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April 8, 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 4

Psalm 4^[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4 When I call out, answer me,
O God who vindicates me.^[b]
Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place.^[c]
Have mercy on me^[d] and respond to^[e] my prayer.
²You men,^[f] how long will you try to turn my honor into shame?^[g]
How long^[h] will you love what is worthless^[i]
and search for what is deceptive?^[j] (Selah)
³Realize that^[k] the Lord shows the godly special favor;^[l]
the Lord responds^[m] when I cry out to him.
⁴Tremble with fear and do not sin.^[n]
Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways.^[o] (Selah)
⁵Offer the prescribed sacrifices^[p]
and trust in the Lord.^[q]
⁶Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”
Smile upon us, Lord!^[r]
⁷You make me happier^[s]
than those who have abundant grain and wine.^[t]
⁸I will lie down and sleep peacefully,^[u]
for you, Lord, make me safe and secure.^[v]

Footnotes

Psalm 4:1 sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.
Psalm 4:1 tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”
Psalm 4:1 tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
Psalm 4:1 tn Or “show me favor.”
Psalm 4:1 tn Heb “hear.”
Psalm 4:2 tn Heb “sons of man.”
Psalm 4:2 tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”
Psalm 4:2 tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (ʿad meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
Psalm 4:2 tn Heb “emptiness.”
Psalm 4:2 tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.
Psalm 4:3 tn Heb “and know that.”
Psalm 4:3 tn Heb “that the Lord sets apart a faithful one for himself.” The psalmist states a general principle, though the singular form and the parallel line indicate he has himself in mind as the representative godly person. A חָסִיד (khasid; here translated as “the godly”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
Psalm 4:3 tn Heb “hears.”
Psalm 4:4 sn The psalmist warns his enemies that they need to tremble with fear before God and repudiate their sinful ways.
Psalm 4:4 tn Heb “say in your heart(s) on your bed(s) and wail/lament.” The verb דֹמּוּ (dommu) is understood as a form of דָמָם (“wail, lament”) in sorrow and repentance. Another option is to take the verb from II דָמָם (damam, “be quiet”); cf. NIV, NRSV “be silent.”
Psalm 4:5 tn Or “proper, right.” The phrase also occurs in Deut 33:19 and Ps 51:19.
Psalm 4:5 sn Trust in the Lord. The psalmist urges his enemies to make peace with God and become his followers.
Psalm 4:6 tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).sn Smile upon us. Though many are discouraged, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and transform the situation.
Psalm 4:7 tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”
Psalm 4:7 tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”
Psalm 4:8 tn Heb “in peace at the same time I will lie down and sleep.”
Psalm 4:8 tn Heb “for you, Lord, solitarily, securely make me dwell.” The translation understands לְבָדָד (l^evadad) as modifying the verb; the Lord keeps enemies away from the psalmist so that he is safe and secure. Another option is to take לְבָדָד with what precedes and translate, “you alone, Lord, make me secure.”

Daniel 9:1-19

Daniel Prays for His People

9 In the first year of Darius^[a] son of Ahasuerus,^[b] who was of Median descent and who had been^[c] appointed king over the Babylonian^[d] empire— ²in the first year of his reign^[e] I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books^[f] that the number of years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem, which had come as the Lord’s^[g] message to the prophet Jeremiah, would be 70 years. ³So I turned my attention^[h] to the Lord God^[i] to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.^[j] ⁴I prayed to the Lord my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord,^[k] great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant^[l] with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards. ⁶We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority^[m] to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors,^[n] and to all the inhabitants^[o] of the land as well.

⁷“You are righteous,^[p] O Lord, but we are humiliated this day^[q]—the people^[r] of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. ⁸O Lord, we have been humiliated^[s]—our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors—because we have sinned against you. ⁹Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving,^[t] even though we have rebelled against him. ¹⁰We have not obeyed^[u] the Lord our God by living according to^[v] his laws^[w] that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

¹¹“All Israel has broken^[x] your law and turned away by not obeying you.^[y] Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened^[z] in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you.^[aa] ¹²He has carried out his threats^[ab] against us and our rulers^[ac] who were over^[ad] us by bringing great calamity on us—what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! ¹³Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify^[ae] the Lord our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom^[af] from your reliable moral standards.^[ag] ¹⁴The Lord was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the Lord our God is just^[ah] in all he has done,^[ai] and we have not obeyed him.^[aj]

¹⁵“Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power^[ak] and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day—we have sinned and behaved wickedly. ¹⁶O Lord, according to all your justice,^[al] please turn your raging anger^[am] away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

¹⁷“So now, our God, accept^[an] the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to^[ao] your devastated sanctuary for your own sake.^[ap] ¹⁸Listen attentively,^[aq] my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins^[ar] and the city called by your name.^[as] For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you,^[at] but because your compassion is abundant. ¹⁹O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.”^[au]

Footnotes

Daniel 9:1 sn The identity of this Darius is a major problem in correlating the biblical material with the extra-biblical records of this period. Most modern scholars treat the reference as a mistaken allusion to Darius Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 b.c.). Others have maintained instead that this name is a reference to the Persian governor Gubaru. Still others understand the reference to be to the Persian king Cyrus (cf. 6:28, where the ו (vav) may be understood as vav explicativum, meaning “even”). Under either of these latter two interpretations, the first year of Darius would have been ca. 538 b.c. Daniel would have been approximately eighty-two years old at this time.
Daniel 9:1 tc The LXX reads “Xerxes.” This is the reading used by some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV). Most other English versions retain the Hebrew name “Ahasuerus.”
Daniel 9:1 tc The present translation follows the MT in reading a Hophal (i.e., passive). Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate all presuppose the Hiphil (i.e., active). Even though this is the only occurrence of the Hophal of this verb in the Bible, there is no need to emend the vocalization to the Hiphil.
Daniel 9:1 tn Heb “was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.”
Daniel 9:2 tc This phrase, repeated from v. 1, is absent in Theodotion.
Daniel 9:2 tn Heb “books” or “scrolls.” The word “sacred” has been added to clarify that it refers to the Scriptures.
Daniel 9:2 sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters that constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears 8 times in this chapter and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.
Daniel 9:3 tn Heb “face.”
Daniel 9:3 tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (ʾadonay haʾelohim).
Daniel 9:3 sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.
Daniel 9:4 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
Daniel 9:4 tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.
Daniel 9:6 tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate: “as your representatives.”
Daniel 9:6 tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.
Daniel 9:6 tn Heb “people.”
Daniel 9:7 tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”
Daniel 9:7 tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”
Daniel 9:7 tn Heb “men.”
Daniel 9:8 tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”
Daniel 9:9 tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”
Daniel 9:10 tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).
Daniel 9:10 tn Heb “to walk in.”
Daniel 9:10 tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.
Daniel 9:11 tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.
Daniel 9:11 tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”
Daniel 9:11 tn Heb “the curse and the oath that is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.
Daniel 9:11 tn Heb “him.”
Daniel 9:12 tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s), which he spoke.”
Daniel 9:12 tn Heb “our judges.”
Daniel 9:12 tn Heb “who judged.”
Daniel 9:13 tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”
Daniel 9:13 tn Or “by gaining insight.”
Daniel 9:13 tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law (see vv 10-11).
Daniel 9:14 tn Or “righteous.”
Daniel 9:14 tn Heb “in all his deeds that he has done.”
Daniel 9:14 tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”
Daniel 9:15 tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”
Daniel 9:16 tn Or “righteousness.”
Daniel 9:16 tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).
Daniel 9:17 tn Heb “hear.” Here the verb refers to hearing favorably, accepting the prayer and responding positively.
Daniel 9:17 tn Heb “let your face shine.” This idiom pictures God smiling in favor. See Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19.
Daniel 9:17 tn Heb “for the sake of my Lord.” Theodotion has “for your sake.” Cf. v. 19.
Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.
Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.
Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”
Daniel 9:19 tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v. 18.

1 John 2:18-25

Warning About False Teachers

¹⁸Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists^[a] have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. ¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained^[b] with us. But^[c] they went out from us^[d] to demonstrate^[e] that all of them do not belong to us.^[f]

²⁰Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.^[g] ²¹I have not written to you that^[h] you do not know the truth, but that^[i] you do know it, and that^[j] no lie is of the truth. ²²Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ^[k] ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son. ²³Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also.^[l]

²⁴As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain^[m] in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵Now this^[n] is the promise that he^[o] himself made to^[p] us: eternal life.^[q]

Footnotes

1 John 2:18 sn Antichrists are John’s description for the opponents and their false teaching, which is at variance with the apostolic eyewitness testimony about who Jesus is (cf. 1:1-4). The identity of these opponents has been variously debated by scholars, with some contending (1) that these false teachers originally belonged to the group of apostolic leaders, but departed from it (“went out from us,” v. 19). It is much more likely (2) that they arose from within the Christian communities to which John is writing, however, and with which he identifies himself. This identification can be seen in the interchange of the pronouns “we” and “you” between 1:10 and 2:1, for example, where “we” does not refer only to John and the other apostles, but is inclusive, referring to both himself and the Christians he is writing to (2:1, “you”).
1 John 2:19 tn See note on the translation of the Greek verb μένω (menō) in 2:6. Here μένω has been translated as “remained” since it is clear that a change of status or position is involved. The opponents departed from the author’s congregation(s) and showed by this departure that they never really belonged. Had they really belonged, they would have stayed (“remained”).
1 John 2:19 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
1 John 2:19 tn The phrase “they went out from us” is not repeated a second time in the Greek text, but constitutes an ellipsis. For clarity it is necessary to repeat it in the English translation.
1 John 2:19 tn Grk “in order that it may be demonstrated.” The passive infinitive has been translated as active and the purpose clause translated by an infinitive in keeping with contemporary English style.
1 John 2:19 sn All of them do not belong to us. The opponents chose to depart rather than remain in fellowship with the community to which the author writes and with which he associates himself. This demonstrates conclusively to the author that they never really belonged to that community at all (in spite of what they were claiming). 1 John 2:19 indicates that the departure was apparently the opponents’ own decision rather than being thrown out or excommunicated. But for John, if they had been genuine believers, they would have remained in fellowship. Now they have gone out into the world, where they belong (compare 1 John 4:5).
1 John 2:20 tc A two-letter difference in Greek creates two quite diverse readings: πάντες (pantes, nominative plural in “you all know”) is read by א B P Ψ 1852 sy sa; A C 049 5 33 81 436 1175 1243 1611 1735 1739 1881 2344 2492 M latt bo have the accusative πάντα (panta, “you know all things”). The external evidence favors the nominative reading, but it is not overwhelming. The internal evidence is more compelling in favor of the nominative. Scribes would naturally tend to give the transitive verb a direct object, especially because of the parallel in the first half of the verse. And intrinsically, the argument seems to be in balance with v. 19: The “all” who have gone out and are not “in the know” with the “all” who have an anointing and know that they are true believers. Further, as R. E. Brown points out, “the fact of their knowledge (pantes), not the extent of its object (panta), seems best to fit the reassurance” (Epistles of John [AB], 349). Brown further points out the connection with the new covenant in Jer 31 with this section of 1 John, esp. Jer 31:34—“they all [pantes] shall know me.” Since 1 John alludes to Jer 31, without directly quoting it, this is all the more reason to see the nominative as autographic: Allusions are often overlooked by scribes (transcriptional evidence), but support the intrinsic evidence. Thus, the evidence is solidly, though not overwhelmingly, behind the nominative reading.sn The statement you all know probably constitutes an indirect allusion to the provisions of the new covenant mentioned in Jer 31 (see especially Jer 31:34). See also R. E. Brown, The Epistles of John [AB], 349.
1 John 2:21 tn The interpretation of the three ὅτι clauses in v. 21 is very difficult: (1) All three instances of ὅτι (hoti) may be causal (so NASB, NIV, NEB). (2) The first two may be causal while the third indicates content (declarative or recitative ὅτι, so KJV, RSV, TEV, NRSV). (3) However, it is best to take all three instances as indicating content because this allows all three to be subordinate to the verb ἔγραψα (egrapsa) as compound direct objects. The author writes to reassure his readers (a) that they do indeed know the truth (first two uses of ὅτι) and (b) that no lie is of the truth (third use).
1 John 2:21 tn See the note on the first occurrence of “that” in v. 21.
1 John 2:21 tn See the note on the first occurrence of “that” in v. 21.
1 John 2:22 tn Or “the Messiah”
1 John 2:23 tc The Byzantine text, with a handful of other mss (81 642 1175 2492 M), lacks the last eight words of this verse, “The person who confesses the Son has the Father also” (ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει, ho homologōn ton huion kai ton patera echei). Although shorter readings are often preferred (since scribes would tend to add material rather than delete it), if an unintentional error is likely, shorter readings are generally considered secondary. This is a classic example of such an unintentional omission: The τὸν πατέρα ἔχει of the preceding clause occasioned the haplography, with the scribe’s eye skipping from one τὸν πατέρα ἔχει to the other.
1 John 2:24 tn The word translated “remain” may also be translated “reside” (3 times in 2:24). See also the notes on the translation of the Greek verb μένω (menō) in 2:6 and in 2:19. Here the word can really have both nuances of “residing” and “remaining” and it is impossible for the English reader to catch both nuances if the translation provides only one. This occurs three times in 2:24.
1 John 2:25 tn It is difficult to know whether the phrase καὶ αὕτη ἐστιν (kai hautē estin) refers (1) to the preceding or (2) to the following material, or (3) to both. The same phrase occurs at the beginning of 1:5, where it serves as a transitional link between the prologue (1:1-4) and the first major section of the letter (1:5-3:10). It is probably best to see the phrase here as transitional as well; thus καί (kai) has been translated “now” rather than “and.” The accusative phrase at the end of v. 25, τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον (tēn zōēn tēn aiōnion), stands in apposition to the relative pronoun ἥν (hēn), whose antecedent is ἡ ἐπαγγελία (hē epangelia; see BDF §295). Thus the “promise” consists of “eternal life.”
1 John 2:25 tn The pronoun could refer to God or Jesus Christ, but a reference to Jesus Christ is more likely here.
1 John 2:25 tn Grk “he himself promised.” The repetition of the cognate verb “promised” after the noun “promise” is redundant in English.
1 John 2:25 sn The promise consists of eternal life, but it is also related to the concept of “remaining” in 2:24. The person who “remains in the Son and in the Father” thus has this promise of eternal life from Jesus himself. Consistent with this, 1 John 5:12 implies that the believer has this eternal life now, not just in the future, and this in turn agrees with John 5:24.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 4[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

Footnotes

Daniel Prays for His People

Footnotes

Warning About False Teachers

Footnotes

Psalm 4^[a]