◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 130 (Out of the depths have I called); 2 Samuel 13:37—14:24 (The wise woman of Tekoa); Romans 15:1-6 (Living in harmony) (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

Psalm 130

Psalm 130^[a]

A song of ascents.^[b]

130 From the deep water^[c] I cry out to you, O Lord.
²O Lord, listen to me.^[d]
Pay attention to^[e] my plea for mercy.
³If you, O Lord, were to keep track of^[f] sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you?^[g]
⁴But^[h] you are willing to forgive,^[i]
so that you might^[j] be honored.^[k]
⁵I rely on^[l] the Lord.
I rely on him with my whole being;^[m]
I wait for his assuring word.^[n]
⁶I yearn for the Lord,^[o]
more than watchmen do for the morning,
yes, more than watchmen do for the morning.^[p]
⁷O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for the Lord exhibits loyal love,^[q]
and is more than willing to deliver.^[r]
⁸He will deliver^[s] Israel
from all their sins.^[t]

Footnotes

Psalm 130:1 sn Psalm 130. The psalmist, confident of the Lord’s forgiveness, cries out to the Lord for help in the midst of his suffering and urges Israel to do the same.
Psalm 130:1 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
Psalm 130:1 tn Heb “depths,” that is, deep waters (see Ps 69:2, 14; Isa 51:10), a metaphor for the life-threatening danger faced by the psalmist.
Psalm 130:2 tn Heb “my voice.”
Psalm 130:2 tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”
Psalm 130:3 tn Heb “observe.”
Psalm 130:3 tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”
Psalm 130:4 tn Or “surely.”
Psalm 130:4 tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”
Psalm 130:4 tn Or “consequently you are.”
Psalm 130:4 tn Heb “feared.”
Psalm 130:5 tn Or “wait for.”
Psalm 130:5 tn Heb “my soul waits.”
Psalm 130:5 tn Heb “his word.”
Psalm 130:6 tn Heb “my soul for the master.”
Psalm 130:6 tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Psalm 130:7 tn Heb “for with the Lord [is] loyal love.”
Psalm 130:7 tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”
Psalm 130:8 tn Or “redeem.”
Psalm 130:8 tn Or “all the consequences of their sins.” The Hebrew noun עָוֹן (ʿavon) can refer to sin, the guilt sin produces, or the consequences of sin. Only here is the noun collocated with the verb פָּדָה (padah, “to redeem; to deliver”). The psalmist may refer to deliverance from the national consequences of sin or forgiveness per se (v. 4). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 192.

2 Samuel 13:37-14:24

³⁷But Absalom fled and went to King Talmai son of Ammihud of Geshur. And David^[a] grieved over his son every day.

³⁸After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he remained there for three years. ³⁹The king longed^[b] to go to Absalom, for he had since been consoled over the death of Amnon.^[c]

David Permits Absalom to Return to Jerusalem

14 Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see^[d] Absalom. ²So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning^[e] and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time.^[f] ³Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say.^[g]

⁴So the Tekoan woman went^[h] to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, “Please help me,^[i] O king!” ⁵The king replied to her, “What do you want?”^[j] She answered, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. ⁶Your servant^[k] has two sons. When the two of them got into a fight in the field, there was no one present who could intervene. One of them struck the other and killed him. ⁷Now the entire family has risen up against your servant, saying, ‘Turn over the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him and avenge the death^[l] of his brother whom he killed. In so doing we will also destroy the heir.’ They want to extinguish my remaining coal,^[m] leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband.”

⁸Then the king told the woman, “Go to your home. I will give instructions concerning your situation.”^[n] ⁹The Tekoan woman said to the king, “My lord the king, let any blame fall on me and on the house of my father. But let the king and his throne be innocent!”

¹⁰The king said, “Bring to me whoever speaks to you, and he won’t bother you again!” ¹¹She replied, “In that case,^[o] let the king invoke the name of^[p] the Lord your God so that the avenger of blood may not add to the killing! Then they will not destroy my son!” He replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of your son’s head^[q] will fall to the ground.”

¹²Then the woman said, “Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter.” He replied, “Tell me.” ¹³The woman said, “Why have you devised something like this against God’s people? When the king speaks in this fashion, he makes himself guilty, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished. ¹⁴Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored.^[r] ¹⁵I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful.^[s] But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant^[t] asks. ¹⁶Yes!^[u] The king may^[v] listen and deliver his female servant^[w] from the hand of the man who seeks to remove^[x] both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!’^[y] ¹⁷So your servant said, ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the Lord your God be with you!’”

¹⁸Then the king replied to the woman, “Don’t hide any information from me when I question you.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” ¹⁹The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?”^[z] The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth. ²⁰Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land.”^[aa]

²¹Then the king said to Joab, “All right! I^[ab] will do this thing. Go and bring back the young man Absalom!” ²²Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked^[ac] the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your^[ad] servant!”

²³So Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴But the king said, “Let him go over^[ae] to his own house. He may not see my face.” So Absalom went over^[af] to his own house; he did not see the king’s face.

Footnotes

2 Samuel 13:37 tc The Hebrew text leaves the word “David” to be inferred. The Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate add the word “David.” Most of the Greek tradition includes the words “King David” here.
2 Samuel 13:39 tc The translation follows 4QSam^a in reading רוּחַ הַמֶּלֶךְ (ruakh hammelekh, “the spirit of the king”) rather than the MT דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ (david hammelekh, “David the king”). The understanding reflected in the translation above is that David, though alienated during this time from his son Absalom, still had an abiding love and concern for him. He longed for reconciliation with him. A rather different interpretation of the verse supposes that David’s interest in taking military action against Absalom grew slack with the passing of time, and this in turn enabled David’s advisers to encourage him toward reconciliation with Absalom. For the latter view, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 344, and cf. CEV.
2 Samuel 13:39 tn Heb “was consoled over Amnon, because he was dead.”
2 Samuel 14:1 tn Heb “the heart of the king was upon.” The Syriac Peshitta adds the verb ʾethreʿi (“was reconciled”).
2 Samuel 14:2 tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action.
2 Samuel 14:2 tn Heb “these many days.”
2 Samuel 14:3 tn Heb “put the words in her mouth” (so NASB, NIV).
2 Samuel 14:4 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַתַּבֹא (vattavoʾ, “and she went”) rather than the MT וַתֹּאמֶר (vattoʾmer, “and she said”). The MT reading shows confusion with וַתֹּאמֶר later in the verse. The emendation suggested here is supported by the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, some mss of the Targum, and Vulgate.
2 Samuel 14:4 tn The word “me” is left to be inferred in the Hebrew text; it is present in the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate.
2 Samuel 14:5 tn Heb “What to you?”
2 Samuel 14:6 tn Here and elsewhere (vv. 7, 12, 15a, 17, 19) the woman uses a term which suggests a lower level female servant. She uses the term to express her humility before the king. However, she uses a different term in vv. 15b-16. See the note at v. 15 for a discussion of the rhetorical purpose of this switch in terminology.
2 Samuel 14:7 tn Heb “in exchange for the life.” The Hebrew preposition ב (bet, “in”) here is the so-called bet pretii, or bet (ב) of price, defining the value attached to someone or something.
2 Samuel 14:7 sn My remaining coal is here metaphorical language, describing the one remaining son as her only source of lingering hope for continuing the family line.
2 Samuel 14:8 tn Heb “concerning you.”
2 Samuel 14:11 tn The words “in that case” are not in the Hebrew text, but may be inferred from the context. They are supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification.
2 Samuel 14:11 tn Heb “let the king remember.”
2 Samuel 14:11 tn Heb “of your son.”
2 Samuel 14:14 tn Heb “he devises plans for the one banished from him not to be banished.”
2 Samuel 14:15 tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yer^eʾuni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (raʾah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yareʾ, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.
2 Samuel 14:15 tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (ʾamah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.
2 Samuel 14:16 tn Or “for.”
2 Samuel 14:16 tn Or “will.” The imperfect verbal form can have either an indicative or modal nuance. The use of “perhaps” in v. 15b suggests the latter here.
2 Samuel 14:16 tn Heb “in order to deliver his maid.”
2 Samuel 14:16 tn Heb “destroy.”
2 Samuel 14:16 tn Heb “from the inheritance of God.” The expression refers to the property that was granted to her family line in the division of the land authorized by God.
2 Samuel 14:19 tn Heb “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?”
2 Samuel 14:20 tn Heb “to know all that is in the land.”
2 Samuel 14:21 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have “you” rather than “I.”
2 Samuel 14:22 tn Heb “blessed.”
2 Samuel 14:22 tc The present translation reads with the Qere “your” rather than the MT “his.”
2 Samuel 14:24 tn Heb “turn aside.”
2 Samuel 14:24 tn Heb “turned aside.”

Romans 15:1-6

Exhortation for the Strong to Help the Weak

15 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves.^[a] ²Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. ³For even Christ did not please himself, but just as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”^[b] ⁴For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope. ⁵Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another^[c] in accordance with Christ Jesus, ⁶so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 130[a]

A song of ascents.[b]

Footnotes

David Permits Absalom to Return to Jerusalem

Footnotes

Exhortation for the Strong to Help the Weak

Footnotes

Psalm 130^[a]

A song of ascents.^[b]