◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 127 (Children a heritage from the Lord); Ruth 4:11-17 (Boaz and Ruth are married); Hebrews 9:15-24 (The blood of the old covenant) (New English Translation)

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November 5, 2021

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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 127

Psalm 127^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by Solomon.

127 If the Lord does not build a house,^[c]
then those who build it work in vain.
If the Lord does not guard a city,^[d]
then the watchman stands guard in vain.
²It is vain for you to rise early, come home late,
and work so hard for your food.^[e]
Yes,^[f] he provides for those whom he loves even when they sleep.^[g]
³Yes,^[h] sons^[i] are a gift from the Lord;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴Sons born during one’s youth
are like arrows in a warrior’s hand.^[j]
⁵How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.
They will not be put to shame^[k] when they confront^[l] enemies at the city gate.

Footnotes

Psalm 127:1 sn Psalm 127. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist teaches that one does not find security by one’s own efforts, for God alone gives stability and security.
Psalm 127:1 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 127:1 sn The expression build a house may have a double meaning here. It may refer on the surface level to a literal physical structure in which a family lives, but at a deeper, metaphorical level it refers to building, perpetuating, and maintaining a family line. See Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam 2:35; 2 Sam 7:27; 1 Kgs 11:38; 1 Chr 17:10, 25. Having a family line provided security in ancient Israel.
Psalm 127:1 sn The city symbolizes community security, which is the necessary framework for family security.
Psalm 127:2 tn Heb “[it is] vain for you, you who are early to rise, who delay sitting, who eat the food of hard work.” The three substantival participles are parallel and stand in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the preposition. See לָכֶם (lakhem, “for you”).
Psalm 127:2 tn Here the Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4; Ps 63:2).
Psalm 127:2 tn Heb “he gives to his beloved, sleep.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew term שֵׁנָא (shenaʾ, “sleep,” an alternate form of שֵׁנָה, shenah) is an adverbial accusative. The point seems to be this: Hard work by itself is not what counts, but one’s relationship to God, for God is able to bless an individual even while he sleeps. (There may even be a subtle allusion to the miracle of conception following sexual intercourse; see the reference to the gift of sons in the following verse.) The statement is not advocating laziness, but utilizing hyperbole to give perspective and to remind the addressees that God must be one’s first priority. Another option is to take “sleep” as the direct object: “yes, he gives sleep to his beloved” (cf. NIV, NRSV). In this case the point is this: Hard work by itself is futile, for only God is able to bless one with sleep, which metonymically refers to having one’s needs met. He blesses on the basis of one’s relationship to him, not on the basis of physical energy expended.
Psalm 127:3 tn or “look.”
Psalm 127:3 tn Some prefer to translate this term with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following verses make clear. Daughters are certainly wonderful additions to a family, but in ancient Israelite culture sons were the “arrows” that gave a man security in his old age, for they could defend the family interests at the city gate, where the legal and economic issues of the community were settled.
Psalm 127:4 tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.
Psalm 127:5 tn Being “put to shame” is here metonymic for being defeated, probably in a legal context, as the reference to the city gate suggests. One could be humiliated (Ps 69:12) or deprived of justice (Amos 5:12) at the gate, but with strong sons to defend the family interests this was less likely to happen.
Psalm 127:5 tn Heb “speak with.”

Ruth 4:11-17

¹¹All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May^[a] you prosper^[b] in Ephrathah and become famous^[c] in Bethlehem. ¹²May your family^[d] become like the family of Perez^[e]—whom Tamar bore to Judah—through the descendants^[f] the Lord gives you by this young woman.”

A Grandson is Born to Naomi

¹³So Boaz married Ruth and slept with her.^[g] The Lord enabled her to conceive^[h] and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian^[i] today! May he^[j] become famous in Israel!^[k] ¹⁵He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old,^[l] for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She^[m] is better to you than seven sons!” ¹⁶Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap;^[n] she became his caregiver.^[o] ¹⁷The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed.^[p] Now he became the father of Jesse—David’s father.

Footnotes

Ruth 4:11 tn Following the jussive, the imperative with prefixed vav indicates purpose or result.
Ruth 4:11 tn The phrase וַעֲשֵׂה־חַיִל (vaʿaseh khayil, literally, “do strength”) has been variously translated: (1) financial prosperity: “may you become rich” (TEV), “may you be a rich man” (CEV), “may you achieve wealth” (NASB), “may you prosper” (NKJV, NJPS); (2) social prominence: “may you become powerful” (NCV), “may you have standing” (NIV), “may you be great” (NLT), “may you do well” (NAB); (3) reproductive fertility: “may you produce children” (NRSV); and (4) social activity: “may you do a worthy deed” (REB).
Ruth 4:11 tc Heb “and call a name.” This statement appears to be elliptical. Usually the person named and the name itself follow this expression. Perhaps וּקְרָא־שֵׁם (uq^eraʾ shem) should be emended to וְיִקָּרֵא־שֵׁם (v^eyiqqareʾ shem), “and your name will be called out,” that is, “perpetuated” (see Gen 48:16, cf. also Ruth 4:14b). The omission of the suffix with “name” could be explained as virtual haplography (note the letter ב (bet), which is similar to כ (kaf), at the beginning of the next word). The same explanation could account for the omission of the prefixed י (yod) on the verb “call,” as י (yod) and ו (vav) are similar in appearance. Whether one reads the imperative (the form in the MT) or the jussive (the emended form), the construction indicates purpose or result following the earlier jussive “may he make.”
Ruth 4:12 tn Heb “your house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
Ruth 4:12 tn Heb “and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, from the offspring whom the Lord gives to you from this young woman.”sn Perez is an appropriate comparison here, because (1) he was an ancestor of Boaz, (2) he was born to Tamar by a surrogate father (Judah) after the death of her husband, and (3) he had an unbroken line of male descendants extending over several generations (see vv. 18-22).
Ruth 4:12 tn Heb “from the seed” (KJV, ASV both similar); NASB, NIV “through the offspring”; NRSV “through the children.”
Ruth 4:13 tn Heb “and Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he approached her.” The verb לָקַח (laqakh), “to take,” acts as in idiom meaning “to take [a wife], to marry.” The phrase בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
Ruth 4:13 tn Heb “gave her conception” (so KJV); NRSV “made her conceive”; NLT “enabled her to become pregnant.”
Ruth 4:14 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note on the phrase “guardian of the family interests” in 3:9. As the following context indicates, the child is referred to here.
Ruth 4:14 tn The “guardian” is the subject of the verb, as the next verse makes clear.
Ruth 4:14 tn Heb “may his name be called [i.e., “perpetuated”; see Gen 48:16] in Israel.”
Ruth 4:15 tn Heb “and he will become for you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age” (NASB similar).
Ruth 4:15 tn Heb “who, she”; KJV “which is better to thee.”
Ruth 4:16 tn Or “breast”; KJV, NRSV “in her bosom.”
Ruth 4:16 tn Heb “his nurse,” but this refers to a dry nurse, not a medical attendant. Cf. NIV “and cared for him”; TEV “and took (+ good CEV) care of him.”
Ruth 4:17 tn The name “Obed” means “one who serves,” perhaps anticipating how he would help Naomi (see v. 15).

Hebrews 9:15-24

¹⁵And so he is the mediator^[a] of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised,^[b] since he died^[c] to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant. ¹⁶For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be proven.^[d] ¹⁷For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood.^[e] ¹⁹For when Moses had spoken every command to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.”^[f] ²¹And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. ²²Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. ²³So it was necessary for the sketches^[g] of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices,^[h] but the heavenly things themselves required^[i] better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands—the representation^[j] of the true sanctuary^[k]—but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 127[a]

A song of ascents;[b] by Solomon.

Footnotes

A Grandson is Born to Naomi

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 127^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by Solomon.