◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Isaiah 64:1-9 (God will come with power and compassion); Psalm 80:1-7 17-19 (We shall be saved); 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 (Gifts of grace sustain us); Mark 13:24-37 (The coming of the Son of Man) (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

Isaiah 64:1-9

64 (63:19b)^[a] If only you would tear apart the sky^[b] and come down!
The mountains would tremble^[c] before you!
²(64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,
or fire makes water boil,
let your adversaries know who you are,^[d]
and may the nations shake at your presence!
³When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise,^[e]
you came down, and the mountains trembled^[f] before you.
⁴Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,^[g]
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who intervenes for those who wait for him.
⁵You assist^[h] those who delight in doing what is right,^[i]
who observe your commandments.^[j]
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved?^[k]
⁶We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.^[l]
We all wither like a leaf;
our sins carry us away like the wind.
⁷No one invokes^[m] your name,
or makes an effort^[n] to take hold of you.
For you have rejected us^[o]
and handed us over to our own sins.^[p]
⁸Yet,^[q] Lord, you are our father.
We are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the product of your labor.^[r]
⁹Lord, do not be too angry!
Do not hold our sins against us continually.^[s]
Take a good look at your people, at all of us.^[t]

Footnotes

Isaiah 64:1 sn In BHS the chapter division occurs in a different place from the English Bible: 64:1 ET (63:19b HT) and 64:2-12 (64:1-11 HT). Beginning with 65:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
Isaiah 64:1 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
Isaiah 64:1 tn Or “quake.” נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) is from the verbal root זָלַל (zalal, “quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). Perhaps there is a verbal allusion to Judg 5:5, the only other passage where this verb occurs. In that passage the poet tells how the Lord’s appearance to do battle caused the mountains to shake.
Isaiah 64:2 tn Heb “to make known your name to your adversaries.” Perhaps the infinitive construct with preposition לְ (lamed) should be construed with “come down” in v. 1a, or subordinated to the following line: “To make known your name to your adversaries, let the nations shake from before you.”
Isaiah 64:3 tn Heb “[for which] we were not waiting.”
Isaiah 64:3 tn See the note at v. 1.
Isaiah 64:4 tn Heb “from ancient times they have not heard, they have not listened.”
Isaiah 64:5 tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”
Isaiah 64:5 tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”
Isaiah 64:5 tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”
Isaiah 64:5 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry, and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context—God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirshaʿ, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).
Isaiah 64:6 tn Heb “and like a garment of menstruation [are] all our righteous acts”; KJV, NIV “filthy rags”; ASV “a polluted garment.”
Isaiah 64:7 tn Or “calls out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “calls on.”
Isaiah 64:7 tn Or “rouses himself”; NASB “arouses himself.”
Isaiah 64:7 tn Heb “for you have hidden your face from us.”
Isaiah 64:7 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and you caused us to melt in the hand of our sin.” The verb וַתְּמוּגֵנוּ (vatt^emugenu) is a Qal preterite second person masculine singular with a first person common plural suffix from the root מוּג (mug, “melt”). However, elsewhere the Qal of this verb is intransitive. If the verbal root מוּג (mug) is retained here, the form should be emended to a Polel pattern (וַתְּמֹגְגֵנוּ, vatt^emog^egenu). The translation assumes an emendation to וַתְּמַגְּנֵנוּ (vatt^emagg^enenu, “and you handed us over”). This form is a Piel preterite second person masculine singular with a first person common plural suffix from the verb מָגָן (magan, “hand over, surrender”; see HALOT 545 s.v. מגן and BDB 171 s.v. מָגָן). The point is that God has abandoned them to their sinful ways and no longer seeks reconciliation.
Isaiah 64:8 tn On the force of וְעַתָּה (v^eʿattah) here, see HALOT 902 s.v. עַתָּה.
Isaiah 64:8 tn Heb “the work of your hand.”
Isaiah 64:9 tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”
Isaiah 64:9 tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”

Psalm 80:1-7

Psalm 80^[a]

For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;^[b] a psalm of Asaph.

80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,^[c] reveal your splendor.^[d]
²In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal^[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.^[f]
³O God, restore us.
Smile on us.^[g] Then we will be delivered.^[h]
⁴O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,^[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?^[j]
⁵You have given them tears as food;^[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.^[l]
⁶You have made our neighbors dislike us,^[m]
and our enemies insult us.
⁷O God of Heaven’s Armies,^[n] restore us.
Smile on us.^[o] Then we will be delivered.^[p]

Footnotes

Psalm 80:1 sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.
Psalm 80:1 tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.
Psalm 80:1 sn Cherubim are winged angels. As depicted in the OT, they possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubim suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubim in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
Psalm 80:1 tn Heb “shine forth.”sn Reveal your splendor. The psalmist may allude to Deut 33:2, where God “shines forth” from Sinai and comes to superintend Moses’ blessing of the tribes.
Psalm 80:2 tn Heb “stir up”; “arouse.”
Psalm 80:2 tn Heb “come for our deliverance.”
Psalm 80:3 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
Psalm 80:3 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
Psalm 80:4 tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (ʾelohe) before צְבָאוֹת (ts^evaʾot; “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ʾelohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (ts^evaʾot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. In this context the term “hosts” has been rendered “Heaven’s Armies.”
Psalm 80:4 tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition ב (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.
Psalm 80:5 tn Heb “you have fed them the food of tears.”
Psalm 80:5 tn Heb “[by] the third part [of a measure].” The Hebrew term שָׁלִישׁ (shalish, “third part [of a measure]”) occurs only here and in Isa 40:12.
Psalm 80:6 tn Heb “you have made us an object of contention to our neighbors.”
Psalm 80:7 tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (ts^evaʾot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ʾelohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (ts^evaʾot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also v. 4 for a similar construction.
Psalm 80:7 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
Psalm 80:7 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

Psalm 80:17-19

¹⁷May you give support to the one you have chosen,^[a]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.^[b]
¹⁸Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.^[c]
¹⁹O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,^[d] restore us.
Smile on us.^[e] Then we will be delivered.^[f]

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

³Grace and peace to you^[a] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Thanksgiving

⁴I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. ⁵For you were made rich^[b] in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge^[c]— ⁶just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you— ⁷so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation^[d] of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸He^[e] will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mark 13:24-37

The Arrival of the Son of Man

²⁴“But in those days, after that suffering,^[a] the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.^[b] ²⁶Then everyone^[c] will see the Son of Man arriving in the clouds^[d] with great power and glory. ²⁷Then he will send angels and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.^[e]

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸“Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹So also you, when you see these things happening, know^[f] that he is near, right at the door. ³⁰I tell you the truth,^[g] this generation^[h] will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.^[i]

Be Ready!

³²“But as for that day or hour no one knows it—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son^[j]—except the Father. ³³Watch out! Stay alert!^[k] For you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴It is like a man going on a journey. He left his house and put his slaves^[l] in charge, assigning^[m] to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. ³⁵Stay alert, then, because you do not know when the owner of the house will return—whether during evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or at dawn— ³⁶or else he might find you asleep when he returns suddenly. ³⁷What I say to you I say to everyone: Stay alert!”

Footnotes

Mark 13:24 tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”
Mark 13:25 sn An allusion to Isa 13:10; 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.
Mark 13:26 tn Grk “they.”
Mark 13:26 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full judging authority.
Mark 13:27 tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.
Mark 13:29 tn The verb γινώσκετε (ginōskete, “know”) can be parsed as either present indicative or present imperative. In this context the imperative fits better, since the movement is from analogy (trees and seasons) to the future (the signs of the coming of the kingdom) and since the emphasis is on preparation for this event.
Mark 13:30 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
Mark 13:30 sn This is one of the hardest verses in the gospels to interpret. Various views exist for what generation means. (1) Some take it as meaning “race” and thus as an assurance that the Jewish race (nation) will not pass away. But it is very questionable that the Greek term γενεά (genea) can have this meaning. Two other options are possible. (2) Generation might mean “this type of generation” and refer to the generation of wicked humanity. Then the point is that humanity will not perish, because God will redeem it. Or (3) generation may refer to “the generation that sees the signs of the end” (v. 26), who will also see the end itself. In other words, once the movement to the return of Christ starts, all the events connected with it happen very quickly, in rapid succession.
Mark 13:31 sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself! For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.
Mark 13:32 sn The phrase nor the Son has caused a great deal of theological debate because on the surface it appears to conflict with the concept of Jesus’ deity. The straightforward meaning of the text is that the Son does not know the time of his return. If Jesus were divine, though, wouldn’t he know this information? There are other passages which similarly indicate that Jesus did not know certain things. For example, Luke 2:52 indicates that Jesus grew in wisdom; this has to mean that Jesus did not know everything all the time but learned as he grew. So Mark 13:32 is not alone in implying that Jesus did not know certain things. The best option for understanding Mark 13:32 and similar passages is to hold the two concepts in tension: The Son in his earthly life and ministry had limited knowledge of certain things, yet he was still deity.
Mark 13:33 tc The vast majority of witnesses (א A C L W Θ Ψ ƒ^1,13 M lat sy co) have καὶ προσεύχεσθε after ἀγρυπνεῖτε (agrupneite kai proseuchesthe, “stay alert and pray”). This may be a motivated reading, influenced by the similar command in Mark 14:38 where προσεύχεσθε is solidly attested, and more generally from the parallel in Luke 21:36 (though δέομαι [deomai, “ask”] is used there). As B. M. Metzger notes, it is a predictable variant that scribes would have been likely to produce independently of each other (TCGNT 95). The words are not found in B D a c d k. Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is slender, it probably better accounts for the longer reading than vice versa.
Mark 13:34 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.
Mark 13:34 tn Grk “giving.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Footnotes

Psalm 80[a]

For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Thanksgiving

Footnotes

The Arrival of the Son of Man

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Be Ready!

Footnotes

Psalm 80^[a]

For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;^[b] a psalm of Asaph.