◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / 1 Kings 18:20-21 [22-29] 30-39 (Elijah and the prophets of Baal); Psalm 96 (Give glory to God’s name); Galatians 1:1-12 (Beware of contrary gospels); Luke 7:1-10 (Jesus heals the centurion’s slave) (New English Translation)

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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

1 Kings 18:20-21

²⁰Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. ²¹Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision?^[a] If the Lord is the true God,^[b] then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word.

1 Kings 18:22-29

²²Elijah said to them:^[a] “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. ²³Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. ²⁴Then you^[b] will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.”^[c] All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.”^[d]

²⁵Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.”^[e] ²⁶So they took a bull, as he had suggested,^[f] and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped^[g] around on the altar they had made.^[h] ²⁷At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.”^[i] ²⁸So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual,^[j] mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood.^[k] ²⁹Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy,^[l] but there was no sound, no answer, and no response.^[m]

1 Kings 18:30-39

³⁰Elijah then told all the people, “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.^[a] ³¹Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord’s message had come, “Israel will be your name.”^[b] ³²With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord.^[c] Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs^[d] of seed. ³³He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” ³⁴When they had done so,^[e] he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. ³⁵The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench. ³⁶When it was time for the evening offering,^[f] Elijah the prophet approached the altar^[g] and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove^[h] today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ³⁷Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God^[i] and that you are winning back their allegiance.”^[j] ³⁸Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky.^[k] It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. ³⁹When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God!^[l] The Lord is the true God!”

Psalm 96

Psalm 96^[a]

96 Sing to the Lord a new song.^[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
²Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.^[c]
³Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell^[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
⁴For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.^[e]
⁵For all the gods of the nations are worthless,^[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
⁶Majestic splendor emanates from him;^[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.^[h]
⁷Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
⁸Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.^[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
⁹Worship the Lord in holy attire.^[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
¹⁰Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
¹¹Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
¹²Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
¹³before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,^[k]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.^[l]

Galatians 1:1-12

Salutation

1 From Paul,^[a] an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead) ²and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia. ³Grace and peace to you^[b] from God the Father and our^[c] Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.

Occasion of the Letter

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one^[d] who called you by the grace of Christ^[e] and are following^[f] a different^[g] gospel— ⁷not that there really is another gospel,^[h] but^[i] there are some who are disturbing you and wanting^[j] to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach^[k] a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,^[l] let him be condemned to hell!^[m] ⁹As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!^[n] ¹⁰Am I now trying to gain the approval of people,^[o] or of God? Or am I trying to please people?^[p] If I were still trying to please^[q] people,^[r] I would not be a slave^[s] of Christ!

Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship

¹¹Now^[t] I want you to know, brothers and sisters,^[u] that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.^[v] ¹²For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source;^[w] instead I received it^[x] by a revelation of Jesus Christ.^[y]

Footnotes

Galatians 1:1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
Galatians 1:3 tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”
Galatians 1:3 tc ‡ The unusual placement of the pronoun in καὶ κυρίου ἡμῶν (kai kuriou hēmōn), which produces the reading “God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ” instead of “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” is read by P^{46, 51vid} B D F G H 1175 1505 1739 1881 M sy sa, while the more normal ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου (hēmōn kai kuriou) is found in א A P Ψ 33 81 326 365 1241 2464. Thus, the reading adopted in the translation is more widespread geographically and is found in the two earliest witnesses, along with several good representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine families. Internally, there would be a strong motivation for scribes to change the order to the more usual expression: “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” is Paul’s normal greeting; here alone is the pronoun attached to “Jesus Christ” (except in the Pastorals, though the greeting in these letters is nevertheless unlike the rest of the corpus Paulinum). Intrinsically, the chosen reading is superior as well: Scribes would be prone to emulate Paul’s regular style, while in an early letter such as this one his regular style was yet to be established (for a similar situation, cf. the text-critical discussion at 1 Thess 1:1). Hence, there is a strong probability that the reading in the translation above is authentic. Although B. M. Metzger argues that “the apostle’s stereotyped formula was altered by copyists who, apparently in the interest of Christian piety, transferred the possessive pronoun so it would be more closely associated with ‘Lord Jesus Christ’” (TCGNT 520), one might expect to see the same alterations in other Pauline letters. That this is not the case argues for “our Lord Jesus Christ” as the authentic reading here.
Galatians 1:6 sn The one who called you is a reference to God the Father (note the mention of Christ in the following prepositional phrase and the mention of God the Father in 1:1).
Galatians 1:6 tc Although the majority of witnesses, including some of the most important ones (P⁵¹ א A B F^c Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739 1881 2464 M f vg sy^p bo), read “by the grace of Christ” (χάριτι Χριστοῦ, chariti Christou) here, this reading is not without variables. Besides alternate readings such as χάριτι ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (chariti Iēsou Christou, “by the grace of Jesus Christ”; D 326 1241^s sy^h**) and χάριτι θεοῦ (chariti theou, “by the grace of God”; 327 Thret^lem), a few mss and other witnesses (P^46vid F* G H^vid ar b Tert Cyp Ambst Pel) have simply χάριτι with no modifier. Internally, the reading that seems best to explain the rise of the others is the shortest reading, χάριτι. Indeed, the fact that three different adjuncts are found in the mss seems to be a natural expansion on the simple “grace.” At the same time, the witnesses for the shortest reading are not particularly impressive, being that they largely represent one textual strand (Western), and a less-than-reliable one at that. Further, nowhere else in the corpus Paulinum do we see the construction χάρις (charis, “grace”) followed by Χριστοῦ without some other name (such as κυρίου [kuriou, “Lord”] or ᾿Ιησοῦ). The construction χάρις θεοῦ is likewise frequent in Paul. Thus, upon closer inspection it seems that the autographic wording here was χάριτι Χριστοῦ (for it is difficult to explain how this particular reading could have arisen from the simple χάριτι, in light of Paul’s normal idioms), with the other readings intentionally or accidentally arising from it.
Galatians 1:6 tn Grk “deserting [turning away] to” a different gospel, implying the idea of “following.”
Galatians 1:6 tn Grk “another.”
Galatians 1:7 tn Grk “which is not another,” but this could be misunderstood to mean “which is not really different.” In fact, as Paul goes on to make clear, there is no other gospel than the one he preaches.
Galatians 1:7 tn Grk “except.”
Galatians 1:7 tn Or “trying.”
Galatians 1:8 tc ‡ Most witnesses have ὑμῖν (humin, “to you”) either after (א² A [D* ὑμᾶς] 6 33 326 614 945 1881 M Tert^pt Ambst) or before (P^51vid B H 0278 630 1175 [1739* ἡμῖν]) εὐαγγελίζηται (euaggelizētai, “should preach” [or some variation on the form of this verb]). But the fact that it floats suggests its inauthenticity, especially since it appears to be a motivated reading for purposes of clarification. The following witnesses lack the pronoun: א* F G Ψ ar b g Cyp Mcion^T Tert^pt Lcf. The external evidence admittedly is not as weighty as evidence for the pronoun, but coupled with strong internal evidence the shorter reading should be considered the earliest. Although it is possible that scribes may have deleted the pronoun to make Paul’s statement seem more universal, the fact that the pronoun floats suggests otherwise. NA²⁸ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
Galatians 1:8 tn Or “other than the one we preached to you.”
Galatians 1:8 tn Grk “let him be accursed” (ἀνάθεμα, anathema). The translation gives the outcome which is implied by this dreadful curse.
Galatians 1:9 tn See the note on this phrase in the previous verse.
Galatians 1:10 tn Grk “of men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anthrōpous) is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
Galatians 1:10 tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
Galatians 1:10 tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively (ExSyn 550).
Galatians 1:10 tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
Galatians 1:10 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households. sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
Galatians 1:11 tc ‡ The conjunction δέ (de) is found in P⁴⁶ א*^,2 A D¹ Ψ 1175 1241 1505 1739 1881 M sy bo, while γάρ (gar) is the conjunction of choice in א¹ B D*^,c F G 33 lat sa. There are thus good representatives on each side. Scribes generally tended to prefer γάρ in such instances, most likely because it was more forceful and explicit. γάρ is thus seen as a motivated reading. For this reason, δέ is preferred.
Galatians 1:11 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
Galatians 1:11 tn Grk “is not according to man.”
Galatians 1:12 tn Or “I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it.”
Galatians 1:12 tn The words “I received it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
Galatians 1:12 tn It is difficult to determine what kind of genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Iēsou Christou) is. If it is a subjective genitive, the meaning is “a revelation from Jesus Christ” but if objective genitive, it is “a revelation about Jesus Christ.” Most likely this is objective since the explanation in vv. 15-16 mentions God revealing the Son to Paul so that he might preach, although the idea of a direct revelation to Paul at some point cannot be ruled out.

Luke 7:1-10

Healing the Centurion’s Slave

7 After Jesus^[a] had finished teaching all this to the people,^[b] he entered Capernaum.^[c] ²A centurion^[d] there^[e] had a slave^[f] who was highly regarded,^[g] but who was sick and at the point of death. ³When the centurion^[h] heard^[i] about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders^[j] to him, asking him to come^[k] and heal his slave. ⁴When^[l] they came^[m] to Jesus, they urged^[n] him earnestly,^[o] “He is worthy^[p] to have you do this for him, ⁵because he loves our nation,^[q] and even^[r] built our synagogue.”^[s] ⁶So^[t] Jesus went with them. When^[u] he was not far from the house, the centurion^[v] sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself,^[w] for I am not worthy^[x] to have you come under my roof! ⁷That is why^[y] I did not presume^[z] to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed.^[aa] ⁸For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me.^[ab] I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes,^[ac] and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”^[ad] ⁹When Jesus heard this, he was amazed^[ae] at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!”^[af] ¹⁰So^[ag] when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave^[ah] well.

Footnotes

Luke 7:1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 7:1 tn Grk “After he had completed all his sayings in the hearing of the people.”
Luke 7:1 sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It existed since Hasmonean times and was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. The population in the first century is estimated to be around 1,500. Capernaum became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt 4:13; Mark 2:1). In modern times the site was discovered in 1838 by the American explorer E. Robinson, and major excavations began in 1905 by German archaeologists H. Kohl and C. Watzinger. Not until 1968, however, were remains from the time of Jesus visible; in that year V. Corbo and S. Loffreda began a series of annual archaeological campaigns that lasted until 1985. This work uncovered what is thought to be the house of Simon Peter as well as ruins of the first century synagogue beneath the later synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D. Today gently rolling hills and date palms frame the first century site, a favorite tourist destination of visitors to the Galilee.
Luke 7:2 sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions throughout the region may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like the apostle Paul did (cf. Acts 22:28).
Luke 7:2 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
Luke 7:2 tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. 1). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households. Later in this passage (v. 7) Luke uses the Greek term παῖς (pais), to refer to the centurion’s slave. This was a term often used of a slave who was regarded with some degree of affection, possibly a personal servant.
Luke 7:2 tn The term ἔντιμος (entimos) could mean “highly valued,” but this sounds too much like the slave was seen as an asset, while the text suggests a genuine care for the person. More archaically, it could be said the centurion was fond of this slave.
Luke 7:3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 7:3 tn The participle ἀκούσας (akousas) has been taken temporally.
Luke 7:3 sn Why some Jewish elders are sent as emissaries is not entirely clear, but the centurion was probably respecting ethnic boundaries, which were important in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish culture. The parallel account in Matt 8:5-13 does not mention the emissaries.
Luke 7:3 tn The participle ἐλθών (elthōn) has been translated as an infinitive in parallel with διασώσῃ (diasōsē) due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Luke 7:4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Luke 7:4 tn Although the participle παραγενόμενοι (paragenomenoi) is preceded by the Greek article (οἱ, hoi) which would normally cause it to be regarded as an adjectival or substantival participle, most modern translations, probably as a result of the necessities of contemporary English style, render it as a temporal participle (“when they came”).
Luke 7:4 tn Or “implored.”
Luke 7:4 tn Grk “urged him earnestly, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been translated.
Luke 7:4 tn Grk “Worthy is he to have you do this”; the term “worthy” comes first in the direct discourse and is emphatic.
Luke 7:5 tn Or “people.” The use of ἔθνος (ethnos, “nation”) here instead of “God” probably meant the man was not a full proselyte, but that he had simply been supportive of the Jews and their culture. He could have been a God-fearer. The Romans saw a stable religious community as politically helpful and often supported it (Josephus, Ant. 16.6.2 [16.162-165], 19.6.3 [19.300-311]).
Luke 7:5 tn In the Greek text, the pronoun αὐτός (autos) is included, making this emphatic. Naturally the force of this statement is causative, meaning the centurion either had the synagogue built or donated the cost of its construction.
Luke 7:5 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
Luke 7:6 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the resultative action.
Luke 7:6 tn The participle ἀπέχοντος (apechontos) has been taken temporally.
Luke 7:6 sn See the note on the word centurion in 7:2.
Luke 7:6 tn Or “do not be bothered.”
Luke 7:6 sn Note the humility in the centurion’s statement I am not worthy in light of what others think (as v. 4 notes). See Luke 5:8 for a similar example of humility.
Luke 7:7 tn Or “roof; therefore.”
Luke 7:7 tn Grk “I did not consider myself worthy to come to you.” See BDAG 94 s.v. ἀξιόω 1. “Presume” assumes this and expresses the idea in terms of offense.
Luke 7:7 tc The aorist imperative ἰαθήτω (iathētō, “must be healed”) is found in P^75vid B L 1241 sa. Most mss (א A C D W Θ Ψ ƒ^1,13 33 M latt bo) have instead a future indicative, ἰαθήσεται (iathēsetai, “will be healed”). This is most likely an assimilation to Matt 8:8, and thus, as a motivated reading, should be considered secondary. The meaning either way is essentially the same.tn The aorist imperative may be translated as an imperative of command (“must be healed” or, more periphrastically, “command [my servant] to be healed”) or as a permissive imperative (“let my servant be healed”), which lessens the force of the imperative somewhat in English.
Luke 7:8 tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”
Luke 7:8 sn I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.
Luke 7:8 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
Luke 7:9 tn Or “pleased with him and amazed.” The expanded translation brings out both Jesus’ sense of wonder at the deep insight of the soldier and the pleasure he had that he could present the man as an example of faith.
Luke 7:9 sn There are two elements to the faith that Jesus commended: The man’s humility and his sense of Jesus’ authority which recognized that only Jesus’ word, not his physical presence, were required.
Luke 7:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the summarization at the end of the account.
Luke 7:10 tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C [D] Θ Ψ ƒ¹³ 33 M), have “the sick slave” here instead of “the slave.” This brings out the contrast of the healing more clearly, but this reading looks secondary both internally (scribes tended toward clarification) and externally (the shorter reading is well supported by a variety of witnesses: P⁷⁵ א B L W ƒ¹ 579 700 892* 1241 2542 it co).

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 96[a]

Footnotes

Salutation

Occasion of the Letter

Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship

Footnotes

Healing the Centurion’s Slave

Footnotes

Psalm 96^[a]