◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 40:1-11 (Doing the will of God); Isaiah 22:15-25 (God replaces disobedient leaders); Galatians 1:6-12 (Paul’s calling through a revelation of Christ) (New English Translation)

Prev Day

January 16, 2020

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

January 2020
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	31

Return to today's reading

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 40:1-11

Psalm 40^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

40 I relied completely^[b] on the Lord,
and he turned toward me
and heard my cry for help.
²He lifted me out of the watery pit,^[c]
out of the slimy mud.^[d]
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing.^[e]
³He gave me reason to sing a new song,^[f]
praising our God.^[g]
May many see what God has done,
so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord.^[h]
⁴How blessed^[i] is the one^[j] who trusts in the Lord^[k]
and does not seek help from^[l] the proud or from liars.^[m]
⁵O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;
you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us.^[n]
No one can thwart you.^[o]
I want to declare your deeds and talk about them,
but they are too numerous to recount.^[p]
⁶Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern.^[q]
You make that quite clear to me.^[r]
You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
⁷Then I say,
“Look, I come!
What is written in the scroll pertains to me.^[s]
⁸I want to do what pleases you,^[t] my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.”^[u]
⁹I have told the great assembly^[v] about your justice.^[w]
Look, I spare no words.^[x]
O Lord, you know this is true.
¹⁰I have not failed to tell about your justice;^[y]
I spoke about your reliability and deliverance.
I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness.^[z]
¹¹O Lord, you do not withhold^[aa] your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me!^[ab]

Footnotes

Psalm 40:1 sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).
Psalm 40:1 tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).
Psalm 40:2 tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (shaʾon, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).
Psalm 40:2 tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. 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 40:2 tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”
Psalm 40:3 sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.
Psalm 40:3 tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”
Psalm 40:3 tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.
Psalm 40:4 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”
Psalm 40:4 tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”
Psalm 40:5 tn Heb “many things you have done, you, O Lord my God, your amazing deeds and your thoughts toward us.” The precise meaning of the text is not clear, but the psalmist seems to be recalling the Lord’s miraculous deeds on Israel’s behalf (see Pss 9:1; 26:7), as well as his covenantal decrees and promises (see Ps 33:11).
Psalm 40:5 tn Heb “there is none arrayed against you.” The precise meaning of the text is unclear, but the collocation עָרַךְ אֶל (ʿarakh ʾel, “array against”) is used elsewhere of military (Judg 20:30; 1 Chr 19:17) or verbal opposition (Job 32:14).
Psalm 40:5 tn Heb “I will declare and I will speak, they are too numerous to recount.” The present translation assumes that the cohortatives are used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “Should I try to declare [them] and speak [of them]…” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortatives are part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.) Another option is to take the cohortatives as a declaration of the psalmist’s resolve to announce the truth expressed in the next line. In this case one might translate: “I will declare and speak [the truth]: They are too numerous to recount.”
Psalm 40:6 tn Heb “sacrifice and offering you do not desire.” The statement is exaggerated for the sake of emphasis (see Ps 51:16 as well). God is pleased with sacrifices, but his first priority is obedience and loyalty (see 1 Sam 15:22). Sacrifices and offerings apart from genuine allegiance are meaningless (see Isa 1:11-20).
Psalm 40:6 tn Heb “ears you hollowed out for me.” The meaning of this odd expression is debated (this is the only collocation of “hollowed out” and “ears” in the OT). It may have been an idiomatic expression referring to making a point clear to a listener. The LXX has “but a body you have prepared for me,” a reading which is followed in Heb 10:5.
Psalm 40:7 tn Heb “in the roll of the scroll it is written concerning me.” Apparently the psalmist refers to the law of God (see v. 8), which contains the commandments God desires him to obey. If this is a distinctly royal psalm, then the psalmist/king may be referring specifically to the regulations of kingship prescribed in Deut 17:14-20. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 315.
Psalm 40:8 tn Or “your will.”
Psalm 40:8 tn Heb “your law [is] in the midst of my inner parts.” The “inner parts” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s thought life and moral decision making.
Psalm 40:9 sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Pss 22:25 and 35:18.
Psalm 40:9 tn Heb “I proclaim justice in the great assembly.” Though “justice” appears without a pronoun here, the Lord’s just acts are in view (see v. 10). His “justice” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) is here the deliverance that originates in his justice; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just.
Psalm 40:9 tn Heb “Look! My lips I do not restrain.”
Psalm 40:10 tn Heb “your justice I have not hidden in the midst of my heart.”
Psalm 40:10 tn Heb “I have not hidden your loyal love and reliability.”
Psalm 40:11 tn Some (cf. NIV, NRSV) translate the verb as a request (“do not withhold”), but elsewhere in the psalms the second masculine singular prefixed form, when addressed to God and preceded by לֹא (loʾ), is always indicative in mood and never has the force of a prayer (see Pss 16:10; 22:2; 44:9 51:16-17; 60:10; 108:11; cf. NEB, NASB).
Psalm 40:11 tn In this line the psalmist makes the transition from confidence to petition (see v. 13). Since the prefixed verbal form in the preceding line is imperfect/indicative, one could take the verb in this line as imperfect as well and translate, “your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me” (cf. NEB). However, the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the next verse, if causal (“because”), is best understood as introducing a motivating argument in support of a petition. For this reason v. 11b is best taken as a prayer with the prefixed form being understood as jussive (cf. NIV, NRSV). For parallels to the proposed construction (jussive followed by כִּי + perfect introducing motivating argument), see Ps 25:21, as well as Pss 10:2-3; 22:8.

Isaiah 22:15-25

¹⁵This is what the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace,^[a] and tell him:^[b]
¹⁶‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here?^[c]
Why^[d] do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?
He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,
he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
¹⁷Look, the Lord will throw you far away,^[e] you mere man!^[f]
He will wrap you up tightly.^[g]
¹⁸He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land.^[h]
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots,^[i]
which bring disgrace to the house of your master.^[j]
¹⁹I will remove you from^[k] your office;
you will be thrown down^[l] from your position.

²⁰“‘At that time^[m] I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. ²¹I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him.^[n] He will become a protector of^[o] the residents of Jerusalem and of the people^[p] of Judah. ²²I will place the key^[q] to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. ²³I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place;^[r] he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family.^[s] ²⁴His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him,^[t] including the offspring and the offshoots.^[u] All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars, will hang from this peg.’^[v]

²⁵“At that time,”^[w] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.”^[x] Indeed,^[y] the Lord has spoken.

Footnotes

Isaiah 22:15 tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”
Isaiah 22:15 tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Isaiah 22:16 tn Heb “What to you here? And who to you here?” The point of the second question is not entirely clear. The interpretation reflected in the translation is based on the following context, which suggests that Shebna has no right to think of himself so highly and arrange such an extravagant burial place for himself.
Isaiah 22:16 tn Heb “that you chisel out.”
Isaiah 22:17 tn Heb “will throw you with a throwing.”
Isaiah 22:17 tn Heb “O man” (so NASB); NAB “mortal man”; NRSV “my fellow.”
Isaiah 22:17 tn Heb “and the one who wraps you [will] wrap.”
Isaiah 22:18 tn Heb “and he will tightly [or “surely”] wind you [with] winding like a ball, to a land broad of hands [i.e., “sides”].”
Isaiah 22:18 tn Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”
Isaiah 22:18 sn Apparently the reference to chariots alludes to Shebna’s excessive pride, which in turn brings disgrace to the royal family.
Isaiah 22:19 tn Heb “I will push you away from.”
Isaiah 22:19 tn Heb “he will throw you down.” The shift from the first to third person is peculiar and abrupt, but certainly not unprecedented in Hebrew poetry. See GKC 462 §144.p. The third person may be indefinite (“one will throw you down”), in which case the passive translation is justified.
Isaiah 22:20 tn Or “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
Isaiah 22:21 tn Heb “and your dominion I will place in his hand.”
Isaiah 22:21 tn Heb “a father to.” The Hebrew term אָב (ʾav, “father”) is here used metaphorically of one who protects and supports those under his care and authority, like a father does his family. For another example of this metaphorical use of the word, see Job 29:16.
Isaiah 22:21 tn Heb “house.”
Isaiah 22:22 sn This may refer to a literal insignia worn by the chief administrator. Even so, it would still symbolize the administrator’s authority to grant or exclude access to the king. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:422.
Isaiah 22:23 sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.
Isaiah 22:23 tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”
Isaiah 22:24 tn Heb “and all the glory of the house of his father they will hang on him.” The Lord returns to the peg metaphor of v. 23a. Eliakim’s secure position of honor will bring benefits and jobs to many others in the family.
Isaiah 22:24 tn The precise meaning and derivation of this word are uncertain. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “the issue”; CEV “relatives.”
Isaiah 22:24 tn Heb “all the small vessels, from the vessels that are bowls to all the vessels that are jars.” The picture is that of a single peg holding the weight of all kinds of containers hung from it.
Isaiah 22:25 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
Isaiah 22:25 sn Eliakim’s authority, though seemingly secure, will eventually be removed, and with it his family’s prominence.
Isaiah 22:25 tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

Galatians 1:6-12

Occasion of the Letter

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one^[a] who called you by the grace of Christ^[b] and are following^[c] a different^[d] gospel— ⁷not that there really is another gospel,^[e] but^[f] there are some who are disturbing you and wanting^[g] to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach^[h] a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,^[i] let him be condemned to hell!^[j] ⁹As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!^[k] ¹⁰Am I now trying to gain the approval of people,^[l] or of God? Or am I trying to please people?^[m] If I were still trying to please^[n] people,^[o] I would not be a slave^[p] of Christ!

Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship

¹¹Now^[q] I want you to know, brothers and sisters,^[r] that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.^[s] ¹²For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source;^[t] instead I received it^[u] by a revelation of Jesus Christ.^[v]

Footnotes

Galatians 1:6 sn The one who called you is a reference to God the Father (note the mention of Christ in the following prepositional phrase and the mention of God the Father in 1:1).
Galatians 1:6 tc Although the majority of witnesses, including some of the most important ones (P⁵¹ א A B F^c Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739 1881 2464 M f vg sy^p bo), read “by the grace of Christ” (χάριτι Χριστοῦ, chariti Christou) here, this reading is not without variables. Besides alternate readings such as χάριτι ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (chariti Iēsou Christou, “by the grace of Jesus Christ”; D 326 1241^s sy^h**) and χάριτι θεοῦ (chariti theou, “by the grace of God”; 327 Thret^lem), a few mss and other witnesses (P^46vid F* G H^vid ar b Tert Cyp Ambst Pel) have simply χάριτι with no modifier. Internally, the reading that seems best to explain the rise of the others is the shortest reading, χάριτι. Indeed, the fact that three different adjuncts are found in the mss seems to be a natural expansion on the simple “grace.” At the same time, the witnesses for the shortest reading are not particularly impressive, being that they largely represent one textual strand (Western), and a less-than-reliable one at that. Further, nowhere else in the corpus Paulinum do we see the construction χάρις (charis, “grace”) followed by Χριστοῦ without some other name (such as κυρίου [kuriou, “Lord”] or ᾿Ιησοῦ). The construction χάρις θεοῦ is likewise frequent in Paul. Thus, upon closer inspection it seems that the autographic wording here was χάριτι Χριστοῦ (for it is difficult to explain how this particular reading could have arisen from the simple χάριτι, in light of Paul’s normal idioms), with the other readings intentionally or accidentally arising from it.
Galatians 1:6 tn Grk “deserting [turning away] to” a different gospel, implying the idea of “following.”
Galatians 1:6 tn Grk “another.”
Galatians 1:7 tn Grk “which is not another,” but this could be misunderstood to mean “which is not really different.” In fact, as Paul goes on to make clear, there is no other gospel than the one he preaches.
Galatians 1:7 tn Grk “except.”
Galatians 1:7 tn Or “trying.”
Galatians 1:8 tc ‡ Most witnesses have ὑμῖν (humin, “to you”) either after (א² A [D* ὑμᾶς] 6 33 326 614 945 1881 M Tert^pt Ambst) or before (P^51vid B H 0278 630 1175 [1739* ἡμῖν]) εὐαγγελίζηται (euaggelizētai, “should preach” [or some variation on the form of this verb]). But the fact that it floats suggests its inauthenticity, especially since it appears to be a motivated reading for purposes of clarification. The following witnesses lack the pronoun: א* F G Ψ ar b g Cyp Mcion^T Tert^pt Lcf. The external evidence admittedly is not as weighty as evidence for the pronoun, but coupled with strong internal evidence the shorter reading should be considered the earliest. Although it is possible that scribes may have deleted the pronoun to make Paul’s statement seem more universal, the fact that the pronoun floats suggests otherwise. NA²⁸ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
Galatians 1:8 tn Or “other than the one we preached to you.”
Galatians 1:8 tn Grk “let him be accursed” (ἀνάθεμα, anathema). The translation gives the outcome which is implied by this dreadful curse.
Galatians 1:9 tn See the note on this phrase in the previous verse.
Galatians 1:10 tn Grk “of men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anthrōpous) is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
Galatians 1:10 tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
Galatians 1:10 tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively (ExSyn 550).
Galatians 1:10 tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
Galatians 1:10 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households. sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
Galatians 1:11 tc ‡ The conjunction δέ (de) is found in P⁴⁶ א*^,2 A D¹ Ψ 1175 1241 1505 1739 1881 M sy bo, while γάρ (gar) is the conjunction of choice in א¹ B D*^,c F G 33 lat sa. There are thus good representatives on each side. Scribes generally tended to prefer γάρ in such instances, most likely because it was more forceful and explicit. γάρ is thus seen as a motivated reading. For this reason, δέ is preferred.
Galatians 1:11 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
Galatians 1:11 tn Grk “is not according to man.”
Galatians 1:12 tn Or “I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it.”
Galatians 1:12 tn The words “I received it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
Galatians 1:12 tn It is difficult to determine what kind of genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Iēsou Christou) is. If it is a subjective genitive, the meaning is “a revelation from Jesus Christ” but if objective genitive, it is “a revelation about Jesus Christ.” Most likely this is objective since the explanation in vv. 15-16 mentions God revealing the Son to Paul so that he might preach, although the idea of a direct revelation to Paul at some point cannot be ruled out.

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 (Complementary)

Psalm 40[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Occasion of the Letter

Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship

Footnotes

Psalm 40^[a]