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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 27

Psalm 27^[a]

By David.

27 The Lord is my light^[b] and my salvation.
I fear no one.^[c]
The Lord protects my life.
I am afraid of no one.^[d]
²When evil men attack me^[e]
to devour my flesh,^[f]
when my adversaries and enemies attack me,^[g]
they stumble and fall.^[h]
³Even when an army is deployed against me,
I do not fear.^[i]
Even when war is imminent,^[j]
I remain confident.^[k]
⁴I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live^[l] in the Lord’s house^[m] all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor^[n] of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
⁵He will surely^[o] give me shelter^[p] in the day of danger;^[q]
he will hide me in his home.^[r]
He will place me^[s] on an inaccessible rocky summit.^[t]
⁶Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me.^[u]
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy.^[v]
I will sing praises to the Lord.
⁷Hear me,^[w] O Lord, when I cry out.
Have mercy on me and answer me.
⁸My heart tells me to pray to you,^[x]
and I do pray to you, O Lord.^[y]
⁹Do not reject me.^[z]
Do not push your servant away in anger.
You are my deliverer.^[aa]
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me.
¹⁰Even if my father and mother abandoned me,^[ab]
the Lord would take me in.^[ac]
¹¹Teach me how you want me to live,^[ad] Lord;
lead me along a level path^[ae] because of those who wait to ambush me.^[af]
¹²Do not turn me over to my enemies,^[ag]
for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me.^[ah]
¹³Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience
the Lord’s favor in the land of the living?^[ai]
¹⁴Rely^[aj] on the Lord!
Be strong and confident!^[ak]
Rely on the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 27:1 sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.
Psalm 27:1 sn “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).
Psalm 27:1 tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one.”
Psalm 27:1 tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
Psalm 27:2 tn Heb “draw near to me.”
Psalm 27:2 sn To devour my flesh. The psalmist compares his enemies to dangerous, hungry predators (see 2 Kgs 9:36; Ezek 39:17).
Psalm 27:2 tn Heb “my adversaries and my enemies against me.” The verb “draw near” (that is, “attack”) is understood by ellipsis; see the previous line.
Psalm 27:2 tn The Hebrew verbal forms are perfects. The translation assumes the psalmist is generalizing here, but another option is to take this as a report of past experience, “when evil men attacked me…they stumbled and fell.”
Psalm 27:3 tn Heb “my heart does not fear.”
Psalm 27:3 tn Heb “if war rises up against me.”
Psalm 27:3 tn Heb “in this [i.e., “during this situation”] I am trusting.”
Psalm 27:4 tn Heb “for me to live.”
Psalm 27:4 sn The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).
Psalm 27:4 tn Or “beauty.”
Psalm 27:5 tn Or “for he will.” The translation assumes the כִּי (ki) is asseverative here, rather than causal.
Psalm 27:5 tn Heb “he will hide me in his hut.”
Psalm 27:5 tn Or “trouble.”
Psalm 27:5 tn Heb “tent.”
Psalm 27:5 tn The three imperfect verb forms in v. 5 anticipate a positive response to the prayer offered in vv. 7-12.
Psalm 27:5 tn Heb “on a rocky summit he lifts me up.” The Lord places the psalmist in an inaccessible place where his enemies cannot reach him. See Ps 18:2.
Psalm 27:6 tn Heb “and now my head will be lifted up over my enemies all around me.”sn In vv. 1-3 the psalmist generalizes, but here we discover that he is facing a crisis and is under attack from enemies (see vv. 11-12).
Psalm 27:6 tn Heb “I will sacrifice in his tent sacrifices of a shout for joy” (that is, “sacrifices accompanied by a joyful shout”).
Psalm 27:7 tn Heb “my voice.”
Psalm 27:8 tc Heb “concerning you my heart says, ‘Seek my face.’” The verb form “seek” is plural, but this makes no sense here, for the psalmist is addressed. The verb should be emended to a singular form. The first person pronominal suffix on “face” also makes little sense, unless it is the voice of the Lord he hears. His “heart” is viewed as speaking, however, so it is better to emend the form to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”).
Psalm 27:8 tn Heb “your face, O Lord, I seek.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 24:6; 105:4).
Psalm 27:9 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
Psalm 27:9 tn Or “[source of] help.”
Psalm 27:10 tn Or “though my father and mother have abandoned me.”
Psalm 27:10 tn Heb “gather me in”; or “receive me.”
Psalm 27:11 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles which he expects the psalmist to follow. See Ps 25:4.
Psalm 27:11 sn The level path refers to God’s moral principles (see the parallel line), which, if followed, will keep the psalmist blameless before his accusers (see v. 12).
Psalm 27:11 tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.
Psalm 27:12 tn Heb “do not give me over to the desire of my enemies.”
Psalm 27:12 tn Heb “for they have risen up against me, lying witnesses and a testifier of violence.” The form יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) is traditionally understood as a verb meaning “snort, breathe out”: “for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty” (KJV; cf. BDB 422 s.v.). A better option is to take the form as a noun meaning “a witness” (or “testifier”). See Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3.
Psalm 27:13 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence is incomplete: “If I had not believed [I would] see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” The words “Where would I be” are supplied in the translation to clarify the intent of the statement.
Psalm 27:14 tn Or “wait.”
Psalm 27:14 tn Heb “be strong and let your heart be confident.”

Isaiah 26:7-15

God’s People Anticipate Vindication

⁷^[a] The way of the righteous is level,
the path of the righteous that you prepare is straight.^[b]
⁸Yes, as your judgments unfold,^[c]
O Lord, we wait for you.
We desire your fame and reputation to grow.^[d]
⁹I^[e] look for^[f] you during the night;
my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,
for when your judgments come upon the earth,
those who live in the world learn about justice.^[g]
¹⁰If the wicked are shown mercy,
they do not learn about justice.^[h]
Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly;^[i]
they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.
¹¹O Lord, you are ready to act,^[j]
but they don’t even notice.
They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind;^[k]
yes, fire will consume your enemies.^[l]
¹²O Lord, you make us secure,^[m]
for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us.^[n]
¹³O Lord, our God,
masters other than you have ruled us,
but we praise your name alone.
¹⁴The dead do not come back to life,
the spirits of the dead do not rise.^[o]
That is because^[p] you came in judgment^[q] and destroyed them,
you wiped out all memory of them.
¹⁵You have made the nation larger,^[r] O Lord;
you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor;^[s]
you have extended all the borders of the land.

Footnotes

Isaiah 26:7 sn The literary structure of chap. 26 is not entirely clear. The chapter begins with an eschatological song of praise and ends with a lament and prophetic response (vv. 16-21). It is not certain where the song of praise ends or how vv. 7-15 fit into the structure. Verses 10-11a seem to lament the presence of evil and v. 11b anticipates the arrival of judgment, so it is possible that vv. 7-15 are a prelude to the lament and announcement that conclude the chapter.
Isaiah 26:7 tc The Hebrew text has, “upright, the path of the righteous you make level.” There are three possible ways to translate this line. Some take יָשָׁר (yashar) as a divine title: “O Upright One” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). Others regard יָשָׁר as the result of dittography (מֵישָׁרִים יָשָׁר מַעְגּל, mesharim yashar maʿgal) and do not include it in the translation. Another possibility is to keep יָשָׁר and render the line as “the path of the righteous that you prepare is straight.” sn The metaphor of a level/smooth road/path may refer to their morally upright manner of life (see v. 8a), but verse 7b, which attributes the smooth path to the Lord, suggests that the Lord’s vindication and blessing may be the reality behind the metaphor here.
Isaiah 26:8 tn The Hebrew text has, “yes, the way of your judgments.” The translation assumes that “way” is related to the verb “we wait” as an adverbial accusative (“in the way of your judgments we wait”). מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ (mishpatekha, “your judgments”) could refer to the Lord’s commandments, in which case one might translate, “as we obey your commands.” However, in verse 9 the same form refers to divine acts of judgment on evildoers.
Isaiah 26:8 tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [are] the desire of [our?] being.”
Isaiah 26:9 tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).
Isaiah 26:9 tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).
Isaiah 26:9 tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).
Isaiah 26:10 tn As in verse 9b, the translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “they do not learn to live in a righteous manner.”
Isaiah 26:10 tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”
Isaiah 26:11 tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”
Isaiah 26:11 tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת עָם (qinʾat ʿam, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”
Isaiah 26:11 tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”
Isaiah 26:12 tn Heb “O Lord, you establish peace for us.”
Isaiah 26:12 tc Some suggest emending גַּם כָּל (gam kol, “even all”) to כִּגְמֻל (kigmul, “according to the deed[s] of”) One might then translate “for according to what our deeds deserve, you have acted on our behalf.” Nevertheless, accepting the MT as it stands, the prophet affirms that Yahweh deserved all the credit for anything Israel had accomplished.
Isaiah 26:14 sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.
Isaiah 26:14 tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen) normally indicates a cause-effect relationship between what precedes and follows and is translated, “therefore.” Here, however, it infers the cause from the effect and brings out what is implicit in the previous statement. See BDB 487 s.v.
Isaiah 26:14 tn Heb “visited [for harm]” (cf. KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “you have punished.”
Isaiah 26:15 tn Heb “you have added to the nation.” The last line of the verse suggests that geographical expansion is in view. “The nation” is Judah.
Isaiah 26:15 tn Or “brought honor to yourself.”

Acts 2:37-42

The Response to Peter’s Address

³⁷Now when they heard this,^[a] they were acutely distressed^[b] and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” ³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized^[c] in the name of Jesus Christ^[d] for^[e] the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.^[f] ³⁹For the promise^[g] is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” ⁴⁰With many other words he testified^[h] and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse^[i] generation!” ⁴¹So those who accepted^[j] his message^[k] were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people^[l] were added.^[m]

The Fellowship of the Early Believers

⁴²They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,^[n] to the breaking of bread and to prayer.^[o]

Footnotes

Acts 2:37 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
Acts 2:37 tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).
Acts 2:38 tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.
Acts 2:38 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn In the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism in Messiah Jesus’ name shows how much authority he possesses.
Acts 2:38 tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis aphesin tōn hamartiōn humōn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works—an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts—especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.
Acts 2:38 tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou hagiou pneumatos) is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:39 sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.
Acts 2:40 tn Or “warned.”
Acts 2:40 tn Or “crooked” (in a moral or ethical sense). See Luke 3:5.
Acts 2:41 tn Or “who acknowledged the truth of.”
Acts 2:41 tn Grk “word.”
Acts 2:41 tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).
Acts 2:41 tn Or “were won over.”
Acts 2:42 sn Fellowship refers here to close association involving mutual involvement and relationships.
Acts 2:42 tn Grk “prayers.” This word was translated as a collective singular in keeping with English style.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 27[a]

By David.

Footnotes

God’s People Anticipate Vindication

Footnotes

The Response to Peter’s Address

The Fellowship of the Early Believers

Footnotes

Psalm 27^[a]