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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
New English Translation (NET)
Version
Psalm 18:20-30

20 The Lord repaid[a] me for my godly deeds;[b]
he rewarded[c] my blameless behavior.[d]
21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;[e]
I have not rebelled against my God.[f]
22 For I am aware of all his regulations,[g]
and I do not reject his rules.[h]
23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.[i]
24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;[j]
he took notice of my blameless behavior.[k]
25 You prove to be loyal[l] to one who is faithful;[m]
you prove to be trustworthy[n] to one who is innocent.[o]
26 You prove to be reliable[p] to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive[q] to one who is perverse.[r]
27 For you deliver oppressed[s] people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.[t]
28 Indeed,[u] you light my lamp, Lord.[v]
My God[w] illuminates the darkness around me.[x]
29 Indeed,[y] with your help[z] I can charge against[aa] an army;[ab]
by my God’s power[ac] I can jump over a wall.[ad]
30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;[ae]
the Lord’s promise[af] is reliable.[ag]
He is a shield to all who take shelter[ah] in him.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 18:20 tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
  2. Psalm 18:20 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.
  3. Psalm 18:20 tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.
  4. Psalm 18:20 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.
  5. Psalm 18:21 tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the Lord.” The phrase “ways of the Lord” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.
  6. Psalm 18:21 tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical; the idea is, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”
  7. Psalm 18:22 tn Heb “for all his regulations [are] before me.” The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “regulations”) refers to God’s covenantal requirements, especially those which the king is responsible to follow (cf. Deut 17:18-20). See also Pss 19:9 (cf. vv. 7-8); 89:30; 147:20 (cf. v. 19), as well as the numerous uses of the term in Ps 119.
  8. Psalm 18:22 tn Heb “and his rules I do not turn aside from me.” 2 Sam 22:23 reads, “and his rules, I do not turn aside from it.” The prefixed verbal form is probably an imperfect; the psalmist here generalizes about his loyalty to God’s commands. The Lord’s “rules” are the stipulations of the covenant which the king was responsible to obey (see Ps 89:31; cf. v. 30 and Deut 17:18-20).
  9. Psalm 18:23 tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.sn Kept myself from sinning. Leading a blameless life meant that the king would be loyal to God’s covenant, purge the government and society of evil and unjust officials, and reward loyalty to the Lord (see Ps 101).
  10. Psalm 18:24 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”
  11. Psalm 18:24 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.
  12. Psalm 18:25 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 25-29 draw attention to God’s characteristic actions. Based on his experience, the psalmist generalizes about God’s just dealings with people (vv. 25-27) and about the way in which God typically empowers him on the battlefield (vv. 28-29). The Hitpael stem is used in vv. 26-27 in a reflexive resultative (or causative) sense. God makes himself loyal, etc. in the sense that he conducts or reveals himself as such. On this use of the Hitpael stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.
  13. Psalm 18:25 tn Or “to a faithful follower.” A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
  14. Psalm 18:25 tn Or “innocent.”
  15. Psalm 18:25 tn Heb “a man of innocence.”
  16. Psalm 18:26 tn Or “blameless.”
  17. Psalm 18:26 tn The Hebrew verb פָּתַל (patal) is used in only three other texts. In Gen 30:8 it means literally “to wrestle,” or “to twist.” In Job 5:13 it refers to devious individuals, and in Prov 8:8 to deceptive words.
  18. Psalm 18:26 tn The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (ʿiqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted, crooked,” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse. It appears frequently in Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6). A righteous king opposes such people (Ps 101:4).sn Verses 25-26 affirm God’s justice. He responds to people in accordance with their moral character. His response mirrors their actions. The faithful and blameless find God to be loyal and reliable in his dealings with them. But deceivers discover he is able and willing to use deceit to destroy them. For a more extensive discussion of the theme of divine deception in the OT, see R. B. Chisholm, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28.
  19. Psalm 18:27 tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).
  20. Psalm 18:27 tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”
  21. Psalm 18:28 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
  22. Psalm 18:28 tn Ps 18:28 reads: “you light my lamp, Lord,” while 2 Sam 22:29 has, “you are my lamp, Lord.” The Ps 18 reading may preserve two variants, נֵרִי (neri, “my lamp”) and אוֹרִי (ʾori, “my light”), cf. Ps 27:1. The verb תָּאִיר (taʾir, “you light”) in Ps 18:28 could be a corruption of the latter. See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 150, n. 64. The metaphor, which likens the Lord to a lamp or light, pictures him as the psalmist’s source of life. For other examples of “lamp” used in this way, see Job 18:6; 21:17; Prov 13:9; 20:20; 24:20. For other examples of “light” as a symbol for life, see Job 3:20; 33:30; Ps 56:13.
  23. Psalm 18:28 tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “Lord.”
  24. Psalm 18:28 tn Heb “my darkness.”
  25. Psalm 18:29 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
  26. Psalm 18:29 tn Heb “by you.”
  27. Psalm 18:29 tn Heb “I will run.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 29 indicate the subject’s potential or capacity to perform an action. Though one might expect a preposition to follow the verb here, this need not be the case with the verb רוּץ (ruts; see 1 Sam 17:22). Some emend the Qal to a Hiphil form of the verb and translate, “I put to flight [Heb “cause to run”] an army.”
  28. Psalm 18:29 tn More specifically, the noun גְּדוּד (gedud) refers to a raiding party or to a contingent of troops.sn I can charge against an army. The picture of a divinely empowered warrior charging against an army in almost superhuman fashion appears elsewhere in ancient Near Eastern literature. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 228.
  29. Psalm 18:29 tn Heb “and by my God.”
  30. Psalm 18:29 sn I can jump over a wall. The psalmist uses hyperbole to emphasize his God-given military superiority.
  31. Psalm 18:30 tn Heb “[As for] the God, his way is blameless.” The term הָאֵל (haʾel, “the God”) stands as a nominative (or genitive) absolute in apposition to the resumptive pronominal suffix on “way.” The prefixed article emphasizes his distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). God’s “way” in this context refers to his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 103:7; 138:5; 145:17).
  32. Psalm 18:30 sn The Lord’s promise. In the ancient Near East kings would typically seek and receive oracles from their god(s) prior to battle. For examples, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 241-42.
  33. Psalm 18:30 tn Heb “the word of the Lord is purified.” The Lord’s “word” probably refers here to his oracle(s) of victory delivered to the psalmist before the battle(s) described in the following context. See also Pss 12:5-7 and 138:2-3. David frequently received such oracles before going into battle (see 1 Sam 23:2, 4-5, 10-12; 30:8; 2 Sam 5:19). The Lord’s word of promise is absolutely reliable; it is compared to metal that has been refined in fire and cleansed of impurities. See Ps 12:6.
  34. Psalm 18:30 sn Take shelter. See the note on the word “shelter” in v. 2.
Ruth 2:15-23

15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told[a] his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among[b] the bundles. Don’t chase her off![c] 16 Make sure you pull out[d] ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!”[e] 17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed[f] what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds[g] of barley.

Ruth Returns to Naomi

18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw[h] how much grain[i] she had gathered. Then Ruth[j] gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime.[k] 19 Her mother-in-law asked her,[l] “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!”[m] So Ruth[n] told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he[o] has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!”[p] Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.”[q] 21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even[r] told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants[s] until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’”[t] 22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants.[u] That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.”[v] 23 So Ruth[w] worked beside[x] Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest.[y] After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law.[z]

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 2:15 tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NASB, NCV).
  2. Ruth 2:15 tn Heb “even between”; NCV “even around.”
  3. Ruth 2:15 tn Heb “do not humiliate her”; cf. KJV “reproach her not”; NASB “do not insult her”; NIV “don’t embarrass her.” This probably refers to a verbal rebuke which would single her out and embarrass her (see v. 16). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 176-77, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 126.
  4. Ruth 2:16 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis. Here שָׁלַל (shalal, “pull out”) is a homonym of the more common Hebrew verb meaning “to plunder.” An Arabic cognate is used of drawing a sword out of a scabbard (see BDB 1021 s.v.).
  5. Ruth 2:16 tn Heb “do not rebuke her” (so NASB, NRSV); CEV “don’t speak harshly to her”; NLT “don’t give her a hard time.”
  6. Ruth 2:17 tn Heb “she beat out” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT). Ruth probably used a stick to separate the kernels of grain from the husks. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.
  7. Ruth 2:17 tn Heb “there was an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure, equivalent to one-tenth of a homer (see HALOT 43 s.v. אֵיפָה). An ephah was equivalent to a “bath,” a liquid measure. Jars labeled “bath” found at archaeological sites in Israel could contain approximately 5.8 gallons, or one-half to two-thirds of a bushel. Thus an ephah of barley would have weighed about 29 to 30 pounds (just over 13 kg). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 179.sn This was a huge amount of barley for one woman to gather in a single day. It testifies both to Ruth’s industry and to Boaz’s generosity.
  8. Ruth 2:18 tc MT vocalizes ותרא as the Qal verb וַתֵּרֶא (vattereʾ, “and she saw”), consequently of “her mother-in-law” as subject and “what she gathered” as the direct object: “her mother-in-law saw what she gathered.” A few medieval Hebrew mss (also reflected in Syriac and Vulgate) have the Hiphil וַתַּרְא (vattarʾ, “and she showed”), consequently taking “her mother-in-law” as the direct object and “what she gathered” as the double direct-object: “she showed her mother-in-law what she had gathered” (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV, NLT). Although the latter has the advantage of making Ruth the subject of all the verbs in this verse, it would be syntactically difficult. For one would expect the accusative sign אֶת (ʾet) before “her mother-in-law” if it were the direct object of a Hiphil verb in a sentence with a double direct object introduced by the accusative sign אֶת, e.g., “to show (Hiphil of רָאָה, raʾah) your servant (direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) your greatness (double direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) (Deut 3:24). Therefore the MT reading is preferred.
  9. Ruth 2:18 tn Heb “that which”; the referent (how much grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  10. Ruth 2:18 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. Ruth 2:18 tn Heb “and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left over from her being satisfied.”
  12. Ruth 2:19 tn Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.
  13. Ruth 2:19 tn Or “blessed” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The same expression occurs in the following verse.
  14. Ruth 2:19 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Ruth 2:20 tn Heb “Blessed be he to the Lord, who has not abandoned his loyalty.” The formula has (1) the passive participle “blessed,” followed by (2) a person (in this case “he”), followed by (3) the preposition and noun “to the Lord,” followed by (4) the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher, “who”). The issue is whether the relative pronoun refers back to the Lord or to Boaz (“he”). Many English versions translate: “May he [Boaz] be blessed by the Lord, who has not abandoned his loyalty to the living and dead.” In this rendering the pronoun אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) appears to refer to “the Lord” not abandoning his loyalty. But it actually refers to Boaz as is clarified by the similar construction in 2 Sam 2:5. The formula there says, “May you [plural] be blessed to the Lord, who you [plural] have extended such kindness to your master Saul.” The plural verb after “who” clarifies that the clause does not refer to the Lord. As a formula, the אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) clause, “who…,” modifies the person(s) to be blessed by the Lord, noting something the person(s) did to warrant the blessing. (Since the content of the clause provides a reason, it is fair to translate אֲשֶׁר [ʾasher, “who”] as “because.”) Some translations make the subordinate clause into a separate sentence, but this does not fully clarify the issue, e.g. “The Lord bless him…He has not stopped showing his kindness” (NIV). See B. A. Rebera, “Yahweh or Boaz? Ruth 2.20 Reconsidered,” BT 36 (1985): 317-27, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 134-36. By caring for the impoverished widows’ physical needs, Boaz had demonstrated loyalty to both the living (the impoverished widows) and the dead (their late husbands). See R. B. Chisholm, From Exegesis to Exposition, 72.
  16. Ruth 2:20 tn Heb “to the living and the dead” (so KJV, NASB).
  17. Ruth 2:20 tn The Hebrew term גָּאַל (gaʾal) is sometimes translated “redeemer” here (NIV “one of our kinsman-redeemers”; NLT “one of our family redeemers”). In this context Boaz, as a “redeemer,” functions as a guardian of the family interests who has responsibility for caring for the widows of his deceased kinsmen.
  18. Ruth 2:21 tn On the force of the phrase גָּם כִּי (gam ki) here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 138-39.
  19. Ruth 2:21 tn Heb “with the servants who are mine you may stay close.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here. The word “servants” is masculine plural.
  20. Ruth 2:21 tn Heb “until they have finished all the harvest which is mine”; NIV “until they finish harvesting all my grain.”
  21. Ruth 2:22 tn Naomi uses the feminine form of the word “servant” (as Boaz did earlier, see v. 8), in contrast to Ruth’s use of the masculine form in the preceding verse. Since she is concerned for Ruth’s safety, she may be subtly reminding Ruth to stay with the female workers and not get too close to the men.
  22. Ruth 2:22 tn Heb “and they will not harm you in another field”; NRSV “otherwise you might be bothered in another field.”
  23. Ruth 2:23 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  24. Ruth 2:23 tn Heb “and she stayed close with”; NIV, NRSV, CEV “stayed close to”; NCV “continued working closely with.”
  25. Ruth 2:23 sn Barley was harvested from late March through late April, wheat from late April to late May (O. Borowski, Agriculture in Ancient Israel, 88, 91).
  26. Ruth 2:23 tn Heb “and she lived with her mother-in-law” (so NASB). Some interpret this to mean that she lived with her mother-in-law while working in the harvest. In other words, she worked by day and then came home to Naomi each evening. Others understand this to mean that following the harvest she stayed at home each day with Naomi and no longer went out looking for work (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 140). Others even propose that she lived away from home during this period, but this seems unlikely. A few Hebrew mss (so also Latin Vulgate) support this view by reading, “and she returned to her mother-in-law.”
Romans 12:17-21

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.[a] 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.[b] 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath,[c] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.[e] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 12:17 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
  2. Romans 12:18 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
  3. Romans 12:19 tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.
  4. Romans 12:19 sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.
  5. Romans 12:20 sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.
Romans 13:8-10

Exhortation to Love Neighbors

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments,[a] “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,”[b] (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[c] 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 13:9 tn Grk “For the…” (with the word “commandments” supplied for clarity). The Greek article (“the”) is used here as a substantiver to introduce the commands that are quoted from the second half of the Decalogue (ExSyn 238).
  2. Romans 13:9 sn A quotation from Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deut 5:17-19, 21.
  3. Romans 13:9 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
New English Translation (NET)

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