◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 31:9-16 (I commend my spirit); 1 Samuel 16:11-13 (Samuel anoints David); Philippians 1:1-11 (Encouraged to follow Christ’s righteousness) (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 31:9-16

⁹Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim^[a] from suffering.^[b]
I have lost my strength.^[c]
¹⁰For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.^[d]
My strength fails me because of^[e] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.^[f]
¹¹Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;^[g]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering^[h]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;^[i]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
¹²I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;^[j]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.^[k]
¹³For I hear what so many are saying,^[l]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.^[m]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
¹⁴But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
¹⁵You determine my destiny.^[n]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
¹⁶Smile^[o] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.

Footnotes

Psalm 31:9 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
Psalm 31:9 tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.
Psalm 31:9 tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “stumbles in.”
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “grow weak.”
Psalm 31:11 tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”
Psalm 31:11 tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests a revision may be needed. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (meʾod, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (ʾed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (ʾed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).
Psalm 31:11 tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”
Psalm 31:12 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
Psalm 31:12 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
Psalm 31:13 tn Heb “the report of many.”
Psalm 31:13 tn Heb “the terror from all around.”
Psalm 31:15 tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”
Psalm 31:16 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”

1 Samuel 16:11-13

¹¹Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all the young men?” Jesse^[a] replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

¹²So Jesse had him brought in.^[b] Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one.” ¹³So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

Philippians 1:1-11

Salutation

1 From Paul^[a] and Timothy, slaves^[b] of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers^[c] and deacons. ²Grace and peace to you^[d] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Prayer for the Church

³I thank my God every time I remember you.^[e] ⁴I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you ⁵because of your participation^[f] in the gospel from the first day until now.^[g] ⁶For I am sure of this very thing,^[h] that the one^[i] who began a good work in^[j] you will perfect it^[k] until the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷For^[l] it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart,^[m] since both in my imprisonment^[n] and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace^[o] together with me. ⁸For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight ¹⁰so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Footnotes

Philippians 1:1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
Philippians 1:1 tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” 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.”
Philippians 1:1 sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.
Philippians 1:2 tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”
Philippians 1:3 tn This could also be translated “for your every remembrance of me.” See discussion below.
Philippians 1:5 sn Your participation (Grk “fellowship”) could refer to Paul rejoicing because of the Philippian converts’ “fellowship” in the gospel along with him, but it is more likely that this refers to their active “participation” with him in the gospel by means of the financial support they sent to Paul on more than one occasion, discussed later in this letter (4:10-19, esp. 4:15-16).
Philippians 1:5 tn Several alternatives for translating vv. 3-5 are possible: (1) “I thank my God every time I remember you, yes, always in my every prayer for all of you. I pray with joy because of your participation…” (see NAB; also M. Silva, Philippians [BECNT], 43-44; G. D. Fee, Philippians [NICNT], 76-80); (2) “I thank my God because of your every remembrance of me. Always in my every prayer for all of you I pray with joy. [I am grateful] for your participation…” (see Moffatt; also P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 58-61). Option (1) is quite similar to the translation above, but sees v. 4a as more or less parenthetical. Option (2) is significantly different in that Paul thanks God because the Philippians remember him rather than when he remembers them.
Philippians 1:6 tn Grk “since I am sure of this very thing.” The verse begins with an adverbial participle that is dependent on the main verb in v. 3 (“I thank”). Paul here gives one reason for his thankfulness.
Philippians 1:6 tn The referent is clearly God from the overall context of the paragraph and the mention of “the day of Christ Jesus” at the end, which would be redundant if Christ were referred to here.
Philippians 1:6 tn Or “among.”
Philippians 1:6 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
Philippians 1:7 tn Grk “Just as.” The sense here is probably, “So I give thanks (v. 3) just as it is right for me…”
Philippians 1:7 tn Or possibly “because you have me in your heart.”
Philippians 1:7 tn Grk “in my bonds.” The meaning “imprisonment” derives from a figurative extension of the literal meaning (“bonds,” “fetters,” “chains”), L&N 37.115.
Philippians 1:7 tn The word “God’s” is supplied from the context (v. 2) to clarify the meaning.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

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Salutation

Prayer for the Church

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