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September 7, 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 149

Psalm 149^[a]

149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.^[b]
²Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people^[c] of Zion delight in their King.^[d]
³Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
⁴For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.^[e]
⁵Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.^[f]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.^[g]
⁶May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
⁷in order to take^[h] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
⁸The godly bind^[i] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
⁹and execute the judgment to which their enemies^[j] have been sentenced.^[k]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.^[l]
Praise the Lord.

Exodus 9:1-7

Plague Five: Disease

9 ^[a] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has said, “Release my people that they may serve me! ²For if you refuse to release them^[b] and continue holding them,^[c] ³then the hand of the Lord will surely bring^[d] a very terrible plague^[e] on your livestock in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels,^[f] the herds, and the flocks. ⁴But the Lord will distinguish^[g] between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing^[h] will die of all that the Israelites have.”’”^[i]

⁵The Lord set^[j] an appointed time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this^[k] in the land.” ⁶And the Lord did this^[l] on the next day;^[m] all^[n] the livestock of the Egyptians^[o] died, but of the Israelites’ livestock not one died. ⁷Pharaoh sent representatives to investigate,^[p] and indeed, not even one of the livestock of Israel had died. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard,^[q] and he did not release the people.

Footnotes

Exodus 9:1 sn This plague demonstrates that Yahweh has power over the livestock of Egypt. He is able to strike the animals with disease and death, thus delivering a blow to the economic as well as the religious life of the land. By the former plagues many of the Egyptian religious ceremonies would have been interrupted and objects of veneration defiled or destroyed. Now some of the important deities will be attacked. In Goshen, where the cattle are merely cattle, no disease hits, but in the rest of Egypt it is a different matter. Osiris, the savior, cannot even save the brute in which his own soul is supposed to reside. Apis and Mnevis, the ram of Ammon, the sheep of Sais, and the goat of Mendes, perish together. Hence, Moses reminds Israel afterward, “On their gods also Yahweh executed judgments” (Num 33:4). When Jethro heard of all these events, he said, “Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods” (Exod 18:11).
Exodus 9:2 tn The object “them” is implied in the context.
Exodus 9:2 tn עוֹד (ʿod), an adverb meaning “yet, still,” can be inflected with suffixes and used as a predicator of existence, with the nuance “to still be, yet be” (T. O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew, 171-72, §137). Then, it is joined here with the Hiphil participle מַחֲזִיק (makhaziq) to form the sentence “you are still holding them.”
Exodus 9:3 tn The form used here is הוֹיָה (hoyah), the Qal active participle, feminine singular, from the verb “to be.” This is the only place in the OT that this form occurs. Ogden shows that this form is appropriate with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) to stress impending divine action, and that it conforms to the pattern in these narratives where five times the participle is used in the threat to Pharaoh (7:17; 8:2; 9:3, 14; 10:4). See G. S. Ogden, “Notes on the Use of הויה in Exodus IX. 3, ” VT 17 (1967): 483-84.
Exodus 9:3 tn The word דֶּבֶר (dever) is usually translated “pestilence” when it applies to diseases for humans. It is used only here and in Ps 78:50 for animals.
Exodus 9:3 sn The older view that camels were not domesticated at this time (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 70; W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, 96; et. al.) has been corrected by more recently uncovered information (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 160-61).
Exodus 9:4 tn The verb פָּלָה (palah) in Hiphil means “to set apart, make separate, make distinct.” See also Exod 8:22 (18 HT); 11:7; 33:16.
Exodus 9:4 tn There is a wordplay in this section. A pestilence—דֶּבֶר (dever)—will fall on Egypt’s cattle, but no thing—דָּבָר (davar)—belonging to Israel would die. It was perhaps for this reason that the verb was changed in v. 1 from “say” to “speak” (דִּבֶּר, dibber). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 111.
Exodus 9:4 tn The ל (lamed) preposition indicates possession: “all that was to the Israelites” means “all that the Israelites had.”
Exodus 9:5 tn Heb “and Yahweh set.”
Exodus 9:5 tn Heb “this thing.”
Exodus 9:6 tn Heb “this thing.”
Exodus 9:6 tn Heb “on the morrow.”
Exodus 9:6 tn The word “all” clearly does not mean “all” in the exclusive sense, because subsequent plagues involve cattle. The word must denote such a large number that whatever was left was insignificant for the economy. It could also be taken to mean “all [kinds of] livestock died.”
Exodus 9:6 tn Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.
Exodus 9:7 tn Heb “Pharaoh sent.” The phrase “representatives to investigate” is implied in the context.
Exodus 9:7 tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh was hardened.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word כָּבֵד (kaved; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

2 Corinthians 12:11-21

The Signs of an Apostle

¹¹I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison^[a] to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. ¹²Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance^[b] by signs and wonders and powerful deeds.^[c] ¹³For how^[d] were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this injustice! ¹⁴Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have^[e] to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. ¹⁵Now I will most gladly spend and be spent for your lives!^[f] If I love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶But be that as it may, I have not burdened you. Yet because I was a crafty person, I took you in by deceit! ¹⁷I have not taken advantage of you through anyone I have sent to you, have I?^[g] ¹⁸I urged Titus to visit you^[h] and I sent our^[i] brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he?^[j] Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way?^[k] ¹⁹Have you been thinking all this time^[l] that we have been defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and everything we do, dear friends, is to build you up.^[m] ²⁰For I am afraid that somehow when I come I will not find you what I wish, and you will find me^[n] not what you wish. I am afraid that^[o] somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition,^[p] slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder. ²¹I am afraid that^[q] when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for^[r] many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 12:11 tn Or “I am in no way inferior.”
2 Corinthians 12:12 tn Or “patience,” “endurance.”
2 Corinthians 12:12 tn Or “and miracles.”
2 Corinthians 12:13 tn Grk “For in what respect.”
2 Corinthians 12:14 tn Grk “children ought not,” but this might give the impression that children are not supposed to support sick or aging parents in need of help. That is not what Paul is saying. His point is that children should not have to pay their parent’s way.
2 Corinthians 12:15 tn Grk “souls.”
2 Corinthians 12:17 tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer, indicated by the ‘tag’ question “have I?” at the end of the clause. The question is rhetorical.
2 Corinthians 12:18 tn The words “to visit you” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the modern reader.
2 Corinthians 12:18 tn Grk “the.”
2 Corinthians 12:18 tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer, indicated by the ‘tag’ question “did he?” at the end of the clause.
2 Corinthians 12:18 tn Grk “[Did we not walk] in the same tracks?” This is an idiom that means to imitate someone else or to behave as they do. Paul’s point is that he and Titus have conducted themselves in the same way toward the Corinthians. If Titus did not take advantage of the Corinthians, then neither did Paul.
2 Corinthians 12:19 tc The reading “all this time” (πάλαι, palai) is found in several early and significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses including א* A B F G 0243 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 1881 lat; the reading πάλιν (palin, “again”) is read by א² D Ψ 0278 M sy bo; the reading οὐ πάλαι (ou palai) is read by P⁴⁶, making the question even more emphatic. The reading of P⁴⁶ could only have arisen from πάλαι. The reading πάλιν is significantly easier (“are you once again thinking that we are defending ourselves?”), for it softens Paul’s tone considerably. It thus seems to be a motivated reading and cannot easily explain the rise of πάλαι. Further, πάλαι has considerable support in the Alexandrian and Western witnesses, rendering it virtually certain as the autographic wording here.
2 Corinthians 12:19 tn Or “for your strengthening”; Grk “for your edification.”
2 Corinthians 12:20 tn Grk “and I will be found by you.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation.
2 Corinthians 12:20 tn The words “I am afraid that” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are needed for clarity.
2 Corinthians 12:20 tn Or “intense anger, hostility.”
2 Corinthians 12:21 tn The words “I am afraid that” are not repeated in the Greek text from v. 20, but are needed for clarity.
2 Corinthians 12:21 tn Or “I will mourn over.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 149[a]

Footnotes

Plague Five: Disease

Footnotes

The Signs of an Apostle

Footnotes

Psalm 149^[a]