◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 115 (God blesses the chosen people); Judges 5:1-11 (Deborah the judge sings God’s praise); 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 (Advice about worship) (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 115

Psalm 115^[a]

115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name bring honor,^[b]
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.^[c]
²Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
³Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he pleases.^[d]
⁴Their^[e] idols are made of silver and gold—
they are man-made.^[f]
⁵They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
⁶ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
⁷hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats.^[g]
⁸Those who make them will end up^[h] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
⁹O Israel, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer^[i] and protector.^[j]
¹⁰O family^[k] of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer^[l] and protector.^[m]
¹¹You loyal followers of the Lord,^[n] trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer^[o] and protector.^[p]
¹²The Lord takes notice of us;^[q] he will bless^[r]—
he will bless the family^[s] of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
¹³He will bless his loyal followers,^[t]
both young and old.^[u]
¹⁴May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s.^[v]
¹⁵May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Creator^[w] of heaven and earth.
¹⁶The heavens belong to the Lord,^[x]
but the earth he has given to mankind.^[y]
¹⁷The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.^[z]
¹⁸But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 115:1 sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.
Psalm 115:1 tn Or “give glory.”
Psalm 115:1 sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.
Psalm 115:3 sn He does whatever he pleases. Such sovereignty is characteristic of kings (see Eccl 8:3).
Psalm 115:4 tn The referent of the pronominal suffix is “the nations” (v. 2).
Psalm 115:4 tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”
Psalm 115:7 tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).
Psalm 115:8 tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.” sn Because the idols are lifeless, they cannot help their worshipers in times of crisis. Consequently the worshipers end up as dead as the gods in which they trust.
Psalm 115:9 tn Or “[source of] help.”
Psalm 115:9 tn Heb “and their shield.”
Psalm 115:10 tn Heb “house.”
Psalm 115:10 tn Or “[source of] help.”
Psalm 115:10 tn Heb “and their shield.”
Psalm 115:11 tn Heb “[you] fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.
Psalm 115:11 tn Or “[source of] help.”
Psalm 115:11 tn Heb “and their shield.”
Psalm 115:12 tn Or “remembers us.”
Psalm 115:12 tn Another option is to translate the prefixed form of the verb “bless” in vv. 12-13 as a jussive, “may he bless” (see v. 14).
Psalm 115:12 tn Heb “house.”
Psalm 115:13 tn Heb “the fearers of the Lord.”
Psalm 115:13 tn Heb “the small along with the great.” The translation assumes that “small” and “great” here refer to age (see 2 Chr 15:13). Another option is to translate “both the insignificant and the prominent” (see Job 3:19; cf. NEB “high and low alike”).
Psalm 115:14 tn Heb “may he add to you, to you and your sons.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating this is a prayer.
Psalm 115:15 tn Or “maker.”
Psalm 115:16 tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the Lord.”
Psalm 115:16 tn Heb “to the sons of man.”
Psalm 115:17 tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).

Judges 5:1-11

Celebrating the Victory in Song

5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song:^[a]

²“When the leaders took the lead^[b] in Israel,
When the people answered the call to war—
Praise the Lord!
³Hear, O kings!
Pay attention, O rulers!
I will sing to the Lord!^[c]
I will sing^[d] to the Lord God of Israel!
⁴O Lord, when you departed^[e] from Seir,

when you marched from Edom’s plains,
the earth shook, the heavens poured down,
the clouds poured down rain.^[f]
⁵The mountains trembled^[g] before the Lord, the God of Sinai;^[h]
before the Lord God of Israel.
⁶In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael caravans^[i] disappeared;^[j]
travelers^[k] had to go on winding side roads.
⁷Warriors^[l] were scarce;^[m]
they were scarce in Israel,
until you^[n] arose, Deborah,
until you arose as a motherly protector^[o] in Israel.
⁸God chose new leaders,^[p]
then fighters appeared in the city gates;^[q]
but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found^[r]
among forty military units^[s] in Israel.
⁹My heart went out^[t] to Israel’s leaders,
to the people who answered the call to war.
Praise the Lord!
¹⁰You who ride on light-colored female donkeys,

who sit on saddle blankets,^[u]
you who walk on the road, pay attention!
¹¹Hear^[v] the sound of those who divide the sheep^[w] among the watering places;
there they tell of^[x] the Lord’s victorious deeds,
the victorious deeds of his warriors^[y] in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates—

Footnotes

Judges 5:1 tn The words “this victory song” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Judges 5:2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת (bifroaʿ p^eraʿot) is uncertain. Numerous proposals are offered by commentators. (For a survey of opinions, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 223-27.) The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. 9 the leaders (חוֹקְקֵי, khoq^eqe) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term פְּרַעוֹת (p^eraʿot, v. 2a) is synonymous with חוֹקְקֵי (khoq^eqe) of v. 9 (see Lindars, 227).
Judges 5:3 tn Heb “I, to the Lord, I, I will sing!” The first singular personal pronoun is used twice, even though a first person finite verbal form is employed.
Judges 5:3 tn Or “make music.”
Judges 5:4 tn Or “went out.”
Judges 5:4 tn Heb “water.”
Judges 5:5 tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) from the root זָלַל (zalal, “to quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb נָזַל (nazal, “to flow [with torrents of rain water]”).
Judges 5:5 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.
Judges 5:6 tc The translation assumes the form אֳרְחוֹת (ʾor^ekhot, “caravans”) rather than אֳרָחוֹת (ʾorakhot, “roadways”) because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.
Judges 5:6 tn Or “ceased.”
Judges 5:6 tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”
Judges 5:7 tn The meaning of the Hebrew noun פְרָזוֹן (f^erazon) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 237-38.
Judges 5:7 tn Or “ceased.”
Judges 5:7 tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV).
Judges 5:7 tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239).
Judges 5:8 tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.
Judges 5:8 tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)
Judges 5:8 tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (ʾim) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).
Judges 5:8 tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (ʾelef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).
Judges 5:9 tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Judges 5:10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִדִּין (middin, “saddle blankets”) in this context is uncertain.
Judges 5:11 tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
Judges 5:11 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.
Judges 5:11 tn Or perhaps “repeat.”
Judges 5:11 tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Church Order

²⁶What should you do then, brothers and sisters?^[a] When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church. ²⁷If someone speaks in a tongue, it should be two, or at the most three, one after the other, and someone must interpret. ²⁸But if there is no interpreter, he should be silent in the church. Let him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Two or three prophets should speak and the others should evaluate what is said. ³⁰And if someone sitting down receives a revelation, the person who is speaking should conclude. ³¹For you can all prophesy one after another, so all can learn and be encouraged. ³²Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, ³³for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace.

As in all the churches of the saints,^[b] ³⁴the women^[c] should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak.^[d] Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says. ³⁵If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.^[e] ³⁶Did the word of God begin with you,^[f] or did it come to you alone?

³⁷If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, he should acknowledge that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. ³⁸If someone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. ³⁹So then, brothers and sisters,^[g] be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid anyone from speaking in tongues.^[h] ⁴⁰And do everything in a decent and orderly manner.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 14:26 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
1 Corinthians 14:33 sn This phrase may be taken with v. 33a.
1 Corinthians 14:34 tn The word for “woman” and “wife” is the same in Greek. Because of the reference to husbands in v. 35, the word may be translated “wives” here. But in passages governing conduct in church meetings like this (cf. 11:2-16; 1 Tim 2:9-15) the general meaning “women” is more likely.
1 Corinthians 14:34 sn For they are not permitted to speak. In light of 11:2-16, which gives permission for women to pray or prophesy in the church meetings, the silence commanded here seems not to involve the absolute prohibition of a woman addressing the assembly. Therefore (1) some take be silent to mean not taking an authoritative teaching role as 1 Tim 2 indicates, but (2) the better suggestion is to relate it to the preceding regulations about evaluating the prophets (v. 29). Here Paul would be indicating that the women should not speak up during such an evaluation, since such questioning would be in violation of the submission to male leadership that the OT calls for (the law, e.g., Gen 2:18).
1 Corinthians 14:35 tc Some scholars have argued that vv. 34-35 should be excised from the text (principally G. D. Fee, First Corinthians [NICNT], 697-710; P. B. Payne, “Fuldensis, Sigla for Variants in Vaticanus, and 1 Cor 14.34-5, ” NTS 41 [1995]: 240-262). This is because the Western witnesses (D F G ar b vg^ms Ambst) have these verses after v. 40, while the rest of the tradition retains them here. There are no mss that omit the verses. Why, then, would some scholars wish to excise the verses? Because they believe that this best explains how they could end up in two different locations, that is to say, that the verses got into the text by way of a very early gloss added in the margin. Most scribes put the gloss after v. 33; others, not knowing where they should go, put them at the end of the chapter. Fee points out that “Those who wish to maintain the authenticity of these verses must at least offer an adequate answer as to how this arrangement came into existence if Paul wrote them originally as our vv. 34-35” (First Corinthians [NICNT], 700). In a footnote he adds, “The point is that if it were already in the text after v. 33, there is no reason for a copyist to make such a radical transposition.” Although it is not our intention to interact with proponents of the shorter text in any detail here, a couple of points ought to be made. (1) Since these verses occur in all witnesses to 1 Corinthians, to argue that they are not original means that they must have crept into the text at the earliest stage of transmission. How early? Earlier than when the pericope adulterae (John 7:53-8:11) made its way into the text (late 2nd, early 3rd century?), earlier than the longer ending of Mark (16:9-20) was produced (early 2nd century?), and earlier than even “in Ephesus” was added to Eph 1:1 (upon reception of the letter by the first church to which it came, the church at Ephesus)—because in these other, similar places, the earliest witnesses do not add the words. This text thus stands as remarkable, unique. Indeed, since all the witnesses have the words, the evidence points to them as having been inserted into the original document. Who would have done such a thing? And, further, why would scribes have regarded it as original since it was obviously added in the margin? This leads to our second point. (2) Following a suggestion made by E. E. Ellis (“The Silenced Wives of Corinth (I Cor. 14:34-5),” New Testament Textual Criticism: Its Significance for Exegesis, 213-20 [the suggestion comes at the end of the article, almost as an afterthought]), it is likely that Paul himself added the words in the margin. Since it was so much material to add, Paul could have squelched any suspicions by indicating that the words were his (e.g., by adding his name or some other means [cf. 2 Thess 3:17]). This way no scribe would think that the material was inauthentic. (Incidentally, this is unlike the textual problem at Rom 5:1, for there only one letter was at stake; hence, scribes would easily have thought that the “text” reading was original. And Paul would hardly be expected to add his signature for one letter.) (3) What then is to account for the uniform Western tradition of having the verses at the end of the chapter? Our conjecture (and that is all it is) is that the scribe of the Western Vorlage could no longer read where the verses were to be added (any marginal arrows or other directional device could have been smudged), but, recognizing that this was part of the autographic text, felt compelled to put it somewhere. The least offensive place would have been at the end of the material on church conduct (end of chapter 14), before the instructions about the resurrection began. Although there were no chapter divisions in the earliest period of copying, scribes could still detect thought breaks (note the usage in the earliest papyri). (4) The very location of the verses in the Western tradition argues strongly that Paul both authored vv. 34-35 and that they were originally part of the margin of the text. Otherwise, one has a difficulty explaining why no scribe seemed to have hinted that these verses might be inauthentic (the scribal sigla of codex B, as noticed by Payne, can be interpreted otherwise than as an indication of inauthenticity [cf. J. E. Miller, “Some Observations on the Text-Critical Function of the Umlauts in Vaticanus, with Special Attention to 1 Corinthians 14.34-35, ” JSNT 26 [2003]: 217-36.). There are apparently no mss that have an asterisk or obelisk in the margin. Yet in other places in the NT where scribes doubted the authenticity of the clauses before them, they often noted their protest with an asterisk or obelisk. We are thus compelled to regard the words as original, and as belonging where they are in the text above.
1 Corinthians 14:36 tn Grk “Did the word of God go out from you.”
1 Corinthians 14:39 tc ‡ μου (mou, “my”) is found after ἀδελφοί (adelphoi) in a number of significant witnesses (א A B* D¹ 048 326 1175 2464 al), but lacking in most other witnesses (P⁴⁶ B² D* F G Ψ 0243 33 1739 1881 M lat). Every other time Paul says “So then, brothers (and sisters)” he adds “my” (ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου; hōste, adelphoi mou). There is no good reason why scribes would intentionally omit “my” here but not elsewhere. Thus, the longer reading is in conformity with Paul’s general style and as such seems to be scribally motivated. NA²⁸ has the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
1 Corinthians 14:39 tn Grk “do not forbid speaking in tongues.” The words “anyone from” are supplied for the sake of clarity.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 115[a]

Footnotes

Celebrating the Victory in Song

Footnotes

Church Order

Footnotes

Psalm 115^[a]