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April 2, 2027

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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 133

Psalm 133^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by David.

133 Look! How good and how pleasant it is
when brothers truly live in unity.^[c]
²It is like fine oil poured on the head,
which flows down the beard^[d]—
Aaron’s beard,
and then flows down his garments.^[e]
³It is like the dew of Hermon,^[f]
which flows down upon the hills of Zion.^[g]
Indeed,^[h] that is where the Lord has decreed
a blessing will be available—eternal life.^[i]

Daniel 2:1-23

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2 In the second year of his^[a] reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams.^[b] His mind^[c] was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia.^[d] ²The king issued an order^[e] to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men^[f] in order to explain his dreams to him.^[g] So they came and awaited the king’s instructions.^[h]

³The king told them, “I have had a dream,^[i] and I^[j] am anxious to understand the dream.” ⁴The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic^[k]] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its^[l] interpretation.” ⁵The king replied^[m] to the wise men, “My decision is firm.^[n] If you do not inform me of both the dream and its interpretation, you will be dismembered^[o] and your homes reduced to rubble! ⁶But if you can disclose the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, a reward, and considerable honor. So disclose to me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷They again replied, “Let the king inform us^[p] of the dream; then we will disclose its^[q] interpretation.” ⁸The king replied, “I know for sure that you are attempting to gain time, because you see that my decision is firm. ⁹If you don’t inform me of the dream, there is only one thing that is going to happen to you.^[r] For you have agreed among yourselves to report to me something false and deceitful^[s] until such time as things might change. So tell me the dream, and I will have confidence^[t] that you can disclose its interpretation.”

¹⁰The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret,^[u] for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man. ¹¹What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods—but they don’t live among mortals!”^[v]

¹²Because of this the king got furiously angry^[w] and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³So a decree went out, and the wise men were about^[x] to be executed. They also sought^[y] Daniel and his friends so that they could be executed.

¹⁴Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel^[z] to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵He inquired of Arioch the king’s deputy, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?”^[aa] Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. ¹⁶So Daniel went in and^[ab] requested the king to grant him time, that he might disclose the interpretation to the king. ¹⁷Then Daniel went to his home and informed his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the matter. ¹⁸He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he^[ac] and his friends would not be destroyed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹Then in a night vision the mystery was revealed to Daniel. So Daniel praised^[ad] the God of heaven, ²⁰saying:^[ae]

“Let the name of God^[af] be praised^[ag] forever and ever,
for wisdom and power belong to him.
²¹He changes times and seasons,
deposing some kings
and establishing others.^[ah]
He gives wisdom to the wise;
he imparts knowledge to those with understanding;^[ai]
²²he reveals deep and hidden things.
He knows what is in the darkness,
and light resides with him.
²³O God of my fathers, I acknowledge and glorify you,
for you have bestowed wisdom and power on me.
Now you have enabled me to understand what we^[aj] requested from you.
For you have enabled us to understand the king’s dilemma.”^[ak]

Footnotes

Daniel 2:1 tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Daniel 2:1 tn Heb “dreamed dreams.” The plural is used here and in v. 2, but the singular in v. 3. The plural “dreams” has been variously explained. Some interpreters take the plural as denoting an indefinite singular (so GKC 400 §124.o). But it may be that it is describing a stream of related dreams, or a dream state. In the latter case, one might translate: “Nebuchadnezzar was in a trance.” See further, J. A. Montgomery, Daniel (ICC), 142.
Daniel 2:1 tn Heb “his spirit.”
Daniel 2:1 tn Heb “his sleep left (?) him.” The use of the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) here is unusual. The context suggests a meaning such as “to be finished” or “gone” (cf. Dan 8:27). Some scholars emend the verb to read נָדְדָה (nad^edah, “fled”); cf. Dan 6:19. See further, DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3; HALOT 244 s.v. היה nif; BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2.
Daniel 2:2 tn Heb “said.” So also in v. 12.
Daniel 2:2 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” The term Chaldeans (Hebrew כַּשְׂדִּים, kasdim) is used in the book of Daniel both in an ethnic sense and, as here, to refer to a caste of Babylonian wise men and astrologers.
Daniel 2:2 tn Heb “to explain to the king his dreams.”
Daniel 2:2 tn Heb “stood before the king.”
Daniel 2:3 tn Heb “I have dreamed a dream” (so KJV, ASV).
Daniel 2:3 tn Heb “my spirit.”
Daniel 2:4 sn Contrary to common belief, the point here is not that the wise men (Chaldeans) replied to the king in the Aramaic language, or that this language was uniquely the language of the Chaldeans. It was this view that led in the past to Aramaic being referred to as “Chaldee.” Aramaic was used as a lingua franca during this period; its origins and usage were not restricted to the Babylonians. Rather, this phrase is better understood as an editorial note (cf. NAB) marking the fact that from 2:4b through 7:28 the language of the book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. In 8:1, and for the remainder of the book, the language returns to Hebrew. Various views have been advanced to account for this change of language, most of which are unconvincing. The change in language likely reflects stages in the transmission history of the book of Daniel or factors in its composition history.
Daniel 2:4 tn Or “the.”
Daniel 2:5 tn Aram “answered and said,” a common idiom to indicate a reply, but redundant in contemporary English.
Daniel 2:5 tn It seems clear from what follows that Nebuchadnezzar clearly recalls the content of the dream, although obviously he does not know what to make of it. By not divulging the dream itself to the would-be interpreters, he intends to find out whether they are simply leading him on. If they can tell him the dream’s content, which he is able to verify, he then can have confidence in their interpretation, which is what eludes him. The translation “the matter is gone from me” (cf. KJV, ASV), suggesting that the king had simply forgotten the dream, is incorrect. The Aramaic word used here (אַזְדָּא, ʾazdaʾ) is probably of Persian origin; it occurs in the OT only here and in v. 8. There are two main possibilities for the meaning of the word: “the matter is promulgated by me” (see KBL 1048 s.v.) and therefore “publicly known” (cf. NRSV; F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 62-63, §189), or “the matter is irrevocable” (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, CEV, NLT; HALOT 1808 s.v. אזד; cf. also BDB 1079 s.v.). The present translation reflects this latter option. See further E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 3.
Daniel 2:5 tn Aram “made limbs” (cf. 3:29).
Daniel 2:7 tn Aram “his servants.”
Daniel 2:7 tn Or “the.”
Daniel 2:9 tn Aram “one is your law,” i.e., only one thing is applicable to you.
Daniel 2:9 tn Aram “a lying and corrupt word.”
Daniel 2:9 tn Aram “I will know.”
Daniel 2:10 tn Aram “matter, thing.”
Daniel 2:11 tn Aram “whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
Daniel 2:12 tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).
Daniel 2:13 tn The Aramaic participle is used here to express the imminent future.
Daniel 2:13 tn The impersonal active plural (“they sought”) of the Aramaic verb could also be translated as an English passive: “Daniel and his friends were sought” (cf. NAB).
Daniel 2:14 tn Aram “returned prudence and counsel.” The expression is a hendiadys.
Daniel 2:15 tn The Aramaic word מְהַחְצְפָה (m^ehakhts^efah) may refer to the severity of the king’s decree (i.e., “harsh”; so HALOT 1879 s.v. חצף; BDB 1093 s.v. חֲצַף), although it would seem that in a delicate situation such as this Daniel would avoid this kind of criticism of the king’s actions. The translation above understands the word to refer to the immediacy, not harshness, of the decree. See further, F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 50, §116; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 67.
Daniel 2:16 tc Theodotion and the Syriac lack the words “went in and.”
Daniel 2:18 tn Aram “Daniel.” The proper name is redundant here in English and has not been included in the translation.
Daniel 2:19 tn Or “blessed.”
Daniel 2:20 tn Aram “Daniel answered and said.”
Daniel 2:20 sn As is often the case in the Bible, here the name represents the person.
Daniel 2:20 tn Or “blessed.”
Daniel 2:21 tn Aram “kings.”
Daniel 2:21 tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”
Daniel 2:23 tn Various explanations have been offered for the plurals we and us. They could be editorial plurals, or refer to Daniel and his three friends who were also praying about the matter.
Daniel 2:23 tn Aram “the word of the king.”

Acts 4:23-31

The Followers of Jesus Pray for Boldness

²³When they were released, Peter and John^[a] went to their fellow believers^[b] and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind^[c] and said, “Master of all,^[d] you who made the heaven, the earth,^[e] the sea, and everything that is in them, ²⁵who said by the Holy Spirit through^[f] your servant David our forefather,^[g]

‘Why do the nations^[h] rage,^[i]
and the peoples plot foolish^[j] things?
²⁶The kings of the earth stood together,^[k]
and the rulers assembled together,
against the Lord and against his^[l] Christ.’^[m]

²⁷“For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against^[n] your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,^[o] ²⁸to do as much as your power^[p] and your plan^[q] had decided beforehand^[r] would happen. ²⁹And now, Lord, pay attention to^[s] their threats, and grant^[t] to your servants^[u] to speak your message^[v] with great courage,^[w] ³⁰while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs^[x] and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹When^[y] they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken,^[z] and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak^[aa] the word of God^[ab] courageously.^[ac]

Footnotes

Acts 4:23 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity, since a new topic begins in v. 23 and the last specific reference to Peter and John in the Greek text is in 4:19.
Acts 4:23 tn Grk “to their own [people].” In context this phrase is most likely a reference to other believers rather than simply their own families and/or homes, since the group appears to act with one accord in the prayer that follows in v. 24. At the literary level, this phrase suggests how Jews were now splitting into two camps, pro-Jesus and anti-Jesus.
Acts 4:24 sn With one mind. Cf. Acts 1:14.
Acts 4:24 tn Or “Lord of all.”sn The use of the title Master of all (δεσπότης, despotēs) emphasizes that there is a sovereign God who is directing what is taking place.
Acts 4:24 tn Grk “and the earth, and the sea,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before “the earth” and “the sea” since contemporary English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
Acts 4:25 tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).
Acts 4:25 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
Acts 4:25 tn Or “Gentiles.”
Acts 4:25 sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.
Acts 4:25 tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”
Acts 4:26 tn Traditionally, “The kings of the earth took their stand.”
Acts 4:26 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.
Acts 4:26 sn A quotation from Ps 2:1-2.
Acts 4:27 sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.
Acts 4:27 sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”
Acts 4:28 tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.
Acts 4:28 tn Or “purpose,” “will.”
Acts 4:28 tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.
Acts 4:29 tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”
Acts 4:29 sn Grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage. The request is not for a stop to persecution or revenge on the opponents, but for boldness (great courage) to carry out the mission of proclaiming the message of what God is doing through Jesus.
Acts 4:29 tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.
Acts 4:29 tn Grk “word.”
Acts 4:29 tn Or “with all boldness.”
Acts 4:30 tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.
Acts 4:31 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
Acts 4:31 sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.
Acts 4:31 tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.
Acts 4:31 tn Or “speak God’s message.”
Acts 4:31 tn Or “with boldness.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 133[a]

A song of ascents;[b] by David.

Footnotes

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

Footnotes

The Followers of Jesus Pray for Boldness

Footnotes

Psalm 133^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by David.