◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 76 (God is victorious); Ezekiel 30:20-26 (I am the Lord); John 16:25-33 (I have conquered the world) (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 76

Psalm 76^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.

76 God has revealed himself in Judah;^[b]
in Israel his reputation^[c] is great.
²He lives in Salem;^[d]
he dwells in Zion.^[e]
³There he shattered the arrows,^[f]
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war.^[g] (Selah)
⁴You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,
as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey.^[h]
⁵The bravehearted^[i] were plundered;^[j]
they “fell asleep.”^[k]
All the warriors were helpless.^[l]
⁶At the sound of your battle cry,^[m] O God of Jacob,
both rider^[n] and horse “fell asleep.”^[o]
⁷You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger?^[p]
⁸From heaven you announced what their punishment would be.^[q]
The earth^[r] was afraid and silent
⁹when God arose to execute judgment,
and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
¹⁰Certainly^[s] your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise;^[t]
you reveal your anger in full measure.^[u]
¹¹Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them.
Let all those who surround him^[v] bring tribute to the awesome one.
¹²He humbles princes;^[w]
the kings of the earth regard him as awesome.^[x]

Footnotes

Psalm 76:1 sn Psalm 76. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior who destroys Israel’s enemies.
Psalm 76:1 tn Or “God is known in Judah.”
Psalm 76:1 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
Psalm 76:2 sn Salem is a shorter name for Jerusalem (see Gen 14:18).
Psalm 76:2 tn Heb “and his place of refuge is in Salem, and his lair in Zion.” God may be likened here to a lion (see v. 4).
Psalm 76:3 tn Heb “flames of the bow,” i.e., arrows.
Psalm 76:3 tn Heb “shield and sword and battle.” “Battle” probably here stands by metonymy for the weapons of war in general.sn This verse may allude to the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians in 701 b.c. (see Isa 36-37).
Psalm 76:4 tn Heb “radiant [are] you, majestic from the hills of prey.” God is depicted as a victorious king and as a lion that has killed its victims.
Psalm 76:5 tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).
Psalm 76:5 tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).
Psalm 76:5 tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”
Psalm 76:5 tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”
Psalm 76:6 tn Heb “from your shout.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb גָּעַר (gaʿar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 18:15; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
Psalm 76:6 tn Or “chariot,” but even so the term is metonymic for the charioteer.
Psalm 76:6 tn Heb “he fell asleep, and [the] chariot and [the] horse.” Once again (see v. 5) “sleep” refers here to the “sleep” of death.
Psalm 76:7 tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (meʾaz, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (meʾoz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).
Psalm 76:8 tn Heb “a [legal] decision,” or “sentence.”
Psalm 76:8 tn “The earth” stands here by metonymy for its inhabitants.
Psalm 76:10 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 76:10 tn Heb “the anger of men will praise you.” This could mean that men’s anger (subjective genitive), when punished by God, will bring him praise, but this interpretation does not harmonize well with the next line. The translation assumes that God’s anger is in view here (see v. 7) and that “men” is an objective genitive. God’s angry judgment against men brings him praise because it reveals his power and majesty (see vv. 1-4).
Psalm 76:10 tn Heb “the rest of anger you put on.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear. Perhaps the idea is that God, as he prepares for battle, girds himself with every last ounce of his anger, as if it were a weapon.
Psalm 76:11 tn The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.
Psalm 76:12 tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.
Psalm 76:12 tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”

Ezekiel 30:20-26

²⁰In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month,^[a] the Lord’s message came to me: ²¹“Son of man, I have broken the arm^[b] of Pharaoh king of Egypt.^[c] Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword. ²²Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look,^[d] I am against^[e] Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand. ²³I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. ²⁴I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.^[f] ²⁵I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt. ²⁶I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

John 16:25-33

²⁵“I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech;^[a] a time^[b] is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you^[c] plainly^[d] about the Father. ²⁶At that time^[e] you will ask in my name, and I do not say^[f] that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.^[g] ²⁸I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn,^[h] I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”^[i]

²⁹His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly^[j] and not in obscure figures of speech!^[k] ³⁰Now we know that you know everything^[l] and do not need anyone^[m] to ask you anything.^[n] Because of this^[o] we believe that you have come from God.”

³¹Jesus replied,^[p] “Do you now believe? ³²Look, a time^[q] is coming—and has come—when you will be scattered, each one to his own home,^[r] and I will be left alone.^[s] Yet^[t] I am not alone, because my Father^[u] is with me. ³³I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering,^[v] but take courage^[w]—I have conquered the world.”^[x]

Footnotes

John 16:25 tn Or “in parables”; or “in metaphors.” There is some difficulty in defining παροιμίαις (paroimiais) precisely: A translation like “parables” does not convey accurately the meaning. BDAG 779-80 s.v. παροιμία suggests in general “proverb, saw, maxim,” but for Johannine usage “veiled saying, figure of speech, in which esp. lofty ideas are concealed.” In the preceding context of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus has certainly used obscure language and imagery at times: John 13:8-11; 13:16; 15:1-17; and 16:21 could all be given as examples. In the LXX this word is used to translate the Hebrew mashal which covers a wide range of figurative speech, often containing obscure or enigmatic elements.
John 16:25 tn Grk “an hour.”
John 16:25 tn Or “inform you.”
John 16:25 tn Or “openly.”
John 16:26 tn Grk “In that day.”
John 16:26 tn Grk “I do not say to you.”
John 16:27 tc A number of early mss (א¹ B C* D L co) read πατρός (patros, “Father”) here instead of θεοῦ (theou, “God”; found in P⁵ א*^,2 A C³ W Θ Ψ 33 ƒ^1,13 M). Although externally πατρός has relatively strong support, it is evidently an assimilation to “I came from the Father” at the beginning of v. 28, or more generally to the consistent mention of God as Father throughout this chapter (πατήρ [patēr, “Father”] occurs eleven times in this chapter, while θεός [theos, “God”] occurs only two other times [16:2, 30]).
John 16:28 tn Or “into the world; again.” Here πάλιν (palin) functions as a marker of contrast, with the implication of a sequence.
John 16:28 sn The statement I am leaving the world and going to the Father is a summary of the entire Gospel of John. It summarizes the earthly career of the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, on his mission from the Father to be the Savior of the world, beginning with his entry into the world as he came forth from God and concluding with his departure from the world as he returned to the Father.
John 16:29 tn Or “openly.”
John 16:29 tn Or “not in parables.” or “not in metaphors.”sn How is the disciples’ reply to Jesus now you are speaking plainly and not in obscure figures of speech to be understood? Their claim to understand seems a bit impulsive. It is difficult to believe that the disciples have really understood the full implications of Jesus’ words, although it is true that he spoke to them plainly and not figuratively in 16:26-28. The disciples will not fully understand all that Jesus has said to them until after his resurrection, when the Holy Spirit will give them insight and understanding (16:13).
John 16:30 tn Grk “all things.”
John 16:30 tn Grk “and have no need of anyone.”
John 16:30 tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
John 16:30 tn Or “By this.”
John 16:31 tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”
John 16:32 tn Grk “an hour.”
John 16:32 tn Grk “each one to his own”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The phrase “each one to his own” may be completed in a number of different ways: “each one to his own property”; “each one to his own family”; or “each one to his own home.” The last option seems to fit most easily into the context and so is used in the translation.
John 16:32 sn The proof of Jesus’ negative evaluation of the disciples’ faith is now given: Jesus foretells their abandonment of him at his arrest, trials, and crucifixion (I will be left alone). This parallels the synoptic accounts in Matt 26:31 and Mark 14:27 when Jesus, after the last supper and on the way to Gethsemane, foretold the desertion of the disciples as a fulfillment of Zech 13:7: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Yet although the disciples would abandon Jesus, he reaffirmed that he was not alone, because the Father was still with him.
John 16:32 tn Grk “And” (but with some contrastive force).
John 16:32 tn Grk “the Father.”
John 16:33 tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (thlipsis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.
John 16:33 tn Or “but be courageous.”
John 16:33 tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”sn The Farewell Discourse proper closes on the triumphant note I have conquered the world, which recalls 1:5 (in the prologue): “the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.” Jesus’ words which follow in chap. 17 are addressed not to the disciples but to his Father, as he prays for the consecration of the disciples.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 76[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 76^[a]