◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 119:1-8 (Seeking God with all our hearts); Leviticus 19:32-37 (Aliens to be treated as fellow citizens); Romans 3:21-31 (Atonement through Christ’s blood) (New English Translation)

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October 29, 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 119:1-8

Psalm 119^[a]

א (Alef)

119 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless,^[b]
who obey^[c] the law of the Lord.
²How blessed are those who observe his rules,
and seek him with all their heart,
³who, moreover, do no wrong,
but follow in his footsteps.^[d]
⁴You demand that your precepts
be carefully kept.^[e]
⁵If only I were predisposed^[f]
to keep your statutes.
⁶Then I would not be ashamed,
if^[g] I were focused on^[h] all your commands.
⁷I will give you sincere thanks,^[i]
when I learn your just regulations.
⁸I will keep your statutes.
Do not completely abandon me.^[j]

Leviticus 19:32-37

³²You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord. ³³When a resident foreigner^[a] lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. ³⁴The resident foreigner^[b] who lives with you must be to you as a native citizen among you; so^[c] you must love the foreigner as yourself, because you were foreigners^[d] in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. ³⁵You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume.^[e] ³⁶You must have honest balances,^[f] honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.^[g] I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt. ³⁷You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations.^[h] I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

Leviticus 19:33 tn The noun “foreigner” (גֵּר; ger) is based on the same verbal root as “lives” (גּוּר; gur), which means “to sojourn, to dwell as an alien.” On the Hebrew ger (גֵּר) “resident foreigner” see notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11. On not oppressing the ger, see also Exod 22:21; Deut 24:14, 17; 27:19.
Leviticus 19:34 tn The noun “foreigner” (גֵּר; ger) is based on the same verbal root as “lives” (גּוּר; gur), which means “to sojourn, to dwell as an alien.”
Leviticus 19:34 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
Leviticus 19:34 sn The same term ger (גֵּר) is used for the resident foreigner living in Israel and of the Israelite who lived in Israel, despite the very different social conditions of each. A foreign resident has differing status in different countries. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt, but the resident foreigner in Israel was under the same laws (civil and religious) as the Israelite and could worship the Lord as part of the covenant community. Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 26, 29; 19:10; 35:15; Deut 1:16) or similar obligations (Exod 20:10; 23:12; Lev 16:29; 17:10, 12, 13; 18:26; 24:16; Num 15:14). For more on the ger (גֵּר), see the notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11.
Leviticus 19:35 tn That is, liquid capacity (HALOT 640 s.v. מְשׂוּרָה). Cf. ASV, NIV, NRSV, TEV “quantity”; NAB, NASB “capacity.”
Leviticus 19:36 tn Heb “balances of righteousness,” and so throughout this sentence.
Leviticus 19:36 sn An ephah is a dry measure which measures about four gallons, or perhaps one third of a bushel, while a hin is a liquid measure of about 3.6 liters (= approximately 1 gallon).
Leviticus 19:37 tn Heb “And you shall keep all my statutes and all my regulations and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31).

Romans 3:21-31

²¹But now^[a] apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets)^[b] has been disclosed— ²²namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ^[c] for all who believe. For there is no distinction, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ²⁴But they are justified^[d] freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. ²⁵God publicly displayed^[e] him^[f] at his death^[g] as the mercy seat^[h] accessible through faith.^[i] This was to demonstrate^[j] his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed.^[k] ²⁶This was^[l] also to demonstrate^[m] his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just^[n] and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.^[o]

²⁷Where, then, is boasting?^[p] It is excluded! By what principle?^[q] Of works? No, but by the principle of faith! ²⁸For we consider that a person^[r] is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.^[s] ²⁹Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! ³⁰Since God is one,^[t] he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹Do we then nullify^[u] the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead^[v] we uphold the law.

Footnotes

Romans 3:21 tn Νυνὶ δέ (Nuni de, “But now”) could be understood as either (1) logical or (2) temporal in force, but most recent interpreters take it as temporal, referring to a new phase in salvation history.
Romans 3:21 tn Or “which is attested by the law and the prophets.”
Romans 3:22 tn Or “faith in Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pistis Christou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.sn ExSyn 116, which notes that the grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts, only with the verb πιστεύω rather than the noun), but implies that the object of faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.
Romans 3:24 tn Or “declared righteous.” Grk “being justified,” as a continuation of the preceding clause. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Romans 3:25 tn Or “purposed, intended.”
Romans 3:25 tn Grk “whom God publicly displayed.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Romans 3:25 tn Grk “in his blood.” The prepositional phrase ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι (en tō autou haimati) is difficult to interpret. It is traditionally understood to refer to the atoning sacrifice Jesus made when he shed his blood on the cross, and as a modifier of ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion). This interpretation fits if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to a sacrifice. But if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to the place where atonement is made as this translation has done (see note on the phrase “mercy seat”), this interpretation of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι creates a violent mixed metaphor. Within a few words Paul would switch from referring to Jesus as the place where atonement was made to referring to Jesus as the atoning sacrifice itself. A viable option which resolves this problem is to see ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι as modifying the verb προέθετο (proetheto). If it modifies the verb, it would explain the time or place in which God publicly displayed Jesus as the mercy seat; the reference to blood would be a metaphorical way of speaking of Jesus’ death. This is supported by the placement of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι in the Greek text (it follows the noun, separated from it by another prepositional phrase) and by stylistic parallels with Rom 1:4. This is the interpretation the translation has followed, although it is recognized that many interpreters favor different options and translations. The prepositional phrase has been moved forward in the sentence to emphasize its connection with the verb, and the referent of the metaphorical language has been specified in the translation. For a detailed discussion of this interpretation, see D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999).
Romans 3:25 tn The word ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion) may carry the general sense “place of satisfaction,” referring to the place where God’s wrath toward sin is satisfied. More likely, though, it refers specifically to the “mercy seat,” i.e., the covering of the ark where the blood was sprinkled in the OT ritual on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This term is used only one other time in the NT: Heb 9:5, where it is rendered “mercy seat.” There it describes the altar in the most holy place (holy of holies). Thus Paul is saying that God displayed Jesus as the “mercy seat,” the place where propitiation was accomplished. See N. S. L. Fryer, “The Meaning and Translation of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25, ” EvQ 59 (1987): 99-116, who concludes the term is a neuter accusative substantive best translated “mercy seat” or “propitiatory covering,” and D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999), who argues that this is a direct reference to the mercy seat which covered the ark of the covenant.
Romans 3:25 tn The prepositional phrase διὰ πίστεως (dia pisteōs) here modifies the noun ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion). As such it forms a complete noun phrase and could be written as “mercy-seat-accessible-through-faith” to emphasize the singular idea. See Rom 1:4 for a similar construction. The word “accessible” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to clarify the idea expressed by the prepositional phrase (cf. NRSV “effective through faith”).
Romans 3:25 tn Grk “for a demonstration,” giving the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Romans 3:25 tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”
Romans 3:26 tn The words “This was” have been repeated from the previous verse to clarify that this is a continuation of that thought. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Romans 3:26 tn Grk “toward a demonstration,” repeating and expanding the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a.
Romans 3:26 tn Or “righteous.”
Romans 3:26 tn Or “of the one who has faith in Jesus.” See note on “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” in v. 22 for the rationale behind the translation “Jesus’ faithfulness.”
Romans 3:27 tn Although a number of interpreters understand the “boasting” here to refer to Jewish boasting, others (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, “‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 96) take the phrase to refer to all human boasting before God.
Romans 3:27 tn Grk “By what sort of law?”
Romans 3:28 tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anthrōpon) is used in an indefinite and general sense (BDAG 81 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 4.a.γ).
Romans 3:28 tn See the note on the phrase “works of the law” in Rom 3:20.
Romans 3:30 tn Grk “but if indeed God is one.”
Romans 3:31 tn Grk “render inoperative.”
Romans 3:31 tn Grk “but” (Greek ἀλλά, alla).

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 119[a]

א (Alef)

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 119^[a]