◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Joshua 24:1-2a 14-18 (Serve the Lord); Psalm 34:15-22 (God’s eyes are upon the righteous); Ephesians 6:10-20 (Put on the armor of God); John 6:56-69 (The bread of eternal life) (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

Joshua 24:1-2

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

24 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God. ²Joshua told all the people, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘In the distant past your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River,^[a] including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped^[b] other gods,

Joshua 24:14-18

¹⁴“Now^[a] obey^[b] the Lord and worship^[c] him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors^[d] worshiped^[e] beyond the Euphrates^[f] and in Egypt, and worship^[g] the Lord. ¹⁵If you have no desire^[h] to worship^[i] the Lord, then choose today whom you will worship,^[j] whether it be the gods whom your ancestors^[k] worshiped^[l] beyond the Euphrates,^[m] or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family^[n] will worship^[o] the Lord.”

¹⁶The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can^[p] worship^[q] other gods! ¹⁷For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery^[r] in the land of Egypt^[s] and performed these awesome miracles^[t] before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations.^[u] ¹⁸The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship^[v] the Lord, for he is our God!”

Psalm 34:15-22

¹⁵The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.^[a]
¹⁶But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.^[b]
¹⁷The godly^[c] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.^[d]
¹⁸The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers^[e] those who are discouraged.^[f]
¹⁹The godly^[g] face many dangers,^[h]
but the Lord saves^[i] them^[j] from each one of them.
²⁰He protects^[k] all his bones;^[l]
not one of them is broken.^[m]
²¹Evil people self-destruct;^[n]
those who hate the godly are punished.^[o]
²²The Lord rescues his servants;^[p]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.^[q]

Footnotes

Psalm 34:15 tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”
Psalm 34:16 tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”
Psalm 34:17 tn Heb “they” (i.e., the godly mentioned in v. 15).
Psalm 34:17 tn The three perfect verbal forms are taken in a generalizing sense in v. 17 and translated with the present tense (note the generalizing mood of vv. 18-22).
Psalm 34:18 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.
Psalm 34:18 tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:19 tn The Hebrew text uses the singular form; the representative or typical godly person is envisioned.
Psalm 34:19 tn Or “trials.”
Psalm 34:19 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the godly.
Psalm 34:19 tn Heb “him,” agreeing with the singular form in the preceding line.
Psalm 34:20 tn The Hebrew participial form suggests such protection is characteristic.
Psalm 34:20 tn That is, he protects the godly from physical harm.
Psalm 34:20 sn Not one of them is broken. The author of the Gospel of John saw a fulfillment of these words in Jesus’ experience on the cross (see John 19:31-37), for the Roman soldiers, when they saw that Jesus was already dead, did not break his legs as was customarily done to speed the death of crucified individuals. John’s use of the psalm seems strange, for the statement in its original context suggests that the Lord protects the godly from physical harm. Jesus’ legs may have remained unbroken, but he was brutally and unjustly executed by his enemies. John seems to give the statement a literal sense that is foreign to its original literary context by applying a promise of divine protection to a man who was seemingly not saved by God. However, John saw in this incident a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate deliverance and vindication. His unbroken bones were a reminder of God’s commitment to the godly and a sign of things to come. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end of the story; God vindicated him, as John goes on to explain in the following context (John 19:38-20:18).
Psalm 34:21 tn Heb “evil kills the wicked [one].” The singular form is representative; the typical evil person is envisioned. The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action.
Psalm 34:21 tn Heb “are guilty,” but the verb is sometimes used metonymically with the meaning “to suffer the consequences of guilt,” the effect being substituted for the cause.
Psalm 34:22 tn Heb “redeems the life of his servants.” The Hebrew participial form suggests such deliverance is characteristic.
Psalm 34:22 tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:19).

Ephesians 6:10-20

Exhortations for Spiritual Warfare

¹⁰Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes^[a] of the devil. ¹²For our struggle^[b] is not against flesh and blood,^[c] but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness,^[d] against the spiritual forces^[e] of evil in the heavens.^[f] ¹³For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground^[g] on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm therefore, by fastening^[h] the belt of truth around your waist,^[i] by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵by fitting your^[j] feet with the preparation that comes from the good news^[k] of peace,^[l] ¹⁶and in all of this,^[m] by taking up the shield^[n] of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation^[o] and the sword^[p] of the Spirit (which is the word of God). ¹⁸With every prayer and petition, pray^[q] at all times in the Spirit, and to this end^[r] be alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray^[s] for me also, that I may be given the right words when I begin to speak^[t]—that I may confidently make known^[u] the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Footnotes

Ephesians 6:11 tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.
Ephesians 6:12 tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”
Ephesians 6:12 tn Grk “blood and flesh.”
Ephesians 6:12 tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss. sn The phrase world-rulers of this darkness does not refer to human rulers but the evil spirits that rule over the world. The phrase thus stands in apposition to what follows (the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens); see note on heavens at the end of this verse.
Ephesians 6:12 tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.
Ephesians 6:12 sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.
Ephesians 6:13 tn The term ἀνθίστημι (anthistēmi) carries the idea of resisting or opposing something or someone (BDAG 80 s.v.). In Eph 6:13, when used in combination with στῆναι (stēnai; cf. also στῆτε [stēte] in v. 14) and in a context of battle imagery, it seems to have the idea of resisting, standing firm, and being able to stand your ground.
Ephesians 6:14 sn The four participles fastening…putting on…fitting…taking up… indicate the means by which believers can take their stand against the devil and his schemes. The imperative take in v. 17 communicates another means by which to accomplish the standing, i.e., by the word of God.
Ephesians 6:14 tn Grk “girding your waist with truth.” In this entire section the author is painting a metaphor for his readers based on the attire of a Roman soldier prepared for battle and its similarity to the Christian prepared to do battle against spiritually evil forces. Behind the expression “with truth” is probably the genitive idea “belt of truth.” Since this is an appositional genitive (i.e., belt which is truth), the author simply left unsaid the idea of the belt and mentioned only his real focus, namely, the truth. (The analogy would have been completely understandable to his 1st century readers.) The idea of the belt is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense in English.
Ephesians 6:15 tn The definite article τοῖς (tois) was taken as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “your,” since it refers to a part of the physical body.
Ephesians 6:15 tn Grk “gospel.” However, this is not a technical term here.
Ephesians 6:15 tn Grk “in preparation of the gospel of peace.” The genitive τοῦ εὐαγγελίου (tou euangeliou) was taken as a genitive of source, i.e., “that comes from….”
Ephesians 6:16 tn Grk “in everything.”
Ephesians 6:16 sn The Greek word translated shield (θυρεός, thureos) refers to the Roman soldier’s large rectangular wooden shield, called in Latin scutum, about 4 ft (1.2 m) high, covered with leather on the outside. Before a battle in which flaming arrows might be shot at them, the soldiers wet the leather covering with water to extinguish the arrows. The Roman legionaries could close ranks with these shields, the first row holding theirs edge to edge in front, and the rows behind holding the shields above their heads. In this formation they were practically invulnerable to arrows, rocks, and even spears.
Ephesians 6:17 sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.
Ephesians 6:17 sn The Greek term translated sword (μάχαιρα, machaira) refers to the Roman gladius, a short sword about 2 ft (60 cm) long, used for close hand-to-hand combat. This is the only clearly offensive weapon in the list of armor mentioned by the author (he does not, for example, mention the lance [Latin pilum]).
Ephesians 6:18 tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.
Ephesians 6:18 tn Grk “and toward it.”
Ephesians 6:19 tn To avoid a lengthy, convoluted sentence in English, the Greek sentence was broken up at this point and the verb “pray” was inserted in the English translation to pick up the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuxomenoi, “praying”) in v. 18.
Ephesians 6:19 tn Grk “that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.” Here “word” (λόγος, logos) is used in the sense of “message,” but more specifically in this context, “the right words.”
Ephesians 6:19 tn The infinitive γνωρίσαι (gnōrisai, “to make known”) is functioning epexegetically to further explain what the author means by the preceding phrase “that I may be given the right words when I begin to speak.”

John 6:56-69

⁵⁶The one who eats^[a] my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him.^[b] ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes^[c] me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This^[d] is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors^[e] ate, but then later died.^[f] The one who eats^[g] this bread will live forever.”

Many Followers Depart

⁵⁹Jesus^[h] said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue^[i] in Capernaum.^[j] ⁶⁰Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things,^[k] said, “This is a difficult^[l] saying!^[m] Who can understand it?”^[n] ⁶¹When Jesus was aware^[o] that his disciples were complaining^[p] about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended?^[q] ⁶²Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?^[r] ⁶³The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help!^[s] The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.^[t] ⁶⁴But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)^[u] ⁶⁵So Jesus added,^[v] “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.”^[w]

Peter’s Confession

⁶⁶After this many of his disciples quit following him^[x] and did not accompany him^[y] any longer. ⁶⁷So Jesus said to the twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”^[z] ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We^[aa] have come to believe and to know^[ab] that you are the Holy One of God!”^[ac]

Footnotes

John 6:56 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esthiō, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trōgō, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
John 6:56 sn Resides in me, and I in him. Note how in John 6:54 eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood produces eternal life and the promise of resurrection at the last day. Here the same process of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood leads to a relationship of mutual indwelling (resides in me, and I in him). This suggests strongly that for the author (and for Jesus) the concepts of ‘possessing eternal life’ and of ‘residing in Jesus’ are virtually interchangeable.
John 6:57 tn Or “who chews”; Grk “who eats.” Here the translation “consumes” is more appropriate than simply “eats,” because it is the internalization of Jesus by the individual that is in view. On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esthiō, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trōgō, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
John 6:58 tn Or “This one.”
John 6:58 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
John 6:58 tn Grk “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not just like your ancestors ate and died.” The cryptic Greek expression has been filled out in the translation for clarity.
John 6:58 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esthiō, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trōgō, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
John 6:59 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.
John 6:59 sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).
John 6:59 sn See the note on Capernaum at John 6:17.
John 6:60 tn The words “these things” are not present in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the English reader.
John 6:60 tn Or “hard,” “demanding.”
John 6:60 tn Or “teaching”; Grk “word.”
John 6:60 tn Or “obey it”; Grk “hear it.” The Greek word ἀκούω (akouō) could imply hearing with obedience here, in the sense of “obey.” It could also point to the acceptance of what Jesus had just said, (i.e., “who can accept what he said?” However, since the context contains several replies by those in the crowd of hearers that suggest uncertainty or confusion over the meaning of what Jesus had said (6:42; 6:52), the meaning “understand” is preferred here.
John 6:61 tn Grk “When Jesus knew within himself.”
John 6:61 tn Or “were grumbling.”
John 6:61 tn Or “Does this cause you to no longer believe?” (Grk “cause you to stumble?”)sn Does this cause you to be offended? It became apparent to some of Jesus’ followers at this point that there would be a cost involved in following him. They had taken offense at some of Jesus’ teaching (perhaps the graphic imagery of “eating his flesh” and “drinking his blood”), and Jesus now warned them that if they thought this was a problem, there was an even worse cause for stumbling in store: his upcoming crucifixion (John 6:61b-62). Jesus asked, in effect, “Has what I just taught caused you to stumble? What will you do, then, if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?” This ascent is to be accomplished through the cross; for John, Jesus’ departure from this world and his return to the Father form one continual movement from cross to resurrection to ascension.
John 6:62 tn Or “he was formerly?”
John 6:63 tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”
John 6:63 tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”
John 6:64 sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.
John 6:65 tn Grk “And he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 6:65 tn Grk “unless it has been permitted to him by the Father.”
John 6:66 tn Grk “many of his disciples went back to what lay behind.”
John 6:66 tn Grk “were not walking with him.”
John 6:67 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mē) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “do you?”).
John 6:69 tn Grk “And we.”
John 6:69 sn See 1 John 4:16.
John 6:69 tc The witnesses display a bewildering array of variants here. Instead of “the Holy One of God” (ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ, ho hagios tou theou), Tertullian has ὁ Χριστός (ho Christos, “the Christ”); C³ Θ* ƒ¹ 33 565 lat read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (ho Christos ho huios tou theou, “the Christ, the Son of God”); two versional witnesses (b sy^c) have ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Son of God”); the Byzantine text as well as many others (Ψ 0250 ƒ¹³ 33 M) read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος (ho Christos ho huios tou theou tou zōntos, “the Christ, the Son of the living God”); and P⁶⁶ as well as a few versions have ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Christ, the Holy One of God”). The reading ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ is, however, well supported by P⁷⁵ א B C* D L W as well as versional witnesses. It appears that Peter’s confession in the Synoptic Gospels (especially Matt 16:16) supplied the motivation for the variations. Although the witnesses in Matt 16:16; Mark 8:29; and Luke 9:20 vary considerably, the readings are all intra-synoptic, that is, they do not pull in “the Holy One of God” but reflect various permutations of “Christ”/“Christ of God”/“Christ, the Son of God”/“Christ, the Son of the living God.” The wording “the Holy One of God” (without “Christ”) in significant witnesses here is thus unique among Peter’s confessions, and best explains the rise of the other readings.sn You have the words of eternal life…you are the Holy One of God! In contrast to the response of some of his disciples, here is the response of the twelve, whom Jesus then questioned concerning their loyalty to him. This was the big test, and the twelve, with Peter as spokesman, passed with flying colors. The confession here differs considerably from the synoptic accounts (Matt 16:16, Mark 8:29, and Luke 9:20) and concerns directly the disciples’ personal loyalty to Jesus, in contrast to those other disciples who had deserted him (John 6:66).

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Exhortations for Spiritual Warfare

Footnotes

Many Followers Depart

Peter’s Confession

Footnotes