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); Isaiah 51:1-3 (Look to Abraham and Sarah); Matthew 11:20-24 (Jesus prophesies against the cities) (New English Translation)

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July 5, 2023

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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 47

Psalm 47^[a]

For the music director, by the Korahites; a psalm.

47 All you nations, clap your hands.
Shout out to God in celebration.^[b]
²For the Lord Most High^[c] is awe-inspiring;^[d]
he is the great king who rules the whole earth!^[e]
³He subdued nations beneath us^[f]
and countries^[g] under our feet.
⁴He picked out for us a special land^[h]
to be a source of pride for^[i] Jacob,^[j] whom he loves.^[k] (Selah)
⁵God has ascended his throne^[l] amid loud shouts;^[m]
the Lord has ascended amid the blaring of ram’s horns.^[n]
⁶Sing to God! Sing!
Sing to our king! Sing!
⁷For God is king of the whole earth.
Sing a well-written song.^[o]
⁸God reigns^[p] over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
⁹The nobles of the nations assemble,
along with the people of the God of Abraham,^[q]
for God has authority over the rulers^[r] of the earth.
He is highly exalted.^[s]

Footnotes

Psalm 47:1 sn Psalm 47. In this hymn the covenant community praises the Lord as the exalted king of the earth who has given them victory over the nations and a land in which to live.
Psalm 47:1 tn Heb “Shout to God with [the] sound of a ringing cry!”
Psalm 47:2 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ʿelyon) pictures the Lord as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked.
Psalm 47:2 tn Or “awesome.” The Niphal participle נוֹרָא (noraʾ), when used of God in the psalms, focuses on the effect that his royal splendor and powerful deeds have on those witnessing his acts (Pss 66:3, 5; 68:35; 76:7, 12; 89:7; 96:4; 99:3; 111:9). Here it refers to his capacity to fill his defeated foes with terror and his people with fearful respect.
Psalm 47:2 tn Heb “a great king over all the earth.”
Psalm 47:3 tn On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue”), a homonym of דָּבַר (“speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 18:47 and 2 Chr 22:10. The preterite form of the verb suggests this is an historical reference and the next verse, which mentions the gift of the land, indicates that the conquest under Joshua is in view.
Psalm 47:3 tn Or “peoples” (see Pss 2:1; 7:7; 9:8; 44:2).
Psalm 47:4 tn Heb “he chose for us our inheritance.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite (see “subdued” in v. 3).
Psalm 47:4 tn Heb “the pride of.” The phrase is appositional to “our inheritance,” indicating that the land is here described as a source of pride to God’s people.
Psalm 47:4 tn That is, Israel.
Psalm 47:4 sn Jacob whom he loves. The Lord’s covenantal devotion to his people is in view.
Psalm 47:5 sn God ascended his throne. In the context of vv. 3-4, which refer to the conquest of the land under Joshua, v. 5 is best understood as referring to an historical event. When the Lord conquered the land and placed his people in it, he assumed a position of kingship, as predicted by Moses (see Exod 15:17-18, as well as Ps 114:1-2). That event is here described metaphorically in terms of a typical coronation ceremony for an earthly king (see 2 Sam 15:10; 2 Kgs 9:13). Verses 1-2, 8-9 focus on God’s continuing kingship, which extends over all nations.
Psalm 47:5 tn Heb “God ascended amid a shout.” The words “his throne” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord’s coronation as king is described here (see v. 8). Here the perfect probably has a present perfect function, indicating a completed action with continuing effects.
Psalm 47:5 tn Heb “the Lord amid the sound of the ram horn.” The verb “ascended” is understood by ellipsis; see the preceding line.
Psalm 47:7 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term also occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. Here, in a context of celebration, the meaning “skillful, well-written” would fit particularly well.
Psalm 47:8 tn When a new king was enthroned, his followers would acclaim him king using this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3ms מָלַךְ, malakh, “to reign,” followed by the name of the king). See 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13, as well as Isa 52:7. In this context the perfect verbal form is generalizing, but the declaration logically follows the historical reference in v. 5 to the Lord’s having ascended his throne.
Psalm 47:9 tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (ʿim ʿam, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic, having dropped one set of עם (ʿayin-mem). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.
Psalm 47:9 tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.
Psalm 47:9 tn The verb עָלָה (ʿalah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.

Isaiah 51:1-3

There is Hope for the Future

51 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness,^[a]
who seek the Lord.
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry^[b] from which you were dug.^[c]
²Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth.^[d]
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual,^[e]
but I blessed him^[f] and gave him numerous descendants.^[g]
³Certainly the Lord will console Zion;
he will console all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her arid rift valley like the garden of the Lord.^[h]
Happiness and joy will be restored to^[i] her,
thanksgiving and the sound of music.

Matthew 11:20-24

Woes on Unrepentant Cities

²⁰Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities^[a] in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent. ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin!^[b] Woe to you, Bethsaida! If^[c] the miracles^[d] done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,^[e] they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.^[f] ²²But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon^[g] on the day of judgment than for you! ²³And you, Capernaum,^[h] will you be exalted to heaven?^[i] No, you will be thrown down to Hades!^[j] For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom,^[k] it would have continued to this day.^[l] ²⁴But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom^[m] on the day of judgment than for you!”

Footnotes

Matthew 11:20 tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis) which can be translated “city” or “town.” “Cities” was chosen here to emphasize the size of the places mentioned by Jesus in the following verses, since these localities tended to be relatively larger and more important by the standards of the time.
Matthew 11:21 sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was more significant; it was declared a polis (“city”) by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.
Matthew 11:21 tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.
Matthew 11:21 tn Or “powerful deeds.”
Matthew 11:21 sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the hardened sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom and repented, unlike you!”
Matthew 11:21 sn To clothe oneself in sackcloth and ashes was a public sign of mourning or lament, in this case for past behavior and associated with repentance.
Matthew 11:22 sn Jesus’ general point is that in the day of judgment the Gentile cities will come off better than the cities of Galilee. This is not to indicate toleration for the sins of the Gentile cities, but to show how badly the judgment will go for the Galilean ones. In the OT prophetic oracles were pronounced repeatedly against Tyre and Sidon: Isa 23:1-18; Ezek 26:1-28:26; Joel 4:4; Zech 9:2-4.
Matthew 11:23 sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It existed since Hasmonean times and was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. The population in the first century is estimated to be around 1,500. Capernaum became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt 4:13; Mark 2:1). In modern times the site was discovered in 1838 by the American explorer E. Robinson, and major excavations began in 1905 by German archaeologists H. Kohl and C. Watzinger. Not until 1968, however, were remains from the time of Jesus visible; in that year V. Corbo and S. Loffreda began a series of annual archaeological campaigns that lasted until 1985. This work uncovered what is thought to be the house of Simon Peter as well as ruins of the first century synagogue beneath the later synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D. Today gently rolling hills and date palms frame the first century site, a favorite tourist destination of visitors to the Galilee.
Matthew 11:23 tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.
Matthew 11:23 sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).
Matthew 11:23 sn See the note on Sodom and Gomorrah in Matt 10:15.
Matthew 11:23 sn The implication is that such miracles would have brought about the repentance of the inhabitants of Sodom, and so it would not have been destroyed, but would have continued to this day.
Matthew 11:24 sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities (Gen 19:1-29), shows that to reject the current message brought by Jesus is even more serious (and will result in more severe punishment) than the worst sins of the old era. The phrase region of Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text and refers not only to the city itself but to the surrounding area.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 47[a]

For the music director, by the Korahites; a psalm.

Footnotes

There is Hope for the Future

Footnotes

Woes on Unrepentant Cities

Footnotes

Psalm 47^[a]