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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 16

Psalm 16^[a]

A prayer^[b] of David.

16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.^[c]
²I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”^[d]
³As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much^[e]—
⁴their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.^[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,^[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.^[h]
⁵Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;^[i]
you make my future secure.^[j]
⁶It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.^[k]
⁷I will praise^[l] the Lord who^[m] guides^[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.^[o]
⁸I constantly trust in the Lord;^[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
⁹So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;^[q]
my life is safe.^[r]
¹⁰You will not abandon me^[s] to Sheol;^[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower^[u] to see^[v] the Pit.^[w]
¹¹You lead me in^[x] the path of life.^[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;^[z]
you always give me sheer delight.^[aa]

Footnotes

Psalm 16:1 sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.
Psalm 16:1 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
Psalm 16:1 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).sn Taken shelter. “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 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
Psalm 16:2 tn Heb “my good [is] not beyond you.” For the use of the preposition עַל (ʿal) in the sense of “beyond,” see BDB 755 s.v. 2.
Psalm 16:3 tn Heb “regarding the holy ones who [are] in the land, they; and the mighty [ones] in [whom is/was] all my desire.” The difficult syntax makes the meaning of the verse uncertain. The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s angelic assembly (see Ps 89:5, 7), but the qualifying clause “who are in the land” suggests that here it refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3).
Psalm 16:4 tn Heb “their troubles multiply, another, they pay a dowry.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The Hebrew term עַצְּבוֹתָם (ʿats^evotam, “troubles”) appears to be a plural form of עַצֶּבֶת (ʿatsevet, “pain, wound”; see Job 9:28; Ps 147:3). Because idolatry appears to be in view (see v. 4b), some prefer to emend the noun to עַצְּבִים (ʿats^evim, “idols”). “Troubles” may be a wordplay on “idols” or a later alteration designed to emphasize that idolatry leads to trouble. The singular form אחר (“another”) is syntactically problematic here. Perhaps the form should be emended to a plural אֲחֵרִים (ʾakherim, “others”). (The final mem [ם] could have been lost by haplography; note the mem [מ] at the beginning of the next word.) In this case it might be taken as an abbreviated form of the well-attested phrase אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים (ʾelohim ʾakherim, “other gods”). (In Isa 42:8 the singular form אַחַר (ʾakher, “another”) is used of another god.) The verb מָהַר (mahar) appears in the Qal stem; the only other use of a Qal verbal form of a root מָהַר is in Exod 22:15, where the denominative verb מָהֹר (mahor, “purchase [a wife]”) appears; cf. the related noun מֹהַר (mohar, “bride money, purchase price for a wife”). If that verb is understood here, then the idolaters are pictured as eager bridegrooms paying the price to acquire the object of their desire. Another option is to emend the verb to a Piel and translate, “hurry (after).”
Psalm 16:4 tn Heb “I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood.” The third masculine plural suffix would appear to refer back to the people/leaders mentioned in v. 3. However, if we emend אֲחֵר (ʾakher, “another”) to the plural אֲחֵרִים (ʾakherim, “other [gods]”) in v. 4, the suffix can be understood as referring to these gods—“the drink offerings [made to] them.” The next line favors this interpretation. Perhaps this refers to some type of pagan cultic ritual. Elsewhere wine is the prescribed content of drink offerings.
Psalm 16:4 tn Heb “and I will not lift up their names upon my lips.” The expression “lift up the name” probably refers here to swearing an oath in the name of deity (see Exod 20:7; Deut 5:11). If so, the third masculine plural suffix on “names” likely refers to the pagan gods, not the people/leaders. See the preceding note.
Psalm 16:5 tn Heb “O Lord, the portion of my possession and my cup”; or “the Lord [is] the portion of my possession and my cup.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel, and to a cup of wine, which may symbolize a reward (in Ps 11:6 it symbolizes the judgment one deserves) or divine blessing (see Ps 23:5). The metaphor highlights the fact that God is the psalmist’s source of security and prosperity.
Psalm 16:5 tc Heb “you take hold of my lot.” The form תּוֹמִיךְ (tomikh) should be emended to a participle, תוֹמֵךְ (tomekh). The psalmist pictures the Lord as casting his lot (a method used to allot landed property) for him, thus assuring that he will receive a fertile piece of land (see v. 6). As in the previous line, land represents security and economic stability, thus “you make my future secure.”
Psalm 16:6 tn Heb “measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant [places]; yes, property [or “an inheritance”] is beautiful for me.” On the dative use of עַל (ʿal), see BDB 758 s.v. II.8. Extending the metaphor used in v. 5, the psalmist compares the divine blessings he has received to a rich, beautiful tract of land that one might receive by allotment or inheritance.
Psalm 16:7 tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”
Psalm 16:7 tn Or “because.”
Psalm 16:7 tn Or “counsels, advises.”
Psalm 16:7 tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.
Psalm 16:8 tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).
Psalm 16:9 tn Heb “my glory is happy.” Some view the Hebrew term כְּבוֹדִי (k^evodi, “my glory”) as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (k^evedi, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 30:12; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”
Psalm 16:9 tn Heb “yes, my flesh dwells securely.” The psalmist’s “flesh” stands by metonymy for his body and, by extension, his physical life.
Psalm 16:10 tn Or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
Psalm 16:10 sn In ancient Israelite cosmology Sheol is the realm of the dead, viewed as being under the earth’s surface. See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 165-76.
Psalm 16:10 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד [khasid], traditionally rendered “holy one”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10). The psalmist here refers to himself, as the parallel line (“You will not abandon me to Sheol”) indicates.
Psalm 16:10 tn That is, “experience.” The psalmist is confident that the Lord will protect him in his present crisis (see v. 1) and prevent him from dying.sn According to Peter, the words of Ps 16:8-11 are applicable to Jesus (Acts 2:25-29). Peter goes on to argue that David, being a prophet, foresaw future events and spoke of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:30-33). Paul seems to concur with Peter in this understanding (see Acts 13:35-37). For a discussion of the NT application of these verses to Jesus’ resurrection, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “A Theology of the Psalms,” A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, 292-95.
Psalm 16:10 tn The Hebrew word שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 30:9; 49:9; 55:24 HT [55:23 ET]; 103:4). Note the parallelism with the previous line.
Psalm 16:11 tn Heb “cause me to know”; or “cause me to experience.”
Psalm 16:11 tn This is a metaphorical way of saying, “you preserve my life.” The phrase “path of life” stands in contrast to death/Sheol in Prov 2:18-19; 5:5-6; 15:24.
Psalm 16:11 tn Heb “abundance of joy [is] with your face.” The plural form of the noun שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “joy”) occurs only here and in Ps 45:15. It may emphasize the degree of joy experienced.
Psalm 16:11 tn Heb “delight [is] in your right hand forever.” The plural form of the adjective נָעִים (naʿim, “pleasant, delightful”) may here emphasize the degree of delight experienced (see Job 36:11).

Deuteronomy 32:15-27

Israel’s Rebellion

¹⁵But Jeshurun^[a] became fat and kicked;
you^[b] got fat, thick, and stuffed!
Then he deserted the God who made him,
and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.
¹⁶They made him jealous with other gods,^[c]
they enraged him with abhorrent idols.^[d]
¹⁷They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known;
to new gods who had recently come along,
gods your ancestors^[e] had not known about.
¹⁸You forgot^[f] the Rock who fathered you,
and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.

A Word of Judgment

¹⁹But the Lord took note and despised them
because his sons and daughters enraged him.
²⁰He said, “I will reject them.^[g]
I will see what will happen to them;
for they are a perverse generation,
children^[h] who show no loyalty.
²¹They have made me jealous^[i] with false gods,^[j]
enraging me with their worthless gods;^[k]
so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize,^[l]
with a nation slow to learn^[m] I will enrage them.
²²For a fire has been kindled by my anger,
and it burns to lowest Sheol;^[n]
it consumes the earth and its produce,
and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
²³I will increase their^[o] disasters;
I will use up my arrows on them.
²⁴They will be starved by famine,
eaten by plague, and bitterly stung;^[p]
I will send the teeth of wild animals against them,
along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.
²⁵The sword will make people childless outside,
and terror will do so inside;
they will destroy^[q] both the young man and the virgin,
the infant and the gray-haired man.

The Weakness of Other Gods

²⁶“I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces.^[r]
I want to make people forget they ever existed.
²⁷But I fear the reaction^[s] of their enemies,
for^[t] their adversaries would misunderstand
and say, “Our power is great,^[u]
and the Lord has not done all this!”’

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 32:15 tn To make the continuity of the referent clear, some English versions substitute “Jacob” here (NAB, NRSV) while others replace “Jeshurun” with “Israel” (NCV, CEV, NLT) or “the Lord’s people” (TEV).sn Jeshurun is a term of affection derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, “be upright”). Here it speaks of Israel “in an ideal situation, with its ‘uprightness’ due more to God’s help than his own efforts” (M. Mulder, TDOT 6:475).
Deuteronomy 32:15 tc The LXX reads the third person masculine singular (“he”) for the MT second person masculine singular (“you”), but such alterations are unnecessary in Hebrew poetic texts where subjects fluctuate frequently and without warning.
Deuteronomy 32:16 tc Heb “with strange (things).” The Vulgate actually supplies diis (“gods”).
Deuteronomy 32:16 tn Heb “abhorrent (things)” (cf. NRSV). A number of English versions understand this as referring to “idols” (NAB, NIV, NCV, CEV), while NLT supplies “acts.”
Deuteronomy 32:17 tn Heb “your fathers.”
Deuteronomy 32:18 tc The Hebrew text is uncertain here; the translation follows the suggestion offered in HALOT 1477 s.v. שׁיה. Cf. NASB, NLT “You neglected”; NIV “You deserted”; NRSV “You were unmindful of.”
Deuteronomy 32:20 tn Heb “I will hide my face from them.”
Deuteronomy 32:20 tn Heb “sons” (so NAB, NASB); TEV “unfaithful people.”
Deuteronomy 32:21 sn They have made me jealous. The “jealousy” of God is not a spirit of pettiness prompted by his insecurity, but righteous indignation caused by the disloyalty of his people to his covenant grace (see note on the word “God” in Deut 4:24). The jealousy of Israel, however (see next line), will be envy because of God’s lavish attention to another nation. This is an ironic wordplay. See H. Peels, NIDOTTE 3:938-39.
Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “what is not a god,” or a “nondeity.”
Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “their empty (things).” The Hebrew term used here to refer pejoratively to the false gods is הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile” or “futility”), used frequently in Ecclesiastes (e.g., Eccl 1:1, “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”).
Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “what is not a people,” or a “nonpeople.” The “nonpeople” (לֹא־עָם, loʾ ʿam) referred to here are Gentiles who someday would become God’s people in the fullest sense (cf. Hos 1:9; 2:23).
Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “a foolish nation” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NIV “a nation that has no understanding”; NLT “I will provoke their fury by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”
Deuteronomy 32:22 tn Or “to the lowest depths of the earth”; cf. NAB “to the depths of the nether world”; NIV “to the realm of death below”; NLT “to the depths of the grave.”sn Sheol refers here not to hell and hell-fire—a much later concept—but to the innermost parts of the earth, as low down as one could get. The parallel with “the foundations of the mountains” makes this clear (cf. Pss 9:17; 16:10; 139:8; Isa 14:9, 15; Amos 9:2).
Deuteronomy 32:23 tn Heb “upon them.”
Deuteronomy 32:24 tn The Hebrew term קֶטֶב (qetev) is probably metaphorical here for the sting of a disease (HALOT 1091-92 s.v.).
Deuteronomy 32:25 tn A verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text; for purposes of English style one suitable to the context is supplied.
Deuteronomy 32:26 tc The LXX reads “I said I would scatter them.” This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT, CEV).
Deuteronomy 32:27 tn Heb “anger.”
Deuteronomy 32:27 tn Heb “lest.”
Deuteronomy 32:27 tn Heb “Our hand is high.” Cf. NAB “Our own hand won the victory.”

Deuteronomy 32:39-43

The Vindication of the Lord

³⁹“See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord,^[a]
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist^[b] my power.
⁴⁰For I raise up my hand to heaven,
and say, ‘As surely as I live forever,
⁴¹I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,
and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment;^[c]
I will execute vengeance on my foes,
and repay those who hate me!^[d]
⁴²I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh—
the blood of the slaughtered and captured,
the chief^[e] of the enemy’s leaders.’”
⁴³Cry out, O nations, with his people,
for he will avenge his servants’ blood;
he will take vengeance against his enemies,
and make atonement for his land and people.

Luke 9:21-27

²¹But he forcefully commanded^[a] them not to tell this to anyone,^[b] ²²saying, “The Son of Man must suffer^[c] many things and be rejected by the elders,^[d] chief priests, and experts in the law,^[e] and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”^[f]

A Call to Discipleship

²³Then^[g] he said to them all,^[h] “If anyone wants to become my follower,^[i] he must deny^[j] himself, take up his cross daily,^[k] and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life^[l] will lose it,^[m] but whoever loses his life because of me^[n] will save it. ²⁵For what does it benefit a person^[o] if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶For whoever is ashamed^[p] of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person^[q] when he comes in his glory and in the glory^[r] of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷But I tell you most certainly,^[s] there are some standing here who will not^[t] experience^[u] death before they see the kingdom of God.”^[v]

Footnotes

Luke 9:21 tn The combination of the participle and verb ἐπιτιμήσας and παρήγγειλεν (epitimēsas and parēngeilen, “commanding, he ordered”) is a hendiadys that makes the instruction emphatic.
Luke 9:21 sn No explanation for the command not to tell this to anyone is given, but the central section of Luke, chapters 9-19, appears to reveal a reason. The disciples needed to understand who the Messiah really was and exactly what he would do before they were ready to proclaim Jesus as such. But they and the people had an expectation that needed some instruction to be correct.
Luke 9:22 sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis, since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.
Luke 9:22 sn Rejection in Luke is especially by the Jewish leadership (here elders, chief priests, and experts in the law), though in Luke 23 almost all will join in.
Luke 9:22 tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
Luke 9:22 sn The description of the Son of Man being rejected…killed, and…raised is the first of six passion summaries in Luke: 9:44; 17:25; 18:31-33; 24:7; 24:46-47.
Luke 9:23 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Luke 9:23 sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.
Luke 9:23 tn Grk “to come after me.”
Luke 9:23 tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
Luke 9:23 sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
Luke 9:24 tn Grk “his soul.” The Greek ψυχή (psuchē) has many different meanings depending on the context. The two primary meanings here are the earthly life (animate life, sometimes called “physical life”) and the inner life (the life that transcends the earthly life, sometimes called “the soul”). The fact that the Greek term can have both meanings creates in this verse both a paradox and a wordplay. The desire to preserve both aspects of ψυχή (psuchē) for oneself creates the tension here (cf. BDAG 1099 s.v. 1.a; 2.d,e). Translation of the Greek term ψυχή (psuchē) presents a particularly difficult problem in this verse. Most English versions since the KJV have translated the term “life.” This preserves the paradox of finding one’s “life” (in the sense of earthly life) while at the same time really losing it (in the sense of “soul” or transcendent inner life) and vice versa, but at the same time it obscures the wordplay that results from the same Greek word having multiple meanings. To translate as “soul,” however, gives the modern English reader the impression of the immortal soul at the expense of the earthly life. On the whole it is probably best to use the translation “life” and retain the paradox at the expense of the wordplay.
Luke 9:24 sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.
Luke 9:24 tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα (heneka) indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).
Luke 9:25 tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.
Luke 9:26 sn How one responds now to Jesus and his teaching is a reflection of how Jesus, as the Son of Man who judges, will respond then in the final judgment.
Luke 9:26 tn This pronoun (τοῦτον, touton) is in emphatic position in its own clause in the Greek text: “of that person the Son of Man will be ashamed…”
Luke 9:26 tn Grk “in the glory of him and of the Father and of the holy angels.” “Glory” is repeated here in the translation for clarity and smoothness because the literal phrase is unacceptably awkward in contemporary English.
Luke 9:27 tn Grk “I tell you truly” (λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς, legō de humin alēthōs).
Luke 9:27 tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mē) is the strongest possible.
Luke 9:27 tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
Luke 9:27 sn The meaning of the statement that some will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God is clear at one level, harder at another. Jesus predicts some will experience the kingdom before they die. When does this happen? (1) An initial fulfillment is the next event, the transfiguration. (2) It is also possible in Luke’s understanding that all but Judas experience the initial fulfillment of the coming of God’s presence and rule in the work of Acts 2. In either case, the “kingdom of God” referred to here would be the initial rather than the final phase.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 16[a]

A prayer[b] of David.

Footnotes

Israel’s Rebellion

A Word of Judgment

The Weakness of Other Gods

Footnotes

The Vindication of the Lord

Footnotes

A Call to Discipleship

Footnotes

Psalm 16^[a]

A prayer^[b] of David.