◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Song of Solomon 2:8-13 (Song of love); Genesis 27:30-46 (Esau blessed; Jacob escapes Esau); Romans 1:18-25 (The guilt of humankind) (New English Translation)

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July 10, 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

Song of Solomon 2:8-13

The Arrival of the Lover

The Beloved about Her Lover:

⁸Listen!^[a] My lover is approaching!^[b]
Look!^[c] Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
⁹My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.^[d]
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the window,
peering through the lattice.

The Season of Love and the Song of the Turtledove

The Lover to His Beloved:

¹⁰My lover spoke to me, saying:
“Arise, my darling;
My beautiful one, come away with me!
¹¹Look! The winter has passed,
the winter rains are over and gone.
¹²Blossoms have appeared^[e] in the land,
the time for pruning and singing^[f] has come;
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
¹³The fig tree has ripened its figs,
the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance.
Arise, come away my darling;
my beautiful one, come away with me!”

Footnotes

Song of Solomon 2:8 tn Heb “The voice of my beloved!” The exclamation קוֹל (qol, “Listen!”) is an introductory exclamatory particle used to emphasize excitement and the element of surprise.
Song of Solomon 2:8 tn The phrase “is approaching” does not appear in Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
Song of Solomon 2:8 tn The exclamation הִנֵּה־זֶה (hinneh zeh, “Look!”) is used of excited speech when someone is seen approaching (Isa 21:9).
Song of Solomon 2:9 sn Gazelles are often associated with sensuality and masculine virility in ancient Near Eastern love literature. Gazelles were often figures in Hebrew, Akkadian, and Ugaritic literature for mighty warriors or virile young men (e.g., 2 Sam 1:19; 2:18; Isa 14:9; Zech 10:3). In ancient Near Eastern love literature gazelles often symbolize the excitement and swiftness of the lover coming to see his beloved, as in an ancient Egyptian love song: “O that you came to your sister swiftly like a bounding gazelle! Its feet reel, its limbs are weary, terror has entered its body. A hunter pursues it with his hounds, they do not see it in its dust; It sees a resting place as a trap, it takes the river as its road. May you find her hiding-place before your hand is kissed four times. Pursue your sister’s love, the Golden gives her to you, my friend!” (“Three Poems” in the Papyrus Chester Beatty 1 collection).
Song of Solomon 2:12 tn Heb “are seen.”
Song of Solomon 2:12 tn Alternately, “the time of singing” or “the time of pruning.” The homonymic root זָמִיר (zamir) means “song, singing” (HALOT 273 s.v. I זָמִיר; DCH 3:117 s.v. זָמִיר a), while II זָמִיר means “pruning, trimming” (HALOT 273 s.v. II; DCH 3:117 s.v. II). The intended root is debated among the ancient versions (LXX, Aquila, Symmachus, Vulgate, Targum), Hebrew lexicographers (HALOT 273; DCH 3:117), and translations: “singing” (KJV, NIV, NASB margin, NJPS margin), “pruning” (NASB, NJPS). However, rather than choosing between these two roots, it is likely that this is an example of intentional ambiguity. The preceding line draws out the meaning of זָמִיר (“trimming, pruning”): “The pomegranates are seen in the land, the time of pruning has come.” The following line draws out the meaning of זָמִיר (“singing”): “The time of singing has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land.” This homonymic wordplay creates an example of “janus parallelism” between the three poetic lines which play off both root meanings of the intentionally ambiguous homonym. This elegant wordplay and the AB:BA “janus parallelism” may be represented thus: “The pomegranates are seen in the land, the time has come for pruning // singing, the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land.”

Genesis 27:30-46

³⁰Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left^[a] his father’s^[b] presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt.^[c] ³¹He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau^[d] said to him, “My father, get up^[e] and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.”^[f] ³²His father Isaac asked,^[g] “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,”^[h] he replied, “Esau!” ³³Isaac began to shake violently^[i] and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him.^[j] He will indeed be blessed!”

³⁴When Esau heard^[k] his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly.^[l] He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” ³⁵But Isaac^[m] replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away^[n] your blessing.” ³⁶Esau exclaimed, “Jacob is the right name for him!^[o] He has tripped me up^[p] two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”

³⁷Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” ³⁸Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!”^[q] Then Esau wept loudly.^[r]

³⁹So his father Isaac said to him,

“See here,^[s] your home will be by^[t] the richness^[u] of the earth,
and by the dew of the sky above.
⁴⁰You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.”^[v]

⁴¹So Esau hated^[w] Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother.^[x] Esau said privately,^[y] “The time^[z] of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill^[aa] my brother Jacob!”

⁴²When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said,^[ab] she quickly summoned^[ac] her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you.^[ad] ⁴³Now then, my son, do what I say.^[ae] Run away immediately^[af] to my brother Laban in Haran. ⁴⁴Live with him for a little while^[ag] until your brother’s rage subsides. ⁴⁵Stay there^[ah] until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there.^[ai] Why should I lose both of you in one day?”^[aj]

⁴⁶Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed^[ak] because of the daughters of Heth.^[al] If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!”^[am]

Footnotes

Genesis 27:30 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
Genesis 27:30 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was replaced by the referent (“his father’s…”) for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 27:30 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
Genesis 27:31 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 27:31 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
Genesis 27:31 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
Genesis 27:32 tn Heb “said.”
Genesis 27:32 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 27:33 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
Genesis 27:33 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
Genesis 27:34 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
Genesis 27:34 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
Genesis 27:35 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Genesis 27:35 tn Or “took”; “received.”
Genesis 27:36 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
Genesis 27:36 sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”
Genesis 27:38 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 27:38 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
Genesis 27:39 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls for someone’s attention.
Genesis 27:39 tn Or “next to.” The preposition מִן (min) generally indicates the source of something or separation from something, and so is often rendered “from.” Older translations (KJV, ASV, Douay-Rheims, Young’s, JPS) took the preposition as indicating source: “of the fatness of the earth.” More recent translations (NASB, NIV, ESV, NLV) take it as separative: “away from the fatness.” In Jacob’s blessing the preposition works with the verb “give” and indicates source. In Esau’s blessing the preposition functions in a nominal clause and modifies “your dwelling.” HALOT says that מִן can point “to the place… where something can be found” and thus means “in” in Gen 2:8; Lev 14:41; 2 Sam 5:13; Ezra 1:4; Job 30:30; Isa 5:26; 23:7 (HALOT 597, s.v.). In combination with the verb “to dwell,” the preposition מִן means “by,” “next to,” or “across from” (Ruth 2:14; 1 Sam 20:25; Ezek 16:46; Jonah 4:5). The closest parallel for the noun “dwelling” is Gen 10:30 where מִן as “away from” is not possible (rather “at” or “beginning at.”) sn In contrast to Jacob, to whom God will give some of earth’s fatness and heaven’s dew, Esau will dwell next to these. Esau himself continues to dwell with Isaac in Canaan, so perhaps he dwells “at” or “in” the richness of the land. But the land of his descendants, Edom, is more arid and might be considered “next to” or “across from” Canaan. The main contrast seems to be that God will give Jacob something, while Esau will have access to two of the same things. “Grain” and “wine” are not repeated for Esau, which may also reflect different conditions in Edom and Canaan.
Genesis 27:39 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
Genesis 27:40 sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
Genesis 27:41 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
Genesis 27:41 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
Genesis 27:41 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
Genesis 27:41 tn Heb “days.”
Genesis 27:41 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
Genesis 27:42 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
Genesis 27:42 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
Genesis 27:42 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
Genesis 27:43 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
Genesis 27:43 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
Genesis 27:44 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone 20 years and he never sees Rebekah again.
Genesis 27:45 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 27:45 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
Genesis 27:45 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
Genesis 27:46 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
Genesis 27:46 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
Genesis 27:46 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”

Romans 1:18-25

The Condemnation of the Unrighteous

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people^[a] who suppress the truth by their^[b] unrighteousness,^[c] ¹⁹because what can be known about God is plain to them,^[d] because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people^[e] are without excuse. ²¹For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts^[f] were darkened. ²²Although they claimed^[g] to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings^[h] or birds or four-footed animals^[i] or reptiles.

²⁴Therefore God gave them over^[j] in the desires of their hearts to impurity,^[k] to dishonor^[l] their bodies among themselves.^[m] ²⁵They^[n] exchanged the truth of God for a lie^[o] and worshiped and served the creation^[p] rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Footnotes

Romans 1:18 tn The genitive ἀνθρώπων could be taken as an attributed genitive, in which case the phrase should be translated “against all ungodly and unrighteous people” (cf. “the truth of God” in v. 25 which is also probably an attributed genitive). C. E. B. Cranfield takes the section 1:18-32 to refer to all people (not just Gentiles), while 2:1-3:20 points out that the Jew is no exception (Romans [ICC], 1:104-6; 1:137-38).
Romans 1:18 tn “Their” is implied in the Greek, but is supplied because of English style.
Romans 1:18 tn Or “by means of unrighteousness.” Grk “in (by) unrighteousness.”
Romans 1:19 tn Grk “is manifest to/in them.”
Romans 1:20 tn Grk “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Romans 1:21 tn Grk “heart.”
Romans 1:22 tn The participle φάσκοντες (phaskontes) is used concessively here.
Romans 1:23 tn Grk “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God in likeness of an image of corruptible man.” Here there is a wordplay on the Greek terms ἄφθαρτος (aphthartos, “immortal, imperishable, incorruptible”) and φθαρτός (phthartos, “mortal, corruptible, subject to decay”).
Romans 1:23 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 106:19-20.
Romans 1:24 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 81:12.
Romans 1:24 tn Or “God delivered them up to the desires of their hearts for impurity.” It is possible that a technical, legal idiom is used here; if so, it would describe God delivering sinners up to a custodian for punishment (see R. Jewett, Romans [Hermeneia], 166-67). In this instance, then, sinners would be given over to their own desires for the express purpose of working more impurity.
Romans 1:24 tn The genitive articular infinitive τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι (tou atimazesthai, “to dishonor”) has been taken as (1) an infinitive of purpose; (2) an infinitive of result; or (3) an epexegetical (i.e., explanatory) infinitive, expanding the previous clause.
Romans 1:24 tn Grk “among them.”
Romans 1:25 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
Romans 1:25 tn Grk “the lie.”
Romans 1:25 tn Or “creature, created things.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Arrival of the Lover

The Beloved about Her Lover:

The Season of Love and the Song of the Turtledove

The Lover to His Beloved:

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Condemnation of the Unrighteous

Footnotes