◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 5 (God’s favor like a shield); Nehemiah 1:1-11 (Asking God to gather the people); Acts 3:1-10 (Healing the crippled beggar) (New English Translation)

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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 5

Psalm 5^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments;^[b] a psalm of David.

5 Listen to what I say,^[c] Lord!
Carefully consider my complaint!^[d]
²Pay attention to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for I am praying to you!
³Lord, in the morning^[e] you will hear^[f] me;^[g]
in the morning I will present my case to you^[h] and then wait expectantly for an answer.^[i]
⁴Certainly^[j] you are not a God who approves of evil;^[k]
evil people^[l] cannot dwell with you.^[m]
⁵Arrogant people cannot stand in your presence;^[n]
you hate^[o] all who behave wickedly.^[p]
⁶You destroy^[q] liars;^[r]
the Lord despises^[s] violent and deceitful people.^[t]
⁷But as for me,^[u] because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house;^[v]
I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.^[w]
⁸Lord, lead me in your righteousness^[x]
because of those who wait to ambush me,^[y]
remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me.^[z]
⁹For^[aa] they do not speak the truth;^[ab]
their stomachs are like the place of destruction,^[ac]
their throats like an open grave,^[ad]
their tongues like a steep slope leading into it.^[ae]
¹⁰Condemn them,^[af] O God!
May their own schemes be their downfall.^[ag]
Drive them away^[ah] because of their many acts of insurrection,^[ai]
for they have rebelled against you.
¹¹But may all who take shelter^[aj] in you be happy.^[ak]
May they continually^[al] shout for joy.^[am]
Shelter them^[an] so that those who are loyal to you^[ao] may rejoice.^[ap]
¹²Certainly^[aq] you reward^[ar] the godly,^[as] Lord.
Like a shield you protect^[at] them^[au] in your good favor.^[av]

Footnotes

Psalm 5:1 sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.
Psalm 5:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (n^ekhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).
Psalm 5:1 tn Heb “my words.”
Psalm 5:1 tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.
Psalm 5:3 sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).
Psalm 5:3 tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”
Psalm 5:3 tn Heb “my voice.”
Psalm 5:3 tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.
Psalm 5:3 tn Heb “and I will watch.”
Psalm 5:4 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 5:4 tn Heb “not a God [who] delights [in] wickedness [are] you.”
Psalm 5:4 tn The Hebrew text has simply the singular form רָע (raʿ),which may be taken as an abstract noun “evil” (the reference to “wickedness” in the preceding line favors this; cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV) or as a substantival adjective “evil one” (the references to evil people in the next two verses favor this; cf. NIV “with you the wicked cannot dwell”).
Psalm 5:4 tn Heb “cannot dwell as a resident foreigner [with] you.” The negated imperfect verbal form here indicates incapability or lack of permission. These people are morally incapable of dwelling in God’s presence and are not permitted to do so.sn Only the godly are allowed to dwell with the Lord. Evil people are excluded. See Ps 15.
Psalm 5:5 tn Heb “before your eyes.”
Psalm 5:5 sn You hate. The Lord “hates” the wicked in the sense that he despises their wicked character and deeds and actively opposes and judges them for their wickedness. See Ps 11:5.
Psalm 5:5 tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.”
Psalm 5:6 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates God’s typical response to such individuals. Another option is to translate the verb as future (“You will destroy”); the psalmist may be envisioning a time of judgment when God will remove the wicked from the scene.
Psalm 5:6 tn Heb “those who speak a lie.” In the OT a “lie” does not refer in a general philosophical sense to any statement that fails to correspond to reality. Instead it refers more specifically to a slanderous and/or deceitful statement that promotes one’s own selfish, sinful interests and/or exploits or harms those who are innocent. Note the emphasis on violence and deceit in the following line.
Psalm 5:6 tn The imperfect verbal form highlights the Lord’s characteristic attitude toward such individuals.
Psalm 5:6 tn Heb “a man of bloodshed and deceit.” The singular אִישׁ (ʾish, “man”) is used here in a collective or representative sense; thus the translation “people” is appropriate here. Note the plural forms in vv. 5-6a.
Psalm 5:7 sn But as for me. By placing the first person pronoun at the beginning of the verse, the psalmist highlights the contrast between the evildoers’ actions and destiny, outlined in the preceding verses, with his own.
Psalm 5:7 sn I will enter your house. The psalmist is confident that God will accept him into his presence, in contrast to the evildoers (see v. 5).
Psalm 5:7 tn Heb “in fear [of] you.” The Hebrew noun יִרְאָה (yirʾah, “fear”), when used of fearing God, is sometimes used metonymically for what it ideally produces: “worship, reverence, piety.”
Psalm 5:8 tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (ts^edaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.
Psalm 5:8 tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.
Psalm 5:8 tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).
Psalm 5:9 tn Or “certainly.”
Psalm 5:9 tn Heb “for there is not in his mouth truthfulness.” The singular pronoun (“his”) probably refers back to the “man of bloodshed and deceit” mentioned in v. 6. The singular is collective or representative, as the plural in the next line indicates, and so has been translated “they.”
Psalm 5:9 tn Heb “their inward part[s] [is] destruction.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse.
Psalm 5:9 tn Heb “their throat is an open grave.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse. The metaphor is suggested by the physical resemblance of the human throat to a deeply dug grave; both are dark chasms.
Psalm 5:9 tn Heb “they make smooth their tongue.” Flattering, deceitful words are in view. See Ps 12:2. The psalmist’s deceitful enemies are compared to the realm of death/Sheol in v. 9b. Sheol was envisioned as a dark region within the earth, the entrance to which was the grave with its steep slopes (cf. Ps 88:4-6). The enemies’ victims are pictured here as slipping down a steep slope (the enemies’ tongues) and falling into an open grave (their throat) that terminates in destruction in the inner recesses of Sheol (their stomach). The enemies’ קֶרֶב (qerev, “inward part”) refers here to their thoughts and motives, which are destructive in their intent. The throat is where these destructive thoughts are transformed into words, and their tongue is what they use to speak the deceitful words that lead their innocent victims to their demise.sn As the psalmist walks down the path in which God leads him, he asks the Lord to guide his steps and remove danger from the path (v. 8), because he knows his enemies have “dug a grave” for him and are ready to use their deceitful words to “swallow him up” like the realm of death (i.e., Sheol) and bring him to ruin.
Psalm 5:10 tn Heb “declare/regard them as guilty.” Declaring the psalmist’s adversaries guilty is here metonymic for judging them or paying them back for their wrongdoing.
Psalm 5:10 tn Heb “may they fall from their plans.” The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation. The psalmist calls judgment down on the evildoers. Their plans will be their downfall in that God will judge them for their evil schemes.
Psalm 5:10 tn Or “banish them.”
Psalm 5:10 tn The Hebrew noun used here, פֶּשַׁע (peshaʿ), refers to rebellious actions. The psalmist pictures his enemies as rebels against God (see the next line).
Psalm 5:11 sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
Psalm 5:11 tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer. The psalmist calls on God to reward his faithful followers.
Psalm 5:11 tn Or perhaps more hyperbolically, “forever.”
Psalm 5:11 tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer.
Psalm 5:11 tn Heb “put a cover over them.” The verb form is a Hiphil imperfect from סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “cover, shut off”). The imperfect expresses the psalmist’s wish or request.
Psalm 5:11 tn Heb “the lovers of your name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to the Lord. See Pss 69:36; 119:132; Isa 56:6.
Psalm 5:11 tn The vav (ו) with prefixed verbal form following the volitional “shelter them” indicates purpose or result (“so that those…may rejoice).
Psalm 5:12 tn Or “For.”
Psalm 5:12 tn Or “bless.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line highlight how God characteristically rewards and protects the godly.
Psalm 5:12 tn Or “innocent.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense.
Psalm 5:12 tn Heb “surround.” In 1 Sam 23:26 the verb describes how Saul and his men hemmed David in as they chased him.
Psalm 5:12 tn Heb “him.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense and is thus translated “them.”
Psalm 5:12 tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.

Nehemiah 1

A Prayer of Nehemiah

1 ^[a] These are the words of Nehemiah^[b] son of Hacaliah:

It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year,^[c] I was in Susa^[d] the citadel. ²Hanani, who was one of my relatives,^[e] along with some of the men from Judah, came to me,^[f] and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.

³They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable^[g] adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!”^[h]

⁴When I heard these things I sat down abruptly,^[i] crying and mourning for several days. I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵Then I said, “Please, O Lord God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant^[j] with those who love him and obey^[k] his commandments, ⁶may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed^[l] against you—both I myself and my family^[m] have sinned. ⁷We have behaved corruptly against you, not obeying the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments that you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸Please recall the word you commanded your servant Moses: ‘If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the nations.^[n] ⁹But if you repent^[o] and obey^[p] my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location,^[q] I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’ ¹⁰They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your mighty strength and by your powerful hand. ¹¹Please,^[r] Lord, listen attentively^[s] to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect to^[t] your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me^[u] in the presence of this man.”

Now^[v] I was cupbearer for the king.

Footnotes

Nehemiah 1:1 sn In ancient Judaism Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a single book with dual authorship. According to the Talmud, “Ezra wrote his book” (b. Bava Batra 15a). The Gemara then asks and answers, “And who finished it? Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.” Accordingly, the two are joined in the Leningrad Codex (ca. a.d. 1008), the manuscript upon which modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHK and BHS) are based.
Nehemiah 1:1 sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, n^ekhemyah) means “the Lord comforts.”
Nehemiah 1:1 tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).
Nehemiah 1:1 tn Heb “Shushan.”
Nehemiah 1:2 tn Heb “brothers.”
Nehemiah 1:2 tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “to me”; these words were supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
Nehemiah 1:3 tn Heb “great.”
Nehemiah 1:3 tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.
Nehemiah 1:4 tn Heb “sat down.” Context suggests that this was a rather sudden action, resulting from the emotional shock of the unpleasant news, so “abruptly” has been supplied in the present translation.
Nehemiah 1:5 tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The phrase is a hendiadys: the first noun retains its full nominal sense, while the second noun functions adjectivally (“loyal love” = loving). Alternately, the first might function adjectivally and the second noun function as the noun: “covenant and loyal love” = covenant fidelity (see Neh 9:32).
Nehemiah 1:5 tn Heb “keep.” The Hebrew verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “to observe; to keep”) is often used as an idiom that means “to obey” the commandments of God (e.g., Exod 20:6; Deut 5:16; 23:24; 29:8; Judg 2:22; 1 Kgs 2:43; 11:11; Ps 119:8, 17, 34; Jer 35:18; Ezek 17:14; Amos 2:4). See BDB 1036 s.v. 3.c.
Nehemiah 1:6 tn Heb “have sinned.” For stylistic reasons—to avoid redundancy in English—this was translated as “committed.”
Nehemiah 1:6 tn Heb “the house of my father.”
Nehemiah 1:8 tn Heb “peoples.”
Nehemiah 1:9 tn Heb “turn to me.”
Nehemiah 1:9 tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.
Nehemiah 1:9 tn Heb “at the end of the heavens.”
Nehemiah 1:11 tn The interjection אָנָּא (ʾannaʾ) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).
Nehemiah 1:11 tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”
Nehemiah 1:11 tn Heb “fear.”
Nehemiah 1:11 tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.
Nehemiah 1:11 tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (vaʾani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

Acts 3:1-10

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple

3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time^[a] for prayer,^[b] at three o’clock in the afternoon.^[c] ²And a man lame^[d] from birth^[e] was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day^[f] so he could beg for money^[g] from those going into the temple courts.^[h] ³When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple courts,^[i] he asked them for money.^[j] ⁴Peter looked directly^[k] at him (as did John) and said, “Look at us!” ⁵So the lame man^[l] paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold,^[m] but what I do have I give you. In the name^[n] of Jesus Christ^[o] the Nazarene, stand up and^[p] walk!” ⁷Then^[q] Peter^[r] took hold^[s] of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man’s^[t] feet and ankles were made strong.^[u] ⁸He^[v] jumped up,^[w] stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts^[x] with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹All^[y] the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations^[z] at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement^[aa] at what had happened to him.

Footnotes

Acts 3:1 tn Grk “hour.”
Acts 3:1 sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.
Acts 3:1 tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).
Acts 3:2 tn Or “crippled.”
Acts 3:2 tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”
Acts 3:2 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.
Acts 3:2 tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.
Acts 3:2 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.sn Into the temple courts. The exact location of this incident is debated. The ‘Beautiful Gate’ referred either to the Nicanor Gate (which led from the Court of the Gentiles into the Court of Women) or the Shushan Gate at the eastern wall.
Acts 3:3 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.sn See the note on the phrase the temple courts in the previous verse.
Acts 3:3 tn Grk “alms.” See the note on the word “money” in the previous verse.
Acts 3:4 tn Grk “Peter, looking directly at him, as did John, said.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 3:5 tn Grk “So he”; the referent (the lame man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Acts 3:6 tn Or “I have no money.” L&N 6.69 classifies the expression ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον (argurion kai chrusion) as an idiom that is a generic expression for currency, thus “money.”
Acts 3:6 sn In the name. Note the authority in the name of Jesus the Messiah. His presence and power are at work for the man. The reference to “the name” is not like a magical incantation, but is designed to indicate the agent who performs the healing. The theme is quite frequent in Acts (2:38 plus 21 other times).
Acts 3:6 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
Acts 3:6 tc The words “stand up and” (ἔγειρε καί, egeire kai) are not in a few mss (א B D sa), but are included in A C E Ψ 095 33 1739 M lat sy mae bo. The external testimony is thus fairly evenly divided, with few but signficant representatives of the Alexandrian and Western textual clusters supporting the shorter reading. Internally, the words look like a standard scribal emendation, and may have been motivated by other healing passages where Jesus gave a similar double command (cf. Matt 9:5; Mark 2:9, [11]; Luke 5:23; [6:8]; John 5:8). On the other hand, there is some motivation for deleting ἔγειρε καί here, namely, unlike Jesus’ healing miracles, Peter raises (ἤγειρεν, ēgeiren) the man to his feet (v. 7) rather than the man rising on his own. In light of the scribal tendency to harmonize, especially in immediate context, the longer reading is slightly preferred.
Acts 3:7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the sequence of events.
Acts 3:7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Acts 3:7 tn Grk “Peter taking hold of him…raised him up.” The participle πιάσας (piasas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 3:7 tn Grk “his”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Acts 3:7 sn At once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong. Note that despite the past lameness, the man is immediately able to walk. The restoration of his ability to walk pictures the presence of a renewed walk, a fresh start at life; this was far more than money would have given him.
Acts 3:8 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
Acts 3:8 tn Grk “Jumping up, he stood.” The participle ἐξαλλόμενος (exallomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. It is possible that the paralyzed man actually jumped off the ground, but more probably this term simply refers to the speed with which he stood up. See L&N 15.240.
Acts 3:8 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.
Acts 3:9 tn Grk “And all.” 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.
Acts 3:10 tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.
Acts 3:10 sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 5[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments;[b] a psalm of David.

Footnotes

A Prayer of Nehemiah

Footnotes

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple

Footnotes

Psalm 5^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments;^[b] a psalm of David.