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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 133

Psalm 133^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by David.

133 Look! How good and how pleasant it is
when brothers truly live in unity.^[c]
²It is like fine oil poured on the head,
which flows down the beard^[d]—
Aaron’s beard,
and then flows down his garments.^[e]
³It is like the dew of Hermon,^[f]
which flows down upon the hills of Zion.^[g]
Indeed,^[h] that is where the Lord has decreed
a blessing will be available—eternal life.^[i]

2 Samuel 1:4-27

⁴David inquired, “How were things going?^[a] Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them^[b] fell dead.^[c] Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!” ⁵David said to the young man^[d] who was telling him this, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”^[e] ⁶The young man^[f] said, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him. ⁷When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me. I answered, ‘Here I am!’ ⁸He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him, ‘I’m^[g] an Amalekite.’ ⁹He said to me, ‘Stand over me and finish me off!^[h] I’m very dizzy,^[i] even though I’m still alive.’^[j] ¹⁰So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition.^[k] Then I took the crown which was on his head and the^[l] bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.”^[m]

¹¹David then grabbed his own clothes^[n] and tore them, as did all the men who were with him. ¹²They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s army, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.

¹³David said to the young man who told this to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner.”^[o] ¹⁴David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵Then David called one of the soldiers^[p] and said, “Come here and strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. ¹⁶David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”

David’s Tribute to Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷Then David chanted this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan. ¹⁸(He gave instructions that the people of Judah should be taught “The Bow.”^[q] Indeed, it is written down in the Scroll of the Upright One.)^[r]

¹⁹“The beauty^[s] of Israel lies slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
²⁰Don’t report it in Gath,
don’t spread the news in the streets of Ashkelon,^[t]
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate!
²¹O mountains of Gilboa,
may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings!^[u]
For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled;^[v]
the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil.^[w]
²²From the blood of the slain, from the fat of warriors,
the bow of Jonathan was not turned away.
The sword of Saul never returned^[x] empty.
²³Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved^[y] during their lives,
and not even in their deaths were they separated.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
²⁴O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet^[z] as well as jewelry,
who put gold jewelry on your clothes.
²⁵How the warriors have fallen
in the midst of battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your high places!
²⁶I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan.
You were very dear to me.
Your love was more special to me than the love of women.
²⁷How the warriors have fallen!
The weapons of war^[aa] are destroyed!

Footnotes

2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “What was the word?”
2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “from the people.”
2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “fell and died.”
2 Samuel 1:5 tn In v. 2 he is called simply a “man.” The word used here in v. 5 (so also in vv. 6, 13, 15), though usually referring to a young man or servant, may in this context designate a “fighting” man, i.e., a soldier.
2 Samuel 1:5 tc Instead of the MT “who was recounting this to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’” the Syriac Peshitta reads “declare to me how Saul and his son Jonathan died.”
2 Samuel 1:6 tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and one ms of the LXX; MT adds “who was telling him this.”
2 Samuel 1:8 tc The present translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss “and I said,” rather than the Kethib which has “and he said.” See the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate, all of which have the first person.
2 Samuel 1:9 tn As P. K. McCarter (II Samuel [AB], 59) points out, the Polel of the verb מוּת (mut, “to die”) “refers to dispatching or ‘finishing off’ someone already wounded and near death.” Cf. NLT “put me out of my misery.”
2 Samuel 1:9 tn Heb “the dizziness has seized me.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun translated “dizziness,” see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 59-60. The point seems to be that he is unable to kill himself because he is weak and disoriented.
2 Samuel 1:9 tn The Hebrew text here is grammatically very awkward (Heb “because all still my life in me”). Whether the broken construct phrase is due to the fact that the alleged speaker is in a confused state of mind as he is on the verge of dying, or whether the MT has sustained a defect in the transmission process, is not entirely clear. The former seems likely, although P. K. McCarter understands the MT to be the result of conflation of two shorter forms of text (P. K. McCarter, II Samuel [AB], 57, n. 9). Early translators also struggled with the verse, apparently choosing to leave part of the Hebrew text untranslated. For example, the Lucianic recension of the LXX lacks “all,” while other witnesses (namely, one medieval Hebrew ms, codices A and B of the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta) lack “still.”
2 Samuel 1:10 tn Heb “after his falling”; NAB “could not survive his wound”; CEV “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”
2 Samuel 1:10 tc The MT lacks the definite article, but this is may be due to textual transmission error. It is preferable to read the א (alef) of אֶצְעָדָה (ʾetsʿadah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hats^eʿadah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. NLT “one of his bracelets”).
2 Samuel 1:10 sn The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3-5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the MT. However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.
2 Samuel 1:11 tc The present translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading “his garments,” rather than “his garment,” the reading of the Kethib.
2 Samuel 1:13 sn Hebrew has more than one word for foreigners. Since the Amalekites were obviously not Israelites and were “inhabitants of the land” (1 Sam 27:8), adding the description ger (גֵּר) must carry more significance than just “foreigner” and “resident.” In Mosaic Law the ger (גֵּר) could join the covenant, be circumcised, offer sacrifices to the Lord, celebrate the festivals with Israel, were given equal protection under the law, and received some social welfare along with the Levites. (See notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11.) These ger (גֵּר) appear to be converts or naturalized citizens with minimally different rights (they could not own land, just houses). The young man is probably positioning himself as someone loyal to Israel, consistent the description that he came from the camp of Saul/Israel (vss 2-3). He certainly would not want to be considered one of the Amalekites that David had just fought against (vs 1). This may also explain David’s expectation that he should know better than to slay the Lord’s anointed (as Saul’s armor-bearer would not do in the true account in 1 Sam 31:4).
2 Samuel 1:15 tn Heb “young men.”
2 Samuel 1:18 tn Heb “be taught the bow.” The reference to “the bow” is very difficult here. Some interpreters (e.g., S. R. Driver, P. K. McCarter, Jr.) suggest deleting the word from the text (cf. NAB, TEV), but there does not seem to be sufficient evidence for doing so. Others (cf. KJV) understand the reference to be elliptical, meaning “the use of the bow.” The verse would then imply that with the deaths of Saul and Jonathan having occurred, a period of trying warfare is about to begin, requiring adequate preparation for war on the part of the younger generation. Various other views may also be found in the secondary literature. However, it seems best to understand the word here to be a reference to the name of a song (i.e., “The Bow”), most likely the poem that follows in vv. 19-27 (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT); NIV “this lament of the bow.”
2 Samuel 1:18 sn The Scroll of the Upright One (or The Book of Yashar) is a noncanonical writing which has not been preserved. Mentioned here and in Josh 10:12-13, it apparently was “a collection of ancient national poetry” (so BDB 449 s.v. יָשָׁר).
2 Samuel 1:19 sn The word beauty is used figuratively here to refer to Saul and Jonathan.
2 Samuel 1:20 sn The cities of Gath and Ashkelon are mentioned here by synecdoche of part for the whole. As major Philistine cities they in fact represent all of Philistia. The point is that when the sad news of fallen Israelite leadership reaches the Philistines, it will be for these enemies of Israel the occasion of great joy rather than grief.
2 Samuel 1:21 tc Instead of the MT’s “fields of grain offerings” the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “your high places are mountains of death.” Cf. the Old Latin montes mortis (“mountains of death”).
2 Samuel 1:21 tn This is the only biblical occurrence of the Niphal of the verb גָּעַל (gaʿal). This verb usually has the sense of “to abhor” or “loathe.” But here it seems to refer to the now dirty and unprotected condition of a previously well-maintained instrument of battle.
2 Samuel 1:21 tc It is preferable to read here Hebrew מָשׁוּחַ (mashuakh) with many Hebrew mss, rather than מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh) of the MT. Although the Syriac Peshitta understands the statement to pertain to Saul, the point here is not that Saul is not anointed. Rather, it is the shield of Saul that lies discarded and is no longer anointed. In ancient Near Eastern practice a warrior’s shield that was in normal use would have to be anointed regularly in order to ensure that the leather did not become dry and brittle. Like other warriors of his day Saul would have carefully maintained his tools of trade. But now that he is dead, the once-cared-for shield of the mighty warrior lies sadly discarded and woefully neglected, a silent but eloquent commentary on how different things are now compared to the way they were during Saul’s lifetime.
2 Samuel 1:22 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form is used here to indicate repeated past action.
2 Samuel 1:23 tn Heb “beloved and dear.”
2 Samuel 1:24 sn Clothing of scarlet was expensive and beyond the financial reach of most people.
2 Samuel 1:27 sn The expression weapons of war may here be a figurative way of referring to Saul and Jonathan.

Acts 11:27-30

Famine Relief for Judea

²⁷At that time^[a] some^[b] prophets^[c] came down^[d] from Jerusalem to Antioch.^[e] ²⁸One of them, named Agabus, got up^[f] and predicted^[g] by the Spirit that a severe^[h] famine^[i] was about to come over the whole inhabited world.^[j] (This^[k] took place during the reign of Claudius.)^[l] ²⁹So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability,^[m] decided^[n] to send relief^[o] to the brothers living in Judea. ³⁰They did so,^[p] sending their financial aid^[q] to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Footnotes

Acts 11:27 tn Grk “In these days,” but the dative generally indicates a specific time.
Acts 11:27 tn The word “some” is not in the Greek text, but is usually used in English when an unspecified number is mentioned.
Acts 11:27 sn Prophets are mentioned only here and in 13:1 and 21:10 in Acts.
Acts 11:27 sn Came down from Jerusalem. Antioch in Syria lies due north of Jerusalem. In Western languages it is common to speak of north as “up” and south as “down,” but the NT maintains the Hebrew idiom which speaks of any direction away from Jerusalem as down (since Mount Zion was thought of in terms of altitude).
Acts 11:27 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
Acts 11:28 tn Grk “getting up, predicted.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 11:28 tn Or “made clear”; Grk “indicated beforehand” (BDAG 920 s.v. σημαίνω 2).
Acts 11:28 tn Grk “great.”
Acts 11:28 sn This famine is one of the firmly fixed dates in Acts. It took place from a.d. 45-48. The events described in chap. 11 of Acts occurred during the early part of that period.
Acts 11:28 tn Or “whole Roman Empire.” While the word οἰκουμένη (oikoumenē) does occasionally refer specifically to the Roman Empire, BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουνένη 2 does not list this passage (only Acts 24:5 and 17:6).
Acts 11:28 tn Grk “world, which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “this” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
Acts 11:28 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Claudius was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from a.d. 41-54.
Acts 11:29 tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.
Acts 11:29 tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”
Acts 11:29 tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters.sn The financial relief reflects the oneness of the church, meeting the needs of another (even racially distinct) community. Jerusalem, having ministered to them, now received ministry back. A later collection from Greece is noted in Rom 15:25-27, but it reflects the same spirit as this gift.
Acts 11:30 tn Grk “Judea, which they did.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
Acts 11:30 tn The words “their financial aid” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 133[a]

A song of ascents;[b] by David.

Footnotes

David’s Tribute to Saul and Jonathan

Footnotes

Famine Relief for Judea

Footnotes

Psalm 133^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by David.