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October 26, 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 84:8-12

⁸O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,^[a]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
⁹O God, take notice of our shield.^[b]
Show concern for your chosen king.^[c]
¹⁰Certainly^[d] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.^[e]
I would rather stand at the entrance^[f] to the temple of my God
than live^[g] in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.^[h]
The Lord bestows favor^[i] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.^[j]
¹²O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,^[k]
how blessed are those who trust in you.^[l]

Footnotes

Psalm 84:8 tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (ts^evaʾot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9) but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ʾelohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת in Pss 59:5 and 80:4, 19 as well.
Psalm 84:9 tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “your anointed one” here and with “our king” in Ps 89:18.
Psalm 84:9 tn Heb “look [on] the face of your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (m^eshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17).
Psalm 84:10 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 84:10 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
Psalm 84:10 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
Psalm 84:10 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
Psalm 84:11 tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.
Psalm 84:11 tn Or “grace.”
Psalm 84:11 tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”
Psalm 84:12 tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”
Psalm 84:12 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

Daniel 5:13-31

¹³So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴I have heard about you, how there is a spirit of the gods in you, and how you have^[a] insight, discernment, and extraordinary wisdom. ¹⁵Now the wise men and^[b] astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message. ¹⁶However, I have heard^[c] that you are able to provide interpretations and to solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third^[d] ruler in the kingdom.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

¹⁷But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its^[e] interpretation. ¹⁸As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty.^[f] ¹⁹Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear^[g] before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared^[h] whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. ²⁰And when his mind^[i] became arrogant^[j] and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. ²¹He was driven from human society; his mind^[k] was changed to that of an animal. He lived^[l] with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

²²“But you, his son^[m] Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself,^[n] although you knew all this. ²³Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods^[o] that cannot see or hear or comprehend. But you have not glorified the God who has in his control^[p] your very breath and all your ways! ²⁴Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.

²⁵“This is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene,^[q] teqel, and pharsin.^[r] ²⁶This is the interpretation of the words:^[s] As for Mene^[t]—God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end. ²⁷As for Teqel—you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking. ²⁸As for Peres^[u]—your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹Then, on Belshazzar’s orders,^[v] Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰And that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king,^[w] was killed.^[x] ³¹(6:1)^[y] So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.

Footnotes

Daniel 5:14 tn Aram “there has been found in you.”
Daniel 5:15 tn The Aramaic text does not have “and.” The term “astrologers” is either an appositive for “wise men” (cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV), or the construction is to be understood as asyndetic (so the translation above).
Daniel 5:16 tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”
Daniel 5:16 tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir; so also in v. 29.
Daniel 5:17 tn Or “the.”
Daniel 5:18 tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.
Daniel 5:19 tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”
Daniel 5:19 tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה (khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (m^ekhaʾ, “to smite”).
Daniel 5:20 tn Aram “heart.”
Daniel 5:20 sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.
Daniel 5:21 tn Aram “heart.”
Daniel 5:21 tn Aram “his dwelling.”
Daniel 5:22 tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”
Daniel 5:22 tn Aram “your heart.”
Daniel 5:23 tn Aram “which.”
Daniel 5:23 tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”
Daniel 5:25 tc The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the repetition of מְנֵא (m^eneʾ, cf. NAB).
Daniel 5:25 tc The Aramaic word is plural. Theodotion has the singular (cf. NAB “PERES”).
Daniel 5:26 tn Or “word”; or “event.” See HALOT 1915 s.v. מִלָּה.
Daniel 5:26 tn The Aramaic term מְנֵא (m^eneʾ) is a noun referring to a measure of weight. The linkage here to the verb “to number” (Aram. מְנָה, m^enah) is a case of paronomasia rather than strict etymology. So also with תְּקֵל (t^eqel) and פַרְסִין (farsin). In the latter case there is an obvious wordplay with the name “Persian.”
Daniel 5:28 sn Peres (פְּרֵס) is the singular form of פַרְסִין (farsin) in v. 25.
Daniel 5:29 tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”
Daniel 5:30 tn Aram “king of the Chaldeans.”
Daniel 5:30 sn The year was 539 b.c. At this time Daniel would have been approximately eighty-one years old. The relevant extra-biblical records describing the fall of Babylon include portions of Herodotus, Xenophon, Berossus (cited in Josephus), the Cyrus Cylinder, and the Babylonian Chronicle.
Daniel 5:31 sn Beginning with 5:31, the verse numbers through 6:28 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 5:31 ET = 6:1 AT, 6:1 ET = 6:2 AT, 6:2 ET = 6:3 AT, 6:3 ET = 6:4 AT, etc., through 6:28 ET = 6:29 AT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Aramaic text are again the same.

Matthew 21:28-32

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸“What^[a] do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹The boy answered,^[b] ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart^[c] and went. ³⁰The father^[d] went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered,^[e] ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”^[f] Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth,^[g] tax collectors^[h] and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! ³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although^[i] you saw this, you did not later change your minds^[j] and believe him.

Footnotes

Matthew 21:28 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 21:29 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here the referent (“the boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 21:29 tn The Greek text reads here μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai): “to change one’s mind about something, with the probable implication of regret” (L&N 31.59); cf. also BDAG 639 s.v. The idea in this context involves more than just a change of mind, for the son regrets his initial response. The same verb is used in v. 32.
Matthew 21:30 tn “And he”; here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 21:30 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated. Here the referent (“this boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Matthew 21:31 tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western witnesses (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this group of witnesses, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in א C L W (Z) Δ 0102 0281 ƒ¹ 33 565 579 1241 1424*^,c M and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ ƒ¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two variants make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles, tax collectors, and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32). For more discussion see TCGNT 44-46.
Matthew 21:31 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
Matthew 21:31 sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.
Matthew 21:32 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 21:32 sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Footnotes

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

Footnotes

The Parable of the Two Sons

Footnotes