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June 4, 2018

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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 99

Psalm 99^[a]

99 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.^[b]
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;^[c]
the earth shakes.^[d]
²The Lord is elevated^[e] in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
³Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He^[f] is holy!
⁴The king is strong;
he loves justice.^[g]
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;^[h]
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
⁵Praise^[i] the Lord our God.
Worship^[j] before his footstool.
He is holy!
⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.^[k]
They^[l] prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
⁷He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;^[m]
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
⁸O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.^[n]
⁹Praise^[o] the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.

Footnotes

Psalm 99:1 sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
Psalm 99:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”
Psalm 99:1 sn Cherubim are winged angels. As depicted in the OT, they possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubim suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubim in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
Psalm 99:1 tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).
Psalm 99:2 tn Heb “great.”
Psalm 99:3 tn The pronoun refers to the Lord himself (see vv. 5, 9).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (ʿoz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (ʿaz, “strong”).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “you establish fairness.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “exalt.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “bow down.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.
Psalm 99:7 sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.
Psalm 99:8 tn Heb “a God of lifting up [i.e., forgiveness] you were to them, and an avenger concerning their deeds.” The present translation reflects the traditional interpretation, which understands the last line as qualifying the preceding one. God forgave Moses and Aaron, but he also disciplined them when they sinned (cf. NIV, NRSV). Another option is to take “their deeds” as referring to harmful deeds directed against Moses and Aaron. In this case the verse may be translated, “and one who avenged attacks against them.” Still another option is to emend the participial form נֹקֵם (noqem, “an avenger”) to נֹקָם (noqam), a rare Qal participial form of נָקַה (naqah, “purify”) with a suffixed pronoun. In this case one could translate, “and one who purified them from their [sinful] deeds” (cf. NEB “and held them innocent”).
Psalm 99:9 tn Or “exalt.”

1 Samuel 2:11-17

¹¹Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah.

Eli’s Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office

The boy^[a] Samuel^[b] was serving the Lord with the favor of^[c] Eli the priest.^[d] ¹²But the sons of Eli were wicked men.^[e] They did not acknowledge the Lord’s authority.^[f] ¹³This was the priests’ routine with the people. Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice,^[g] the priest’s attendant would come with a three-pronged fork^[h] in his hand, just as the meat was boiling. ¹⁴He would jab it into the basin, kettle, cauldron, or pot. Everything that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. This is how they used to treat all the Israelites^[i] who came there^[j] to Shiloh.

¹⁵Also, before they burned the fat the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Give some meat for the priest to roast! He^[k] won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”^[l] ¹⁶If^[m] the individual said to him, “They should certainly burn^[n] the fat away first, then take for yourself^[o] whatever you wish,”^[p] then he would say, “No!^[q] Give it now! If not, I’ll take it by force!”^[r] ¹⁷The sin of these young men^[s] was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they^[t] treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.

Footnotes

1 Samuel 2:11 tn The term נַעַר (naʿar), here translated “boy,” often refers to a servant or apprentice in line for a position of authority.
1 Samuel 2:11 tn The name “Samuel” has been supplied here for clarity.
1 Samuel 2:11 tn Heb “with [or “before”] the face of.” Possibly “under the supervision of.” Cf. 1 Sam 2:18 and 1 Kgs 13:6 where the face represents favor.
1 Samuel 2:11 tc The transition between the end of the song and the next portion of the narrative varies in the ancient witnesses. At Qumran, vs 11 is entirely omitted from 4QSam^a. The MT refers to Elkanah returning to Ramah, then Samuel serving the Lord “with the face” of Eli. The LXX focuses initially on Hannah. According to Graeme Auld (I & II Samuel [Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011] 40 and 43) the first scribe of Codex B wrote “And she left him there facing Yahweh. And she went to Ramathaim. And the lad was serving in face of Yahweh, facing Eli the priest.” The Lucianic Greek text differs as to the beginning, “And they left him before Yahweh there, and did homage to Yahweh, and departed for Ramah for their home.” Thus the MT and the early Greek text focus on the different spouses, while the Lucianic tradition blends them together with a plural verb. The omission from Qumran and variation among the other texts suggests that this verse was either damaged in a very early copy or added to smooth out the transition between topics. If the MT is accepted, the principal question remaining is where to divide the paragraphs. Does Samuel’s service to the Lord function primarily as contrast to his parent’s return trip or as contrast to Eli’s dishonorable sons? The syntactic structure for both options is the same, vav plus noun first, and therefore not decisive. That the next section starts at 2:18 with nearly identical phrasing argues to begin a paragraph here with the statement about Samuel.
1 Samuel 2:12 tn Heb “sons of worthlessness.”
1 Samuel 2:12 tn Heb “they did not know the Lord.” The verb here has the semantic nuance “acknowledge [the authority of].” Eli’s sons obviously knew who the Lord was; they served in his sanctuary. But they did not acknowledge his moral authority.
1 Samuel 2:13 tc The LXX reads “As to the right of the priests from the people, [from] anyone sacrificing.”
1 Samuel 2:13 sn The Hebrew word occurs only twice in the OT, here and again in v. 14. Its exact meaning is not entirely clear, although from the context it appears to be a sacrificial tool used for retrieving things from boiling water.
1 Samuel 2:14 tn Heb “everyone of Israel.”
1 Samuel 2:14 tc The LXX reads “who came to sacrifice at Shiloh.”
1 Samuel 2:15 tc LXX “I.”
1 Samuel 2:15 tn Heb “living.”
1 Samuel 2:16 tn The Hebrew has a preterite verb, normally “and then he said.” In this case it gives the next event in a sequence that is modal and describes something typical in past time. Most English translations add “if” because this is a possible and common scenario rather than a specific incident only.
1 Samuel 2:16 tc The construction is a Piel infinitive absolute followed by a Hiphil imperfect, the only case of such syntax. Normally the infinitive absolute agrees with the verbal stem of the main verb, or sometimes is Qal when the main verb is not. The LXX renders in the passive voice, “the fat should be burned,” probably interpreting the consonants of these verbs as Pual forms.
1 Samuel 2:16 tc The LXX adds “from any.”
1 Samuel 2:16 tn Heb “whatever your soul desires.”
1 Samuel 2:16 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss (“no”) rather than the MT’s Kethib, which reads “to him.”
1 Samuel 2:16 tc The Qumran text, 4QSam^a, reads “you must give and I will take by force.” 4QSam^a continues with a text similar to vss 13-14, in which the priest’s servant describes stabbing the trident into the pot to take whatever would come up. Either this repetition was original and the MT and LXX eliminated the redundancy, or the tradition behind the Qumran scroll may have read these elements in a different order than the MT and LXX and then added the material to the earlier location (matching the MT and LXX) resulting in the repetition. See Graeme Auld, I & II Samuel (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011) 44-45.
1 Samuel 2:17 tn The term נַעַר (naʿar), here translated “young men,” often refers to a servant or apprentice in line for a position of authority. The same term describes Samuel in vs 11 and 18. The repetition helps establish the contrast between Samuel and Eli’s sons.
1 Samuel 2:17 tc Heb “the men,” which is absent from one medieval Hebrew ms, a Qumran ms, and the LXX.

Romans 9:19-29

¹⁹You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” ²⁰But who indeed are you—a mere human being^[a]—to talk back to God?^[b] Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?”^[c] ²¹Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay^[d] one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?^[e] ²²But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects^[f] of wrath^[g] prepared for destruction?^[h] ²³And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects^[i] of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵As he also says in Hosea:

“I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved,^[j] ‘My beloved.’”^[k]
²⁶“And in the very place^[l] where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”^[m]

²⁷And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children^[n] of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, ²⁸for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.”^[o] ²⁹Just^[p] as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies^[q] had not left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”^[r]

Footnotes

Romans 9:20 tn Grk “O man.”
Romans 9:20 tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”
Romans 9:20 sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.
Romans 9:21 tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”
Romans 9:21 tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”
Romans 9:22 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
Romans 9:22 tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orgēs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.
Romans 9:22 tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizō) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.
Romans 9:23 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
Romans 9:25 tn Grk “and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’”
Romans 9:25 sn A quotation from Hos 2:23.
Romans 9:26 tn Grk “And it will be in the very place.”
Romans 9:26 sn A quotation from Hos 1:10.
Romans 9:27 tn Grk “sons.”
Romans 9:28 tc In light of the interpretive difficulty of this verse, a longer reading seems to have been added to clarify the meaning. The addition, in the middle of the sentence, makes the whole verse read as follows: “For he will execute his sentence completely and quickly in righteousness, because the Lord will do it quickly on the earth.” The shorter reading is found largely in Alexandrian mss (P⁴⁶ א* A B 6 1506 1739 1881 co), while the longer reading is found principally in Western and Byzantine mss (א² D F G Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M lat). The longer reading follows Isa 10:22-23 (LXX) verbatim, while Paul in the previous verse quoted the LXX loosely. This suggests the addition was made by a copyist trying to make sense out of a difficult passage rather than by the author himself. tn There is a wordplay in Greek (in both the LXX and here) on the phrase translated “completely and quickly” (συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων, suntelōn kai suntemnōn). These participles are translated as adverbs for smoothness; a more literal (and more cumbersome) rendering would be: “The Lord will act by closing the account [or completing the sentence], and by cutting short the time.” The interpretation of this text is notoriously difficult. Cf. BDAG 975 s.v. συντέμνω.sn A modified quotation from Isa 10:22-23. Since it is not exact, it has been printed as italics only.
Romans 9:29 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
Romans 9:29 tn Traditionally, “Lord of Hosts”; or “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”
Romans 9:29 sn A quotation from Isa 1:9.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 99[a]

Footnotes

Eli’s Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 99^[a]