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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

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2 Hannah prayed,^[a]

“My heart has rejoiced^[b] in the Lord;
my horn^[c] has been raised high because of the Lord.
I have loudly denounced^[d] my enemies.
Indeed I rejoice in your deliverance.
²No one is holy^[e] like the Lord!
There is no one other than you!
There is no rock^[f] like our God!
³Don’t keep speaking^[g] so arrogantly.^[h]
Proud talk should not^[i] come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God who knows;
he^[j] evaluates what people do.
⁴The bows of warriors are shattered,
but those who stumbled have taken on strength.^[k]
⁵The well fed hire themselves out to earn food,
but the hungry no longer lack.^[l]
Even^[m] the barren woman has given birth to seven,^[n]
but the one with many children has declined.^[o]
⁶The Lord both kills and gives life;
he brings down to the grave^[p] and raises up.^[q]
⁷The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;
he humbles and he exalts.
⁸He lifts the weak^[r] from the dust;
he raises^[s] the poor from the ash heap
to seat them with princes—
he bestows on them an honored position.^[t]
The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord—
he placed the world on them.
⁹He watches over^[u] his holy ones,^[v]
but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,^[w]
for it is not by one’s own^[x] strength that one prevails.
¹⁰The Lord shatters^[y] his adversaries;^[z]
he thunders against them from^[aa] the heavens.
The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth.
He will strengthen^[ab] his king
and exalt the power^[ac] of his anointed one.”^[ad]

Footnotes

1 Samuel 2:1 tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.
1 Samuel 2:1 tn The verb עָלַץ (ʿalats) is a fientive verb. (Some emotion verbs in Hebrew are stative and some are fientive.) The Qal perfect form of a fientive verb is past or perfective (past action with a result that continues into the present). The LXX renders “my heart was strengthened.”
1 Samuel 2:1 sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.
1 Samuel 2:1 tn Heb “my mouth has opened wide against.”
1 Samuel 2:2 sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.
1 Samuel 2:2 tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”
1 Samuel 2:3 tn Heb “Do not do a lot; do [not] speak.” The two verbs are understood together to refer to abundant speaking.
1 Samuel 2:3 tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.
1 Samuel 2:3 tn The negative element, “not,” is understood to reapply from the first sentence through the poetic technique of ellipsis and double duty.
1 Samuel 2:3 tc The translation assumes the reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (v^elo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (v^eloʾ, “and not”).tn HALOT cites three possibilities for the phrase. Reading the Niphal verb as passive to the Qal meaning (“to examine, check”) and reading the Qere וְלוֹ (v^elo, “and by him”): “actions [are] tested by him.” Taking the Niphal verb to mean “to measure up, be in order, be correct” (cf. Ezek 18:25, 29; 33:17, 20) and reading the Qere וְלוֹ (v^elo): “his [God’s] actions are in order.” Taking the verb as in the previous case but reading the Kethiv וְלֹא (v^eloʾ) and taking the noun עֲלִלוֹת (ʿalilot) as a pejorative: “[disgraceful] actions have no place.” (HALOT s.v. תכן). The translation agrees with the first option and translates the verb with active instead of passive voice.
1 Samuel 2:4 tn Heb “stumblers have put on strength.” Because of the contrast between the prior and current condition, the participle has been translated with past tense. The Hebrew metaphor is a picture of getting dressed with (“putting on”) strength like clothing.
1 Samuel 2:5 tn By implication these lines refer to those formerly well-fed and those formerly hungry.
1 Samuel 2:5 tc Against BHS but with the MT, the preposition (עַד, ʿad) should be taken with what follows rather than with what precedes. For this sense of the preposition see Job 25:5.
1 Samuel 2:5 sn The number seven is used here in an ideal sense. Elsewhere in the OT having seven children is evidence of fertility as a result of God’s blessing on the family. See, for example, Jer 15:9, Ruth 4:15.
1 Samuel 2:5 tn Or “languished.”
1 Samuel 2:6 tn Heb “Sheol”; NAB “the nether world”; CEV “the world of the dead.”
1 Samuel 2:6 tn The first three verbs are participles; the last is a preterite which is normally past consecutive. It is rare, even in poetry, for a preterite verb to follow a participle. The English translations all render the last verb as a participle. They either reason that the preterite continues the force of the participle or assume that it should be repointed as a simple vav plus imperfect (which can be habitual present). If the participles are understood as substantival, then the latter half might mean “the Lord…is one who brings down to [the point of] the grave and then raised up.”
1 Samuel 2:8 tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”
1 Samuel 2:8 tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.
1 Samuel 2:8 tn Heb “he makes them inherit a seat of honor.”
1 Samuel 2:9 tn Heb “guards the feet of.” The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.
1 Samuel 2:9 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the plural (“his holy ones”) rather than the singular (“his holy one”) of the Kethib.
1 Samuel 2:9 tc The LXX begins the verse differently, “granting the prayer to the one who prays; he blessed the years of the righteous.”
1 Samuel 2:9 tn Heb “For not by strength a person prevails.” Since the Lord’s strength is apparent in the context, the translation adds “one’s own” for clarity.
1 Samuel 2:10 tn The imperfect verbal forms in this line and in the next two lines are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.
1 Samuel 2:10 tc The present translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate in reading the plural (“his adversaries,” similarly many other English versions) rather than the singular (“his adversary”) of the Kethib. The LXX adds material very similar to Jer 9:23-24. “the Lord is holy. Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, and let not let the strong boast in his strength, and let not let the rich boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this: to understand and know the Lord, and to practice justice and righteousness in the midst of the land.” The Greek text of Jeremiah uses different words for “wise” and “strong” and closes by referring to the Lord as one who performs justice, etc. and whose will is in these things.
1 Samuel 2:10 tn The Hebrew preposition here has the sense of “from within.”
1 Samuel 2:10 tn The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line are understood as indicating what is anticipated and translated with the future tense, because at the time of Hannah’s prayer Israel did not yet have a king.
1 Samuel 2:10 tn Heb “the horn,” here a metaphor for power or strength. Cf. NCV “make his appointed king strong”; NLT “increases the might of his anointed one.”
1 Samuel 2:10 tc The LXX greatly expands v. 10 with an addition that seems to be taken from Jer 9:23-24.sn The anointed one is the anticipated king of Israel, as the preceding line makes clear.

Genesis 37:2-11

²This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son,^[a] was taking care of^[b] the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster^[c] working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives.^[d] Joseph brought back a bad report about them^[e] to their father.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons^[f] because he was a son born to him late in life,^[g] and he made a special^[h] tunic for him. ⁴When Joseph’s^[i] brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them,^[j] they hated Joseph^[k] and were not able to speak to him kindly.^[l]

⁵Joseph^[m] had a dream,^[n] and when he told his brothers about it^[o] they hated him even more.^[p] ⁶He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:^[q] ⁷There we were,^[r] binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down^[s] to it!” ⁸Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?”^[t] They hated him even more^[u] because of his dream and because of what he said.^[v]

⁹Then he had another dream,^[w] and told it to his brothers. “Look,”^[x] he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had?^[y] Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?”^[z] ¹¹His brothers were jealous^[aa] of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.^[ab]

Footnotes

Genesis 37:2 tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”
Genesis 37:2 tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”
Genesis 37:2 tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.
Genesis 37:2 tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”
Genesis 37:2 tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.sn Some interpreters portray Joseph as a tattletale for bringing back a bad report about them [i.e., his brothers], but the entire Joseph story has some of the characteristics of wisdom literature. Joseph is presented in a good light—not because he was perfect, but because the narrative is showing how wisdom rules. In light of that, this section portrays Joseph as faithful to his father in little things, even though unpopular—and so he will eventually be given authority over greater things.
Genesis 37:3 tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.sn The statement Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons brings forward a motif that played an important role in the family of Isaac—parental favoritism. Jacob surely knew what that had done to him and his brother Esau, and to his own family. But now he showers affection on Rachel’s son Joseph.
Genesis 37:3 tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”
Genesis 37:3 tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.
Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”
Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”
Genesis 37:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Genesis 37:5 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
Genesis 37:5 sn Some interpreters see Joseph as gloating over his brothers, but the text simply says he told his brothers about it (i.e., the dream). The text gives no warrant for interpreting his manner as arrogant or condescending. It seems normal that he would share a dream with the family.
Genesis 37:5 tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.
Genesis 37:6 tn Heb “hear this dream which I dreamed.”
Genesis 37:7 tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (v^ehinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”
Genesis 37:7 tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.
Genesis 37:8 tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”
Genesis 37:8 tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.
Genesis 37:8 sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness—they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.
Genesis 37:9 tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”
Genesis 37:9 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.
Genesis 37:10 sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.
Genesis 37:10 tn Heb “Coming, will we come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?” The verb “come” is preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Jacob said, “You don’t really think we will come…to bow down…do you?”
Genesis 37:11 sn Joseph’s brothers were already jealous of him, but this made it even worse. Such jealousy easily leads to action, as the next episode in the story shows. Yet dreams were considered a form of revelation, and their jealousy was not only of the favoritism of their father, but of the dreams. This is why Jacob kept the matter in mind.
Genesis 37:11 tn Heb “kept the word.” The referent of the Hebrew term “word” has been specified as “what Joseph said” in the translation for clarity, and the words “in mind” have been supplied for stylistic reasons.

Matthew 1:1-17

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 This is the record of the genealogy^[a] of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

²Abraham was the father^[b] of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon (by the wife of Uriah^[c]), ⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,^[d] ⁸Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon,^[e] Amon the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah^[f] the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹²After^[g] the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel,^[h] Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom^[i] Jesus was born, who is called Christ.^[j]

¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ,^[k] fourteen generations.

Footnotes

Matthew 1:1 tn Grk “the book of the genealogy.” The noun βίβλος (biblos), though it is without the article, is to be translated as definite due to Apollonius’ corollary and the normal use of anarthrous nouns in titles.
Matthew 1:2 tn Grk “fathered.”
Matthew 1:6 sn By the wife of Uriah, i.e., Bathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 11:3).
Matthew 1:7 tc The reading ᾿Ασάφ (Asaph), a variant spelling on ᾿Ασά (Asa), is found in the earliest and most widespread witnesses (P^1vid א B C [D^luc] ƒ^{1, 13} 700 it co). Although Asaph was a psalmist and Asa was a king, it is doubtful that the author mistook one for the other since other ancient documents have variant spellings on the king’s name (such as “Asab,” “Asanos,” and “Asaph”). Thus the spelling ᾿Ασάφ that is almost surely found in the initial text of Matt 1:7-8 has been translated as “Asa” in keeping with the more common spelling of the king’s name.
Matthew 1:10 tc ᾿Αμώς (Amōs) is the reading found in the earliest and best witnesses (א B C [D^luc] Γ Δ Θ ƒ¹ 33 it sa bo), and as such is most likely autographic. This is a variant spelling of the name ᾿Αμών (Amōn). The translation uses this more well-known spelling “Amon” which is found in the Hebrew MT and the majority of LXX mss. See also the textual discussion of “Asa” versus “Asaph” (vv. 7-8); the situation is similar.
Matthew 1:11 sn Before the mention of Jeconiah, several medieval mss add Jehoiakim, in conformity with the genealogy in 1 Chr 3:15-16. But this alters the count of fourteen generations mentioned by the author of Matthew in v. 17. It is evident that the author is selective in his genealogy for a theological purpose.
Matthew 1:12 tn Because of the difference between Greek style, which usually begins a sentence with a conjunction, and English style, which generally does not, the conjunction δέ (de) has not been translated here.
Matthew 1:12 sn The Greek text and the KJV read Salathiel. Most modern English translations use the OT form of the name (cf. Ezra 3:2).
Matthew 1:16 tc There are three significant variant readings at this point in the text. Some mss and versional witnesses (Θ ƒ¹³ it) read, “Joseph, to whom the virgin Mary, being betrothed, bore Jesus, who is called Christ.” This reading makes even more explicit than the feminine pronoun (see sn below) the virginal conception of Jesus and as such seems to be a motivated reading. The Sinaitic Syriac ms alone indicates that Joseph was the father of Jesus (“Joseph, to whom was betrothed Mary the virgin, fathered Jesus who is called the Christ”). Although much discussed, this reading has not been found in any Greek witnesses. B. M. Metzger suggests that it was produced by a careless scribe who simply reproduced the set formula of the preceding lines in the genealogy (TCGNT 6). In all likelihood, the two competing variants were thus produced by intentional and unintentional scribal alterations respectively. The reading adopted in the translation has overwhelming support from a variety of witnesses (P¹ א B C L W Γ [ƒ¹] 33 565 579 700 1241 1424 M co), and therefore should be regarded as authentic. For a detailed discussion of this textual problem, see TCGNT 2-6.sn The pronoun whom is feminine gender in the Greek text, referring to Mary.
Matthew 1:16 tn Or “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 the LXX (the Greek translation of the OT known as the Septuagint) 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.
Matthew 1:17 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Footnotes