◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 31:9-16 (I commend my spirit); Isaiah 53:10-12 (The suffering one bears the sin of many); Hebrews 2:1-9 (God’s care for humankind) (New English Translation)

Prev Day

April 10, 2025

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

April 2025
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30

Return to today's reading

Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

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

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 31:9-16

⁹Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim^[a] from suffering.^[b]
I have lost my strength.^[c]
¹⁰For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.^[d]
My strength fails me because of^[e] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.^[f]
¹¹Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;^[g]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering^[h]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;^[i]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
¹²I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;^[j]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.^[k]
¹³For I hear what so many are saying,^[l]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.^[m]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
¹⁴But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
¹⁵You determine my destiny.^[n]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
¹⁶Smile^[o] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.

Footnotes

Psalm 31:9 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
Psalm 31:9 tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.
Psalm 31:9 tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “stumbles in.”
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “grow weak.”
Psalm 31:11 tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”
Psalm 31:11 tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests a revision may be needed. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (meʾod, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (ʾed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (ʾed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).
Psalm 31:11 tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”
Psalm 31:12 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
Psalm 31:12 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
Psalm 31:13 tn Heb “the report of many.”
Psalm 31:13 tn Heb “the terror from all around.”
Psalm 31:15 tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”
Psalm 31:16 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”

Isaiah 53:10-12

¹⁰Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made,^[a]
he will see descendants and enjoy long life,^[b]
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
¹¹Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.^[c]
“My servant^[d] will acquit many,^[e]
for he carried their sins.^[f]
¹²So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,^[g]
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,^[h]
because he willingly submitted^[i] to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened^[j] on behalf of the rebels.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 53:10 tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular, in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.” sn What constitutes the servant’s reparation offering? Some might think his suffering, but the preceding context views this as past, while the verb here is imperfect in form. The offering appears to be something the servant does after his suffering has been completed. Perhaps the background of the language can be found in the Levitical code, where a healed leper would offer a reparation offering as part of the ritual to achieve ceremonial cleanliness (see Lev 14). The servant was pictured earlier in the song as being severely ill. This illness (a metaphor for the effects of the people’s sin) separated him from God. However, here we discover the separation is not final; once reparation is made, so to speak, he will again experience the Lord’s favor.
Isaiah 53:10 sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.
Isaiah 53:11 tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (b^edaʿto, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.
Isaiah 53:11 sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.
Isaiah 53:11 tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsaddiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them. sn Some (e.g., H. M. Orlinsky, “The So-called ‘Suffering Servant’ in Isaiah 53, 22, ” VTSup 14 [1967]: 3-133) object to this legal interpretation of the language, arguing that it would be unjust for the righteous to suffer for the wicked and for the wicked to be declared innocent. However, such a surprising development is consistent with the ironic nature of this song. It does seem unfair for the innocent to die for the guilty. But what is God to do when all have sinned and wandered off like stray sheep (cf. v. 6)? Covenant law demands punishment, but punishment in this case would mean annihilation of what God has created. God’s justice, as demanded by the law, must be satisfied. To satisfy his justice, he does something seemingly unjust. He punishes his sinless servant, the only one who has not strayed off! In the progress of biblical revelation, we discover that the sinless servant is really God in the flesh, who offers himself because he is committed to the world he has created. If his justice can only be satisfied if he himself endures the punishment, then so be it. What appears to be an act of injustice is really love satisfying the demands of justice!
Isaiah 53:11 tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.
Isaiah 53:12 tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (ʿatsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:23). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53, 12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).
Isaiah 53:12 sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.
Isaiah 53:12 tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”
Isaiah 53:12 tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (pagaʿ) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.

Hebrews 2:1-9

Warning Against Drifting Away

2 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ²For if the message spoken through angels^[a] proved to be so firm that every violation^[b] or disobedience received its just penalty, ³how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, ⁴while God confirmed their witness^[c] with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed^[d] according to his will.

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

⁵For he did not put the world to come,^[e] about which we are speaking,^[f] under the control of angels. ⁶Instead someone testified somewhere:

“What is man that you think of him^[g] or the son of man that you care for him?
⁷You made him lower than the angels for a little while.
You crowned him with glory and honor.^[h]
⁸You put all things under his control.”^[i]

For when he put all things under his control, he left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see all things under his control,^[j] ⁹but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while,^[k] now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death,^[l] so that by God’s grace he would experience^[m] death on behalf of everyone.

Footnotes

Hebrews 2:2 sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).
Hebrews 2:2 tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”
Hebrews 2:4 tn Grk “God bearing witness together” (the phrase “with them” is implied).
Hebrews 2:4 tn Grk “and distributions of the Holy Spirit.”
Hebrews 2:5 sn The phrase the world to come means “the coming inhabited earth,” using the Greek term which describes the world of people and their civilizations.
Hebrews 2:5 sn See the previous reference to the world in Heb 1:6.
Hebrews 2:6 tn Grk “remember him.”
Hebrews 2:7 tc Several witnesses, many of them early and significant (א A C D* P Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat co), have at the end of v 7, “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands.” Other mss, not quite as impressive in weight, lack the words (P⁴⁶ B D² M). In spite of the impressive external evidence for the longer reading, it is most likely a scribal addition to conform the text of Hebrews to Ps 8:6 (8:7 LXX). Conformity of a NT quotation of the OT to the LXX was a routine scribal activity, and can hardly be in doubt here as to the cause of the longer reading.
Hebrews 2:8 tn Grk “you subjected all things under his feet.”sn A quotation from Ps 8:4-6.
Hebrews 2:8 sn The expression all things under his control occurs three times in 2:8. The latter two occurrences are not exactly identical to the Greek text of Ps 8:6 quoted at the beginning of the verse, but have been adapted by the writer of Hebrews to fit his argument.
Hebrews 2:9 tn Or “who was made a little lower than the angels.”
Hebrews 2:9 tn Grk “because of the suffering of death.”
Hebrews 2:9 tn Grk “would taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

New English Translation (NET)

Prev Day

Top

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

Log in to read this devotional and:

Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Footnotes

Footnotes

Warning Against Drifting Away

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

Footnotes