◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 45:6-17 (A marriage song); Isaiah 62:1-5 (God marries the people); John 3:22-36 (Christ the bridegroom) (New English Translation)

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May 31, 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 45:6-17

⁶Your throne,^[a] O God, is permanent.^[b]
The scepter^[c] of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
⁷You love^[d] justice and hate evil.^[e]
For this reason God, your God,^[f] has anointed you^[g]
with the oil of joy,^[h] elevating you above your companions.^[i]
⁸All your garments are perfumed with^[j] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces^[k] comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.^[l]
⁹Princesses^[m] are among your honored women.^[n]
Your bride^[o] stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.^[p]
¹⁰Listen, O princess.^[q]
Observe and pay attention!^[r]
Forget your homeland^[s] and your family.^[t]
¹¹Then^[u] the king will be attracted by^[v] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit^[w] to him.^[x]
¹²Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.^[y]
¹³The princess^[z] looks absolutely magnificent,^[aa]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.^[ab]
¹⁴In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.^[ac]
¹⁵They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.^[ad]
¹⁶Your^[ae] sons will carry on^[af] the dynasty of your ancestors;^[ag]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
¹⁷I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,^[ah]
then the nations will praise you^[ai] forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 45:6 sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.
Psalm 45:6 tn Or “forever and ever.”sn O God. The king is clearly the addressee here, as in vv. 2-5 and 7-9. Rather than taking the statement at face value, many prefer to emend the text because the concept of deifying the earthly king is foreign to ancient Israelite thinking (cf. NEB “your throne is like God’s throne, eternal”). However, it is preferable to retain the text and take this statement as another instance of the royal hyperbole that permeates the royal psalms. Because the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth, the psalmist addresses him as if he were God incarnate. God energizes the king for battle and accomplishes justice through him. A similar use of hyperbole appears in Isa 9:6, where the ideal Davidic king of the eschaton is given the title “Mighty God” (see the note on this phrase there). Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (see Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). Ps 45:6 and Isa 9:6 probably envision a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.
Psalm 45:6 sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.
Psalm 45:7 sn To love justice means to actively promote it.
Psalm 45:7 sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.
Psalm 45:7 tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”
Psalm 45:7 sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.
Psalm 45:7 sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.
Psalm 45:7 tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.sn Verses 6-7 are quoted in Heb 1:8-9, where they are applied to Jesus.
Psalm 45:8 tn The words “perfumed with” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Psalm 45:8 tn Heb “the palaces of ivory.” The phrase “palaces of ivory” refers to palaces that had ivory panels and furniture decorated with ivory inlays. Such decoration with ivory was characteristic of a high level of luxury. See 1 Kgs 22:39 and Amos 3:15.
Psalm 45:8 tn Heb “from the palaces of ivory stringed instrument[s] make you happy.”
Psalm 45:9 tn Heb “daughters of kings.”
Psalm 45:9 tn Heb “valuable ones.” The form is feminine plural.
Psalm 45:9 tn This rare Hebrew noun apparently refers to the king’s bride, who will soon be queen (see Neh 2:6). The Aramaic cognate is used of royal wives in Dan 5:2-3, 23.
Psalm 45:9 tn Heb “a consort stands at your right hand, gold of Ophir.”sn Gold from Ophir is also mentioned in Isa 13:12 and Job 28:16. The precise location of Ophir is uncertain; Arabia, India, East Africa, and South Africa have all been suggested as options.
Psalm 45:10 tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בַּת (bat, “daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).sn Listen, O princess. The poet now addresses the bride.
Psalm 45:10 tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (raʾah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.
Psalm 45:10 tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.
Psalm 45:10 tn Heb “and the house of your father.”
Psalm 45:11 tn After the preceding imperatives, the jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is best understood as introducing a purpose (“so that the king might desire your beauty”) or result clause (see the present translation and cf. also NASB). The point seems to be this: The bride might tend to be homesick, which in turn might cause her to mourn and diminish her attractiveness. She needs to overcome this temptation to unhappiness and enter into the marriage with joy. Then the king will be drawn to her natural beauty.
Psalm 45:11 tn Or “desire.”
Psalm 45:11 tn Or “bow down.”
Psalm 45:11 sn Submit to him. The poet here makes the point that the young bride is obligated to bring pleasure to her new husband. Though a foreign concept to modern western culture, this was accepted as the cultural norm in the psalmist’s day.
Psalm 45:12 tn Heb “and a daughter of Tyre with a gift, your face they will appease, the rich of people.” The phrase “daughter of Tyre” occurs only here in the OT. It could be understood as addressed to the bride, indicating she was a Phoenician (cf. NEB). However, often in the OT the word “daughter,” when collocated with the name of a city or country, is used to personify the referent (see, for example, “Daughter Zion” in Ps 9:14, and “Daughter Babylon” in Ps 137:8). If that is the case here, then “Daughter Tyre” identifies the city-state of Tyre as the place from which the rich people come (cf. NRSV). The idiom “appease the face” refers to seeking one’s favor (see Exod 32:11; 1 Sam 13:12; 1 Kgs 13:6; 2 Kgs 13:4; 2 Chr 33:12; Job 11:19; Ps 119:58; Prov 19:6; Jer 26:19; Dan 9:13; Zech 7:2; 8:21-22; Mal 1:9).
Psalm 45:13 tn Heb “[the] daughter of a king.”
Psalm 45:13 tn Heb “[is] completely glorious.”
Psalm 45:13 tc Heb “within, from settings of gold, her clothing.” The Hebrew term פְּנִימָה (p^enimah, “within”), if retained, would go with the preceding line and perhaps refer to the bride being “within” the palace or her bridal chamber (cf. NIV, NRSV). Since the next two lines refer to her attire (see also v. 9b), it is preferable to emend the form to פְּנִינִיהָּ (p^eniniha, “her pearls”) or to פְּנִינִים (p^eninim, “pearls”). The mem (מ) prefixed to “settings” is probably dittographic.
Psalm 45:14 tn Heb “virgins after her, her companions, are led to you.” Some emend לָךְ (lakh, “to you”) to לָהּ (lah, “to her,” i.e., the princess), because the princess is now being spoken of in the third person (vv. 13-14a), rather than being addressed directly (as in vv. 10-12). However, the ambiguous suffixed form לָךְ need not be taken as second feminine singular. The suffix can be understood as a pausal second masculine singular form, addressed to the king. The translation assumes this to be the case; note that the king is addressed once more in vv. 16-17, where the second person pronouns are masculine.
Psalm 45:15 tn Heb “they are led with joy and happiness, they enter the house of the king.”
Psalm 45:16 tn The pronoun is second masculine singular, indicating the king is being addressed from this point to the end of the psalm.
Psalm 45:16 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive and the statement interpreted as a prayer, “May your sons carry on the dynasty of your ancestors!” The next line could then be taken as a relative clause, “[your sons] whom you will make princes throughout the land.”
Psalm 45:16 tn Heb “in place of your fathers will be your sons.”
Psalm 45:17 tn Heb “I will cause your name to be remembered in every generation and generation.” The cohortative verbal form expresses the poet’s resolve. The king’s “name” stands here for his reputation and character, which the poet praised in vv. 2-7.
Psalm 45:17 sn The nations will praise you. As God’s vice-regent on earth, the king is deserving of such honor and praise.

Isaiah 62:1-5

The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

62 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines brightly^[a]
and her deliverance burns like a torch.
²Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.^[b]
³You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal turban in the hand of your God.
⁴You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”
and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”
Indeed,^[c] you will be called “My Delight is in Her,”^[d]
and your land “Married.”^[e]
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married to him.^[f]
⁵As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons^[g] will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.

John 3:22-36

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

²²After this,^[a] Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. ²³John^[b] was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim,^[c] because water was plentiful there, and people were coming^[d] to him^[e] and being baptized. ²⁴(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)^[f]

²⁵Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew^[g] concerning ceremonial washing.^[h] ²⁶So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River,^[i] about whom you testified—see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”

²⁷John replied,^[j] “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’^[k] but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ ²⁹The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly^[l] when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete.^[m] ³⁰He must become more important while I become less important.”^[n]

³¹The one who comes from above is superior to all.^[o] The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things.^[p] The one who comes from heaven^[q] is superior to all.^[r] ³²He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful.^[s] ³⁴For the one whom God has sent^[t] speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly.^[u] ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority.^[v] ³⁶The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects^[w] the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath^[x] remains^[y] on him.

Footnotes

John 3:22 tn This section is related loosely to the preceding by μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta). This constitutes an indefinite temporal reference; the intervening time is not specified.
John 3:23 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
John 3:23 tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainōn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.
John 3:23 tn Or “people were continually coming.”
John 3:23 tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
John 3:24 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
John 3:25 tc Was this dispute between the Baptist’s disciples and an individual Judean (᾿Ιουδαίου, Ioudaiou) or representatives of the Jewish authorities (᾿Ιουδαίων, Ioudaiōn)? There is good external support for the plural ᾿Ιουδαίων (P⁶⁶ א* Θ ƒ^1,13 565 al latt), but the external evidence for the singular ᾿Ιουδαίου is slightly stronger (P⁷⁵ א² A B L Ψ 33 1241 the majority of Byzantine minuscules and others).tn Or “a certain Judean.” Here BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαίος 2.a states, “Judean (with respect to birth, nationality, or cult).” If the emphasis is simply on the individual’s origin, “Judean” would be preferable since it designates a nationality or place of origin. However, the mention of ceremonial washing in the context suggests the dispute was religious in nature, so “Jew” has been retained in the translation here.
John 3:25 tn Or “ceremonial cleansing,” or “purification.”sn What was the controversy concerning ceremonial washing? It is not clear. Some have suggested that it was over the relative merits of the baptism of Jesus and John. But what about the ceremonial nature of the washing? There are so many unanswered questions here that even R. E. Brown (who does not usually resort to dislocations in the text as a solution to difficulties) proposes that this dialogue originally took place immediately after 1:19-34 and before the wedding at Cana. (Why else the puzzled hostility of the disciples over the crowds coming to Jesus?) Also, the synoptics imply John was imprisoned before Jesus began his Galilean ministry. At any rate, there is no reason to rearrange the material here—it occurs in this place for a very good reason. As far as the author is concerned, it serves as a further continuation of the point made to Nicodemus, that is, the necessity of being born “from above” (3:3). Note that John the Baptist describes Jesus as “the one who comes from heaven” in 3:31 (ἄνωθεν [anōthen], the same word as in 3:3). There is another lexical tie to preceding material: The subject of the dispute, ceremonial washing (3:25), calls to mind the six stone jars of water changed to wine at the wedding feast in 2:6, put there for “Jewish ceremonial washing.” This section ultimately culminates and concludes ideas begun in chap. 2 and continued in chap. 3. Although the author does not supply details, one scenario would be this: The disciples of John, perplexed after this disagreement with an individual Jew (or with the Jewish authorities), came to John and asked about the fact that Jesus was baptizing and more and more were coming to him. John had been preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sin (see Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3). Possibly what the Jew(s) reported to John’s disciples was that Jesus was now setting aside the Jewish purification rituals as unnecessary. To John’s disciples this might also be interpreted as: (a) a falling away from Judaism, and (b) a break with John’s own teaching. That Jesus could have said this is very evident from many incidents in his ministry in all the gospels. The thrust would be that outward cleansing (that is, observance of purification rituals) was not what made a person clean. A new heart within (that is, being born from above) is what makes a person clean. So John’s disciples came to him troubled about an apparent contradiction in doctrine though the explicit problem they mentioned is that Jesus was baptizing and multitudes were coming to him. (Whether Jesus was or was not baptizing really wasn’t the issue though, and John the Baptist knew that because he didn’t mention it in his reply. In 4:2 the author says that Jesus was not baptizing, but his disciples. That reference would seem to cover this incident as well, and so the disciples of John are just reporting what they have heard, or thought they heard.) The real point at issue is the authority of Jesus to “overturn” the system of ritual purification within Judaism. John replied to this question of the authority of Jesus in 3:27-36. In 3:27-30 he reassured his disciples, reminding them that if more people were coming to Jesus, it did not threaten him at all, because “heaven” had ordained it to be so (v. 27). (After all, some of these very disciples of John had presumably heard him tell the Jewish delegation that he was not the Messiah but was sent before him, mentioned in John 1.) Then John compared himself to the friend of the bridegroom who stands by and yet participates in the bridegroom’s joy (v. 29). John was completely content in his own position as forerunner and preparer of the way.
John 3:26 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
John 3:27 tn Grk “answered and said.”
John 3:28 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
John 3:29 tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).
John 3:29 tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”
John 3:30 sn Some interpreters extend the quotation of John the Baptist’s words through v. 36.
John 3:31 tn Or “is above all.”
John 3:31 tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”
John 3:31 sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.
John 3:31 tc P⁷⁵ א* D ƒ¹ 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanō pantōn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (P^36vid,66 א² A B L W^s Θ Ψ 083 086 ƒ¹³ 33 M lat sy^s,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.tn Or “is above all.”
John 3:33 tn Or “is true.”
John 3:34 tn That is, Christ.
John 3:34 tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.
John 3:35 tn Grk “has given all things into his hand” (an idiom).
John 3:36 tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”
John 3:36 tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”
John 3:36 tn Or “resides.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Footnotes

The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

Footnotes

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

Footnotes