◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 99 (Worship upon God’s holy hill); Deuteronomy 9:1-5 (God’s oath to Abraham Isaac and Jacob); Acts 3:11-16 (Abraham Isaac and Jacob’s God glorifies Jesus) (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 99

Psalm 99^[a]

99 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.^[b]
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;^[c]
the earth shakes.^[d]
²The Lord is elevated^[e] in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
³Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He^[f] is holy!
⁴The king is strong;
he loves justice.^[g]
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;^[h]
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
⁵Praise^[i] the Lord our God.
Worship^[j] before his footstool.
He is holy!
⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.^[k]
They^[l] prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
⁷He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;^[m]
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
⁸O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.^[n]
⁹Praise^[o] the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.

Footnotes

Psalm 99:1 sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
Psalm 99:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”
Psalm 99:1 sn Cherubim are winged angels. As depicted in the OT, they possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubim suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubim in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
Psalm 99:1 tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).
Psalm 99:2 tn Heb “great.”
Psalm 99:3 tn The pronoun refers to the Lord himself (see vv. 5, 9).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (ʿoz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (ʿaz, “strong”).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “you establish fairness.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “exalt.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “bow down.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.
Psalm 99:7 sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.
Psalm 99:8 tn Heb “a God of lifting up [i.e., forgiveness] you were to them, and an avenger concerning their deeds.” The present translation reflects the traditional interpretation, which understands the last line as qualifying the preceding one. God forgave Moses and Aaron, but he also disciplined them when they sinned (cf. NIV, NRSV). Another option is to take “their deeds” as referring to harmful deeds directed against Moses and Aaron. In this case the verse may be translated, “and one who avenged attacks against them.” Still another option is to emend the participial form נֹקֵם (noqem, “an avenger”) to נֹקָם (noqam), a rare Qal participial form of נָקַה (naqah, “purify”) with a suffixed pronoun. In this case one could translate, “and one who purified them from their [sinful] deeds” (cf. NEB “and held them innocent”).
Psalm 99:9 tn Or “exalt.”

Deuteronomy 9:1-5

Theological Justification of the Conquest

9 Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications.^[a] ²They include the Anakites,^[b] a numerous^[c] and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites?” ³Understand today that the Lord your God who goes before you is a devouring fire; he will defeat and subdue them before you. You will dispossess and destroy them quickly just as he^[d] has told you. ⁴Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land.” It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you. ⁵It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness,^[e] that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he^[f] made on oath to your ancestors,^[g] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Acts 3:11-16

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹¹While the man^[a] was hanging on to Peter and John, all the people, completely astounded, ran together to them in the covered walkway^[b] called Solomon’s Portico.^[c] ¹²When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel,^[d] why are you amazed at this? Why^[e] do you stare at us as if we had made this man^[f] walk by our own power or piety? ¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,^[g] the God of our forefathers,^[h] has glorified^[i] his servant^[j] Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected^[k] in the presence of Pilate after he had decided^[l] to release him. ¹⁴But you rejected^[m] the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. ¹⁵You killed^[n] the Originator^[o] of life, whom God raised^[p] from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses!^[q] ¹⁶And on the basis of faith in Jesus’^[r] name,^[s] his very name has made this man—whom you see and know—strong. The^[t] faith that is through Jesus^[u] has given him this complete health in the presence^[v] of you all.

Footnotes

Acts 3:11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Acts 3:11 tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.” The translation “covered walkway” (a descriptive translation) was used here because the architectural term “portico” or “colonnade” is less familiar. However, the more technical term “portico” was retained in the actual name that follows.
Acts 3:11 sn Solomon’s Portico was a covered walkway formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the center of the temple complex. It was located on the east side of the temple (Josephus, Ant. 15.11.3-5 [15.391-420], 20.9.7 [20.221]) and was a place of commerce and conversation.
Acts 3:12 tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andres Israēlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).
Acts 3:12 tn Grk “or why.”
Acts 3:12 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Acts 3:13 tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (ho theos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in P⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 M. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁸ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.
Acts 3:13 tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”sn The reference to the God of the patriarchs is a reminder that God is the God of the nation and of promises. The phrase God of our forefathers is from the Hebrew scriptures (Exod 3:6, 15-16; 4:5; see also the Jewish prayer known as “The Eighteen Benedictions”). Once again, event has led to explanation, or what is called the “sign and speech” pattern.
Acts 3:13 sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.
Acts 3:13 sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.
Acts 3:13 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
Acts 3:13 tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).
Acts 3:14 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
Acts 3:15 tn Or “You put to death.”
Acts 3:15 tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”
Acts 3:15 sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.
Acts 3:15 tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.sn We are witnesses. Note the two witnesses here, Peter and John (Acts 5:32; Heb 2:3-4).
Acts 3:16 tn Grk “in his name”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Acts 3:16 sn Here is another example of appeal to the person by mentioning the name. See the note on the word name in 3:6.
Acts 3:16 tn Grk “see and know, and the faith.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated.
Acts 3:16 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn The faith that is through Jesus. Note how this verse explains how the claim to “faith in Jesus’ name” works and what it means. To appeal to the name is to point to the person. It is not clear that the man expressed faith before the miracle. This could well be a “grace-faith miracle” where God grants power through the apostles to picture how much a gift life is (Luke 17:11-19). Christology and grace are emphasized here.
Acts 3:16 tn Or “in full view.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 99[a]

Footnotes

Theological Justification of the Conquest

Footnotes

Peter Addresses the Crowd

Footnotes

Psalm 99^[a]