◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Isaiah 45:1-7 (An earthly ruler works God’s will); Psalm 96:1-9 [10-13] (God’s glory among the nations); 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 (Thanksgiving for the church at Thessalonica); Matthew 22:15-22 (A teaching about the emperor and God) (New English Translation)

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October 18, 2026

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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

Isaiah 45:1-7

45 “This is what the Lord says to his chosen one,^[a]

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold^[b]
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings,^[c]
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:

²‘I will go before you
and level mountains.^[d]
Bronze doors I will shatter
and iron bars^[e] I will hack through.
³I will give you hidden treasures,^[f]
riches stashed away in secret places,
so you may recognize that I am the Lord,
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I call you by name
and give you a title of respect, even though you do not submit^[g] to me.
⁵I am the Lord, I have no peer,^[h]
there is no God but me.
I arm you for battle,^[i] even though you do not recognize^[j] me.
⁶I do this^[k] so people^[l] will recognize from east to west
that there is no God but me;
I am the Lord, I have no peer.
⁷I am^[m] the one who forms light
and creates darkness;^[n]
the one who brings about peace
and creates calamity.^[o]
I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

Footnotes

Isaiah 45:1 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
Isaiah 45:1 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
Isaiah 45:1 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
Isaiah 45:2 tc The form הֲדוּרִים (hadurim) is difficult. It may need to be emended to an original הָרָרִים (hararim, “mountains”), the reduplicated form of הָר (har, “mountain”). 1QIsa^a and the LXX support an unambiguous text of “mountains.”
Isaiah 45:2 tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.”
Isaiah 45:3 tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”
Isaiah 45:4 tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.” The common verb יָדַע (yadaʿ) means “to know.” Among homophonous roots DCH includes יָדַע II meaning “be submissive, humbled; be quiet, at rest” (cf. Job 21:19; Prov 5:6; Jer 14:18; Hos 9:7).
Isaiah 45:5 tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (ʿod) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.
Isaiah 45:5 tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).
Isaiah 45:5 tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”
Isaiah 45:6 tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Isaiah 45:6 tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.”
Isaiah 45:7 tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6.
Isaiah 45:7 tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”
Isaiah 45:7 sn This verse affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).

Psalm 96:1-9

Psalm 96^[a]

96 Sing to the Lord a new song.^[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
²Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.^[c]
³Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell^[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
⁴For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.^[e]
⁵For all the gods of the nations are worthless,^[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
⁶Majestic splendor emanates from him;^[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.^[h]
⁷Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
⁸Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.^[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
⁹Worship the Lord in holy attire.^[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.

Psalm 96:10-13

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
¹¹Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
¹²Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
¹³before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,^[a]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.^[b]

1 Thessalonians 1

Salutation

1 From Paul^[a] and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you!^[b]

Thanksgiving for Response to the Gospel

²We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly^[c] in our prayers, ³because we recall^[d] in the presence of our God and Father^[e] your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope^[f] in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴We know,^[g] brothers and sisters^[h] loved by God, that he has chosen you,^[i] ⁵in that^[j] our gospel did not come to you merely in words,^[k] but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you).^[l]

⁶And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received^[m] the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction. ⁷As a result you became an example^[n] to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸For from you the message of the Lord^[o] has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread,^[p] so that we do not need to say anything. ⁹For people everywhere^[q] report how you welcomed us^[r] and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God ¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.^[s]

Footnotes

1 Thessalonians 1:1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
1 Thessalonians 1:1 tc The majority of witnesses, including several early and significant ones (א A [D] I 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M bo), have ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυριοῦ Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (apo theou patros hēmōn kai kuriou Iēsou Christou, “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”) at the end of v. 1. The more abrupt reading (“Grace and peace to you”) without this addition is supported by B F G Ψ 0278 629 1739 1881 lat sa. Apart from a desire to omit the redundancy of the mention of God and Christ in this verse, there is no good reason why scribes would have omitted the characteristically Pauline greeting. (Further, if this were the case, why did these same scribes overlook such an opportunity in 2 Thess 1:1-2?) On the other hand, since 1 Thessalonians is one of Paul’s earliest letters, what would become characteristic of his greetings seems to have been still in embryonic form (e.g., he does not yet call his audience “saints” [which will first be used in his address to the Corinthians], nor does he use ἐν (en) plus the dative to refer to the location of the church). Thus, the internal evidence is overwhelming in support of the shorter reading, for scribes would have been strongly motivated to rework this salutation in light of Paul’s style elsewhere. And the external evidence, though not overwhelming, is supportive of this shorter reading, found as it is in some of the best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western groups.tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”
1 Thessalonians 1:2 tn Or “mention you in our prayers, because we recall constantly…”
1 Thessalonians 1:3 tn Grk “making mention…recalling.” The participle ποιούμενοι (poioumenoi) in v. 2 has been translated as temporal, and μνημονεύοντες (mnēmoneuontes) in v. 3 has been translated as causal.
1 Thessalonians 1:3 tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”
1 Thessalonians 1:3 tn These phrases denote Christian virtues in action: the work produced by faith, labor motivated by love, and endurance that stems from hope in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:4 tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started here in the translation.
1 Thessalonians 1:4 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
1 Thessalonians 1:4 tn Grk “your election.”
1 Thessalonians 1:5 tn Or “because.”
1 Thessalonians 1:5 tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”
1 Thessalonians 1:5 tn Grk “just as you know what sort of people we were among you for your sakes.” Verse 5 reflects on the experience of Paul and his fellow preachers; v. 6 begins to describe the Thessalonians’ response.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 tn Or “after you received.”
1 Thessalonians 1:7 tc Most mss (א A C D² F G Ψ 0278 1175 1241 1505 2464 M al) have the plural τύπους (tupous, “examples”) here, while a few significant witnesses have the singular τύπον (tupon, “example”; B D*^,c 6 33 81 104 1739 1881 lat). With ὑμᾶς (humas, “you”) immediately preceding, the plural form looks motivated: Scribes would be expected to change the singular to the plural here. Although the external evidence for the singular reading is not overwhelming, the internal evidence for it is compelling.
1 Thessalonians 1:8 tn Or “the word of the Lord.”sn “The word of the Lord” is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rhēma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logos tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said. Here the phrase has been translated “the message of the Lord” because of the focus upon the spread of the gospel evident in the passage.
1 Thessalonians 1:8 tn Grk “your faith in God has gone out.”
1 Thessalonians 1:9 tn Grk “they themselves,” referring to people in the places just mentioned.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 tn Grk “what sort of entrance we had to you” (an idiom for how someone is received).
1 Thessalonians 1:10 sn The coming wrath. This wrath is an important theme in 1 Thess 5.

Matthew 22:15-22

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁵Then the Pharisees^[a] went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.^[b] ¹⁶They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians,^[c] saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.^[d] You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.^[e] ¹⁷Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right^[f] to pay taxes^[g] to Caesar^[h] or not?”

¹⁸But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for the tax.” So^[i] they brought him a denarius.^[j] ²⁰Jesus^[k] said to them, “Whose image^[l] is this, and whose inscription?” ²¹They replied,^[m] “Caesar’s.” He said to them,^[n] “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”^[o] ²²Now when they heard this they were stunned,^[p] and they left him and went away.

Footnotes

Matthew 22:15 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
Matthew 22:15 tn Grk “trap him in word.”
Matthew 22:16 sn The Herodians are mentioned in the NT only once in Matt (22:16 = Mark 12:13) and twice in Mark (3:6; 12:13; some mss also read “Herodians” instead of “Herod” in Mark 8:15). It is generally assumed that as a group the Herodians were Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (or of Herod Antipas in particular). In every instance they are linked with the Pharisees. This probably reflects agreement regarding political objectives (nationalism as opposed to submission to the yoke of Roman oppression) rather than philosophy or religious beliefs.
Matthew 22:16 sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.
Matthew 22:16 tn Grk “And it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”
Matthew 22:17 tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.
Matthew 22:17 tn According to L&N 57.180 the term κῆνσος (kēnsos) was borrowed from Latin and referred to a poll tax, a tax paid by each adult male to the Roman government.sn This question concerning taxes was specifically designed to trap Jesus. If he answered yes, then his opponents could publicly discredit him as a sympathizer with Rome. If he answered no, then they could go to the Roman governor and accuse Jesus of rebellion.
Matthew 22:17 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
Matthew 22:19 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate their response to Jesus’ request for a coin.
Matthew 22:19 tn Here the specific name of the coin was retained in the translation, because not all coins in circulation in Palestine at the time carried the image of Caesar. In other places δηνάριον (dēnarion) has been translated simply as “silver coin” with an explanatory note.sn A denarius was a silver coin worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. The fact that they had such a coin showed that they already operated in the economic world of Rome. The denarius would have had a picture of Tiberius Caesar stamped on it.
Matthew 22:20 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
Matthew 22:20 tn Or “whose likeness.”sn In this passage Jesus points to the image (Grk εἰκών, eikōn) of Caesar on the coin. This same Greek word is used in Gen 1:26 (LXX) to state that humanity is made in the “image” of God. Jesus is making a subtle yet powerful contrast: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on humanity, so he can lay claim to each individual life.
Matthew 22:21 tn Grk “they said to him.”
Matthew 22:21 tn Grk “then he said to them.” τότε (tote) has not been translated to avoid redundancy.
Matthew 22:21 sn Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s was a both/and, not the questioners’ either/or. So he slipped out of their trap.
Matthew 22:22 tn Grk “they were amazed.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Footnotes

Psalm 96[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Salutation

Thanksgiving for Response to the Gospel

Footnotes

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Footnotes

Psalm 96^[a]