chevron-left All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 128 (Your wife like a fruitful vine); Ecclesiastes 4:9-16 (It is better to have a friend); James 5:1-6 (A warning to those who trust in riches) (New English Translation)
Print Print Page Options Settings
Previous Prev Day
September 21, 2021 Use the calendar to view readings from this plan.
Next DayNext

Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.
Duration: 1245 days
New English Translation (NET)
Version
Psalm 128

Psalm 128[a]

A song of ascents.[b]

128 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers,[c]
each one who keeps his commands.[d]
2 You[e] will eat what you worked so hard to grow.[f]
You will be blessed and secure.[g]
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine[h]
in the inner rooms of your house;
your children[i] will be like olive branches,
as they sit all around your table.
4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed in this way.[j]
5 May the Lord bless you[k] from Zion,
that you might see[l] Jerusalem prosper
all the days of your life,
6 and that you might see[m] your grandchildren.[n]
May Israel experience peace.[o]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 128:1 sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.
  2. Psalm 128:1 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.
  3. Psalm 128:1 tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”
  4. Psalm 128:1 tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”
  5. Psalm 128:2 tn The psalmist addresses the representative God-fearing man, as indicated by the references to “your wife” (v. 3) and “the man” (v. 4), as well as the second masculine singular pronominal and verbal forms in vv. 2-6.
  6. Psalm 128:2 tn Heb “the work of your hands, indeed you will eat.”
  7. Psalm 128:2 tn Heb “how blessed you [will be] and it will be good for you.”
  8. Psalm 128:3 sn The metaphor of the fruitful vine pictures the wife as fertile; she will give her husband numerous children (see the next line).
  9. Psalm 128:3 tn One could translate “sons” (see Ps 127:3 and the note on the word “sons” there), but here the term seems to refer more generally to children of both genders.
  10. Psalm 128:4 tn Heb “look, indeed thus will the man, the fearer of the Lord, be blessed.”
  11. Psalm 128:5 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the imperatives that are subordinated to this clause in vv. 5b-6a). Having described the blessings that typically come to the godly, the psalmist concludes by praying that this ideal may become reality for the representative godly man being addressed.
  12. Psalm 128:5 tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding jussive.
  13. Psalm 128:6 tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the jussive in v. 5a.
  14. Psalm 128:6 tn Heb “sons to your sons.”
  15. Psalm 128:6 tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 125:5).
Ecclesiastes 4:9-16

Labor is Beneficial When Its Rewards Are Shared

9 Two people are better than one,
because they can reap[a] more benefit[b] from their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up,
but pity[c] the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.
11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm,
but how can one person keep warm by himself?
12 Although an assailant may overpower[d] one person,
two can withstand him.
Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.

Labor Motivated by Prestige Seeking

13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king
who no longer knows how to receive advice.
14 For he came out of prison[e] to become king,
even though he had been born poor in what would become his[f] kingdom.
15 I considered all the living who walk on earth,[g]
as well as the successor[h] who would arise[i] in his place.
16 There is no end to all the people[j] nor to the past generations,[k]
yet future generations[l] will not rejoice in him.
This also is profitless and like[m] chasing the wind.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:9 tn Heb “they have.”
  2. Ecclesiastes 4:9 tn Heb “a good reward.”
  3. Ecclesiastes 4:10 tn Heb “woe to him.”
  4. Ecclesiastes 4:12 tn The verbal root תָּקַף (taqaf) means “to overpower; to prevail over” e.g., Job 14:20; 15:24; Eccl 4:12; 6:10 (HALOT 1786 s.v. תקף).
  5. Ecclesiastes 4:14 tn Heb “came from the house of bonds.”
  6. Ecclesiastes 4:14 tn The phrase “what would become” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. However, it is not altogether clear whether the third person masculine singular suffix (“his”) on בְּמַלְכוּתוֹ (bemalkhuto, “his kingdom”) refers to the old foolish king or to the poor but wise youth of 4:13.
  7. Ecclesiastes 4:15 tn Heb “under the sun.”
  8. Ecclesiastes 4:15 tn Heb “the second youth.” It is not clear whether “the second” (הַשֵּׁנִי, hasheni) refers to the young man who succeeds the old king or a second youthful successor.
  9. Ecclesiastes 4:15 tn The verb עָמַד (ʿamad, “to stand”) may denote “to arise; to appear; to come on the scene” (e.g., Ps 106:30; Dan 8:22, 23; 11:2-4; 12:1; Ezra 2:63; Neh 7:65); cf. BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד 6.a; HALOT 840 s.v. עמד 1.a.
  10. Ecclesiastes 4:16 tn Heb “the people.” The term עַם (ʿam, “people”) can refer to the subjects of the king (BDB 766 s.v. עַם 2).
  11. Ecclesiastes 4:16 tn Heb “those who were before them.”
  12. Ecclesiastes 4:16 tn Heb “those coming after.” The Hebrew term הָאַחֲרוֹנִים (haʾakharonim, “those coming after”) is derived from the preposition אַחַר (ʾakhar, “behind”). When used in reference to time, it refers to future generations (e.g., Deut 29:21; Pss 48:14; 78:4, 6; 102:19; Job 18:20; Eccl 1:11; 4:16); cf. HALOT 36 s.v. אַחַר B.3; BDB 30 s.v. אַחַר 2.b).
  13. Ecclesiastes 4:16 tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
James 5:1-6

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud[a] over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure![b] 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[c] 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.[d] 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.[e]

Footnotes

  1. James 5:1 tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”
  2. James 5:3 tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”
  3. James 5:4 tn Traditionally, “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”
  4. James 5:5 sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).
  5. James 5:6 tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Prev Day Prev Day
Top
Next Day Next Day