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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 30

Psalm 30^[a]

A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;^[b] by David.

30 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,^[c]
and did not allow my enemies to gloat^[d] over me.
²O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me.^[e]
³O Lord, you pulled me^[f] up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.^[g]
⁴Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers^[h] of his;
give thanks to his holy name.^[i]
⁵For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life.^[j]
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning.^[k]
⁶In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be shaken.”^[l]
⁷O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.^[m]
Then you rejected me^[n] and I was terrified.
⁸To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy:^[o]
⁹“What^[p] profit is there in taking my life,^[q]
in my descending into the Pit?^[r]
Can the dust of the grave^[s] praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty?^[t]
¹⁰Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
O Lord, deliver me.”^[u]
¹¹Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.^[v]
¹²So now^[w] my heart^[x] will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always^[y] give thanks to you.

Footnotes

Psalm 30:1 sn Psalm 30. The author thanks the Lord for delivering him from death and urges others to join him in praise. The psalmist experienced divine discipline for a brief time, but when he cried out for help the Lord intervened and restored his favor.
Psalm 30:1 tn Heb “a song of the dedication of the house.” The referent of “house” is unclear. It is possible that David wrote this psalm for the dedication ceremony of Solomon’s temple. Another possibility is that the psalm was used on the occasion of the dedication of the second temple following the return from exile, or on the occasion of the rededication of the temple in Maccabean times.
Psalm 30:1 tn Elsewhere the verb דָּלָה (dalah) is used of drawing water from a well (Exod 2:16, 19; Prov 20:5). The psalmist was trapped in the pit leading to Sheol (see v. 3), but the Lord hoisted him up. The Piel stem is used here, perhaps suggesting special exertion on the Lord’s part.
Psalm 30:1 tn Or “rejoice.”
Psalm 30:2 sn You healed me. Apparently the psalmist was plagued by a serious illness that threatened his life. See Ps 41.
Psalm 30:3 tn Or “my life.”
Psalm 30:3 tn Heb “you kept me alive from those descending into the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib); the marginal reading (Qere) has, “you kept me alive so that I did not go down into the pit.”
Psalm 30:4 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
Psalm 30:4 tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The noun זֵכֵר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 97:12.The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.
Psalm 30:5 tn Heb “for [there is] a moment in his anger, [but] life in his favor.” Because of the parallelism with “moment,” some understand חַיִּים (khayyim) in a quantitative sense: “lifetime” (cf. NIV, NRSV). However, the immediate context, which emphasizes deliverance from death (see v. 3), suggests that חַיִּים has a qualitative sense: “physical life” or even “prosperous life” (cf. NEB “in his favour there is life”).
Psalm 30:5 tn Heb “in the evening weeping comes to lodge, but at morning a shout of joy.” “Weeping” is personified here as a traveler who lodges with one temporarily.
Psalm 30:6 sn In my self-confidence I said… Here the psalmist begins to fill in the background of the crisis referred to in the earlier verses. He had been arrogant and self-confident, so the Lord withdrew his protection and allowed trouble to invade his life (vv. 8-11).
Psalm 30:7 tn Heb “in your good favor you caused to stand for my mountain strength.” Apparently this means “you established strength for my mountain” (“mountain” in this case representing his rule, which would be centered on Mt. Zion) or “you established strength as my mountain” (“mountain” in this case being a metaphor for security).
Psalm 30:7 tn Heb “you hid your face.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or, as here, carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Ps 88:14).
Psalm 30:8 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 8 are probably preterites; the psalmist recalls that he prayed in his time of crisis.
Psalm 30:9 sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.
Psalm 30:9 tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.
Psalm 30:9 tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24 HT [55:23 ET]; 103:4).
Psalm 30:9 tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Psalm 30:9 tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!
Psalm 30:10 tn Heb “be a helper to me.”
Psalm 30:11 sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.
Psalm 30:12 tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”
Psalm 30:12 tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (k^evedi, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.
Psalm 30:12 tn Or “forever.”

Isaiah 5:11-17

¹¹Beware, those who get up early to drink beer,^[a]
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine.^[b]
¹²They have stringed instruments,^[c] tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about.^[d]
¹³Therefore my^[e] people will be deported^[f]
because of their lack of understanding.
Their^[g] leaders will have nothing to eat,^[h]
their^[i] masses will have nothing to drink.^[j]
¹⁴So Death^[k] will open up its throat,
and open wide its mouth;^[l]
Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,
including those who revel and celebrate within her.^[m]
¹⁵Men will be humiliated,
they will be brought low;
the proud will be brought low.^[n]
¹⁶The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted^[o] when he punishes,^[p]
the holy God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.^[q]
¹⁷Lambs^[r] will graze as if in their pastures,
amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.^[s]

Footnotes

Isaiah 5:11 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who arise early in the morning, [who] chase beer.”
Isaiah 5:11 tn Heb “[who] delay until dark, [until] wine enflames them.”sn This verse does not condemn drinking per se, but refers to the carousing lifestyle of the rich bureaucrats, made possible by wealth taken from the poor. Their carousing is not the fundamental problem, but a disgusting symptom of the real disease—their social injustice.
Isaiah 5:12 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
Isaiah 5:12 tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).
Isaiah 5:13 sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.
Isaiah 5:13 tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.
Isaiah 5:13 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
Isaiah 5:13 tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (m^etey, “men of”) as מֵתֵי (metey, “dead ones of”).
Isaiah 5:13 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
Isaiah 5:13 tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.”
Isaiah 5:14 tn Heb “Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV); the underworld, the land of the dead, according to the OT world view. Cf. NAB “the nether world”; TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NLT “the grave.”
Isaiah 5:14 tn Heb “so Sheol will make wide its throat, and open its mouth without limit.”sn Death is portrayed in both the OT (Prov 1:12; Hab 2:5) and Canaanite myth as voraciously swallowing up its prey. In the myths Death is portrayed as having “a lip to the earth, a lip to the heavens…and a tongue to the stars.” (G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 69, text 5 ii 2-3.) Death describes his own appetite as follows: “But my appetite is the appetite of lions in the waste….If it is in very truth my desire to consume ‘clay’ [a reference to his human victims], then in truth by the handfuls I must eat it, whether my seven portions [indicating fullness and completeness] are already in the bowl or whether Nahar [the god of the river responsible for ferrying victims from the land of the living to the land of the dead] has to mix the cup.” (Driver, 68-69, text 5 i 14-22).
Isaiah 5:14 tn Heb “and her splendor and her masses will go down, and her tumult and the one who exults in her.” The antecedent of the four feminine singular pronominal suffixes used in v. 14b is unclear. The likely referent is personified Zion/Jerusalem (see 3:25-26; 4:4-5).
Isaiah 5:15 tn Heb “men are brought down, men are brought low, the eyes of pride are brought low.”
Isaiah 5:16 tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”
Isaiah 5:16 tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.
Isaiah 5:16 tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (ts^edaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.
Isaiah 5:17 tn Or “young rams”; NIV, NCV “sheep”; NLT “flocks.”
Isaiah 5:17 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and ruins, fatlings, resident foreigners, will eat.” This part of the verse has occasioned various suggestions of emendation. The parallelism is tighter if the second line refers to animals grazing. The translation, “amid the ruins the fatlings and young sheep graze,” assumes an emendation of “resident foreigners” (גָּרִים, garim) to “young goats/sheep” (גְּדַיִם, g^edaim)—confusion of dalet and resh is quite common—and understands “fatlings” and “young sheep” as a compound subject or as in apposition as the subject of the verb. However, no emendations are necessary if the above translation is correct. The meaning of מֵחִים (mekhim) has a significant impact on one’s textual decision and translation. The noun can refer to a sacrificial (“fat”) animal as it does in its only other occurrence (Ps 66:15). However, it could signify the rich of the earth (cf. Ps 22:29 [MT 30]: “the fat ones of the earth”), using a different word for “fatness” (Ps 22:29: דָּשֶׁן, dashen). If so, it serves a figurative reference to the rich. Consequently, the above translation coheres with the first half of the verse. Just as the sheep are out of place grazing in these places (“as in their pasture”), the sojourners would not have expected to have the chance to eat in these locations. Both animals and itinerant foreigners would eat in places not normal for them.sn The image completes the picture begun in v. 14 and adds to the irony. When judgment comes, Sheol will eat up the sinners who frequent the feasts; then the banqueting halls will lie in ruins and only sheep will eat there.

Revelation 3:14-22

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴“To^[a] the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following:^[b]

“This is the solemn pronouncement of^[c] the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator^[d] of God’s creation: ¹⁵‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.^[e] I wish you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going^[f] to vomit^[g] you out of my mouth! ¹⁷Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth,^[h] and need nothing,” but^[i] do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful,^[j] poor, blind, and naked, ¹⁸take my advice^[k] and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me^[l] white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness^[m] will not be exposed, and buy eye salve^[n] to put on your eyes so you can see! ¹⁹All those^[o] I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent! ²⁰Listen!^[p] I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home^[q] and share a meal with him, and he with me. ²¹I will grant the one^[r] who conquers^[s] permission^[t] to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered^[u] and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Footnotes

Revelation 3:14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
Revelation 3:14 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
Revelation 3:14 tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.
Revelation 3:14 tn Or “the beginning of God’s creation”; or “the ruler of God’s creation.” From a linguistic standpoint all three meanings for ἀρχή (archē) are possible. The term is well attested in both LXX (Gen 40:13, 21; 41:13) and intertestamental Jewish literature (2 Macc 4:10, 50) as meaning “ruler, authority” (BDAG 138 s.v. 6). Some have connected this passage to Paul’s statements in Col 1:15, 18 which describe Christ as ἀρχή and πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos; e.g., see R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 124) but the term ἀρχή has been understood as either “beginning” or “ruler” in that passage as well. The most compelling connection is to be found in the prologue to John’s Gospel (1:2-4) where the λόγος (logos) is said to be “in the beginning (ἀρχή) with God,” a temporal reference connected with creation, and then v. 3 states that “all things were made through him.” The connection with the original creation suggests the meaning “originator” for ἀρχή here. BDAG 138 s.v. 3 gives the meaning “the first cause” for the word in Rev 3:14, a term that is too philosophical for the general reader, so the translation “originator” was used instead. BDAG also notes, “but the mng. beginning = ‘first created’ is linguistically probable (s. above 1b and Job 40:19; also CBurney, Christ as the ᾿Αρχή of Creation: JTS 27, 1926, 160-77).” Such a meaning is unlikely here, however, since the connections described above are much more probable.
Revelation 3:15 sn Laodicea was near two other towns, each of which had a unique water source. To the north was Hierapolis which had a natural hot spring, often used for medicinal purposes. To the east was Colossae which had cold, pure waters. In contrast to these towns, Laodicea had no permanent supply of good water. Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful, but it would arrive lukewarm. The metaphor in the text is not meant to relate spiritual fervor to temperature. This would mean that Laodicea would be commended for being spiritually cold, but it is unlikely that Jesus would commend this. Instead, the metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing spiritual healing (being hot) or spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them. It is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.
Revelation 3:16 tn Or “I intend.”
Revelation 3:16 tn This is the literal meaning of the Greek verb ἐμέω (emeō). It is usually translated with a much weaker term like “spit out” due to the unpleasant connotations of the English verb “vomit,” as noted by L&N 23.44. The situation confronting the Laodicean church is a dire one, however, and such a term is necessary if the modern reader is to understand the gravity of the situation.
Revelation 3:17 tn Grk “and have become rich.” The semantic domains of the two terms for wealth here, πλούσιος (plousios, adjective) and πλουτέω (plouteō, verb) overlap considerably, but are given slightly different English translations for stylistic reasons.
Revelation 3:17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
Revelation 3:17 tn All the terms in this series are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.
Revelation 3:18 tn Grk “I counsel you to buy.”
Revelation 3:18 tn Grk “rich, and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, repeating the words “Buy from me” to make the connection clear for the English reader.
Revelation 3:18 tn Grk “the shame of the nakedness of you,” which has been translated as an attributed genitive like καινότητι ζωῆς (kainotēti zōēs) in Rom 6:4 (ExSyn 89-90).
Revelation 3:18 sn The city of Laodicea had a famous medical school and exported a powder (called a “Phrygian powder”) that was widely used as an eye salve. It was applied to the eyes in the form of a paste the consistency of dough (the Greek term for the salve here, κολλούριον, kollourion [Latin collyrium], is a diminutive form of the word for a long roll of bread).
Revelation 3:19 tn The Greek pronoun ὅσος (hosos) means “as many as” and can be translated “All those” or “Everyone.”
Revelation 3:20 tn Grk “Behold.”
Revelation 3:20 tn Grk “come in to him.”sn The expression in Greek does not mean entrance into the person, as is popularly taken, but entrance into a room or building toward the person. See ExSyn 380-82. Some interpreters understand the door here to be the door to the Laodicean church, and thus a collective or corporate image rather than an individual one.
Revelation 3:21 tn Grk “The one who conquers, to him I will grant.”
Revelation 3:21 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
Revelation 3:21 tn Grk “I will give [grant] to him.”
Revelation 3:21 tn Or “have been victorious”; traditionally, “have overcome.”

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 30[a]

A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;[b] by David.

Footnotes

Footnotes

To the Church in Laodicea

Footnotes

Psalm 30^[a]

A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;^[b] by David.