◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Isaiah 42:1-9 (The servant brings forth justice); Psalm 36:5-11 (Refuge under the shadow of your wings); Hebrews 9:11-15 (The blood of Christ redeems for eternal life); John 12:1-11 (Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus) (New English Translation)

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April 14, 2025

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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

Isaiah 42:1-9

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42 ^[a] “Here is my servant whom I support,
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my Spirit on him;
he will make just decrees^[b] for the nations.^[c]
²He will not cry out or shout;
he will not publicize himself in the streets.^[d]
³A crushed reed he will not break,
a dim wick he will not extinguish;^[e]
he will faithfully make just decrees.^[f]
⁴He will not grow dim or be crushed^[g]
before establishing justice on the earth;
the coastlands^[h] will wait in anticipation for his decrees.”^[i]
⁵This is what the true God,^[j] the Lord, says—
the one who created the sky and stretched it out,
the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it,^[k]
the one who gives breath to the people on it,
and life to those who live on it:^[l]
⁶“I, the Lord, officially commission you;^[m]
I take hold of your hand.
I protect you^[n] and make you a covenant mediator for people,^[o]
and a light^[p] to the nations,^[q]
⁷to open blind eyes,^[r]
to release prisoners^[s] from dungeons,
those who live in darkness from prisons.

The Lord Intervenes

⁸“I am the Lord! That is my name!
I will not share my glory with anyone else,
or the praise due me with idols.
⁹Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass;^[t]
now I announce new events.
Before they begin to occur,
I reveal them to you.”^[u]

Footnotes

Isaiah 42:1 sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.
Isaiah 42:1 tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).
Isaiah 42:1 sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.
Isaiah 42:2 tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”
Isaiah 42:3 sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.
Isaiah 42:3 tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
Isaiah 42:4 tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.
Isaiah 42:4 tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”
Isaiah 42:4 tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).
Isaiah 42:5 tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.
Isaiah 42:5 tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”
Isaiah 42:5 tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).
Isaiah 42:6 tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.
Isaiah 42:6 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).
Isaiah 42:6 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (b^erit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (ʿam, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.
Isaiah 42:6 sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.
Isaiah 42:6 tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.
Isaiah 42:7 sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.
Isaiah 42:7 sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.
Isaiah 42:9 tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”
Isaiah 42:9 tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).

Psalm 36:5-11

⁵O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky,^[a]
your faithfulness to the clouds.^[b]
⁶Your justice is like the highest mountains,^[c]
your fairness like the deepest sea;
you, Lord, preserve^[d] mankind and the animal kingdom.^[e]
⁷How precious^[f] is your loyal love, O God!
The human race finds shelter under your wings.^[g]
⁸They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
⁹For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.^[h]
¹⁰Extend^[i] your loyal love to your faithful followers,^[j]
and vindicate^[k] the morally upright.^[l]
¹¹Do not let arrogant men overtake me,
or let evil men make me homeless.^[m]

Hebrews 9:11-15

Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary

¹¹But now Christ has come^[a] as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, ¹²and he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured^[b] eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity,^[c] ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our^[d] consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

¹⁵And so he is the mediator^[e] of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised,^[f] since he died^[g] to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.

Footnotes

Hebrews 9:11 tn Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having come…, entered…, having secured…,” and everything else describes his entrance.
Hebrews 9:12 tn This verb occurs in the Greek middle voice, which here intensifies the role of the subject, Christ, in accomplishing the action: “he alone secured”; “he and no other secured.”
Hebrews 9:13 tn Grk “for the purifying of the flesh.” The “flesh” here is symbolic of outward or ritual purity in contrast to inner purity, that of the conscience (cf. Heb 9:9).
Hebrews 9:14 tc The reading adopted by the translation is attested by many authorities (A D* K P 365 1739* al). But many others (א D² 0278 33 1739^c 1881 M lat sa) read “your” instead of “our.” The diversity of evidence makes this a difficult case to decide from external evidence alone. The first and second person pronouns differ by only one letter in Greek, as in English, also making this problem difficult to decide based on internal evidence and transcriptional probability. In the context, the author’s description of sacrificial activities seems to invite the reader to compare his own possible participation in OT liturgy as over against the completed work of Christ, so the second person pronoun “your” might make more sense. On the other hand, TCGNT 599 argues that “our” is preferable because the author of Hebrews uses direct address (i.e., the second person) only in the hortatory sections. What is more, the author seems to prefer the first person in explanatory remarks or when giving the logical grounds for an assertion (cf. Heb 4:15; 7:14). It is hard to reach a definitive conclusion in this case, but the data lean slightly in favor of the first person pronoun.
Hebrews 9:15 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesitēs, “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.
Hebrews 9:15 tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
Hebrews 9:15 tn Grk “a death having occurred.”

John 12:1-11

Jesus’ Anointing

12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he^[a] had raised from the dead. ²So they prepared a dinner for Jesus^[b] there. Martha^[c] was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table^[d] with him. ³Then Mary took three quarters of a pound^[e] of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard^[f] and anointed the feet of Jesus. She^[g] then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.)^[h] ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him)^[i] said, ⁵“Why wasn’t this oil sold for 300 silver coins^[j] and the money^[k] given to the poor?” ⁶(Now Judas^[l] said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box,^[m] he used to steal what was put into it.)^[n] ⁷So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial.^[o] ⁸For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!”^[p]

⁹Now a large crowd of Judeans^[q] learned^[r] that Jesus^[s] was there, and so they came not only because of him^[t] but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too,^[u] ¹¹for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem^[v] were going away and believing in Jesus.

Footnotes

John 12:1 tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.
John 12:2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.
John 12:2 tn Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.
John 12:2 tn Grk “reclining at the table.”sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
John 12:3 tn Or “half a liter”; Grk “a pound” (that is, a Roman pound, about 325 grams or 12 ounces).
John 12:3 tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikēs) is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This aromatic oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.
John 12:3 tn Grk “And she.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
John 12:3 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. With a note characteristic of someone who was there and remembered, the author adds that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil. In the later rabbinic literature, Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7.1.1 states “The fragrance of good oil is diffused from the bedroom to the dining hall, but a good name is diffused from one end of the world to the other.” If such a saying was known in the 1st century, this might be the author’s way of indicating that Mary’s act of devotion would be spoken of throughout the entire world (compare the comment in Mark 14:9).
John 12:4 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
John 12:5 tn Grk “300 denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth a standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking into account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).
John 12:5 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).
John 12:6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 12:6 tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.
John 12:6 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.
John 12:7 tn Grk “Leave her alone, that for the day of my burial she may keep it.” The construction with ἵνα (hina) is somewhat ambiguous. The simplest way to read it would be, “Leave her alone, that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” This would imply that Mary was going to use the perfumed oil on that day, while vv. 3 and 5 seem to indicate clearly that she had already used it up. Some understand the statement as elliptical: “Leave her alone; (she did this) in order to keep it for the day of my burial.” Another alternative would be an imperatival use of ἵνα with the meaning: “Leave her alone; let her keep it.” The reading of the Byzantine text, which omits the ἵνα and substitutes a perfect tense τετήρηκεν (tetērēken), while not likely to be the reading of the initial text, probably comes close to the meaning of the text, and that has been followed in this translation.
John 12:8 tc A few isolated witnesses omit v. 8 (D sy^s), part of v. 8 (P⁷⁵), or vv. 7-8 ({0250}). The latter two omissions are surely due to errors of sight, while the former can be attributed to D’s sometimes erratic behavior. The verse is secure in light of the overwhelming evidence on its behalf.tn In the Greek text of this clause, “me” is in emphatic position (the first word in the clause). To convey some impression of the emphasis, an exclamation point is used in the translation.
John 12:9 tn Grk “of the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e), the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area who by this time had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and were curious to see him.
John 12:9 tn Grk “knew.”
John 12:9 tn Grk “he”; normal English clause structure specifies the referent first and substitutes the pronoun in subsequent references to the same individual, so the referent (Jesus) has been specified here.
John 12:9 tn Grk “Jesus”; normal English clause structure specifies the referent first and substitutes the pronoun in subsequent references to the same individual, so the pronoun (“him”) has been substituted here.
John 12:10 sn According to John 11:53 the Jewish leadership had already planned to kill Jesus. This plot against Lazarus apparently never got beyond the planning stage, however, since no further mention is made of it by the author.
John 12:11 tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem who had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and as a result were embracing Jesus as Messiah. See also the note on the phrase “Judeans” in v. 9.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

The Lord Intervenes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary

Footnotes

Jesus’ Anointing

Footnotes