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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 51

Psalm 51^[a]

The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance

¹For the leader. A psalm of David, ²when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.^(A)

I

³Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
    in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
⁴Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
    and from my sin cleanse me.
⁵For I know my transgressions;
    my sin is always before me.^(B)
⁶Against you, you alone have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
    and without reproach in your judgment.^(C)
⁷Behold, I was born in guilt,
    in sin my mother conceived me.^[b]^(D)
⁸Behold, you desire true sincerity;
    and secretly you teach me wisdom.
⁹Cleanse me with hyssop,^[c] that I may be pure;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.^(E)
¹⁰You will let me hear gladness and joy;
    the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

II

¹¹Turn away your face from my sins;
    blot out all my iniquities.
¹²A clean heart create for me, God;
    renew within me a steadfast spirit.^(F)
¹³Do not drive me from before your face,
    nor take from me your holy spirit.^(G)
¹⁴Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
    uphold me with a willing spirit.
¹⁵I will teach the wicked your ways,
    that sinners may return to you.
¹⁶Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
    and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.^(H)
¹⁷Lord, you will open my lips;
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
¹⁸For you do not desire sacrifice^[d] or I would give it;
    a burnt offering you would not accept.^(I)
¹⁹My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
    a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.

III

²⁰^[e]Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem.^(J)
²¹Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
    burnt offering and whole offerings;
    then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.

Footnotes

Psalm 51 A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]).
51:7 In sin my mother conceived me: lit., “In iniquity was I conceived,” an instance of hyperbole: at no time was the psalmist ever without sin, cf. Ps 88:15, “I am mortally afflicted since youth,” i.e., I have always been afflicted. The verse does not imply that the sexual act of conception is sinful.
51:9 Hyssop: a small bush whose many woody twigs make a natural sprinkler. It was prescribed in the Mosaic law as an instrument for sprinkling sacrificial blood or lustral water for cleansing, cf. Ex 12:22; Lv 14:4; Nm 19:18.
51:18 For you do not desire sacrifice: the mere offering of the ritual sacrifice apart from good dispositions is not acceptable to God, cf. Ps 50.
51:20–21 Most scholars think that these verses were added to the Psalm some time after the destruction of the Temple in 587 B.C. The verses assume that the rebuilt Temple will be an ideal site for national reconciliation.

Jonah 3

Chapter 3

Jonah’s Obedience and the Ninevites’ Repentance. ¹The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ²Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you. ³So Jonah set out for Nineveh, in accord with the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an awesomely great city; it took three days to walk through it. ⁴Jonah began his journey through the city, and when he had gone only a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” ⁵the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small,^[a] put on sackcloth.^(A)

⁶When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ⁷Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh:^[b] “By decree of the king and his nobles, no man or beast, no cattle or sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. ⁸Man and beast alike must be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; they all must turn from their evil way and from the violence of their hands. ⁹^[c]Who knows? God may again repent and turn from his blazing wrath, so that we will not perish.”^(B) ¹⁰When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.

Romans 1:1-7

I. Address

Chapter 1

Greeting.^[a] ¹Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,^[b] called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,^(A) ²which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures,^(B) ³^[c]the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,^(C) ⁴but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.^(D) ⁵^[d]Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,^(E) ⁶among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;^(F) ⁷to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.^[e] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(G)

Footnotes

1:1–7 In Paul’s letters the greeting or praescriptio follows a standard form, though with variations. It is based upon the common Greco-Roman epistolary practice, but with the addition of Semitic and specifically Christian elements. The three basic components are: name of sender; name of addressee; greeting. In identifying himself, Paul often adds phrases to describe his apostolic mission; this element is more developed in Romans than in any other letter. Elsewhere he associates co-workers with himself in the greeting: Sosthenes (1 Corinthians), Timothy (2 Corinthians; Philippians; Philemon) Silvanus (1 Thessalonians—2 Thessalonians). The standard secular greeting was the infinitive chairein, “greetings.” Paul uses instead the similar-sounding charis, “grace,” together with the Semitic greeting šālôm (Greek eirēnē), “peace.” These gifts, foreshadowed in God’s dealings with Israel (see Nm 6:24–26), have been poured out abundantly in Christ, and Paul wishes them to his readers. In Romans the Pauline praescriptio is expanded and expressed in a formal tone; it emphasizes Paul’s office as apostle to the Gentiles. Rom 1:3–4 stress the gospel or kerygma, Rom 1:2 the fulfillment of God’s promise, and Rom 1:1, 5 Paul’s office. On his call, see Gal 1:15–16; 1 Cor 9:1; 15:8–10; Acts 9:1–22; 22:3–16; 26:4–18.
1:1 Slave of Christ Jesus: Paul applies the term slave to himself in order to express his undivided allegiance to the Lord of the church, the Master of all, including slaves and masters. “No one can serve (i.e., be a slave to) two masters,” said Jesus (Mt 6:24). It is this aspect of the slave-master relationship rather than its degrading implications that Paul emphasizes when he discusses Christian commitment.
1:3–4 Paul here cites an early confession that proclaims Jesus’ sonship as messianic descendant of David (cf. Mt 22:42; 2 Tm 2:8; Rev 22:16) and as Son of God by the resurrection. As “life-giving spirit” (1 Cor 15:45), Jesus Christ is able to communicate the Spirit to those who believe in him.
1:5 Paul recalls his apostolic office, implying that the Romans know something of his history. The obedience of faith: as Paul will show at length in chaps. 6–8 and 12–15, faith in God’s justifying action in Jesus Christ relates one to God’s gift of the new life that is made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the activity of the holy Spirit (see especially Rom 8:1–11).
1:7 Called to be holy: Paul often refers to Christians as “the holy ones” or “the saints.” The Israelite community was called a “holy assembly” because they had been separated for the worship and service of the Lord (see Lv 11:44; 23:1–44). The Christian community regarded its members as sanctified by baptism (Rom 6:22; 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26–27). Christians are called to holiness (1 Cor 1:2; 1 Thes 4:7), that is, they are called to make their lives conform to the gift they have already received.

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 51^[a]

The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance

I

II

III

Footnotes

Cross references

Chapter 3

Footnotes

Cross references

I. Address

Chapter 1

Footnotes

Cross references

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 51[a]

The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance

I

II

III

Footnotes

Cross references

Chapter 3

Footnotes

Cross references

I. Address

Chapter 1

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 51^[a]