◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 110:1-4 (A priest forever); Exodus 19:7-25 (Moses meets God on the mountain); Hebrews 2:1-4 (Do not neglect so great a salvation) (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 110:1-4

Psalm 110^[a]

A psalm of David.

110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation^[b] to my lord:^[c]
“Sit down at my right hand^[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”^[e]
²The Lord^[f] extends^[g] your dominion^[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
³Your people willingly follow you^[i] when you go into battle.^[j]
On the holy hills^[k] at sunrise^[l] the dew of your youth^[m] belongs to you.^[n]
⁴The Lord makes this promise on oath^[o] and will not revoke it:^[p]
“You are an eternal priest^[q] after the pattern of^[r] Melchizedek.”^[s]

Footnotes

Psalm 110:1 sn Psalm 110. In this royal psalm the psalmist announces God’s oracle to the Davidic king. The first part of the oracle appears in v. 1, the second in v. 4. In vv. 2-3 the psalmist addresses the king, while in vv. 5-7 he appears to address God.
Psalm 110:1 tn The word נְאֻם (n^eʾum) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.
Psalm 110:1 sn My lord. In the psalm’s original context the speaker is an unidentified prophetic voice in the royal court, likely addressing David, the head of the dynasty. In the course of time the psalm is applied to each successive king in the dynasty, and is likely understood as such by David (see 2 Sam 7:11-14, 19). Since the Psalm as a whole is attributed to David, it is appropriate to speak of any of its parts as coming from him, whether he composed them, reported them, or commissioned them. Ultimately these words come to apply to the ideal Davidic king, specifically Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Thus, in the irony of the incarnation, the lord who receives the promise is the Lord who made the promise. This creates some complexity in typographic convention, as NET chooses to use lower case here in the Psalm (“my lord”) due to its original context, even though we now know it to be ultimately fulfilled by our Lord. The Greek translation introduces more difficulty because it uses κύριος (kurios, “lord”) for both the Lord’s name, יהוה (YHWH, probably pronounced “Yahweh”) and the title אֲדוֹנַי (ʾadonay, “Lord”) (the word here is not the title, but simply “lord” [אָדוֺן, ʾadon] with the suffix “my”). This complexity and irony are the grounds for the riddle posed by Jesus in the gospels (Matt 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44), which the Pharisees could not solve because they were not expecting the Davidic lord to be the Lord. Peter incorporates the answer “that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” into his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:34-35).
Psalm 110:1 sn To sit at the “right hand” of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). The Lord’s invitation to the Davidic king to sit down at his right hand reflects the king’s position as the Lord’s vice-regent. In Ugaritic myth (CTA 4 v. 108-10) the artisan god Kothar-wa-Khasis is described as sitting at the right hand of the storm god Baal. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 61-62.
Psalm 110:1 sn When the Lord made his covenant with David, he promised to subdue the king’s enemies (see 2 Sam 7:9-11; Ps 89:22-23).
Psalm 110:2 tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.
Psalm 110:2 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.
Psalm 110:2 tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.
Psalm 110:3 tn Heb “your people, free will offerings.” Perhaps the people, in their willingness to volunteer, are compared metaphorically to freewill offerings. Following the LXX, some revocalize the text and read “with you is nobility.”
Psalm 110:3 tn Heb “in the day of your power.”
Psalm 110:3 tc Heb “in splendor of holiness.” The plural construct form הַדְרֵי (hadre, from הָדַר, hadar, “splendor”) occurs only here; it may indicate degree or perhaps refer by metonymy to garments (see Pss 29:2 and 96:9, where the phrase הַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ [hadrat qodesh] refers to “holy attire”). If one retains the reading of the MT, this phrase should probably be taken with the preceding line. However, because of the subsequent references to “dawn” and to “dew,” it is better to emend the text to הַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ (har^ere qodesh, “mountains of holiness”), a reading found in many medieval Hebrew mss and in some other ancient witnesses (see Joel 2:2; Ps 133:3, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 80). The “mountains of holiness” are probably the hills surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2; 133:3).
Psalm 110:3 tn Heb “from the womb of dawn.” The Hebrew noun רֶחֶם (rekhem, “womb”) is probably used here metonymically for “birth.” The form מִשְׁחָר (mishkhar) occurs only here and should be emended to שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”) with the מ (mem) being understood as a duplication of the mem ending the preceding word. The phrase “womb [i.e., “birth”] of dawn” refers to sunrise.
Psalm 110:3 sn The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. The dew may symbolize the king’s youthful vitality or, more likely (note the parallelism), may refer to his army of strong, youthful warriors.
Psalm 110:3 tn Heb “to you [is].”
Psalm 110:4 tn Or “swears, vows.”
Psalm 110:4 tn Or “will not change his mind.” The negated Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham) is a way of marking an announcement as an irrevocable decree. See 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14, as well as R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
Psalm 110:4 sn You are an eternal priest. The Davidic king exercised a non-Levitical priestly role. The king superintended Judah’s cultic ritual, had authority over the Levites, and sometimes led in formal worship. David himself instructed the Levites to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:11-15), joined the procession, offered sacrifices, wore a priestly ephod, and blessed the people (2 Sam 6:12-19). At the dedication of the temple Solomon led the ceremony, offering sacrifices and praying on behalf of the people (1 Kgs 8).
Psalm 110:4 tn The phrase עַל־דִּבְרָתִי (ʿal divrati) is a variant of עַל־דִּבְרָת (ʿal divrat; the final י [yod] being an archaic genitive ending), which in turn is a variant of עַל דָּבַר (ʿal davar). Both phrases can mean “concerning” or “because of,” but neither of these nuances fits the use of עַל־דִּבְרָתִי in Ps 110:4. Here the phrase probably carries the sense “according to the manner of.” See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 81.
Psalm 110:4 sn The Davidic king’s priestly role is analogous to that of Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” (i.e., Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). Like Melchizedek, the Davidic king was a royal priest, distinct from the Aaronic line (see Heb 7). The analogy focuses on the king’s priestly role; the language need not imply that Melchizedek himself was “an eternal priest.”

Exodus 19:7-25

⁷So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him, ⁸and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!”^[a] So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come^[b] to you in a dense cloud,^[c] so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.”^[d] And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them^[e] today and tomorrow, and make them wash^[f] their clothes ¹¹and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²You must set boundaries^[g] for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed^[h] to yourselves not to go up on the mountain nor touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death! ¹³No hand will touch him^[i]—but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being;^[j] he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may^[k] go up on the mountain.”

¹⁴Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not approach your wives for marital relations.”^[l]

¹⁶On^[m] the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense^[n] cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud^[o] horn;^[p] all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace,^[q] and the whole mountain shook^[r] violently. ¹⁹When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder,^[s] Moses was speaking^[t] and God was answering him with a voice.^[u]

²⁰The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ²¹The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn^[v] the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish.^[w] ²²Let the priests also, who approach the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break through^[x] against them.”

²³Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, because you solemnly warned us,^[y] ‘Set boundaries for the mountain and set it apart.’”^[z] ²⁴The Lord said to him, “Go, get down, and then come up, and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people force their way through to come up to the Lord, lest he break through against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.^[aa]

Footnotes

Exodus 19:8 tn The verb is an imperfect. The people are not being presumptuous in stating their compliance—there are several options open for the interpretation of this tense. It may be classified as having a desiderative nuance: “we are willing to do” or, “we will do.”
Exodus 19:9 tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.
Exodus 19:9 tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”
Exodus 19:9 tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.
Exodus 19:10 tn This verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the force of the imperative preceding it. This sanctification would be accomplished by abstaining from things that would make them defiled or unclean, and then by ritual washings and ablutions.
Exodus 19:10 tn The form is a perfect 3cpl with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is instructional as well, but now in the third person it is like a jussive, “let them wash, make them wash.”
Exodus 19:12 tn The verb is a Hiphil perfect (“make borders”) with vav (ו) consecutive, following the sequence of instructions.
Exodus 19:12 tn The Niphal imperative (“guard yourselves, take heed to yourselves”) is followed by two infinitives construct that provide the description of what is to be avoided—going up or touching the mountain.
Exodus 19:13 sn There is some ambiguity here. The clause either means that no man will touch the mountain, so that if there is someone who is to be put to death he must be stoned or shot since they could not go into the mountain region to get him, or, it may mean no one is to touch the culprit who went in to the region of the mountain.
Exodus 19:13 tn Heb “a man.”
Exodus 19:13 tn The nuance here is permissive imperfect, “they may go up.” The ram’s horn would sound the blast to announce that the revelation period was over and it was permitted then to ascend the mountain.
Exodus 19:15 tn Heb “do not approach a woman.” The phrase with נָגַשׁ (nagash, “approach”) is an idiom for sexual relations, which is also true of similar verbs such as בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “come to”) and קָרַב (qarav, “approach”). NIV “Abstain from sexual relations.” NASV “Do not go near a woman.” Temporary abstinence was also part of the prescribed practice for war efforts because the Lord would be in their camp (Deut 23:9-14).sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 537) notes that as the people were to approach him they were not to lose themselves in earthly love. Such separations prepared the people for meeting God. Sinai was like a bride, forbidden to anyone else. Abstinence was the spiritual preparation for coming into the presence of the Holy One.
Exodus 19:16 tn Heb “and it was on.”
Exodus 19:16 tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).
Exodus 19:16 tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).
Exodus 19:16 tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).
Exodus 19:18 sn The image is that of a large kiln, as in Gen 19:28.
Exodus 19:18 tn This is the same word translated “trembled” above (v. 16).
Exodus 19:19 tn The active participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh) is used to add the idea of “continually” to the action of the sentence; here the trumpet became very loud—continually. See GKC 344 §113.u.
Exodus 19:19 tn The two verbs here (“spoke” and “answered”) are imperfect tenses; they emphasize repeated action but in past time. The customary imperfect usually is translated “would” or “used to” do the action, but here continuous action in past time is meant. S. R. Driver translates it “kept speaking” and “kept answering” (Exodus, 172).
Exodus 19:19 tn The text simply has בְּקוֹל (b^eqol); it could mean “with a voice” or it could mean “in thunder” since “voice” was used in v. 16 for thunder. In this context it would be natural to say that the repeated thunderings were the voice of God—but how is that an answer? Deut 4:12 says that the people heard the sound of words. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 232-33) rightly comments, “He was answering him with a loud voice so that it was possible for Moses to hear His words clearly in the midst of the storm.” He then draws a parallel from Ugaritic where it tells that one of the gods was speaking in a loud voice.
Exodus 19:21 tn The imperative הָעֵד (haʿed) means “charge” them—put them under oath, or solemnly warn them. God wished to ensure that the people would not force their way past the barriers that had been set out.
Exodus 19:21 tn Heb “and fall”; NAB “be struck down.”
Exodus 19:22 tn The verb יִפְרֹץ (yifrots) is the imperfect tense from פָּרַץ (parats, “to make a breach, to break through”). The image of Yahweh breaking forth on them means “work destruction” (see 2 Sam 6:8; S. R. Driver, Exodus, 174).
Exodus 19:23 tn The construction is emphatic: “because you—you solemnly warned us.” Moses’ response to God is to ask how they would break through when God had already charged them not to. God knew them better than Moses did.
Exodus 19:23 tn Heb “sanctify it.”
Exodus 19:25 sn The passage has many themes and emphases that could be developed in exposition. It could serve for meditation, that is, the theology drawn from the three parts could be subordinated to the theme of holiness: God is holy, therefore adhere to his word for service, approach him through a mediator, and adore him in purity and fearful reverence. A developed outline for the exposition could be organized as follows: I. If the people of God will obey him, they will be privileged to serve in a unique way (vv. 1-8); II. If the people of God are to obey, they must be convinced of the divine source of their commands (v. 9); and finally, III. If the people of God are convinced of the divine approval of their mediator, and the divine source of their instructions, they must sanctify themselves before him (vv. 10-25). In sum, the manifestation of the holiness of Yahweh is the reason for sanctification and worship. The correlation is to be made through 1 Peter 2 to the church. The Church is a kingdom of priests; it is to obey the Word of God. What is the motivation for this? Their mediator is Jesus Christ; he has the approval of the Father and manifests the glory of God to his own; and he declares the purpose of their calling is to display his glory. God’s people are to abstain from sin so that pagans can see their good works and glorify God.

Hebrews 2:1-4

Warning Against Drifting Away

2 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ²For if the message spoken through angels^[a] proved to be so firm that every violation^[b] or disobedience received its just penalty, ³how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, ⁴while God confirmed their witness^[c] with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed^[d] according to his will.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 110[a]

A psalm of David.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Warning Against Drifting Away

Footnotes

Psalm 110^[a]