◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 21 (God comes with judgment and strength); Isaiah 24:1-16a (Judgment is coming but glorify God); 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 (Live in holiness and love one another) (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 21

Psalm 21^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;^[b]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.^[c]
²You grant^[d] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.^[e] (Selah)
³For you bring him^[f] rich^[g] blessings;^[h]
you place a golden crown on his head.
⁴He asked you to sustain his life,^[i]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.^[j]
⁵Your deliverance brings him great honor;^[k]
you give him majestic splendor.^[l]
⁶For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.^[m]
⁷For the king trusts^[n] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s^[o] faithfulness he is not shaken.^[p]
⁸You^[q] prevail over^[r] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.^[s]
⁹You burn them up like a fiery furnace^[t] when you appear.^[u]
The Lord angrily devours them;^[v]
the fire consumes them.
¹⁰You destroy their offspring^[w] from the earth,
their descendants^[x] from among the human race.^[y]
¹¹Yes,^[z] they intend to do you harm;^[aa]
they dream up a scheme,^[ab] but they do not succeed.^[ac]
¹²For you make them retreat^[ad]
when you aim your arrows at them.^[ae]
¹³Rise up, O Lord, in strength!^[af]
We will sing and praise^[ag] your power.

Footnotes

Psalm 21:1 sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.
Psalm 21:1 tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).
Psalm 21:1 tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”
Psalm 21:2 tn The translation assumes the perfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing, stating factually what God typically does for the king. Another option is to take them as present perfects, “you have granted…you have not refused.” See v. 4, which mentions a specific request for a long reign.
Psalm 21:2 tn Heb “and the request of his lips you do not refuse.”
Psalm 21:3 tn Or “meet him [with].”
Psalm 21:3 tn Heb “good.”
Psalm 21:3 sn You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God’s “blessings” include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).
Psalm 21:4 tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”
Psalm 21:4 tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.
Psalm 21:5 tn Or “great glory.”
Psalm 21:5 tn Heb “majesty and splendor you place upon him.” For other uses of the phrase הוֹד וְהָדָר (hod v^ehadar, “majesty and splendor”) see 1 Chr 16:27; Job 40:10; Pss 96:6; 104:1; 111:3.
Psalm 21:6 tn Heb “you make him happy with joy with [i.e., “close by” or “in”] your face.” On the idiom “with your face” (i.e., “in your presence”) see Ps 16:11 and BDB 816 s.v. פָּנֻה II.2.a.
Psalm 21:7 tn The active participle draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action.
Psalm 21:7 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. Note the focus of vv. 8-12 and see Ps 47:2.
Psalm 21:7 tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “he will not be shaken” (cf. NRSV “he shall not be moved”). Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense.
Psalm 21:8 tn The king is now addressed. One could argue that the Lord is still being addressed, but v. 9 militates against this proposal, for there the Lord is mentioned in the third person and appears to be distinct from the addressee (unless, of course, one takes “Lord” in v. 9 as vocative; see the note on “them” in v. 9b). Verse 7 begins this transition to a new addressee by referring to both the king and the Lord in the third person (in vv. 1-6 the Lord is addressed and only the king referred to in the third person).
Psalm 21:8 tn Heb “your hand finds.” The idiom pictures the king grabbing hold of his enemies and defeating them (see 1 Sam 23:17). The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 8-12 may be translated with the future tense, as long as the future is understood as generalizing.
Psalm 21:8 tn Heb “your right hand finds those who hate you.”
Psalm 21:9 tn Heb “you make them like a furnace of fire.” Although many modern translations retain the literal Hebrew, the statement is elliptical. The point is not that he makes them like a furnace, but like an object burned in a furnace (cf. NEB, “at your coming you shall plunge them into a fiery furnace”).
Psalm 21:9 tn Heb “at the time of your face.” The “face” of the king here refers to his angry presence. See Lam 4:16.
Psalm 21:9 tn Heb “the Lord, in his anger he swallows them, and fire devours them.” Some take “the Lord” as a vocative, in which case he is addressed in vv. 8-9a. But this makes the use of the third person in v. 9b rather awkward, though the king could be the subject (see vv. 1-7).
Psalm 21:10 tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.
Psalm 21:10 tn Heb “seed.”
Psalm 21:10 tn Heb “sons of man.”
Psalm 21:11 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 21:11 tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).
Psalm 21:11 sn See Ps 10:2.
Psalm 21:11 tn Heb “they lack ability.”
Psalm 21:12 tn Heb “you make them a shoulder,” i.e., “you make them turn and run, showing the back of their neck and shoulders.”
Psalm 21:12 tn Heb “with your bowstrings you fix against their faces,” i.e., “you fix your arrows on the bowstrings to shoot at them.”
Psalm 21:13 tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.sn The psalm concludes with a petition to the Lord, asking him to continue to intervene in strength for the king and nation.
Psalm 21:13 tn Heb “sing praise.”

Isaiah 24:1-16

The Lord Will Judge the Earth

24 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth
and leave it in ruins;
he will mar its surface
and scatter its inhabitants.
²Everyone will suffer—the priest as well as the people,^[a]
the master as well as the servant,^[b]
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant,^[c]
the seller as well as the buyer,^[d]
the borrower as well as the lender,^[e]
the creditor as well as the debtor.^[f]
³The earth will be completely devastated
and thoroughly ransacked.
For the Lord has decreed this judgment.^[g]
⁴The earth^[h] dries up^[i] and withers,
the world shrivels up and withers;
the prominent people of the earth^[j] fade away.
⁵The earth is defiled by^[k] its inhabitants,^[l]
for they have violated laws,
disregarded the regulation,^[m]
and broken the permanent treaty.^[n]
⁶So a treaty curse^[o] devours the earth;
its inhabitants pay for their guilt.^[p]
This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear,^[q]
and are reduced to just a handful of people.^[r]
⁷The new wine dries up,
the vines shrivel up,
all those who like to celebrate^[s] groan.
⁸The happy sound^[t] of the tambourines stops,
the revelry of those who celebrate comes to a halt,
the happy sound of the harp ceases.
⁹They no longer sing and drink wine;^[u]
the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰The ruined town^[v] is shattered;
all the houses are shut up tight.^[w]
¹¹They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine;^[x]
all joy turns to sorrow;^[y]
celebrations disappear from the earth.^[z]
¹²The city is left in ruins;^[aa]
the gate is reduced to rubble.^[ab]
¹³This is what will happen throughout^[ac] the earth,
among the nations.
It will be like when they beat an olive tree,
and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest.^[ad]
¹⁴They^[ae] lift their voices and shout joyfully;
they praise^[af] the majesty of the Lord in the west.
¹⁵So in the east^[ag] extol the Lord,
along the seacoasts extol^[ah] the fame^[ai] of the Lord God of Israel.
¹⁶From the ends of the earth we^[aj] hear songs—
the Just One is majestic.^[ak]
But I^[al] say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!”^[am]

Footnotes

Isaiah 24:2 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
Isaiah 24:2 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
Isaiah 24:2 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
Isaiah 24:2 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
Isaiah 24:2 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
Isaiah 24:2 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
Isaiah 24:3 tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”
Isaiah 24:4 tn Some prefer to read “land” here, but the word pair אֶרֶץ/תֵּבֵל (ʾerets/tevel [see the corresponding term in the parallel line]) elsewhere clearly designates the earth/world (see 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Chr 16:30; Job 37; 12; Pss 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 89:11; 90:2; 96:13; 98:9; Prov 8:26, 31; Isa 14:16-17; 34:1; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Lam 4:12). According to L. Stadelmann, תבל designates “the habitable part of the world” (The Hebrew Conception of the World [AnBib], 130).
Isaiah 24:4 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.
Isaiah 24:4 tn Heb “the height of the people of the earth.” The translation assumes an emendation of the singular form מְרוֹם (m^erom, “height of”) to the plural construct מְרֹמֵי (m^erome, “high ones of”; note the plural verb at the beginning of the line), and understands the latter as referring to the prominent people of human society.
Isaiah 24:5 tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”
Isaiah 24:5 sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.
Isaiah 24:5 tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”
Isaiah 24:5 tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”sn For a lengthy discussion of the identity of this covenant/treaty, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24, ” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In this context, where judgment comes upon both the pagan nations and God’s covenant community, the phrase “permanent treaty” is intentionally ambiguous. For the nations this treaty is the Noahic mandate of Gen 9:1-7 with its specific stipulations and central regulation (Gen 9:7). By shedding blood, the warlike nations violated this treaty, which promotes population growth and prohibits murder. For Israel, which was also guilty of bloodshed (see Isa 1:15, 21; 4:4), this “permanent treaty” would refer more specifically to the Mosaic Law and its regulations prohibiting murder (Exod 20:13; Num 35:6-34), which are an extension of the Noahic mandate.
Isaiah 24:6 sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.
Isaiah 24:6 tn The verb אָשַׁם (ʾasham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).
Isaiah 24:6 tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).
Isaiah 24:6 tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”
Isaiah 24:7 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.
Isaiah 24:8 tn Heb “the joy” (again later in this verse).
Isaiah 24:9 tn Heb “with a song they do not drink wine.”
Isaiah 24:10 tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24, ” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.
Isaiah 24:10 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
Isaiah 24:11 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
Isaiah 24:11 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
Isaiah 24:11 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
Isaiah 24:12 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
Isaiah 24:12 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
Isaiah 24:13 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
Isaiah 24:13 sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.
Isaiah 24:14 sn The remnant of the nations (see v. 13) may be the unspecified subject. If so, then those who have survived the judgment begin to praise God.
Isaiah 24:14 tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”
Isaiah 24:15 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (baʾurim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (b^eʾiyye hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).
Isaiah 24:15 tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
Isaiah 24:15 tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.
Isaiah 24:16 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
Isaiah 24:16 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
Isaiah 24:16 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
Isaiah 24:16 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away….”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

A Life Pleasing to God

4 Finally then, brothers and sisters,^[a] we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how^[b] you must live and please God (as you are in fact living)^[c] that you do so more and more. ²For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³For this is God’s will: that you become holy,^[d] that you keep away from sexual immorality, ⁴that each of you know how to possess his own body^[e] in holiness and honor, ⁵not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. ⁶In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him,^[f] because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases,^[g] as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. ⁷For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. ⁸Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority^[h] but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

⁹Now on the topic of brotherly love^[i] you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. ¹⁰And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters^[j] in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,^[k] ¹¹to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you. ¹²In this way you will live^[l] a decent life before outsiders and not be in need.^[m]

Footnotes

1 Thessalonians 4:1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 sn As you received instruction from us about how (Grk “as you received from us how”). The Greek word translated received is used for accepting instructions passed on as fixed traditions from teacher to follower. Paul speaks in these terms about doctrinal traditions as well as ethical instruction that he passes on to his converts and expects them to keep (cf. 1 Cor 11:2, 23; 15:1-3; Gal 1:9; Phil 4:9; 2 Thess 2:15; 3:6).
1 Thessalonians 4:1 tc This parenthetical clause is absent in several later witnesses (D² Ψ 1175 1241 2464^vid M al), but it may have been expunged for sounding redundant. The longer text, in this instance, is solidly supported by א A B D* F G 0183^vid 0278 33 81 104 326 365 629 al co and should be unquestionably preferred.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 tn Or “your sanctification.”
1 Thessalonians 4:4 tn Grk “to gain [or possess] his own vessel.” “Vessel” is most likely used figuratively for “body” (cf. 2 Cor 4:7). Some take it to mean “wife” (thus, “to take a wife for himself” or “to live with his wife”), but this is less likely. See J. Smith, “1 Thess 4:4—Breaking the Impasse,” BBR 10 (Fall 2000), who argues that “vessel” in this context is very likely a euphemism for the sexual organs.
1 Thessalonians 4:6 tn Grk “not to transgress against or defraud his brother in the matter,” continuing the sentence of vv. 3-5.
1 Thessalonians 4:6 tn Grk “concerning all these things.”
1 Thessalonians 4:8 tn Grk “rejecting man.”
1 Thessalonians 4:9 tn Grk “concerning brotherly love.”
1 Thessalonians 4:10 tn Grk “brothers”; this applies to the second occurrence as well. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
1 Thessalonians 4:10 sn To do so more and more. See a similar phrase in 1 Thess 4:1.
1 Thessalonians 4:12 tn Grk “that you may live,” continuing the sentence of 4:10b-11.
1 Thessalonians 4:12 tn Or “not be dependent on anyone”; Grk “and have need of nothing,” “of no one.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 21[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

Footnotes

The Lord Will Judge the Earth

Footnotes

A Life Pleasing to God

Footnotes

Psalm 21^[a]