◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / 2 Samuel 23:1-7 (The just ruler like morning light); Psalm 132:1-12 [13-18] (The faithful sing with joy); Revelation 1:4b-8 (Christ the ruler of the earth); John 18:33-37 (The kingdom of Christ) (New Catholic Bible)

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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

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Chapter 23

The Last Words of David^[a] ¹These are the last words of David:

“The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
    the oracle of the man whom the Most High exalted,
the anointed of the God of Jacob
    and the beloved of the Mighty One of Israel:
²“The Spirit of the Lord has spoken through me;
    his word is on my tongue.
³The God of Israel has spoken;
    the Rock of Israel has said of me:
‘He who rules people justly,
    who rules in the fear of God
⁴is like the morning light at sunrise
    on a cloudless morning after rainfall
    that causes the grass of the earth to sparkle.’
⁵“My house stands firm with God,
    for he has made an everlasting covenant with me,
    well ordered in all things and secure.
Will he not bring to fruition
    my salvation and my every desire?
⁶“But the ungodly are all like thorns
    that must be cast aside,
    for they cannot be grasped by the hand.
⁷No one dares to touch them
    except with an iron bar or the shaft of a spear,
    and then only to consume them by fire.”

Psalm 132:1-12

Psalm 132^[a]

The Divine Promises Made to David

¹A song of ascents.

Remember, O Lord, for David’s sake,
    all the difficulties he endured.^[b]
²^[c]He swore an oath to the Lord
    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
³“I will not enter the house I live in
    or lie down on the bed where I sleep,
⁴neither will I allow myself to fall asleep
    or even to close my eyes,
⁵until I find a home for the Lord,
    a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
⁶We heard of it in Ephrathah;
    we came upon it^[d] in the fields of Jaar.
⁷^[e]Let us enter his dwelling place,
    let us worship at his footstool.
⁸Arise, O Lord, and go up to your resting place,
    you and the Ark of your might.
⁹Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,^[f]
    and let your saints shout for joy.
¹⁰For the sake of your servant David,
    do not reject your anointed one.^[g]
¹¹The Lord swore this oath^[h] to David,
    an oath that he will not renounce:
“One of your own descendants
    I will place on your throne.
¹²If your sons keep my covenant
    and the statutes that I will teach them,
their sons will also rule
    on your throne from age to age.”^[i]

Footnotes

Psalm 132:1 By means of this psalm, the pilgrims, assembled for the procession, sing the glory of Zion, the dwelling place of God and the residence of his anointed, i.e., the king descended from David and like him, was consecrated with holy oil. Doubtless, this is a celebration of the anniversary of the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem at the time of King David (see 2 Sam 6; 1 Chr 13–16). This hymn provides a splendid occasion to remind God of the commitment he made in favor of his people: David had sworn to build a dwelling in which to house the Ark, sign of the divine presence, and it was the Lord who promised him that he would ensure his lineage on the royal throne (see oracle of Nathan: 2 Sam 7; 1 Chr 17) at Jerusalem, where the king had projected to build God’s residence.
Each new reign gave birth to a new hope, for every one of David’s descendants is “anointed,” that is, “Messiah” in Hebrew and “Christ” in Greek. When the fallibility of the monarchy became flagrant, the hope subsisted with more intensity. All Israel awaits a last descendant of David, a true Messiah, who will permanently restore God’s reign and his worship forever. It will be the time of God’s glory and salvation; it will be the coming of Jesus Christ, Son of David, whom Luke (Lk 1:69) presents to us by citing verse 17 of this psalm. Verses 8-10, 16 are cited by the Chronicler at the end of the prayer of Solomon (see 2 Chr 6:41f).
Therefore, as we pray this psalm, we can remind God of the merits of David as well as those of Christ, asking him to fulfill the oaths made to David as supplementary motives for fulfilling those made to Christ. We can urge him to enthrone his Son fully in the heavenly Zion and establish therein his perfect kingship for the benefit of his faithful and the eternal confusion of his enemies.
Psalm 132:1 All the difficulties he endured: in the conquest of Jerusalem (see 2 Sam 5:6-12) and in bringing the Ark to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:1-23). Some translate: “and all his anxious care,” i.e., to build the temple (see 2 Sam 7:1-17; 1 Ki 8:17).
Psalm 132:2 Although the oath and vow of David have not been recorded in the Bible, it is clear that when David heard that God had blessed Obed-edom, the guardian of the ark (see 2 Sam 6:12), he immediately made efforts to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. Mighty One of Jacob: a title used by Jacob in Gen 49:24 and by Isaiah (49:26; 60:16) that emphasizes God’s action in saving and redeeming his people. Jacob: a synonym for Israel (see Gen 32:28f).
Psalm 132:6 It . . . it: often regarded as referring to the Ark, but more likely it refers to the call to worship that follows. Ephrathah: David’s hometown near Bethlehem (see Ru 4:11; Mic 5:1). Fields of Jaar: i.e., Kiriath-jearim, where the Ark remained for a few generations (see 1 Sam 7:1f; 2 Sam 6:2; 1 Chr 13:5f).
Psalm 132:7 Together with David and his men, the people wished to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. The Ark had been transported by the priests until it was placed in the tabernacle at Shiloh (see 1 Sam 4:3). With the capture of the Ark by the Philistines, it was taken from city to city (see 1 Sam 4–6) until David brought it to Jerusalem and inaugurated a new era in God’s rule over Israel: the Davidic era. The Ark was the footstool of the Lord’s throne (see Ps 99:5) and symbolized God’s earthly rule (see Ps 99:1f; Num 10:35f; 2 Chr 6:41f). Arise, O Lord: the invocation whenever the Ark set out in the days of Moses (see Num 10:35).
Psalm 132:9 Righteousness: here synonymous with salvation (see 2 Chr 6:41), signifying victory, blessing, and deliverance (see Pss 4:2; 22:32; 24:5). Saints: the People of God who should be faithful to him (see note on Ps 34:10)
Psalm 132:10 The Messiah or Christ is the anointed one of the Lord (see Ps 2:2; 1 Sam 10:1), the descendant of David awaited by Israel.
Psalm 132:11 Swore this oath: no oath is mentioned in 2 Sam 7. However, elsewhere God’s promise to David is called a covenant (see Pss 89:4, 29, 35, 40; 2 Sam 23:5; Isa 55:3), and covenants were made with an oath.
Psalm 132:12 God’s sovereignty decrees that the dynasty of David will rule, but God’s holiness and justice stipulate that such will hold only if David and his descendants are loyal to his covenant statutes.

Psalm 132:13-18

¹³For the Lord has chosen Zion;
    he has designated it for his home:
¹⁴“This will be my resting place forever;
    here I will reside, for such is my wish.
¹⁵^[a]“I will bless it with abundant provisions
    and satisfy its poor with their fill of bread.
¹⁶I will clothe its priests with salvation,
    and its saints will shout for joy.
¹⁷“There I will raise up a horn for David^[b]
    and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
¹⁸I will clothe his enemies with shame,
    but on his head there will be a resplendent crown.”^[c]

Revelation 1:4-8

He Is, He Was, and He Will Return.^[a] ⁴John, to the seven Churches^[b] in Asia: grace to you and peace from him who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,^[c] the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood ⁶and made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.^[d]

⁷Behold, he is coming with the clouds;
    every eye will see him,
    even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will mourn him.
    So shall it be. Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Footnotes

Revelation 1:4 The greeting and the address introduce the work as a letter. [He] who is: this is how God revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:14); this time, the divine name embraces the past, present, and future of humankind and is turned to the future, to the immediate fulfillment of all things: God, he who is to come. God is also described with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha and . . . Omega; he is the Beginning and the End, the origin and the completion (a proper name of God according to Isa 44:6; 48:12). In addition, he is the master of all historical events, including the present ones, which, according to the author, are decisive. And Christ will appear in all the glory of his Resurrection and in the grandeur of the work accomplished to save humankind, comprising the body of the Church (see 1 Pet 2:5, 9), in the imminence of his coming to judge the world.
In order to speak of him, the author here multiplies Biblical reminiscences (Ex 19:6; Ps 89:28, 38; Isa 55:3). The seven spirits before the throne (v. 4) represent the Holy Spirit in the many ways that the Spirit manifests himself in the world (e.g., Isa 11:2, 5).
Revelation 1:4 Seven Churches: the Churches (named in v. 11) formed a circle in the province of Asia and were separated from one another by some fifty miles.
Revelation 1:5 Faithful witness: the Messiah is the witness to the promise the Lord made to David (2 Sam 7:1; Ps 89; Isa 55:3-4; Zec 12:8) in his person as well as in his work. He also fulfills this promise and is thus the efficacious Word, God’s Yes (see Rev 3:14; 19:11, 13; 2 Cor 1:20). He is the heir of David (see Rev 5:5; 22:16) but also the firstborn from the dead because of his Resurrection (see Col 1:18) who will rule the universe after his enemies have been overcome (see Rev 19:6; Dan 7:14).
Revelation 1:6 Those who follow Christ will be part of a kingdom, because they will rule over all the nations (see Isa 54:11-17; Dan 7:22, 27; Zec 12:1-3; see Rev 2:26; 5:10; 20:6; 22:5). They will also be priests because like Jesus the Priest they offer up the sacrifice of their own lives as a burnt offering of love.

John 18:33-37

³³The First Hearing before Pilate. Then Pilate went back into the praetorium, and having summoned Jesus he asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about me?” ³⁵Pilate said, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶Jesus replied,

“My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my followers would have fought
to prevent me from being handed over to the Jews.
The fact is that my kingdom is not here.”

³⁷Pilate then said to him, “So you are a king!” Jesus answered,

“It is you who say
that I am a king.
For this was I born,
and for this I came into the world:
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth
listens to my voice.”

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Chapter 23

Footnotes

Psalm 132[a]

The Divine Promises Made to David

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 132^[a]