◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 37:23-40 (God will exalt the righteous); 1 Samuel 12:1-25 (Israel admonished to fear God); John 13:1-17 (Jesus washes the disciples’ feet) (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 37:23-40

²³The Lord grants success to the one
whose behavior he finds commendable.^[a]
²⁴Even if^[b] he trips, he will not fall headlong,^[c]
for the Lord holds^[d] his hand.
²⁵I was once young, now I am old.
I have never seen the godly abandoned,
or their children^[e] forced to search for food.^[f]
²⁶All day long they show compassion and lend to others,^[g]
and their children^[h] are blessed.
²⁷Turn away from evil. Do what is right.^[i]
Then you will enjoy lasting security.^[j]
²⁸For the Lord promotes^[k] justice,
and never abandons^[l] his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure,^[m]
but the children^[n] of the wicked are wiped out.^[o]
²⁹The godly will possess the land
and will dwell in it permanently.
³⁰The godly speak wise words
and promote justice.^[p]
³¹The law of their God controls their thinking;^[q]
their^[r] feet do not slip.
³²The wicked set an ambush for the godly
and try to kill them.^[s]
³³But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law.^[t]
³⁴Rely^[u] on the Lord. Obey his commands.^[v]
Then he will permit you^[w] to possess the land;
you will see the demise of the wicked.^[x]
³⁵I have seen ruthless, wicked people^[y]
growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil.^[z]
³⁶But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared.^[aa]
I looked for them, but they could not be found.
³⁷Take note of the one who has integrity. Observe the upright.
For the one who promotes peace has a future.^[ab]
³⁸Sinful rebels are totally destroyed;^[ac]
the wicked have no future.^[ad]
³⁹But the Lord delivers the godly;^[ae]
he protects them in times of trouble.^[af]
⁴⁰The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked and delivers them,^[ag]
for they seek his protection.

Footnotes

Psalm 37:23 tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”
Psalm 37:24 tn Other translation options for כִּי (ki) in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).
Psalm 37:24 tn Heb “be hurled down.”
Psalm 37:24 tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.
Psalm 37:25 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
Psalm 37:25 tn Heb “or his offspring searching for food.” The expression “search for food” also appears in Lam 1:11, where Jerusalem’s refugees are forced to search for food and to trade their valuable possessions for something to eat.
Psalm 37:26 tn The active participles describe characteristic behavior.
Psalm 37:26 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
Psalm 37:27 tn Or “Do good!” The imperatives are singular (see v. 1).
Psalm 37:27 tn Heb “and dwell permanently.” The imperative with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause after the preceding imperatives.
Psalm 37:28 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.
Psalm 37:28 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.
Psalm 37:28 tn Or “protected forever.”
Psalm 37:28 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
Psalm 37:28 tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.
Psalm 37:30 tn Heb “The mouth of the godly [one] utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.” The singular form is used in a representative sense; the typical godly individual is in view. The imperfect verbal forms draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the godly.
Psalm 37:31 tn Heb “the law of his God [is] in his heart.” The “heart” is here the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
Psalm 37:31 tn Heb “his.” The pronoun has been translated as plural to agree with the representative or typical “godly” in v. 30.
Psalm 37:32 tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.
Psalm 37:33 tn Heb “the Lord does not abandon him into his hand or condemn him when he is judged.” The imperfects draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic behavior in this regard.
Psalm 37:34 tn Or “wait.”
Psalm 37:34 tn Heb “keep his way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.
Psalm 37:34 tn Heb “and he will lift you up.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause following the imperatives in the preceding lines.
Psalm 37:34 tn Heb “when evil men are cut off you will see.”
Psalm 37:35 tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.
Psalm 37:35 tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mitʿareh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (ʿarah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (ʿalah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (ʾezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.
Psalm 37:36 tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).
Psalm 37:37 tn Heb “for [there is] an end for a man of peace.” Some interpret אַחֲרִית (ʾakharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see the next verse and Ps 109:13; cf. NEB, NRSV).
Psalm 37:38 tn Or “destroyed together.” In this case the psalmist pictures judgment sweeping them away as a group.
Psalm 37:38 tn Heb “the end of evil men is cut off.” As in v. 37, some interpret אַחֲרִית (ʾakharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see Ps 109:13). The perfect verbal forms in v. 38 probably express general truths. Another option is that they are used emphatically to state with certitude that the demise of the wicked is as good as done.
Psalm 37:39 tn Heb “and the deliverance of the godly [ones] [is] from the Lord.”
Psalm 37:39 tn Heb “[he is] their place of refuge in a time of trouble.”
Psalm 37:40 tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.

1 Samuel 12

12 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done^[a] everything you requested.^[b] I have given you a king.^[c] ²Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day. ³Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king.^[d] Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me,^[e] and I will return it to you!”

⁴They replied, “You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.” ⁵He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king^[f] is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me.”^[g] They said, “He is witness!”

⁶Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors^[h] up from the land of Egypt. ⁷Now take your positions, so I may confront you^[i] before the Lord regarding all the Lord’s just actions toward you and your ancestors.^[j] ⁸When Jacob entered Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

⁹“But they forgot the Lord their God, so he gave^[k] them into the hand of Sisera, the general in command of Hazor’s army,^[l] and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted,^[m] ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth.^[n] Now deliver us from the hands of our enemies so that we may serve you.’^[o] ¹¹So the Lord sent Jerub Baal,^[p] Barak,^[q] Jephthah, and Samuel,^[r] and he delivered you from the hands of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

¹²“When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king will rule over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king. ¹³Now look! Here is the king you have chosen—the one that you asked for! Look, the Lord has given you a king. ¹⁴If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him^[s] and not rebelling against what he says,^[t] and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well.^[u] ¹⁵But if you don’t obey^[v] the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king.^[w]

¹⁶“So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight. ¹⁷Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the Lord so that he makes it thunder and rain. Realize and see what a great sin you have committed before the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves.”

¹⁸So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. ¹⁹All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us—your servants—so we won’t die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king.”^[x]

²⁰Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned.^[y] However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty.^[z] ²²The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation.^[aa] The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. ²³As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. ²⁴However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! ²⁵But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Footnotes

1 Samuel 12:1 tn Heb “Look, I have listened to your voice.”
1 Samuel 12:1 tn Heb “to all which you said to me.”
1 Samuel 12:1 tn Heb “and I have installed a king over you.”
1 Samuel 12:3 tn Heb “anointed [one].”
1 Samuel 12:3 tn The words “tell me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1 Samuel 12:5 tn Heb “anointed [one].”
1 Samuel 12:5 tn Heb “that you have not found anything in my hand.”
1 Samuel 12:6 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 8).
1 Samuel 12:7 tn Heb “and I will enter into judgment with you” (NRSV similar); NAB “and I shall arraign you.”
1 Samuel 12:7 tn Heb “all the just actions which he has done with you and with your fathers.”
1 Samuel 12:9 tn Heb “sold” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “he allowed them to fall into the clutches of Sisera”; NLT “he let them be conquered by Sisera.”
1 Samuel 12:9 tn Heb “captain of the host of Hazor.”
1 Samuel 12:10 tn Heb “and said.”
1 Samuel 12:10 tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.
1 Samuel 12:10 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
1 Samuel 12:11 sn Jerub Baal (יְרֻבַּעַל, “Y^erub Baʿal”) is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The book of Judges uses both names for him.
1 Samuel 12:11 tc The MT has בְּדָן (B^edan, “Bedan”) here (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “Barak.”
1 Samuel 12:11 tc In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has “Jerub Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.” But the Targum has “Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel,” while the Syriac Peshitta has “Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson.”
1 Samuel 12:14 tn Heb “and you listen to his voice.”
1 Samuel 12:14 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” So also in v. 15.
1 Samuel 12:14 tn The words “all will be well” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1 Samuel 12:15 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
1 Samuel 12:15 tc The LXX reads “your king” rather than the MT’s “your fathers.” The latter makes little sense here. Some follow MT, but translate “as it was against your fathers.” See P. K. McCarter, 1 Samuel (AB), 212.
1 Samuel 12:19 tn Heb “for we have added to all our sins an evil [thing] by asking for ourselves a king.”
1 Samuel 12:20 tn Heb “you have done all this evil.”
1 Samuel 12:21 tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”
1 Samuel 12:22 tn Heb “on account of his great name.”

John 13:1-17

Washing the Disciples’ Feet

13 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that his time^[a] had come to depart^[b] from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end.^[c] ²The evening meal^[d] was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart^[e] of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray^[f] Jesus.^[g] ³Because Jesus^[h] knew that the Father had handed all things over to him,^[i] and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴he got up from the meal, removed^[j] his outer clothes,^[k] took a towel and tied it around himself.^[l] ⁵He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.^[m]

⁶Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter^[n] said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash^[o] my feet?” ⁷Jesus replied,^[p] “You do not understand^[q] what I am doing now, but you will understand^[r] after these things.” ⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!”^[s] Jesus replied,^[t] “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”^[u] ⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, wash^[v] not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰Jesus replied,^[w] “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet,^[x] but is completely^[y] clean.^[z] And you disciples^[aa] are clean, but not every one of you.” ¹¹(For Jesus^[ab] knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is^[ac] clean.”)^[ad]

¹²So when Jesus^[ae] had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table^[af] again and said to them, “Do you understand^[ag] what I have done for you? ¹³You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly,^[ah] for that is what I am.^[ai] ¹⁴If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have given you an example^[aj]—you should do just as I have done for you. ¹⁶I tell you the solemn truth,^[ak] the slave^[al] is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger^[am] greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you understand^[an] these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Footnotes

John 13:1 tn Grk “his hour.”
John 13:1 tn Grk “that he should depart.” The ἵνα (hina) clause in Koine Greek frequently encroached on the simple infinitive (for the sake of greater clarity).
John 13:1 tn Or “he now loved them completely,” or “he now loved them to the uttermost” (see John 19:30). All of John 13:1 is a single sentence in Greek, although in English this would be unacceptably awkward. At the end of the verse the idiom εἰς τέλος (eis telos) was translated literally as “to the end” and the modern equivalents given in the note above, because there is an important lexical link between this passage and John 19:30, τετέλεσται (tetelestai, “It is ended”). sn The full extent of Jesus’ love for his disciples is not merely seen in his humble service to them in washing their feet (the most common interpretation of the passage). The full extent of his love for them is demonstrated in his sacrificial death for them on the cross. The footwashing episode which follows then becomes a prophetic act, or acting out beforehand, of his upcoming death on their behalf. The message for the disciples was that they were to love one another not just in humble, self-effacing service, but were to be willing to die for one another. At least one of them got this message eventually, though none understood it at the time (see 1 John 3:16).
John 13:2 tn Or “Supper.” To avoid possible confusion because of different regional English usage regarding the distinction between “dinner” and “supper” as an evening meal, the translation simply refers to “the evening meal.”
John 13:2 sn At this point the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 365) thought this was a reference to the idea entering the devil’s own heart, but this does not seem likely. It is more probable that Judas’ heart is meant, since the use of the Greek article (rather than a possessive pronoun) is a typical idiom when a part of one’s own body is indicated. Judas’ name is withheld until the end of the sentence for dramatic effect (emphasis). This action must be read in light of 13:27, and appears to refer to a preliminary idea or plan.
John 13:2 tn Or “that he should hand over.”
John 13:2 tn Grk “betray him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:3 tn Grk “Because he knew”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:3 tn Grk “had given all things into his hands.”
John 13:4 tn Grk “and removed”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
John 13:4 tn The plural τὰ ἱμάτια (ta himatia) is probably a reference to more than one garment (cf. John 19:23-24). If so, this would indicate that Jesus stripped to a loincloth, like a slave. The translation “outer clothes” is used to indicate that Jesus was not completely naked, since complete nudity would have been extremely offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context.
John 13:4 tn Grk “taking a towel he girded himself.” Jesus would have wrapped the towel (λέντιον, lention) around his waist (διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν, diezōsen heauton) for use in wiping the disciples’ feet. The term λέντιον is a Latin loanword (linteum) which is also found in the rabbinic literature (see BDAG 592 s.v.). It would have been a long piece of linen cloth, long enough for Jesus to have wrapped it about his waist and still used the free end to wipe the disciples’ feet.
John 13:5 tn Grk “with the towel with which he was girded.”
John 13:6 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) is specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:6 tn Grk “do you wash” or “are you washing.”
John 13:7 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
John 13:7 tn Grk “You do not know.”
John 13:7 tn Grk “you will know.”
John 13:8 tn Grk “You will never wash my feet forever.” The negation is emphatic in Greek but somewhat awkward in English. Emphasis is conveyed in the translation by the use of an exclamation point.
John 13:8 tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”
John 13:8 tn Or “you have no part in me.”
John 13:9 tn The word “wash” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Here it is supplied to improve the English style by making Peter’s utterance a complete sentence.
John 13:10 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
John 13:10 tn Grk “has no need except to wash his feet.”
John 13:10 tn Or “entirely.”
John 13:10 sn The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet. A common understanding is that the “bath” Jesus referred to is the initial cleansing from sin, which necessitates only “lesser, partial” cleansings from sins after conversion. This makes a fine illustration from a homiletic standpoint, but is it the meaning of the passage? This seems highly doubtful. Jesus stated that the disciples were completely clean except for Judas (vv. 10b, 11). What they needed was to have their feet washed by Jesus. In the broader context of the Fourth Gospel, the significance of the foot-washing seems to point not just to an example of humble service (as most understand it), but something more—Jesus’ self-sacrificial death on the cross. If this is correct, then the foot-washing which they needed to undergo represented their acceptance of this act of self-sacrifice on the part of their master. This makes Peter’s initial abhorrence of the act of humiliation by his master all the more significant in context; it also explains Jesus’ seemingly harsh reply to Peter (above, v. 8; compare Matt 16:21-23 where Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”).
John 13:10 tn The word “disciples” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb. Peter is not the only one Jesus is addressing here.
John 13:11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:11 tn Grk “Not all of you are.”
John 13:11 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
John 13:12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 13:12 tn Grk “he reclined at the table.” The phrase reflects the normal 1st century Near Eastern practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.
John 13:12 tn Grk “Do you know.”
John 13:13 tn Or “rightly.”
John 13:13 tn Grk “and I am these things.”
John 13:15 sn I have given you an example. Jesus tells his disciples after he has finished washing their feet that what he has done is to set an example for them. In the previous verse he told them they were to wash one another’s feet. What is the point of the example? If it is simply an act of humble service, as most interpret the significance, then Jesus is really telling his disciples to serve one another in humility rather than seeking preeminence over one another. If, however, the example is one of self-sacrifice up to the point of death, then Jesus is telling them to lay down their lives for one another (cf. 15:13).
John 13:16 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
John 13:16 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.
John 13:16 tn Or “nor is the apostle” (“apostle” means “one who is sent” in Greek).
John 13:17 tn Grk “If you know.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

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Washing the Disciples’ Feet

Footnotes