◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 84 (How lovely is God’s dwelling place); 1 Kings 6:1-4 21-22 (Solomon builds the temple); 1 Corinthians 3:10-23 (You are God’s temple) (New English Translation)

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March 8, 2021

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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 84

Psalm 84^[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;^[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.

84 How lovely is the place where you live,^[c]
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies!^[d]
²I desperately want to be^[e]
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.^[f]
My heart and my entire being^[g] shout for joy
to the living God.
³Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow^[h] builds a nest,
where she can protect her young^[i]
near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
my King and my God.
⁴How blessed^[j] are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually. (Selah)
⁵How blessed are those who^[k] find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.^[l]
⁶As they pass through the Baca Valley,^[m]
he provides a spring for them.^[n]
The rain^[o] even covers it with pools of water.^[p]
⁷They are sustained as they travel along;^[q]
each one appears^[r] before God in Zion.
⁸O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,^[s]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
⁹O God, take notice of our shield.^[t]
Show concern for your chosen king.^[u]
¹⁰Certainly^[v] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.^[w]
I would rather stand at the entrance^[x] to the temple of my God
than live^[y] in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.^[z]
The Lord bestows favor^[aa] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.^[ab]
¹²O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,^[ac]
how blessed are those who trust in you.^[ad]

Footnotes

Psalm 84:1 sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.
Psalm 84:1 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.
Psalm 84:1 tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).
Psalm 84:1 tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).
Psalm 84:2 tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”
Psalm 84:2 tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).
Psalm 84:2 tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.
Psalm 84:3 tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.
Psalm 84:3 tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”sn The psalmist here romanticizes the temple as a place of refuge and safety. As he thinks of the birds nesting near its roof, he envisions them finding protection in God’s presence.
Psalm 84:4 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
Psalm 84:5 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here was certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to in v. 5a is representative of followers of God, as the use of plural forms in vv. 5b-7 indicates.
Psalm 84:5 tn Heb “roads [are] in their heart[s].” The roads are here those that lead to Zion (see v. 7).
Psalm 84:6 tn The translation assumes that the Hebrew phrase עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא (ʿemeq habbakhaʾ) is the name of an otherwise unknown arid valley through which pilgrims to Jerusalem passed. The term בָּכָא (bakhaʾ) may be the name of a particular type of plant or shrub that grew in this valley. O. Borowski (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 130) suggests it is the black mulberry. Some take the phrase as purely metaphorical and relate בָּכָא to the root בָּכָה (bakhah, “to weep”). In this case one might translate, “the valley of weeping” or “the valley of affliction.”
Psalm 84:6 tc The MT reads “a spring they make it,” but this makes little sense. Many medieval Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX, understand God to be the subject and the valley to be the object, “he [God] makes it [the valley] [into] a spring.”
Psalm 84:6 tn This rare word may refer to the early (or autumn) rains (see Joel 2:23).
Psalm 84:6 tc The MT reads בְּרָכוֹת (b^erakhot, “blessings”) but the preceding reference to a “spring” favors an emendation to בְּרֵכוֹת (b^erekhot, “pools”).sn Pools of water. Because water is so necessary for life, it makes an apt symbol for divine favor and blessing. As the pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem, God provided for their physical needs and gave them a token of his favor and of the blessings awaiting them at the temple.
Psalm 84:7 tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.
Psalm 84:7 tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one”) sense.
Psalm 84:8 tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (ts^evaʾot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9) but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ʾelohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת in Pss 59:5 and 80:4, 19 as well.
Psalm 84:9 tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “your anointed one” here and with “our king” in Ps 89:18.
Psalm 84:9 tn Heb “look [on] the face of your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (m^eshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17).
Psalm 84:10 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 84:10 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
Psalm 84:10 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
Psalm 84:10 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
Psalm 84:11 tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.
Psalm 84:11 tn Or “grace.”
Psalm 84:11 tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”
Psalm 84:12 tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”
Psalm 84:12 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

1 Kings 6:1-4

The Building of the Temple

6 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, during the month Ziv^[a] (the second month), he began building the Lord’s temple. ²The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet^[b] long, 30 feet^[c] wide, and 45 feet^[d] high. ³The porch in front of the main hall of the temple was 30 feet^[e] long, corresponding to the width of the temple. It was 15 feet^[f] wide, extending out from the front of the temple. ⁴He made framed windows for the temple.

1 Kings 6:21-22

²¹Solomon plated the inside of the temple with gold.^[a] He hung golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary and plated the inner sanctuary^[b] with gold. ²²He plated the entire inside of the temple with gold, as well as the altar inside the inner sanctuary.^[c]

1 Corinthians 3:10-23

¹⁰According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,^[a] ¹³each builder’s^[b] work will be plainly seen, for the Day^[c] will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire^[d] will test what kind of work each has done. ¹⁴If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss.^[e] He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

¹⁶Do you not know that you are God’s temple^[f] and that God’s Spirit lives in you? ¹⁷If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.

¹⁸Guard against self-deception, each of you.^[g] If someone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he can become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”^[h] ²⁰And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”^[i] ²¹So then, no more boasting about mere mortals!^[j] For everything belongs to you, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas^[k] or the world or life or death or the present or the future. Everything belongs to you, ²³and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 3:12 sn The various materials described here, both valuable (gold, silver, precious stones) and worthless (wood, hay, or straw) refer to the quality of work built on the foundation, or possibly to the motivation of those doing the building. The materials themselves have been understood (1) as deeds or (2) as people (since ultimately the passage is addressing those who minister to others).
1 Corinthians 3:13 tn Grk “each one’s.” Here “builder’s” is employed in the translation for clarity.
1 Corinthians 3:13 tn In an attempt to clarify the referent, some translations add “of Christ” after “Day” (so TEV); others specify this as “judgment day” (NLT) or “the day of judgment” (CEV).sn The Day refers to the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1:8; 5:5) when each Christian worker will appear before Christ for evaluation of his ministry. Paul’s constant motivation was to be pleasing to the Lord in that day (2 Cor 5:9-10) and receive his commendation (1 Cor 4:5).
1 Corinthians 3:13 tc ‡ αὐτό (auto) is found at this point in v. 13 in a number of significant witnesses, including A B C P 33 1739 al. But P⁴⁶ א D Ψ 0289 1881 M latt lack it. The pronoun could be a motivated reading, designed to intensify Paul’s statement. On the other hand, it could have been deleted because the article alone made the reference already clear. In this instance, the possibility of scribal addition seems more likely than scribal deletion, although a decision is difficult. NA²⁸ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.sn It is unclear whether the phrase it will be revealed by fire describes the Day (subject of the previous clause) or each one’s work (subject of the clause before that).
1 Corinthians 3:15 tn The translation “[will] be punished” is given here by BDAG 428 s.v. ζημιόω 2. But the next clause says “he will be delivered” and so “suffering loss” is more likely to refer to the destruction of the “work” by fire or the loss of the reward that could have been gained.
1 Corinthians 3:16 sn You are God’s temple refers here to the church, since the pronoun you is plural in the Greek text. (In 6:19 the same imagery is used in a different context to refer to the individual believer.)
1 Corinthians 3:18 tn Grk “let no one deceive himself.”
1 Corinthians 3:19 sn A quotation from Job 5:13.
1 Corinthians 3:20 sn A quotation from Ps 94:11.
1 Corinthians 3:21 tn Grk “so then, let no one boast in men.”
1 Corinthians 3:22 sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211). Both the Aramaic name “Cephas” and the Greek name “Peter” are related to words in each language which mean “rock.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 84[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.

Footnotes

The Building of the Temple

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 84^[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;^[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.