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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 100

Psalm 100^[a]

A thanksgiving psalm.

100 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!
²Worship^[b] the Lord with joy.
Enter his presence with joyful singing.
³Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
He made us and we belong to him,^[c]
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give him thanks.
Praise his name.
⁵For the Lord is good.
His loyal love endures,^[d]
and he is faithful through all generations.^[e]

Zechariah 9:14-10:2

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear above them, and his arrow will shoot forth like lightning; the Sovereign Lord will blow the trumpet and will proceed^[a] in the southern storm winds. ¹⁵The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will guard them, and they will prevail and overcome with sling stones. Then they will drink and will become noisy like drunkards,^[b] full like the sacrificial basin or like the corners of the altar.^[c] ¹⁶On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land. ¹⁷How precious and fair!^[d] Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.

The Restoration of the True People

10 Ask the Lord for rain in the season of the late spring rains^[e]—the Lord who causes thunderstorms—and he will give everyone showers of rain and green growth in the field. ²For the household gods^[f] have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and the dreamers have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd.^[g]

Footnotes

Zechariah 9:14 tn The verb הָלַך (halakh) means “to walk” or more generally “to go.” In this military setting it might be understood as marching (ESV, NASB, NIV), attacking (NLV), or sallying, which is making a sudden offensive thrust especially from a defensive position.sn This picture is part of a larger storm imagery associated with God. Elsewhere the Lord is said to “ride” (רָכַב, rakhav) on the heavens (Ps 68:33), on a cherub (Ps 18:11; parallel to “flying on the wings of the wind”), and on a cloud (Isa 19:1). The Lord also speaks to Job from the “whirlwind” (the same word for storm here).
Zechariah 9:15 tn Heb “they will drink and roar as with wine”; the LXX (followed here by NAB, NRSV) reads “they will drink blood like wine” (referring to a figurative “drinking” of the blood of their enemies).
Zechariah 9:15 sn The whole setting is eschatological as the intensely figurative language shows. The message is that the Lord will assume his triumphant reign over all the earth and will use his own redeemed and renewed people Israel to accomplish that work. The imagery of v. 15 is the eating and drinking of the flesh and blood of God’s enemies, that is, Israel’s complete mastery of them. Like those who drink too much wine, the Lord’s warriors will be satiated with the blood of their foes and will exult as though drunk.
Zechariah 9:17 sn This expostulation best fits the whole preceding description of God’s eschatological work on behalf of his people. His goodness is especially evident in his nurturing of the young men and women of his kingdom.
Zechariah 10:1 tn Heb “the latter rain.” This expression refers to the last concentration of heavy rainfall in the spring of the year in Palestine, about March or April. Metaphorically and eschatologically (as here) the “latter rain” speaks of God’s outpouring of blessing in the end times (cf. Hos 6:3; Joel 2:21-25).
Zechariah 10:2 tn The Hebrew word תְּרָפִים (t^erafim, “teraphim”) refers to small images used as means of divination and in other occult practices (cf. Gen 31:19, 34-35; 1 Sam 19:13, 16; Hos 3:4). A number of English versions transliterate the Hebrew term (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) or simply use the generic term “idols” (so KJV, NIV, TEV).
Zechariah 10:2 sn Shepherd is a common OT metaphor for the king (see esp. Jer 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 23:1-2; 50:6; Ezek 34).

Acts 20:17-38

¹⁷From Miletus^[a] he sent a message^[b] to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him.^[c]

¹⁸When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived^[d] the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot^[e] in the province of Asia,^[f] ¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility^[g] and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots^[h] of the Jews. ²⁰You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming^[i] to you anything that would be helpful,^[j] and from teaching you publicly^[k] and from house to house, ²¹testifying^[l] to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.^[m] ²²And now,^[n] compelled^[o] by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem^[p] without knowing what will happen to me there,^[q] ²³except^[r] that the Holy Spirit warns^[s] me in town after town^[t] that^[u] imprisonment^[v] and persecutions^[w] are waiting for me. ²⁴But I do not consider my life^[x] worth anything^[y] to myself, so that^[z] I may finish my task^[aa] and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news^[ab] of God’s grace.

²⁵“And now^[ac] I know that none^[ad] of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom^[ae] will see me^[af] again. ²⁶Therefore I declare^[ag] to you today that I am innocent^[ah] of the blood of you all.^[ai] ²⁷For I did not hold back from^[aj] announcing^[ak] to you the whole purpose^[al] of God. ²⁸Watch out for^[am] yourselves and for all the flock of which^[an] the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,^[ao] to shepherd the church of God^[ap] that he obtained^[aq] with the blood of his own Son.^[ar] ²⁹I know that after I am gone^[as] fierce wolves^[at] will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰Even from among your own group^[au] men^[av] will arise, teaching perversions of the truth^[aw] to draw the disciples away after them. ³¹Therefore be alert,^[ax] remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning^[ay] each one of you with tears. ³²And now I entrust^[az] you to God and to the message^[ba] of his grace. This message^[bb] is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³I have desired^[bc] no one’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴You yourselves know that these hands of mine^[bd] provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. ³⁵By all these things,^[be] I have shown you that by working in this way we must help^[bf] the weak,^[bg] and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”^[bh]

³⁶When^[bi] he had said these things, he knelt down^[bj] with them all and prayed. ³⁷They all began to weep loudly,^[bk] and hugged^[bl] Paul and kissed him,^[bm] ³⁸especially saddened^[bn] by what^[bo] he had said, that they were not going to see him^[bp] again. Then they accompanied^[bq] him to the ship.

Footnotes

Acts 20:17 sn Miletus was a seaport on the western coast of Asia Minor about 45 mi (72 km) south of Ephesus.
Acts 20:17 tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
Acts 20:17 tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text but are implied. L&N 33.311 has for the verb μετακαλέομαι (metakaleomai) “to summon someone, with considerable insistence and authority—‘to summon, to tell to come.’”
Acts 20:18 tn Grk “You yourselves know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” This could be understood to mean “how I stayed with you the whole time,” but the following verses make it clear that Paul’s lifestyle while with the Ephesians is in view here. Thus the translation “how I lived the whole time I was with you” makes this clear.
Acts 20:18 tn Or “I arrived.” BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω 2, “set foot in…εἰς τ. ᾿Ασίαν set foot in Asia Ac 20:18.” However, L&N 15.83 removes the idiom: “you know that since the first day that I came to Asia.”
Acts 20:18 tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 16.
Acts 20:19 sn On humility see 2 Cor 10:1; 11:7; 1 Thess 2:6; Col 3:12; Eph 4:2; Phil 2:3-11.
Acts 20:19 sn These plots are mentioned in Acts 9:24; 20:13.
Acts 20:20 tn Or “declaring.”
Acts 20:20 tn Or “profitable.” BDAG 960 s.v. συμφέρω 2.b.α has “τὰ συμφέροντα what advances your best interests or what is good for you Ac 20:20, ” but the broader meaning (s.v. 2, “to be advantageous, help, confer a benefit, be profitable/useful”) is equally possible in this context.
Acts 20:20 tn Or “openly.”
Acts 20:21 tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…of repentance to Judeans and Hellenes Ac 20:21.”
Acts 20:21 tc Several mss, including some of the more significant ones (P⁷⁴ א Α C [D] E 33 36 323 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 pm and a number of versions), read Χριστόν (Christon, “Christ”) at the end of this verse. This word is lacking in B H L P Ψ 614 pm. Although the inclusion is supported by many earlier and better mss, internal evidence is on the side of the omission: In Acts, both “Lord Jesus” and “Lord Jesus Christ” occur, though between 16:31 and the end of the book “Lord Jesus Christ” appears only in 28:31, perhaps as a kind of climactic assertion. Thus, the shorter reading is to be preferred.sn Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. Note the twofold description of the message. It is a turning to God involving faith in Jesus Christ.
Acts 20:22 tn Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
Acts 20:22 tn Grk “bound.”
Acts 20:22 sn This journey to Jerusalem suggests a parallel between Paul and Jesus, since the “Jerusalem journey” motif figures so prominently in Luke’s Gospel (9:51-19:44).
Acts 20:22 tn BDAG 965 s.v. συναντάω 2 has τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ συναντήσοντα ἐμοὶ μὴ εἰδώς without knowing what will happen to me there Ac 20:22.”
Acts 20:23 tn BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 1.d has “πλὴν ὅτι except that…Ac 20:23.”
Acts 20:23 tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).
Acts 20:23 tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).
Acts 20:23 tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
Acts 20:23 tn Grk “bonds.”
Acts 20:23 tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.
Acts 20:24 tn Grk “soul.”
Acts 20:24 tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”
Acts 20:24 tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”
Acts 20:24 tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation—‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.
Acts 20:24 tn Or “to the gospel.”
Acts 20:25 tn Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
Acts 20:25 tn Grk “all of you…will not see.” Greek handles its negation somewhat differently from English, and the translation follows English grammatical conventions.
Acts 20:25 sn Note how Paul’s usage of the expression proclaiming the kingdom is associated with (and intertwined with) his testifying to the good news of God’s grace in v. 24. For Paul the two concepts were interrelated.
Acts 20:25 tn Grk “will see my face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).
Acts 20:26 tn Or “testify.”
Acts 20:26 tn Grk “clean, pure,” thus “guiltless” (BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a).sn I am innocent. Paul had a clear conscience, since he had faithfully carried out his responsibility of announcing to (the Ephesians) the whole purpose of God.
Acts 20:26 tn That is, “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible” (an idiom). According to L&N 33.223, the meaning of the phrase “that I am innocent of the blood of all of you” is “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.” However, due to the length of this phrase and its familiarity to many modern English readers, the translation was kept closer to formal equivalence in this case. The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; Paul is addressing the Ephesian congregation (in the person of its elders) in both v. 25 and 27.
Acts 20:27 tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern—‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”
Acts 20:27 tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”
Acts 20:27 tn Or “plan.”
Acts 20:28 tn Or “Be on your guard for” (cf. v. 29). Paul completed his responsibility to the Ephesians with this warning.
Acts 20:28 tn Grk “in which.”
Acts 20:28 tn Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.
Acts 20:28 tc The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou theou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so P⁷⁴ A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] theou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou haimatos tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see tn below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.
Acts 20:28 tn Or “acquired.”
Acts 20:28 tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.sn That he obtained with the blood of his own Son. This is one of only two explicit statements in Luke-Acts highlighting the substitutionary nature of Christ’s death (the other is in Luke 22:19).
Acts 20:29 tn Grk “after my departure.”
Acts 20:29 tn That is, people like fierce wolves. See BDAG 167-68 s.v. βαρύς 4 on the term translated “fierce.”sn The battle to follow would be a savage one. The imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism (see Pss. Sol. 8:23, 30; also 1 Enoch 89:55). For more on the sheep imagery see H. Preisker and S. Schulz, TDNT 6:690. The imagery of a flock attacked by wolves suggests violence, and serves to prepare Paul’s hearers (the elders of the Ephesian church, v. 17) for the depredations of the false teachers who would arise.
Acts 20:30 tn Grk “from among yourselves.”
Acts 20:30 tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only rarely is used in a generic sense to refer to both males and females. Since Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders at this point and there is nothing in the context to suggest women were included in that group (“from among your own group”), it is most likely Paul was not predicting that these false teachers would include women.
Acts 20:30 tn Grk “speaking crooked things”; BDAG 237 s.v. διαστρέφω 2 has “λαλεῖν διεστραμμένα teach perversions (of the truth) Ac 20:30.”sn These perversions of the truth refer to the kinds of threats that would undermine repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. v. 21). Instead these false teachers would arise from within the Ephesian congregation (cf. 1 John 2:18-19) and would seek to draw the disciples away after them.
Acts 20:31 tn Or “be watchful.”
Acts 20:31 tn Or “admonishing.”
Acts 20:32 tn Or “commend.” BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “τινά τινι entrust someone to the care or protection of someone…Of divine protection παρέθεντο αὐτοὺς τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 14:23; cf. 20:32.”
Acts 20:32 tn Grk “word.”
Acts 20:32 tn Grk “the message of his grace, which.” The phrase τῷ δυναμένῳ οἰκοδομῆσαι… (tō dunamenō oikodomēsai…) refers to τῷ λόγω (tō logō), not τῆς χάριτος (tēs charitos); in English it could refer to either “the message” or “grace,” but in Greek, because of agreement in gender, the referent can only be “the message.” To make this clear, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the referent “the message” was repeated at the beginning of this new sentence.
Acts 20:33 tn Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.
Acts 20:34 tn The words “of mine” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify whose hands Paul is referring to.
Acts 20:35 sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”
Acts 20:35 tn Or “must assist.”
Acts 20:35 tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.
Acts 20:35 sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.
Acts 20:36 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
Acts 20:36 tn Grk “kneeling down…he prayed.” The participle θείς (theis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 20:37 tn Grk “weeping a great deal,” thus “loudly” (BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός and BDAG 546 s.v. κλαυθμός).
Acts 20:37 tn Grk “fell on Paul’s neck” (an idiom, see BDAG 1014 s.v. τράχηλος).
Acts 20:37 sn The Ephesians elders kissed Paul as a sign of both affection and farewell. The entire scene shows how much interrelationship Paul had in his ministry and how much he and the Ephesians meant to each other.
Acts 20:38 tn Or “pained.”
Acts 20:38 tn Grk “by the word that he had said.”
Acts 20:38 tn Grk “to see his face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).
Acts 20:38 tn BDAG 873 s.v. προπέμπω 1 has “they accompanied him to the ship Ac 20:38.”

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 100[a]

A thanksgiving psalm.

Footnotes

The Restoration of the True People

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 100^[a]