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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 34

Psalm 34^[a]

By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.^[b]

34 I will praise^[c] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.^[d]
²I will boast^[e] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.^[f]
³Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise^[g] his name together.
⁴I sought the Lord’s help^[h] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
⁵Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.^[i]
⁶This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him^[j] from all his troubles.
⁷The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s^[k] loyal followers^[l] and delivers them.^[m]
⁸Taste^[n] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed^[o] is the one^[p] who takes shelter in him.^[q]
⁹Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,^[r]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
¹⁰Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
¹¹Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.^[s]
¹²Do you want to really live?^[t]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?^[u]
¹³Then make sure you don’t speak evil words^[v]
or use deceptive speech.^[w]
¹⁴Turn away from evil and do what is right.^[x]
Strive for peace and promote it.^[y]
¹⁵The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.^[z]
¹⁶But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.^[aa]
¹⁷The godly^[ab] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.^[ac]
¹⁸The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers^[ad] those who are discouraged.^[ae]
¹⁹The godly^[af] face many dangers,^[ag]
but the Lord saves^[ah] them^[ai] from each one of them.
²⁰He protects^[aj] all his bones;^[ak]
not one of them is broken.^[al]
²¹Evil people self-destruct;^[am]
those who hate the godly are punished.^[an]
²²The Lord rescues his servants;^[ao]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.^[ap]

Footnotes

Psalm 34:1 sn Psalm 34. In this song of thanksgiving the psalmist praises God for delivering him from distress. He encourages others to be loyal to the Lord, tells them how to please God, and assures them that the Lord protects his servants. The psalm is an acrostic; vv. 1-21 begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. (Verse 6 begins with the letter he (ה) and v. 7 with the letter zayin (ז). The letter vav (ו), which comes between ה and ז, seems to be omitted, although it does appear at the beginning of v. 6b. The final verse of the psalm, which begins with the letter pe (פ), is outside the acrostic scheme.
Psalm 34:1 tn Heb “By David, when he changed his sense before Abimelech and he drove him away and he went.”sn Pretended to be insane. The psalm heading appears to refer to the account in 1 Sam 21:10-15 which tells how David, fearful that King Achish of Gath might kill him, pretended to be insane in hopes that the king would simply send him away. The psalm heading names the king Abimelech, not Achish, suggesting that the tradition is confused on this point. However, perhaps “Abimelech” was a royal title, rather than a proper name. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 278.
Psalm 34:1 tn Heb “bless.”
Psalm 34:1 tn Heb “continually [will] his praise [be] in my mouth.”
Psalm 34:2 tn Heb “my soul will boast”; or better, “let my soul boast.” Following the cohortative form in v. 1, it is likely that the prefixed verbal form here is jussive.
Psalm 34:2 tn The two prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best taken as jussives, for the psalmist is calling his audience to worship (see v. 3).
Psalm 34:3 tn Or “exalt.”
Psalm 34:4 tn Heb “I sought the Lord.”
Psalm 34:5 tc The translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “they looked to him and were radiant; let their faces not be ashamed.” The MT reads the first verb as a perfect (הִבִּיטוּ, hibbitu), which would be past time, while the LXX (supported by Aquila, the Syriac, Jerome, and some medieval Hebrew mss) reads an imperative (הַבִּיטוּ, habbitu). The MT reads the second verb as a vav plus perfect, while the LXX reads it as an imperative, again a difference of the initial vowel. The third verb is a jussive preceded by אַל (ʾal), which supports reading the first two as imperatives. The second masculine plural pronoun (“your faces”) of the LXX and the Syriac, matches this understanding of the preceding verbs. The MT reading (“their faces”) is consistent with its view of the previous verbs. The reading adopted here interprets the verse as interrupting a testimony given to the congregation with an admonition based on that testimony.
Psalm 34:6 tn The pronoun refers back to “this oppressed man,” namely, the psalmist.
Psalm 34:7 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Psalm 34:7 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
Psalm 34:7 tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same generalizing force as the active participle in the first line. See GKC 329 §111.u.
Psalm 34:8 tn This verb is normally used of tasting food, as in eating a little bit of food (1 Sam 14:43; Jonah 3:7) or evaluating it (Job 12:11; 34:3). The two references to the physical senses stand for invitation and realization. Even a small or beginning experience of God reveals that he is good.
Psalm 34:8 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
Psalm 34:8 tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.”
Psalm 34:8 tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
Psalm 34:9 tn Heb “O holy ones of his.”
Psalm 34:11 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord I will teach you.” In vv. 13-14 the psalmist explains to his audience what it means to “fear” the Lord.
Psalm 34:12 tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.
Psalm 34:12 tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”
Psalm 34:13 tn Heb “guard your tongue from evil.”
Psalm 34:13 tn Heb “and your lips from speaking deception.”
Psalm 34:14 tn Or “do good.”
Psalm 34:14 tn Heb “seek peace and pursue it.”
Psalm 34:15 tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”
Psalm 34:16 tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”
Psalm 34:17 tn Heb “they” (i.e., the godly mentioned in v. 15).
Psalm 34:17 tn The three perfect verbal forms are taken in a generalizing sense in v. 17 and translated with the present tense (note the generalizing mood of vv. 18-22).
Psalm 34:18 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.
Psalm 34:18 tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:19 tn The Hebrew text uses the singular form; the representative or typical godly person is envisioned.
Psalm 34:19 tn Or “trials.”
Psalm 34:19 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the godly.
Psalm 34:19 tn Heb “him,” agreeing with the singular form in the preceding line.
Psalm 34:20 tn The Hebrew participial form suggests such protection is characteristic.
Psalm 34:20 tn That is, he protects the godly from physical harm.
Psalm 34:20 sn Not one of them is broken. The author of the Gospel of John saw a fulfillment of these words in Jesus’ experience on the cross (see John 19:31-37), for the Roman soldiers, when they saw that Jesus was already dead, did not break his legs as was customarily done to speed the death of crucified individuals. John’s use of the psalm seems strange, for the statement in its original context suggests that the Lord protects the godly from physical harm. Jesus’ legs may have remained unbroken, but he was brutally and unjustly executed by his enemies. John seems to give the statement a literal sense that is foreign to its original literary context by applying a promise of divine protection to a man who was seemingly not saved by God. However, John saw in this incident a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate deliverance and vindication. His unbroken bones were a reminder of God’s commitment to the godly and a sign of things to come. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end of the story; God vindicated him, as John goes on to explain in the following context (John 19:38-20:18).
Psalm 34:21 tn Heb “evil kills the wicked [one].” The singular form is representative; the typical evil person is envisioned. The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action.
Psalm 34:21 tn Heb “are guilty,” but the verb is sometimes used metonymically with the meaning “to suffer the consequences of guilt,” the effect being substituted for the cause.
Psalm 34:22 tn Heb “redeems the life of his servants.” The Hebrew participial form suggests such deliverance is characteristic.
Psalm 34:22 tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:19).

Exodus 19:7-20

⁷So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him, ⁸and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!”^[a] So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come^[b] to you in a dense cloud,^[c] so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.”^[d] And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them^[e] today and tomorrow, and make them wash^[f] their clothes ¹¹and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²You must set boundaries^[g] for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed^[h] to yourselves not to go up on the mountain nor touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death! ¹³No hand will touch him^[i]—but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being;^[j] he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may^[k] go up on the mountain.”

¹⁴Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not approach your wives for marital relations.”^[l]

¹⁶On^[m] the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense^[n] cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud^[o] horn;^[p] all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace,^[q] and the whole mountain shook^[r] violently. ¹⁹When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder,^[s] Moses was speaking^[t] and God was answering him with a voice.^[u]

²⁰The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Footnotes

Exodus 19:8 tn The verb is an imperfect. The people are not being presumptuous in stating their compliance—there are several options open for the interpretation of this tense. It may be classified as having a desiderative nuance: “we are willing to do” or, “we will do.”
Exodus 19:9 tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.
Exodus 19:9 tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”
Exodus 19:9 tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.
Exodus 19:10 tn This verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the force of the imperative preceding it. This sanctification would be accomplished by abstaining from things that would make them defiled or unclean, and then by ritual washings and ablutions.
Exodus 19:10 tn The form is a perfect 3cpl with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is instructional as well, but now in the third person it is like a jussive, “let them wash, make them wash.”
Exodus 19:12 tn The verb is a Hiphil perfect (“make borders”) with vav (ו) consecutive, following the sequence of instructions.
Exodus 19:12 tn The Niphal imperative (“guard yourselves, take heed to yourselves”) is followed by two infinitives construct that provide the description of what is to be avoided—going up or touching the mountain.
Exodus 19:13 sn There is some ambiguity here. The clause either means that no man will touch the mountain, so that if there is someone who is to be put to death he must be stoned or shot since they could not go into the mountain region to get him, or, it may mean no one is to touch the culprit who went in to the region of the mountain.
Exodus 19:13 tn Heb “a man.”
Exodus 19:13 tn The nuance here is permissive imperfect, “they may go up.” The ram’s horn would sound the blast to announce that the revelation period was over and it was permitted then to ascend the mountain.
Exodus 19:15 tn Heb “do not approach a woman.” The phrase with נָגַשׁ (nagash, “approach”) is an idiom for sexual relations, which is also true of similar verbs such as בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “come to”) and קָרַב (qarav, “approach”). NIV “Abstain from sexual relations.” NASV “Do not go near a woman.” Temporary abstinence was also part of the prescribed practice for war efforts because the Lord would be in their camp (Deut 23:9-14).sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 537) notes that as the people were to approach him they were not to lose themselves in earthly love. Such separations prepared the people for meeting God. Sinai was like a bride, forbidden to anyone else. Abstinence was the spiritual preparation for coming into the presence of the Holy One.
Exodus 19:16 tn Heb “and it was on.”
Exodus 19:16 tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).
Exodus 19:16 tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).
Exodus 19:16 tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).
Exodus 19:18 sn The image is that of a large kiln, as in Gen 19:28.
Exodus 19:18 tn This is the same word translated “trembled” above (v. 16).
Exodus 19:19 tn The active participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh) is used to add the idea of “continually” to the action of the sentence; here the trumpet became very loud—continually. See GKC 344 §113.u.
Exodus 19:19 tn The two verbs here (“spoke” and “answered”) are imperfect tenses; they emphasize repeated action but in past time. The customary imperfect usually is translated “would” or “used to” do the action, but here continuous action in past time is meant. S. R. Driver translates it “kept speaking” and “kept answering” (Exodus, 172).
Exodus 19:19 tn The text simply has בְּקוֹל (b^eqol); it could mean “with a voice” or it could mean “in thunder” since “voice” was used in v. 16 for thunder. In this context it would be natural to say that the repeated thunderings were the voice of God—but how is that an answer? Deut 4:12 says that the people heard the sound of words. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 232-33) rightly comments, “He was answering him with a loud voice so that it was possible for Moses to hear His words clearly in the midst of the storm.” He then draws a parallel from Ugaritic where it tells that one of the gods was speaking in a loud voice.

Jude 17-25

Exhortation to the Faithful

¹⁷But you, dear friends—recall the predictions^[a] foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.^[b] ¹⁸For they said to you, “At the end of time^[c] there will come^[d] scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.”^[e] ¹⁹These people are divisive,^[f] worldly,^[g] devoid of the Spirit.^[h] ²⁰But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit,^[i] ²¹maintain^[j] yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating^[k] the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life.^[l] ²²And have mercy on those who waver; ²³save^[m] others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy^[n] on others, coupled with a fear of God,^[o] hating even the clothes stained^[p] by the flesh.^[q]

Final Blessing

²⁴Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling,^[r] and to cause you to stand, rejoicing,^[s] without blemish^[t] before his glorious presence,^[u] ²⁵to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

Footnotes

Jude 1:17 tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.
Jude 1:17 sn This verse parallels 2 Pet 3:2 both conceptually and in much of the verbiage. There is one important difference, however: In 2 Pet 3:2 the prophets and apostles speak; here, just the apostles speak. This makes good sense if Jude is using 2 Peter as his main source and is urging his readers to go back to the authoritative writings, both OT and now especially NT.
Jude 1:18 tc The ὅτι (hoti) before ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτου χρόνου (ep eschatou chronou, “at the end of time”), found in the NA²⁷ text, can either be translated as “that” or left untranslated as a marker of direct discourse. The NA²⁸ has dropped the ὅτι, though with a diamond preceding it in the apparatus indicating a toss-up on the initial wording. Without the conjunction, direct discourse is surely meant, and with it it is just as likely as indirect discourse. The translation above makes no decision on the presence or absence of the conjunction, but renders either variant as direct discourse.
Jude 1:18 tn Grk “be.”
Jude 1:18 tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”sn Jude cites 2 Pet 3:3, changing a few of the words among other things, cleaning up the syntax, conforming it to Hellenistic style.
Jude 1:19 tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”
Jude 1:19 tn Or “natural,” that is, living on the level of instincts, not on a spiritual level (the same word occurs in 1 Cor 2:14 as a description of nonbelievers).
Jude 1:19 tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”sn The phrase devoid of the Spirit may well indicate Jude’s and Peter’s assessment of the spiritual status of the false teachers. Those who do not have the Spirit are clearly not saved.
Jude 1:20 tn The participles in v. 20 have been variously interpreted. Some treat them imperativally or as attendant circumstance to the imperative in v. 21 (“maintain”): “build yourselves up…pray.” But they do not follow the normal contours of either the imperatival or attendant circumstance participles, rendering this unlikely. A better option is to treat them as the means by which the readers are to maintain themselves in the love of God. This both makes eminently good sense and fits the structural patterns of instrumental participles elsewhere.
Jude 1:21 tn Or “keep.”
Jude 1:21 tn Or “waiting for.”
Jude 1:21 tn Grk “unto eternal life.”
Jude 1:23 tn Grk “and save.”
Jude 1:23 tn Grk “and have mercy.”
Jude 1:23 tn Grk “with fear.” But as this contrasts with ἀφόβως (aphobōs) in v. 12 (without reverence), the posture of the false teachers, it most likely refers to reverence for God.sn Joining a fear of God to mercy is an important balance when involved in disciplinary action. On the one hand, being merciful without fear can turn to unwarranted sympathy for the individual, absolving him of personal responsibility, but fearing God without showing mercy can turn into personal judgment and condemnation.
Jude 1:23 sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.
Jude 1:23 tn Grk “hating even the tunic spotted by the flesh.” The “flesh” in this instance could refer to the body or to the sin nature. It makes little difference in one sense: Jude is thinking primarily of sexual sins, which are borne of the sin nature and manifest themselves in inappropriate deeds done with the body. At the same time, he is not saying that the body is intrinsically bad, a view held by the opponents of Christianity. Hence, it is best to see “flesh” as referring to the sin nature here and the language as metaphorical.
Jude 1:24 tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.
Jude 1:24 tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”
Jude 1:24 tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.
Jude 1:24 tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 34[a]

By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[b]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Exhortation to the Faithful

Final Blessing

Footnotes

Psalm 34^[a]

By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.^[b]