Old Testament Texts

Old Testament Texts

in the Background of the

Gospel Passion Narratives

Exodus 12:43-49 (Cf. also Numbers 9:12)

43 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover. No foreigner may partake of it. 44 However, any slave who has been bought for money may partake of it, provided you have first circumcised him. 45 But no transient alien or hired servant may partake of it. 46 It must be eaten in one and the same house; you may not take any of its flesh outside the house. You shall not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must keep this feast. 48 If any aliens living among you wish to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, all the males among them must first be circumcised, and then they may join in its observance just like the natives. But no man who is uncircumcised may partake of it. 49 The law shall be the same for the resident alien as for the native." 50 All the Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 On that same day the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt company by company.

Exodus 24:3-8

3 When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all answered with one voice, "We will do everything that the LORD has told us." 4 Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and, rising early the next day, he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD, 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls; the other half he splashed on the altar. 7 Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do." 8 Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words of his."

Deuteronomy 21:1-7

1 "If the corpse of a slain man is found lying in the open on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you to occupy, and it is not known who killed him, 2your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distances to the cities that are in the neighborhood of the corpse. 3When it is established which city is nearest the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a heifer that has never been put to work as a draft animal under a yoke, 4and bringing it down to a wadi with an everflowing stream at a place that has not been plowed or sown, they shall cut the heifer's throat there in the wadi. 5The priests, the descendants of Levi, shall also be present, for the LORD, your God, has chosen them to minister to him and to give blessings in his name, and every case of dispute or violence must be settled by their decision. 6Then all the elders of that city nearest the corpse shall wash their hands over the heifer whose throat was cut in the wadi, 7and shall declare, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see the deed.’”

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations protest and the peoples grumble in vain? 2 Kings on earth rise up and princes plot together against the LORD and his anointed: 3 "Let us break their shackles and cast off their chains!" 4 The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord derides them, 5 then speaks to them in anger, terrifies them in wrath: 6 "I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain." 7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD, who said to me, "You are my son; today I am your father. 8 Only ask it of me, and I will make your inheritance the nations, your possession the ends of the earth. 9 With an iron rod you shall shepherd them, like a clay pot you will shatter them." 10 And now, kings, give heed; take warning, rulers on earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear; with trembling bow down in homage, lest God be angry and you perish from the way in a sudden blaze of anger. Happy are all who take refuge in God!

Psalm 22

1 For the leader; according to "The deer of the dawn." A psalm of David.

2 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish? 3 My God, I call by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I have no relief. 4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the glory of Israel. 5 In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted and you rescued them. 6 To you they cried out and they escaped; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. 7 But I am a worm, hardly human, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 8 All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me: 9 "You relied on the LORD--let him deliver you; if he loves you, let him rescue you." 10 Yet you drew me forth from the womb, made me safe at my mother's breast. 11 Upon you I was thrust from the womb; since birth you are my God. 12 Do not stay far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help. 13 Many bulls surround me; fierce bulls of Bashan encircle me. 14 They open their mouths against me, lions that rend and roar. 15 Like water my life drains away; all my bones grow soft. My heart has become like wax, it melts away within me. 16 As dry as a potsherd is my throat; my tongue sticks to my palate; you lay me in the dust of death. 17 Many dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. So wasted are my hands and feet 18 that I can count all my bones. They stare at me and gloat; 19 they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots. 20 But you, LORD, do not stay far off; my strength, come quickly to help me. 21 Deliver me from the sword, my forlorn life from the teeth of the dog. 22 Save me from the lion's mouth, my poor life from the horns of wild bulls. 23 Then I will proclaim your name to the assembly; in the community I will praise you:

24 "You who fear the LORD, give praise! All descendants of Jacob, give honor; show reverence, all descendants of Israel! 25 For God has not spurned or disdained the misery of this poor wretch, did not turn away from me, but heard me when I cried out. 26 I will offer praise in the great assembly; my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him. 27 The poor will eat their fill; those who seek the LORD will offer praise. May your hearts enjoy life forever!"

28 All the ends of the earth will worship and turn to the LORD; all the families of nations will bow low before you. 29 For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations. 30 All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; all who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. 31 And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you. 32 The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.

Psalm 69

1 For the leader; according to "Lilies." Of David.

2 Save me, God, for the waters have reached my neck. 3 I have sunk into the mire of the deep, where there is no foothold. I have gone down to the watery depths; the flood overwhelms me. 4 I am weary with crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes have failed, looking for my God. 5 More numerous than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause. Too many for my strength are my treacherous enemies. Must I now restore what I did not steal? 6 God, you know my folly; my faults are not hidden from you. 7 Let those who wait for you, LORD of hosts, not be shamed through me. Let those who seek you, God of Israel, not be disgraced through me. 8 For your sake I bear insult, shame covers my face. 9 I have become an outcast to my kin, a stranger to my mother's children. 10 Because zeal for your house consumes me, I am scorned by those who scorn you. 11 I have wept and fasted, but this led only to scorn. 12 I clothed myself in sackcloth; I became a byword for them. 13 They who sit at the gate gossip about me; drunkards make me the butt of their songs. 14 But I pray to you, LORD, for the time of your favor. God, in your great kindness answer me with your constant help. 15 Rescue me from the mire; do not let me sink. Rescue me from my enemies and from the watery depths. 16 Do not let the floodwaters overwhelm me, nor the deep swallow me, nor the mouth of the pit close over me. 17 Answer me, LORD, in your generous love; in your great mercy turn to me. 18 Do not hide your face from your servant; in my distress hasten to answer me. 19 Come and ransom my life; because of my enemies redeem me. 20 You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace; before you stand all my foes. 21 Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak; I looked for compassion, but there was none, for comforters, but found none. 22 Instead they put gall in my food; for my thirst they gave me vinegar. 23 Make their own table a snare for them, a trap for their friends. 24 Make their eyes so dim they cannot see; keep their backs ever feeble. 25 Pour out your wrath upon them; let the fury of your anger overtake them. 26 Make their camp desolate, with none to dwell in their tents. 27 For they pursued the one you struck, added to the pain of the one you wounded. 28 Add that to their crimes; let them not attain to your reward. 29 Strike them from the book of the living; do not count them among the just! 30 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help protect me, God, 31 that I may praise God's name in song and glorify it with thanksgiving.

32 My song will please the LORD more than oxen, more than bullocks with horns and hooves: 33 "See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, take heart! 34 For the LORD hears the poor, does not spurn those in bondage. 35 Let the heavens and the earth sing praise, the seas and whatever moves in them!" 36 God will rescue Zion, rebuild the cities of Judah. God's servants shall dwell in the land and possess it; 37 it shall be the heritage of their descendants; those who love God's name shall dwell there.

Psalm 110

1 A psalm of David.

The LORD says to you, my lord: "Take your throne at my right hand, while I make your enemies your footstool." 2 The scepter of your sovereign might the LORD will extend from Zion. The LORD says: "Rule over your enemies! 3 Yours is princely power from the day of your birth. In holy splendor before the daystar, like the dew I begot you." 4 The LORD has sworn and will not waver: "Like Melchizedek you are a priest forever." 5 At your right hand is the Lord, who crushes kings on the day of wrath, 6 who, robed in splendor, judges nations, crushes heads across the wide earth, 7 who drinks from the brook by the wayside and thus holds high the head.

Book of Wisdom 2:12-20

12 Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. 13 He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. 14 To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, 15 because his life is not like other men's, and different are his ways. 16 He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. 17 Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. 18 For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. 19 With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. 20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him."

Servant Song 1: Isaiah 42:1-7

1 Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, 2Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. 3A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,4 until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. 5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it: 6I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, 7To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Servant Song 2: Isaiah 49:1-7

1 Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. 2 He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. 3You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. 4Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. 5For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! 6It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. 7Thus says the LORD, the redeemer and the Holy One of Israel, to the one despised, whom the nations abhor, the slave of rulers: When kings see you, they shall stand up, and princes shall prostrate themselves, because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.

Servant Song 3: Isaiah 50:4-11

4 The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; 5And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. 6 I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. 7The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. 8He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me. 9See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong? Lo, they will all wear out like cloth, the moth will eat them up. 10Who among you fears the LORD, heeds his servant's voice, and walks in darkness without any light, trusting in the name of the LORD and relying on his God? 11All of you kindle flames and carry about you fiery darts; walk by the light of your own fire and by the flares you have burnt! This is your fate from my hand: you shall lie down in a place of pain.

Servant Song 4: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

13 See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. 14Even as many were amazed at him-- so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals-- 15So shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; For those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it.

1 Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. 3 He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. 4 Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. 6 We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; butthe LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. 7Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. 8 Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, 9A grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, Though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. 10 (But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.) If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. 11 Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. 12Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself (lit.poured out his soul) to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.