◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 112:1-9 [10] (Light shines in the darkness); Isaiah 29:1-12 (Hunger that goes unsatisfied); James 3:13-18 (A gentle life born of wisdom) (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 112:1-9

Psalm 112^[a]

112 Praise the Lord!
How blessed is the one^[b] who obeys^[c] the Lord,
who takes great delight in keeping his commands.^[d]
²His descendants^[e] will be powerful on the earth;
the godly^[f] will be blessed.
³His house contains wealth and riches;
his integrity endures.^[g]
⁴In the darkness a light^[h] shines for the godly,
for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just.^[i]
⁵It goes well for the one^[j] who generously lends money,
and conducts his business honestly.^[k]
⁶For he will never be shaken;
others will always remember one who is just.^[l]
⁷He does not fear bad news.
He^[m] is confident; he trusts in the Lord.
⁸His resolve^[n] is firm; he will not succumb to fear
before he looks in triumph on his enemies.
⁹He generously gives^[o] to the needy;
his integrity endures.^[p]
He will be vindicated and honored.^[q]

Footnotes

Psalm 112:1 sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 112:1 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.
Psalm 112:1 tn Heb “fears.”
Psalm 112:1 tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.
Psalm 112:2 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
Psalm 112:2 tn Heb “His seed will be mighty on the earth, the generation of the godly.” The Hebrew term דוֹר (dor, “generation”) could be taken as parallel to “offspring” and translated “posterity,” but the singular more likely refers to the godly as a class. See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.
Psalm 112:3 tn Heb “stands forever.”
Psalm 112:4 tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.
Psalm 112:4 tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.
Psalm 112:5 tn Heb “man.”
Psalm 112:5 tn Heb “he sustains his matters with justice.”
Psalm 112:6 tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”
Psalm 112:7 tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition and emotions (see Ps 108:1).
Psalm 112:8 tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition.
Psalm 112:9 tn Heb “he scatters, he gives.”
Psalm 112:9 tn Heb “stands forever.”
Psalm 112:9 tn Heb “his horn will be lifted up in honor.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

Psalm 112:10

¹⁰When the wicked^[a] see this, they will worry;
they will grind their teeth in frustration^[b] and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.^[c]

Isaiah 29:1-12

Ariel is Besieged

29 Ariel is as good as dead^[a]—
Ariel, the town David besieged!^[b]
Keep observing your annual rituals;
celebrate your festivals on schedule.^[c]
²I will threaten Ariel,
and she will mourn intensely
and become like an altar hearth^[d] before me.
³I will lay siege to you on all sides;^[e]
I will besiege you with troops;^[f]
I will raise siege works against you.
⁴You will fall;
while lying on the ground^[g] you will speak;
from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard.^[h]
Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld;^[i]
from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.^[j]
⁵But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,
the horde of tyrants^[k] like chaff that is blown away.
It will happen suddenly, in a flash.
⁶Judgment will come from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,^[l]
accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise,
by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.
⁷It will be like a dream, a night vision.
There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel,
those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.
⁸It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,
only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty.^[m]
It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,
only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched.^[n]
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.

God’s People Are Spiritually Insensitive

⁹You will be shocked and amazed!^[o]
You are totally blind!^[p]
They are drunk, but not because of wine;
they stagger,^[q] but not because of beer.
¹⁰For the Lord has poured out on you
a strong urge to sleep deeply.^[r]
He has shut your eyes (you prophets),
and covered your heads (you seers).

¹¹To you this entire prophetic revelation^[s] is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read^[t] and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.” ¹²Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read^[u] and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.”^[v]

Footnotes

Isaiah 29:1 tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see vv. 7-8).
Isaiah 29:1 tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”
Isaiah 29:1 tn Heb “Add year to year; let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.
Isaiah 29:2 tn The term אֲרִיאֵל (ʾariʾel, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire.
Isaiah 29:3 tc The Hebrew text has כַדּוּר (khaddur, “like a circle”), i.e., “like an encircling wall.” Some emend this phrase to כְּדָוִד (k^edavid, “like David”), which is supported by the LXX (see v. 1). However, the rendering in the LXX could have arisen from a confusion of the dalet (ד) and resh (ר).
Isaiah 29:3 tn The meaning of מֻצָּב (mutsav) is not certain. Because of the parallelism (note “siege works”), some translate “towers.” The noun is derived from נָצַב (natsav, “take one’s stand”) and may refer to the troops stationed outside the city to prevent entrance or departure.
Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).
Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (ʾov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.
Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.
Isaiah 29:5 tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”
Isaiah 29:6 tn Heb “from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies [traditionally, “the Lord of hosts”] there will be visitation.” The third feminine singular passive verb form תִּפָּקֵד (tippaqed, “she/it will be visited”) is used here in an impersonal sense. See GKC 459 §144.b.
Isaiah 29:8 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
Isaiah 29:8 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
Isaiah 29:9 tn The form הִתְמַהְמְהוּ (hitmahm^ehu) is a Hitpalpel imperative from מָהַהּ (mahah, “hesitate”). If it is retained, one might translate “halt and be amazed.” The translation assumes an emendation to הִתַּמְּהוּ (hittamm^ehu), a Hitpael imperative from תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). In this case, the text, like Hab 1:5, combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of תָּמַה (tamah). A literal translation might be “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sound draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572 §34.4c.
Isaiah 29:9 tn Heb “Blind yourselves and be blind!” The Hitpalpel and Qal imperatival forms of שָׁעַע (shaʿaʿ, “be blind”) are combined to draw attention to the statement. The imperatives have the force of an emphatic assertion.
Isaiah 29:9 tc Some prefer to emend the last two verbs from their perfect form to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.
Isaiah 29:10 tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.
Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”

James 3:13-18

True Wisdom

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings.^[a] ¹⁴But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. ¹⁵Such^[b] wisdom does not come^[c] from above but is earthly, natural,^[d] demonic. ¹⁶For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating,^[e] full of mercy and good fruit,^[f] impartial, and not hypocritical.^[g] ¹⁸And the fruit that consists of righteousness^[h] is planted^[i] in peace among^[j] those who make peace.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 112[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Ariel is Besieged

God’s People Are Spiritually Insensitive

Footnotes

True Wisdom

Footnotes

Psalm 112^[a]