2025-03-11

March 11 ¶

Reading for Today:
今日读经：

Numbers 19:1–20:29
民数记 19:1–20:29
Psalm 33:1-9
诗篇 33:1-9
Proverbs 11:22-24
箴言 11:22-24
Mark 12:1-27
马可福音 12:1-27

Notes:
注解：

Numbers 20:8 Speak to the rock. Though God told Moses to take his rod with which He had performed many wonders in the past (Ex. 4:1–5; 7:19–21; 14:16; 17:5, 6), he was only to speak to the rock for it to yield water.
民数记 20:8 吩咐磐石。 神虽让摩西带着曾行过诸多神迹的杖（出4:1-5；7:19-21；14:16；17:5,6），但只需吩咐磐石即可出水。

Numbers 20:10 you rebels. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses spoke to the people, accusing them of being rebels against God. By his actions, Moses joined the people in rebellion against God (see 27:14).
民数记 20:10 你们这些背叛的人。 摩西未吩咐磐石，反而斥责百姓为"背叛神的人"。此举使摩西与百姓一同违背神命（参27:14）。

Psalm 33:3 a new song. I.e., a new occasion and impulse for expressing fresh praise to God (see Pss. 96:1; 98:1; 149:1).
诗篇 33:3 新歌。 指因新事由激发对神的新赞美（参诗96:1；98:1；149:1）。

Psalm 33:6 host. This designation refers to stellar and planetary bodies (see Is. 40:26; 45:12) and/or heaven’s complement of angels (see Ps. 103:20–22). The former emphasis is more prominent in the immediate context.
诗篇 33:6 万象。 此词指天体星辰（参赛40:26；45:12）或天使天军（参诗103:20-22）。此处上下文更强调前者。

Mark 12:24 the power of God. The Sadducees’ ignorance of the Scriptures extended to their lack of understanding regarding the miracles God performed throughout the Old Testament. Such knowledge would have enabled them to believe in God’s power to raise the dead.
马可福音 12:24 神的大能。 撒都该人对圣经的无知，包括不理解神在旧约所行的神迹。若明白这些，就能相信神使死人复活的大能。

DAY 11: What is the Christian response to taxes?
第十一天：基督徒当如何回应纳税？

In Mark 12:13, the Pharisees and the Herodians came together to try to catch Jesus off guard by a seemingly sincere question: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?" The Herodians were a political party of Jews who backed Herod Antipas, who in turn was but a puppet of Rome. The Greek word for "taxes" was borrowed from the Latin word that gives us the English word "census." The Romans counted all the citizens and made each one pay an annual poll tax of one denarius.
马可福音 12:13 法利赛人和希律党人用看似真诚的问题设局："纳税给凯撒可以不可以？我们该纳不该纳？"希律党人是支持希律·安提帕（罗马傀儡政权）的犹太政治团体。"纳税"的希腊文源自拉丁文"census"，指罗马通过人口普查向每人征收年税（一第纳尔）。

Jesus was fully aware of their hypocrisy, using a feigned interest in His teaching to hide their true intention to trap Him. "Why do you test Me?" (v. 15), He asked, and His response was to ask for a denarius. This small silver coin, minted by the Roman emperor, was the equivalent of a day’s wage for a common laborer or soldier. On one side of the denarius was likely the image of the current emperor, Tiberius. If the coin was minted by Tiberius, it would have read, "Tiberius Caesar Augustus, the son of the Divine Augustus" on one side and "Chief Priest" on the other.
耶稣洞悉其伪善，质问"为什么试探我？"（15节），并索要一第纳尔银币。这种罗马皇帝铸造的小银币价值相当于劳工或士兵的日薪，印有提庇留皇帝肖像及"神圣奥古斯都之子提庇留·凯撒"和"大祭司"字样。

Based on the image on the denarius, Jesus answered, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s." The Greek word for "render" means "to pay or give back," which implies a debt. All who lived within the realm of Caesar were obligated to return to him the tax that was owed him. It was not optional. Thus Jesus declared that all citizens are under divine obligation to pay taxes to whatever government is over them (see Rom. 13:1–7; 1 Pet. 2:13–17).
耶稣根据银币图像回答："凯撒的物当归给凯撒"。"归给"希腊文含"偿还债务"之意，宣告公民有神圣义务向执政者纳税（参罗13:1-7；彼前2:13-17）。

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2025-03-11

March 11¶

March 11 ¶