◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 138 (Your love endures forever); Esther 3:7-15 (Haman’s plot to kill the Jews); Acts 2:22-36 (The Messiah is handed over to death) (New English Translation)

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July 22, 2022

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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 138

Psalm 138^[a]

By David.

138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly^[b] I will sing praises to you.
²I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.^[c]
³When^[d] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.^[e]
⁴Let all the kings of the earth give thanks^[f] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.^[g]
⁵Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,^[h]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.^[i]
⁶Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles^[j] the proud.
⁷Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,^[k] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,^[l]
and your right hand delivers me.
⁸The Lord avenges me.^[m]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.^[n]

Footnotes

Psalm 138:1 sn Psalm 138. The psalmist vows to thank the Lord for his deliverance and protection.
Psalm 138:1 tn The referent of the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim) is unclear. It refers either to the angelic assembly (see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5) or to the pagan gods (see Pss 82:1, 6; 86:8; 97:7), in which case the psalmist’s praise takes on a polemical tone.
Psalm 138:2 tc The MT reads, “for you have made great over all your name your word.” If retained, this must mean that God’s mighty intervention, in fulfillment of his word of promise, surpassed anything he had done prior to this. However, the statement is odd and several emendations have been proposed. Some read, “for you have exalted over everything your name and your word,” while others suggest, “for you have exalted over all the heavens your name and your word.” The translation assumes an emendation of “your name” to “your heavens” (a construction that appears in Pss 8:3 and 144:5). The point is that God has been faithful to his promise and the reliability of that promise is apparent to all. For a fuller discussion of these options, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 244.
Psalm 138:3 tn Heb “in the day.”
Psalm 138:3 tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”
Psalm 138:4 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in the following verse are understood as jussives, for the psalmist appears to be calling upon the kings to praise God. Another option is to take them as imperfects and translate, “the kings of the earth will give thanks…and will sing.” In this case the psalmist anticipates a universal response to his thanksgiving song.
Psalm 138:4 tn Heb “the words of your mouth.”
Psalm 138:5 tn Heb “ways.”
Psalm 138:5 tn Heb “great.”
Psalm 138:6 tc The form of the verb is יְיֵדָע (y^eyedaʿ) commonly understood to be Qal of יָדַע I (yadaʿ), although the Qal should not have two yod’s. Most likely one י (yod) should be deleted as dittography, or the second should be read as a ו (vav) and the form be understood as a Hifil.tn The Hifil of יָדַע II (yadaʿ) means “to humiliate,” causative of the Qal “be submissive, humbled, quiet” (cf. Job 21:19; Prov 5:6; Isa 45:4; Jer 14:18; Hos 9:7). DCH supposes that the Qal can mean “to humiliate” in this verse. The more common homophonous root יָדַע means “to know,” sometimes with the nuance “to care for.” Alternatively the adjective גָּבֹהַּ (gavoah) can be understood as the subject, referring to God, “the exalted one cares for [the lowly] from a distance,” but the parallel thought in the next verse favors a contrast in this verse also.
Psalm 138:7 tn Or “distress.”
Psalm 138:7 tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”
Psalm 138:8 tn Heb “avenges on my behalf.” For the meaning “to avenge” for the verb גָּמַר (gamar), see HALOT 197-98 s.v. גמר.
Psalm 138:8 tn Heb “the works of your hands.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular, “work of your hands.”

Esther 3:7-15

⁷In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year^[a] of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur^[b] (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month.^[c] It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).^[d]

⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people^[e] that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants^[f] throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them.^[g] ⁹If the king is so inclined,^[h] let an edict be issued^[i] to destroy them. I will pay 10,000 talents of silver^[j] to be conveyed to the king’s treasuries for the officials who carry out this business.”

¹⁰So the king removed his signet ring^[k] from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who was hostile toward the Jews. ¹¹The king replied to Haman, “Keep your money,^[l] and do with those people whatever you wish.”^[m]

¹²So the royal scribes^[n] were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps^[o] and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring. ¹³Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that^[p] they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children,^[q] on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day^[r] of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions. ¹⁴A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants,^[s] so that they would be prepared for this day. ¹⁵The messengers^[t] scurried forth^[u] with the king’s order.^[v] The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar.^[w]

Footnotes

Esther 3:7 sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.
Esther 3:7 tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).
Esther 3:7 tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).
Esther 3:7 tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.
Esther 3:8 tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.
Esther 3:8 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”
Esther 3:8 tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”
Esther 3:9 tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.”
Esther 3:9 tn Heb “let it be written” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “let it be decreed.”
Esther 3:9 sn The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.
Esther 3:10 sn Possessing the king’s signet ring would enable Haman to act with full royal authority. The king’s ring would be used to impress the royal seal on edicts, making them as binding as if the king himself had enacted them.
Esther 3:11 tn Heb “the silver is given to you”; NRSV “the money is given to you”; CEV “You can keep their money.” C. A. Moore (Esther [AB], 40) understands these words somewhat differently, taking them to imply acceptance of the money on Xerxes’ part. He translates, “Well, it’s your money.”
Esther 3:11 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes”; NASB “do with them as you please.”
Esther 3:12 tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
Esther 3:12 tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”
Esther 3:13 tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
Esther 3:13 tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
Esther 3:13 tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”
Esther 3:14 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).
Esther 3:15 tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”
Esther 3:15 tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).
Esther 3:15 tn Heb “with the word of the king.”
Esther 3:15 sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.

Acts 2:22-36

²²“Men of Israel,^[a] listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds,^[b] wonders, and miraculous signs^[c] that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know— ²³this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed^[d] by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles.^[e] ²⁴But God raised him up,^[f] having released^[g] him from the pains^[h] of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power.^[i] ²⁵For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me,^[j]
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.
²⁶Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;
my body^[k] also will live in hope,
²⁷because you will not leave my soul in Hades,^[l]
nor permit your Holy One to experience^[m] decay.
²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of joy with your presence.’^[n]

²⁹“Brothers,^[o] I can speak confidently^[p] to you about our forefather^[q] David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰So then, because^[r] he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants^[s] on his throne,^[t] ³¹David by foreseeing this^[u] spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,^[v] that he was neither abandoned to Hades,^[w] nor did his body^[x] experience^[y] decay.^[z] ³²This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it.^[aa] ³³So then, exalted^[ab] to the right hand^[ac] of God, and having received^[ad] the promise of the Holy Spirit^[ae] from the Father, he has poured out^[af] what you both see and hear. ³⁴For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,

‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit^[ag] at my right hand
³⁵until I make your enemies a footstool^[ah] for your feet.”’^[ai]

³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt^[aj] that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified^[ak] both Lord^[al] and Christ.”^[am]

Footnotes

Acts 2:22 tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
Acts 2:22 tn Or “miraculous deeds.”
Acts 2:22 tn Again, the context indicates the miraculous nature of these signs, and this is specified in the translation.
Acts 2:23 tn Or “you killed.”
Acts 2:23 tn Grk “at the hands of lawless men.” At this point the term ἄνομος (anomos) refers to non-Jews who live outside the Jewish (Mosaic) law, rather than people who broke any or all laws including secular laws. Specifically it is a reference to the Roman soldiers who carried out Jesus’ crucifixion.
Acts 2:24 tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”
Acts 2:24 tn Or “having freed.”
Acts 2:24 sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.
Acts 2:24 tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).
Acts 2:25 tn Or “always before me.”
Acts 2:26 tn Grk “my flesh.”
Acts 2:27 tn Or “will not abandon my soul to Hades.” Often “Hades” is the equivalent of the Hebrew term Sheol, the place of the dead.
Acts 2:27 tn Grk “to see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “to see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “to look at decay,” while here “see decay” is really figurative for “experience decay.”
Acts 2:28 sn A quotation from Ps 16:8-11.
Acts 2:29 tn Since this represents a continuation of the address beginning in v.14 and continued in v. 22, “brothers” has been used here rather than a generic expression like “brothers and sisters.”
Acts 2:29 sn Peter’s certainty is based on well-known facts.
Acts 2:29 tn Or “about our noted ancestor,” “about the patriarch.”
Acts 2:30 tn The participles ὑπάρχων (huparchōn) and εἰδώς (eidōs) are translated as causal adverbial participles.
Acts 2:30 tn Grk “one from the fruit of his loins.” “Loins” is the traditional translation of ὀσφῦς (osphus), referring to the male genital organs. A literal rendering like “one who came from his genital organs” would be regarded as too specific and perhaps even vulgar by many contemporary readers. Most modern translations thus render the phrase “one of his descendants.”
Acts 2:30 sn An allusion to Ps 132:11 and 2 Sam 7:12-13, the promise in the Davidic covenant.
Acts 2:31 tn Grk “David foreseeing spoke.” The participle προϊδών (proidōn) is taken as indicating means. It could also be translated as a participle of attendant circumstance: “David foresaw [this] and spoke.” The word “this” is supplied in either case as an understood direct object (direct objects in Greek were often omitted, but must be supplied for the modern English reader).
Acts 2:31 tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn The term χριστός (christos) was originally an adjective (“anointed”), developing in LXX into a substantive (“an anointed one”), then developing still further into a technical generic term (“the anointed one”). In the intertestamental period it developed further into a technical term referring to the hoped-for anointed one, that is, a specific individual. In the NT the development starts there (technical-specific), is so used in the gospels, and then develops in Paul’s letters to mean virtually Jesus’ last name.
Acts 2:31 tn Or “abandoned in the world of the dead.” The translation “world of the dead” for Hades is suggested by L&N 1.19. The phrase is an allusion to Ps 16:10.
Acts 2:31 tn Grk “flesh.” See vv. 26b-27. The reference to “body” in this verse picks up the reference to “body” in v. 26. The Greek term σάρξ (sarx) in both verses literally means “flesh”; however, the translation “body” stresses the lack of decay of his physical body. The point of the verse is not merely the lack of decay of his flesh alone, but the resurrection of his entire person, as indicated by the previous parallel line “he was not abandoned to Hades.”
Acts 2:31 tn Grk “see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “look at decay,” while here “see decay” is really figurative for “experience decay.”
Acts 2:31 sn An allusion to Ps 16:10.
Acts 2:32 tn Or “of him”; Grk “of which [or whom] we are all witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
Acts 2:33 tn The aorist participle ὑψωθείς (hupsōtheis) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…” In the translation the more neutral “exalted” (a shorter form of “having been exalted”) was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.
Acts 2:33 sn The expression the right hand of God represents supreme power and authority. Its use here sets up the quotation of Ps 110:1 in v. 34.
Acts 2:33 tn The aorist participle λαβών (labōn) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.” In the translation the more neutral “having received” was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.
Acts 2:33 tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumatos) is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:33 sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.
Acts 2:34 sn Sit at my right hand. The word “sit” alludes back to the promise of “seating one on his throne” in v. 30.
Acts 2:35 sn The metaphor make your enemies a footstool portrays the complete subjugation of the enemies.
Acts 2:35 sn A quotation from Ps 110:1, one of the most often-cited OT passages in the NT, pointing to the exaltation of Jesus.
Acts 2:36 tn Or “know for certain.” This term is in an emphatic position in the clause.
Acts 2:36 tn Grk “has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The clause has been simplified in the translation by replacing the pronoun “him” with the explanatory clause “this Jesus whom you crucified” which comes at the end of the sentence.
Acts 2:36 sn Lord. This looks back to the quotation of Ps 110:1 and the mention of “calling on the Lord” in 2:21. Peter’s point is that the Lord on whom one calls for salvation is Jesus, because he is the one mediating God’s blessing of the Spirit as a sign of the presence of salvation and the last days.
Acts 2:36 tn Or “and Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 138[a]

By David.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 138^[a]