civic influence. The resulting, collaborative view could accelerate mutual pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*In 4 BC, Yosef and Myriam of Nazareth begot Yeshua. 250 years beforehand, Greek translation of the Torah provided Ἰησοῦς and χριστός, both of which competed with Yeshua, the former during life and the later in death. By the 16^th century, Christianity used “Jesus Christ” to repress Yeshua. The person, Yeshua, said, in my paraphrase: if people don’t speak my name they can’t consider my civic influence.

**Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

***Competitive monotheism survives on war.] 

2 Corinthians 8 & 9, CJB; promoting Paul’s church

CJB emphasis in blue and green, Nomads* comments in yellow, and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power and authority to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Civic citizens may use the rule of law to develop justice. Yeshua* affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiah** vs God competition*** that egregiously deludes Yeshua’s civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*In 4 BC, Yosef and Myriam of Nazareth begot Yeshua; 250 years before, Greek translation of the Torah provided Ἰησοῦς and χριστός, both of which competed with Yeshua, the former in life and the later in death. By the 16^th century, Christianity used “Jesus Christ” to repress Yeshua. The person, Yeshua, said if people don’t speak my name they can’t consider my civic advice.

**Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

***Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

Key comments extracted from below:

First, Nomads discussed that Paul’s team was soliciting these churches– pagans with some Jews, north of the Mediterranean Sea, for money to go to a faction of Jews in Judah who believed Yeshua was the Messiah, soon to return and unite the 12 tribes of Israel. A smaller faction believed the Torah should be upheld.

Second,

1.       the grace God has given [This is a form of defining the God, which is not a humble practice.]

2.       which means, by God’s will, to us. [I think this is coercion to support the church rather than pursue Yeshua’s civic influence.]

3.       in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us — see that you excel in this gift too [My gift is to promote Yeshua’s civic influence rather than promote the church.]

4.       make you rich by means of his poverty. [Yeshua was not wealthy -- was he? I think he was rich in civic integrity. However, the person who shares civic integrity does not impoverish his integrity. In fact, sharing civic integrity usually produces an increase.]

5.       I am only giving an opinion. [It’s in self-interest to admit you could be wrong.

6.       reciprocity. [Reciprocity rings true for the total society, but not for a particular group or individual. I pay taxes so that governments can relieve sufferers in a tornado, without losing my ability to live.]

7.       bring honor to the Messiah [The writer neglects Yeshua in order to favor the Messiah.]

8.       we would be humiliated [I oppose Paul’s attention to himself: let good ideas stand on their own.]

9.       be a genuine gift, not something extracted by pressure [People are aware of church wealth.]

10.   God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift [Genesis 1:26-28 says you have and may accept the power and authority to rule to the good on earth.]

11.   through us your generosity will cause people to thank God [I do not trust Paul’s church.]

12.   the Good News of the Messiah [transitioning from Yeshua’s civic integrity to Pauline church promotion]     

^8:1 Now, brothers, we must tell you about the grace God has given [This is a form of defining the God, which is not a humble practice.] the congregations in Macedonia. ² Despite severe trials, and even though they are desperately poor, their joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. ³ I tell you they have not merely given according to their means, but of their own free will they have given beyond their means. ⁴ They begged and pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service for God’s people. ⁵ Also, they didn’t do this in the way we had expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord, which means, by God’s will, to us. [I think this is coercion to support the church rather than pursue Yeshua’s civic influence.]

⁶ All this has led us to urge Titus to bring this same gracious gift to completion among you [Corinth], since he has already made a beginning of it. ⁷ Just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us — see that you excel in this gift too [My gift is to promote Yeshua’s civic influence rather than promote the church.]. ⁸ I am not issuing an order; rather, I am testing the genuineness of your love against the diligence of others [Competitive “love”!]. ⁹ For you know how generous our Lord Yeshua the Messiah was — for your sakes he impoverished himself, even though he was rich, so that he might make you rich by means of his poverty. [Yeshua was not wealthy -- was he? I think he was rich in civic integrity. However, the person who shares civic integrity does not impoverish his integrity. In fact, sharing civic integrity usually produces an increase.] ¹⁰ As I say, in regard to this matter I am only giving an opinion. [It’s in self-interest to admit you could be wrong.] A year ago you were not only the first to take action but the first to want to do so. Now it would be to your advantage ¹¹ to finish what you started, so that your eagerness in wanting to commence the project may be matched by your eagerness to complete it, as you contribute from what you have. ¹² For if the eagerness to give is there, the acceptability of the gift will be measured by what you have, not by what you don’t have. ¹³ It is not that relief for others should cause trouble for you, but that there should be a kind of reciprocity: ¹⁴ at present your abundance can help those in need; so that when you are in need, their abundance can help you — thus there is reciprocity. [Reciprocity rings true for the total society, but not for a particular group or individual. I pay taxes so that governments can relieve sufferers in a tornado, without losing my ability to live.] ¹⁵ It is as the Tanakh says,

“He who gathered much had nothing extra,
and he who gathered little had nothing lacking.” [Exodus 16:18] [The Exodus reference is to each family taking all the manna they need and none extra. In this case, God is providing, and one family is not supplying another; one church is not supporting another.]

¹⁶ Now I thank God for making Titus as devoted to you as we are; ¹⁷ for he not only responded to our urging, but, being so devoted, he is coming to you on his own initiative. ¹⁸ And with him we are sending the brother whose work for the Good News is praised in all the congregations; ¹⁹ not only that, he has also been appointed by the congregations to travel with us, so that the way we administer this charitable work will bring honor to the Lord and show our eagerness to help. ²⁰ Our aim in this is to show that our conduct in dealing with these substantial sums is above reproach; ²¹ for we take pains to do what is right not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of other people. [Proverbs 3:4 (Septuagint)] ²² With these two we are sending another brother of ours, one whose diligence we have tested many times in many ways, but who is now all the more diligent because of his great confidence in you. ²³ As for Titus, he is my partner who works with me on your behalf; and the other brothers with him are emissaries of the congregations and bring honor to the Messiah [The writer neglects Yeshua in order to favor the Messiah.]. ²⁴ So the love you show these men will justify our pride in you to them, and through them to the congregations that sent them.

^9:1 There is really no need for me to write you about this offering for God’s people — ² I know how eager you are, and I boast about you to the Macedonians. I tell them, “Achaia [Greece] has been ready since last year,” and it was your zeal that stirred up most of them. ³ But now I am sending the brothers so that our boast about you in this regard will not prove hollow, so that you will be ready, as I said you would be. ⁴ For if some Macedonians were to come with me and find you unprepared, we would be humiliated [I oppose Paul’s attention to himself: let good ideas stand on their own.] at having been so confident — to say nothing of how you would feel. ⁵ So I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go on to you ahead of me and prepare your promised gift in plenty of time; this way it will be ready when I come and will be a genuine gift, not something extracted by pressure [People are aware of church wealth.].

⁶ Here’s the point: he who plants sparingly also harvests sparingly. ⁷ Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [Proverbs 22:8 (Septuagint)] ⁸ Moreover, God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift [Genesis 1:26-28 says you have and may accept the power and authority to rule to the good on earth.] in abundance, so that always in every way you will have all you need yourselves and be able to provide abundantly for every good cause — ⁹ as the Tanakh says,

“He gave generously to the poor;
his tzedakah lasts forever.” [Psalm 112:9]

¹⁰ He who provides both seed for the planter and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your tzedakah [charity]. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous in everything. And through us your generosity will cause people to thank God [I do not trust Paul’s church.], ¹² because rendering this holy service not only provides for the needs of God’s people, but it also overflows in the many thanks people will be giving to God. ¹³ In offering this service you prove to these people that you glorify God by actually doing what your acknowledgement of the Good News of the Messiah [transitioning from Yeshua’s civic integrity to Pauline church promotion] requires, namely, sharing generously with them and with everyone. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you they will feel a strong affection for you because of how gracious God has been to you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!