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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 43

Psalm 43^[a]

43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me^[b] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me^[c] from deceitful and evil men.^[d]
²For you are the God who shelters me.^[e]
Why do you reject me?^[f]
Why must I walk around^[g] mourning^[h]
because my enemies oppress me?
³Reveal^[i] your light^[j] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;^[k]
they will escort^[l] me back to your holy hill,^[m]
and to the place where you live.^[n]
⁴Then I will go^[o] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,^[p]
so that I may express my thanks to you,^[q] O God, my God, with a harp.
⁵Why are you depressed,^[r] O my soul?^[s]
Why are you upset?^[t]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.^[u]

Footnotes

Psalm 43:1 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.
Psalm 43:1 tn Or “argue my case.”
Psalm 43:1 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.
Psalm 43:1 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.
Psalm 43:2 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
Psalm 43:2 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
Psalm 43:2 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
Psalm 43:2 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “send.”
Psalm 43:3 sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.
Psalm 43:3 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “bring.”
Psalm 43:3 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
Psalm 43:3 tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 46:4; 84:1; 132:5, 7).
Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”
Psalm 43:4 tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
Psalm 43:5 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
Psalm 43:5 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (y^eshuʿot f^ene ʾelohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.

Ezekiel 13:1-16

False Prophets Denounced

13 Then the Lord’s message came to me: ²“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination:^[a] ‘Listen to the Lord’s message! ³This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! ⁴Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. ⁵You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. ⁶They see delusion and their omens are a lie.^[b] They say, “The Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them;^[c] yet they expect their word to be confirmed.^[d] ⁷Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “The Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?

⁸“‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look,^[e] I am against you,^[f] declares the Sovereign Lord. ⁹My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council^[g] of my people, nor be written in the registry^[h] of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

¹⁰“‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,”^[i] when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar,^[j] they coat it with whitewash. ¹¹Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones^[k] will fall and a violent wind will break out.^[l] ¹²When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”

¹³“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. ¹⁴I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it,^[m] and you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵I will vent my rage against the wall and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more— ¹⁶those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the Sovereign Lord.’

2 Peter 2:1-3

The False Teachers’ Ungodly Lifestyle

2 But false prophets arose among the people,^[a] just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers^[b] will^[c] infiltrate your midst^[d] with destructive heresies,^[e] even to the point of^[f] denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring^[g] swift destruction on themselves. ²And many will follow their debauched lifestyles.^[h] Because of these false teachers,^[i] the way of truth will be slandered.^[j] ³And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their^[k] condemnation pronounced long ago^[l] is not sitting idly by;^[m] their^[n] destruction is not asleep.

Footnotes

2 Peter 2:1 sn But false prophets arose among the people. Peter uses the same verb, γίνομαι (ginomai), in 2 Pet 2:1 as he had used in 1:20 to describe the process of inspiration. He may well be contrasting, by way of a catchword, the two kinds of prophets.
2 Peter 2:1 tn Grk “who”; verse 1 is one sentence in Greek, the second half constituting a relative clause.
2 Peter 2:1 sn By the use of the future tense (will infiltrate), Peter is boldly prophesying the role that false teachers will have before these Gentile believers. It was necessary for him to establish both his own credentials and to anchor his audience’s faith in the written Word before he could get to this point, for these false teachers will question both.
2 Peter 2:1 tn Grk “will bring in,” often with the connotation of secretiveness; “your midst” is implied.
2 Peter 2:1 tn Or “destructive opinions,” “destructive viewpoints.” The genitive ἀπωλείας (apōleias) could be taken either attributively (“destructive”) or as a genitive of destination (“leading to destruction”). Although the preferable interpretation is a genitive of destination, especially because of the elaboration given at the end of the verse (“bringing swift destruction on themselves”), translating it attributively is less cumbersome in English. Either way, the net result is the same.
2 Peter 2:1 tn Grk “even.” The καί (kai) is ascensive, suggesting that the worst heresy is mentioned in the words that follow.
2 Peter 2:1 tn Grk “bringing.” The present participle ἐπάγοντες (epagontes) indicates the result of the preceding clause.
2 Peter 2:2 tn “Debauched lifestyles” is literally “licentiousnesses,” “sensualities,” “debaucheries.”
2 Peter 2:2 tn Grk “because of whom,” introducing a subordinate clause to the first part of the verse.
2 Peter 2:2 tn Or “blasphemed,” “reviled,” “treated with contempt.”
2 Peter 2:3 tn Grk “to whom,” introducing a subordinate relative clause.
2 Peter 2:3 tn Grk “the ancient judgment.”
2 Peter 2:3 tn Grk “is not idle.”
2 Peter 2:3 tn Greek has “and their.” As introducing a synonymous parallel, it is superfluous in English.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 43[a]

Footnotes

False Prophets Denounced

Footnotes

The False Teachers’ Ungodly Lifestyle

Footnotes

Psalm 43^[a]