◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 103:1-13 22 (God’s compassion and mercy); Ezekiel 16:53-63 (God’s everlasting covenant); John 7:53—8:11 (The woman not condemned) (New English Translation)

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May 27, 1967

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 103:1-13

Psalm 103^[a]

By David.

103 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
With all that is within me, praise^[b] his holy name.
²Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Do not forget all his kind deeds.^[c]
³He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,^[d]
⁴who delivers^[e] your life from the Pit,^[f]
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
⁵who satisfies your life with good things,^[g]
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.^[h]
⁶The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.^[i]
⁷The Lord revealed his faithful acts^[j] to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
⁸The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient^[k] and demonstrates great loyal love.^[l]
⁹He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.^[m]
¹⁰He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;^[n]
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.^[o]
¹¹For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers^[p] over his faithful followers.^[q]
¹²As far as the eastern horizon^[r] is from the west,^[s]
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions^[t] from us.
¹³As a father has compassion on his children,^[u]
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.^[v]

Footnotes

Psalm 103:1 sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.
Psalm 103:1 tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
Psalm 103:2 tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).
Psalm 103:3 tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).
Psalm 103:4 tn Or “redeems.”
Psalm 103:4 tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24 HT [55:23 ET]).
Psalm 103:5 tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (ʿedyekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (ʿodekhi, “your duration; your continuance”), that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).
Psalm 103:5 sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.
Psalm 103:6 tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”
Psalm 103:7 tn Heb “made known his ways.” God’s “ways” in this context are his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 18:30; 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 138:5; 145:17).
Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).
Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).
Psalm 103:9 tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).
Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
Psalm 103:11 tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.
Psalm 103:11 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
Psalm 103:12 tn Heb “sunrise.”
Psalm 103:12 tn Or “sunset.”
Psalm 103:12 tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (peshaʿ, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.
Psalm 103:13 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
Psalm 103:13 tn Heb “those who fear him.”

Psalm 103:22

²²Praise the Lord, all that he has made,^[a]
in all the regions^[b] of his kingdom.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Ezekiel 16:53-63

⁵³“‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them), ⁵⁴so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them. ⁵⁵As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. ⁵⁶In your days of majesty,^[a] was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth, ⁵⁷before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram^[b] and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines—those all around you who despise you. ⁵⁸You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.

⁵⁹“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant. ⁶⁰Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting^[c] covenant with you. ⁶¹Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. ⁶²I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶³Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent^[d] because of your disgrace when I make atonement for all you have done,^[e] declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

John 7:53-8:11

A Woman Caught in Adultery^[a]

⁵³[[ And each one departed to his own house. 8 ¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.^[b] ²Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach^[c] them. ³The experts in the law^[d] and the Pharisees^[e] brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them ⁴and said to Jesus,^[f] “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. ⁵In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death^[g] such women.^[h] What then do you say?” ⁶(Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against^[i] him.)^[j] Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.^[k] ⁷When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight^[l] and replied,^[m] “Whoever among you is guiltless^[n] may be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸Then^[o] he bent over again and wrote on the ground.

⁹Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones,^[p] until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰Jesus stood up straight^[q] and said to her, “Woman,^[r] where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]]^[s]

Footnotes

John 7:53 tc This entire section, 7:53-8:11, traditionally known as the pericope adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best mss and was almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John. Among modern commentators and textual critics, it is a foregone conclusion that the section is not original but represents a later addition to the text of the Gospel. B. M. Metzger summarizes: “the evidence for the non-Johannine origin of the pericope of the adulteress is overwhelming” (TCGNT 187). External evidence is as follows. For the omission of 7:53-8:11: P^66,75 א B L N T W Δ Θ Ψ 0141 0211 33 565 1241 1424* 2768 al. In addition codices A and C are defective in this part of John, but it appears that neither contained the pericope because careful measurement shows that there would not have been enough space on the missing pages to include the pericope 7:53-8:11 along with the rest of the text. Among the mss that include 7:53-8:11 are D M lat. In addition E S Λ 1424^mg al include part or all of the passage with asterisks or obeli, 225 places the pericope after John 7:36, ƒ¹ places it after John 21:25, 115 and a few others after John 8:12, ƒ¹³ after Luke 21:38, and the corrector of 1333 includes it after Luke 24:53. (For a more complete discussion of the locations where this “floating” text has ended up, as well as a minority opinion on the authenticity of the passage, see M. A. Robinson, “Preliminary Observations regarding the Pericope Adulterae Based upon Fresh Collations of nearly All Continuous-Text Manuscripts and All Lectionary Manuscripts containing the Passage,” Filologia Neotestamentaria 13 [2000]: 35-59, especially 41-42.) In evaluating this ms evidence, it should be remembered that in the Gospels A is considered to be Byzantine (unlike in the epistles and Revelation, where it is Alexandrian), as are E F G (mss with the same designation are Western in the epistles). This leaves D as the only major Western majuscule witness in the Gospels for the inclusion. Therefore the evidence could be summarized by saying that almost all early mss of the Alexandrian text-form omit the pericope, while most mss of the Western and Byzantine families include it. But it must be remembered that “Western mss” here refers only to D, a single witness (as far as Greek mss are concerned). Thus it can be seen that practically all of the earliest and best mss extant omit the pericope; it is found only in mss of secondary importance. But before one can conclude that the passage was not originally part of the Gospel of John, internal evidence needs to be considered as well. Internal evidence in favor of the inclusion of 8:1-11 (7:53-8:11): (1) 7:53 fits in the context. If the “last great day of the feast” (7:37) refers to the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, then the statement refers to the pilgrims and worshipers going home after living in “booths” for the week while visiting Jerusalem. (2) There may be an allusion to Isa 9:1-2 behind this text: John 8:12 is the point when Jesus describes himself as the Light of the world. But the section in question mentions that Jesus returned to the temple at “early dawn” (῎Ορθρου, Orthrou, in 8:2). This is the “dawning” of the Light of the world (8:12) mentioned by Isa 9:2. (3) Furthermore, note the relationship to what follows: Just prior to presenting Jesus’ statement that he is the Light of the world, John presents the reader with an example that shows Jesus as the light. Here the woman “came to the light” while her accusers shrank away into the shadows, because their deeds were evil (cf. 3:19-21). Internal evidence against the inclusion of 8:1-11 (7:53-8:11): (1) In reply to the claim that the introduction to the pericope, 7:53, fits the context, it should also be noted that the narrative reads well without the pericope, so that Jesus’ reply in 8:12 is directed against the charge of the Pharisees in 7:52 that no prophet comes from Galilee. (2) The assumption that the author “must” somehow work Isa 9:1-2 into the narrative is simply that—an assumption. The statement by the Pharisees in 7:52 about Jesus’ Galilean origins is allowed to stand without correction by the author, although one might have expected him to mention that Jesus was really born in Bethlehem. And 8:12 does directly mention Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the world. The author may well have presumed familiarity with Isa 9:1-2 on the part of his readers because of its widespread association with Jesus among early Christians. (3) The fact that the pericope deals with the light/darkness motif does not inherently strengthen its claim to authenticity, because the motif is so prominent in the Fourth Gospel that it may well have been the reason why someone felt that the pericope, circulating as an independent tradition, fit so well here. (4) In general the style of the pericope is not Johannine either in vocabulary or grammar (see D. B. Wallace, “Reconsidering ‘The Story of the Woman Taken in Adultery Reconsidered’,” NTS 39 [1993]: 290-96). According to R. E. Brown it is closer stylistically to Lukan material (John [AB], 1:336). Interestingly one significant family of mss (ƒ¹³) places the pericope after Luke 21:38. Conclusion: In the final analysis, the weight of evidence in this case must go with the external evidence. The earliest and best mss do not contain the pericope. It is true with regard to internal evidence that an attractive case can be made for inclusion, but this is by nature subjective (as evidenced by the fact that strong arguments can be given against such as well). In terms of internal factors like vocabulary and style, the pericope does not stand up very well. The question may be asked whether this incident, although not an original part of the Gospel of John, should be regarded as an authentic tradition about Jesus. It could well be that it is ancient and may indeed represent an unusual instance where such a tradition survived outside of the bounds of the canonical literature. However, even that needs to be nuanced (see B. D. Ehrman, “Jesus and the Adulteress,” NTS 34 [1988]: 24-44).sn Double brackets have been placed around this passage to indicate that most likely it was not part of the original text of the Gospel of John. In spite of this, the passage has an important role in the history of the transmission of the text, so it has been included in the translation.
John 8:1 sn The Mount of Olives is a hill running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, lying east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It was named for the large number of olive trees that grew on it.
John 8:2 tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.
John 8:3 tn Or “The scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateus) as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.
John 8:3 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
John 8:4 tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
John 8:5 sn An allusion to Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24.
John 8:5 sn The accusers themselves subtly misrepresented the law. The Mosaic law stated that in the case of adultery, both the man and woman must be put to death (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22), but they mentioned only such women.
John 8:6 tn Grk “so that they could accuse.”
John 8:6 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author of 7:53-8:11.
John 8:6 tn Or possibly “Jesus bent down and wrote an accusation on the ground with his finger.” The Greek verb καταγράφω (katagraphō) may indicate only the action of writing on the ground by Jesus, but in the overall context (Jesus’ response to the accusation against the woman) it can also be interpreted as implying that what Jesus wrote was a counteraccusation against the accusers (although there is no clue as to the actual content of what he wrote, some scribes added “the sins of each one of them” either here or at the end of v. 8 [U 264 700 al]).
John 8:7 tn Or “he straightened up.”
John 8:7 tn Grk “and said to them.”
John 8:7 tn Or “sinless.”
John 8:8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.
John 8:9 tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”
John 8:10 tn Or “straightened up.”
John 8:10 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
John 8:11 tc The earliest and best mss do not contain 7:53-8:11 (see note on 7:53).

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 103[a]

By David.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

A Woman Caught in Adultery[a]

Footnotes

Psalm 103^[a]

A Woman Caught in Adultery^[a]