◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 105:1-6 23-26 45b (Remembering Moses); Exodus 2:23-24 (God hears the cry of Israel); Ephesians 5:1-6 (Do not be deceived by empty words) (New English Translation)

Prev Day

August 31, 2023

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

August 2023
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Return to today's reading

Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 105:1-6

Psalm 105^[a]

105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
²Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
³Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
⁴Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually.
⁵Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,^[b]
⁶O children^[c] of Abraham,^[d] God’s^[e] servant,
you descendants^[f] of Jacob, God’s^[g] chosen ones.

Psalm 105:23-26

²³Israel moved to^[a] Egypt;
Jacob lived for a time^[b] in the land of Ham.
²⁴The Lord^[c] made his people very fruitful,
and made them^[d] more numerous than their^[e] enemies.
²⁵He caused the Egyptians^[f] to hate his people,
and to mistreat^[g] his servants.
²⁶He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

Psalm 105:45

⁴⁵so that they might keep his commands
and obey^[a] his laws.
Praise the Lord.

Exodus 2:23-24

The Call of the Deliverer

²³^[a] During^[b] that long period of time^[c] the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites^[d] groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry^[e] because of their slave labor went up to God. ²⁴God heard their groaning;^[f] God remembered^[g] his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

Footnotes

Exodus 2:23 sn The next section of the book is often referred to as the “Call of Moses,” and that is certainly true. But it is much more than that. It is the divine preparation of the servant of God, a servant who already knew what his destiny was. In this section Moses is shown how his destiny will be accomplished. It will be accomplished because the divine presence will guarantee the power, and the promise of that presence comes with the important “I AM” revelation. The message that comes through in this, and other “I will be with you” passages, is that when the promise of God’s presence is correctly appropriated by faith, the servant of God can begin to build confidence for the task that lies ahead. It will no longer be, “Who am I that I should go?” but “I AM with you” that matters. The first little section, 2:23-25, serves as a transition and introduction, for it records the Lord’s response to Israel in her affliction. The second part is the revelation to Moses at the burning bush (3:1-10), which is one of the most significant theological sections in the Torah. Finally, the record of Moses’ response to the call with his objections (3:11-22), makes up the third part, and in a way, is a transition to the next section, where God supplies proof of his power.
Exodus 2:23 tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator “And it was” (cf. KJV, ASV “And it came to pass”). This has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
Exodus 2:23 tn Heb “in those many days.”
Exodus 2:23 tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
Exodus 2:23 tn “They cried out” is from זָעַק (zaʿaq), and “desperate cry” is from שַׁוְעָה (shavʿah).
Exodus 2:24 sn The word for this painfully intense “groaning” appears elsewhere to describe a response to having two broken arms (Ezek 30:24).
Exodus 2:24 sn The two verbs “heard” and “remembered,” both preterites, say far more than they seem to say. The verb שָׁמַע (shamaʿ, “to hear”) ordinarily includes responding to what is heard. It can even be found in idiomatic constructions meaning “to obey.” To say God heard their complaint means that God responded to it. Likewise, the verb זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) means to begin to act on the basis of what is remembered. A prayer to God that says, “Remember me,” is asking for more than mere recollection (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], 1-8). The structure of this section at the end of the chapter is powerful. There are four descriptions of the Israelites, with a fourfold reaction from God. On the Israelites’ side, they groaned (אָנַח [ʾanakh], נְאָקָה [n^eʾaqah]) and cried out (זָעַק [zaʿaq], שַׁוְעָה [shavʿah]) to God. On the divine side God heard (שָׁמַע, shamaʿ) their groaning, remembered (זָכַר, zakhar) his covenant, looked (רָאָה, raʾah) at the Israelites, and took notice (יָדַע, yadaʿ) of them. These verbs emphasize God’s sympathy and compassion for the people. God is near to those in need; in fact, the deliverer had already been chosen. It is important to note at this point the repetition of the word “God.” The text is waiting to introduce the name “Yahweh” in a special way. Meanwhile, the fourfold repetition of “God” in vv. 24-25 is unusual and draws attention to the statements about his attention to Israel’s plight.

Ephesians 5:1-6

Live in Love

5 Therefore, be^[a] imitators of God as dearly loved children ²and live^[b] in love, just as Christ also loved us^[c] and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering^[d] to God. ³But^[e] among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind,^[f] or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints.^[g] ⁴Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting—all of which are out of character—but rather thanksgiving. ⁵For you can be confident of this one thing:^[h] that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Live in the Light

⁶Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience.^[i]

Footnotes

Ephesians 5:1 tn Or “become.”
Ephesians 5:2 tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripateō) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).
Ephesians 5:2 tc A number of significant witnesses have ὑμᾶς (humas, “you”; e.g., א*^,2b A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally valuable witnesses read ἡμᾶς (hēmas, “us”; P⁴⁶ א^2a D F G Ψ 0278 33 1505 1739 1881 2464 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, ēgapēsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (humin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being authentic.
Ephesians 5:2 tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosphoran kai thusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (eis osmēn euōdias, “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”
Ephesians 5:3 tn The term “But” translates the δέ (de) in a contrastive way in light of the perfect obedience of Jesus in vv. 1-2 and the vices mentioned in v. 3.
Ephesians 5:3 tn Grk “all impurity.”
Ephesians 5:3 tn Grk “just as is fitting for saints.” The καθώς (kathōs) was rendered with “as” and the sense is causal, i.e., “for” or “because.” The negative particle “not” (“for these are not proper for the saints”) in this clause was supplied in English so as to make the sense very clear, i.e., that these vices are not befitting of those who name the name of Christ.
Ephesians 5:5 tn Grk “be knowing this.” See also 2 Pet 1:20 for a similar phrase: τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες (touto prōton ginōskontes).
Ephesians 5:6 sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 2:2-3.

New English Translation (NET)

Prev Day

Top

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

Log in to read this devotional and:

Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 105[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Call of the Deliverer

Footnotes

Live in Love

Live in the Light

Footnotes

Psalm 105^[a]