◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 91:1-2 9-16 (God shall keep you); Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (For everything a season); John 12:27-36 (Jesus announces his passion) (New English Translation)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 91:1-2

Psalm 91^[a]

91 As for you, the one who lives^[b] in the shelter of the Most High,^[c]
and resides in the protective shadow^[d] of the Sovereign One^[e]—
²I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,
my God in whom I trust—

Psalm 91:9-16

⁹For you have taken refuge in the Lord,
my shelter, the Most High.
¹⁰No harm will overtake^[a] you;
no illness^[b] will come near your home.^[c]
¹¹For he will order his angels^[d]
to protect you in all you do.^[e]
¹²They will lift you up in their hands,
so you will not slip and fall on a stone.^[f]
¹³You will subdue^[g] a lion and a snake;^[h]
you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.
¹⁴The Lord says,^[i]
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him^[j] because he is loyal to me.^[k]
¹⁵When he calls out to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him honor.
¹⁶I will satisfy him with long life,^[l]
and will let him see my salvation.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for All Events in Life

3 For everything^[a] there is an appointed time,^[b]
and an appropriate time^[c] for every activity^[d] on earth:^[e]
²A time to be born,^[f] and a time to die;^[g]
a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;
³a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
⁵A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶a time to search, and a time to give something up as lost;^[h]
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
⁷a time to rip, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.
⁸A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tn Verse 1 is arranged in an ABB’A’ chiasm (לַכֹּל זְמָן וְעֵת לְכָל־חֵפֶץ, lakkol z^eman v^eʿet l^ekhol khefets): (A) “for everything”; (B) “a season”; (B’) “a time”; (A’) “for every matter.” The terms “season” (זְמָן, z^eman) and “time” (עֵת, ʿet) are parallel. In the light of its parallelism with “every matter” (כָל־חֵפֶץ, khol khefets), the term “everything” (כָל, khol) must refer to events and situations in life.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tn The noun זְמָן (z^eman) denotes “appointed time” or “appointed hour” (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן; BDB 273 s.v. זְמָן; see Eccl 3:1; Esth 9:27, 31; Neh 2:6; Sir 43:7), e.g., the appointed or designated time for the Jewish feasts (Esth 9:27, 31), the length of time that Nehemiah set for his absence from Susa (Neh 2:6), and the appointed times in the Jewish law for the months to begin (Sir 43:7). It is used in parallelism with מועד (“appointed time”), i.e., מועד ירח (“the appointed time of the moon”) parallels זמני חק (“the appointed times of the law”; Sir 43:7). The related verb, a Pual of זָמַן (zaman), means “to be appointed” (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן); e.g. Ezra 10:14; Neh 10:35; 13:31. These terms may be related to the noun I זִמָּה (zimmah, “plan; intention”; Job 17:11; HALOT 272 s.v. I זִמָּה) and מְזִמָּה (m^ezimmah, “purpose; plan; project”), e.g., the purposes of God (Job 42:2; Jer 23:20; 30:24; 51:11) and man’s plan (Isa 5:12); see HALOT 566 s.v. מְזִמָּה; BDB 273 s.v. מְזִמָּה.sn Verses 1-8 refer to God’s appointed time-table for human activities or actions whose most appropriate time is determined by men. Verses 9-15 state that God is ultimately responsible for the time in which events in human history occur. This seems to provide a striking balance between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Man does what God has willed, but man also does what he “pleases” (see note on the word “matter” in 3:1).
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tn The noun עֵת (ʿet, “point in time”) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “time of an event” and (2) “time for an event” (BDB 773 s.v. עֵת). The latter has subcategories: (a) “usual time,” (b) “the proper, suitable or appropriate time,” (c) “the appointed time,” and (d) “uncertain time” (Eccl 9:11). Here it connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB s.v. עֵת 2.b). Examples: “the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13), “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3), “an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1), “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1), “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24), “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3), “food in its season” (Ps 104:27), “no one knows his hour of destiny” (Eccl 9:12), “the right moment” (Eccl 8:5); cf. HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tn The noun חֵפֶץ (khefets, here “matter, business”) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “delight; joy,” (2) “desire; wish; longing,” (3) “the good pleasure; will; purpose,” (4) “precious stones” (i.e., jewelry), i.e., what someone takes delight in, and (5) “matter; business,” as a metonymy of adjunct to what someone takes delight in (Eccl 3:1, 17; 5:7; 8:6; Isa 53:10; 58:3, 13; Pss 16:3; 111:2; Prov 31:13); see HALOT 340 s.v. חֵפֶץ 4; BDB 343 s.v. חֵפֶץ 4. It is also sometimes used in reference to the “good pleasure” of God, that is, his sovereign plan, e.g., Judg 13:23; Isa 44:28; 46:10; 48:14 (BDB 343 s.v. חֵפֶץ). While the theme of the sovereignty of God permeates Eccl 3:1-4:3, the content of 3:1-8 refers to human activities that are planned and purposed by man. The LXX translated it with πράγματι (pragmati, “matter”). The term is translated variously by modern English versions: “every purpose” (KJV, ASV), “every event” (NASB), “every delight” (NASB margin), “every affair” (NAB), “every matter” (RSV, NRSV), “every activity” (NEB, NIV), “every project” (MLB), and “every experience” (NJPS).
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tn Heb “under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:2 tn The verb יָלָד (yalad, “to bear”) is used in the active sense of a mother giving birth to a child (HALOT 413 s.v. ילד; BDB 408 s.v. יָלָד). However, in light of its parallelism with “a time to die,” it should be taken as a metonymy of cause (i.e., to give birth to a child) for effect (i.e., to be born).
Ecclesiastes 3:2 sn In 3:2-8, Qoheleth uses fourteen sets of merisms (a figure using polar opposites to encompass everything in between, that is, totality), e.g., Deut 6:6-9; Ps 139:2-3 (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 435).
Ecclesiastes 3:6 tn The term לְאַבֵּד (l^eʾabbed, Piel infinitive construct from אָבַד, ʾavad, “to destroy”) means “to lose” (e.g., Jer 23:1) as the contrast with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek to find”) indicates (HALOT 3 s.v. I אבד; BDB 2 s.v. אבד 3). This is the declarative or delocutive-estimative sense of the Piel: “to view something as lost” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 28, §145; IBHS 403 §24.2g).

John 12:27-36

²⁷“Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me^[a] from this hour’?^[b] No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour.^[c] ²⁸Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven,^[d] “I have glorified it,^[e] and I will glorify it^[f] again.” ²⁹The crowd that stood there and heard the voice^[g] said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to him.^[h] ³⁰Jesus said,^[i] “This voice has not come for my benefit^[j] but for yours. ³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world^[k] will be driven out.^[l] ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people^[m] to myself.” ³³(Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die.)^[n]

³⁴Then the crowd responded,^[o] “We have heard from the law that the Christ^[p] will remain forever.^[q] How^[r] can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵Jesus replied,^[s] “The light is with you for a little while longer.^[t] Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you.^[u] The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light.”^[v] When Jesus had said these things, he went away and hid himself from them.

Footnotes

John 12:27 tn Or “save me.”
John 12:27 tn Or “this occasion.”sn Father, deliver me from this hour. It is now clear that Jesus’ hour has come—the hour of his return to the Father through crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension (see 12:23). This will be reiterated in 13:1 and 17:1. Jesus states (employing words similar to those of Ps 6:4) that his soul is troubled. What shall his response to his imminent death be? A prayer to the Father to deliver him from that hour? No, because it is on account of this very hour that Jesus has come. His sacrificial death has always remained the primary purpose of his mission into the world. Now, faced with the completion of that mission, shall he ask the Father to spare him from it? The expected answer is no.
John 12:27 tn Or “this occasion.”
John 12:28 tn Or “from the sky” (see note on 1:32).
John 12:28 tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
John 12:28 tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
John 12:29 tn “The voice” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
John 12:29 tn Grk “Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” The direct discourse in the second half of v. 29 was converted to indirect discourse in the translation to maintain the parallelism with the first half of the verse, which is better in keeping with English style.
John 12:30 tn Grk “Jesus answered and said.”
John 12:30 tn Or “for my sake.”
John 12:31 sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.
John 12:31 tn Or “will be thrown out.” This translation regards the future passive ἐκβληθήσεται (ekblēthēsetai) as referring to an event future to the time of speaking.sn The phrase driven out must refer to Satan’s loss of authority over this world. This must be in principle rather than in immediate fact, since 1 John 5:19 states that the whole world (still) lies in the power of the evil one (a reference to Satan). In an absolute sense the reference is proleptic. The coming of Jesus’ hour (his crucifixion, death, resurrection, and exaltation to the Father) marks the end of Satan’s domain and brings about his defeat, even though that defeat has not been ultimately worked out in history yet and awaits the consummation of the age.
John 12:32 tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).
John 12:33 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
John 12:34 tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”
John 12:34 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
John 12:34 tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Pss 89:36-37; 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5; 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).
John 12:34 tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
John 12:35 tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”
John 12:35 tn Grk “Yet a little while the light is with you.”
John 12:35 sn The warning Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you operates on at least two different levels: (1) To the Jewish people in Jerusalem to whom Jesus spoke, the warning was a reminder that there was only a little time left for them to accept him as their Messiah. (2) To those later individuals to whom the Fourth Gospel was written, and to every person since, the words of Jesus are also a warning: There is a finite, limited time in which each individual has opportunity to respond to the Light of the world (i.e., Jesus); after that comes darkness. One’s response to the Light decisively determines one’s judgment for eternity.
John 12:36 tn The idiom “sons of light” means essentially “people characterized by light,” that is, “people of God.”sn The expression sons of light refers to men and women to whom the truth of God has been revealed and who are therefore living according to that truth, thus, “people of God.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 91[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

A Time for All Events in Life

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Footnotes

Psalm 91^[a]