◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 99 (Proclaim God’s greatness); Exodus 31:1-11 (Artisans for the tent of meeting); 1 Peter 5:1-5 (Exemplary leadership) (New English Translation)

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October 20, 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 99

Psalm 99^[a]

99 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.^[b]
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;^[c]
the earth shakes.^[d]
²The Lord is elevated^[e] in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
³Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He^[f] is holy!
⁴The king is strong;
he loves justice.^[g]
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;^[h]
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
⁵Praise^[i] the Lord our God.
Worship^[j] before his footstool.
He is holy!
⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.^[k]
They^[l] prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
⁷He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;^[m]
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
⁸O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.^[n]
⁹Praise^[o] the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.

Footnotes

Psalm 99:1 sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
Psalm 99:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”
Psalm 99:1 sn Cherubim are winged angels. As depicted in the OT, they possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubim suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubim in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
Psalm 99:1 tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).
Psalm 99:2 tn Heb “great.”
Psalm 99:3 tn The pronoun refers to the Lord himself (see vv. 5, 9).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (ʿoz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (ʿaz, “strong”).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “you establish fairness.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “exalt.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “bow down.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.
Psalm 99:7 sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.
Psalm 99:8 tn Heb “a God of lifting up [i.e., forgiveness] you were to them, and an avenger concerning their deeds.” The present translation reflects the traditional interpretation, which understands the last line as qualifying the preceding one. God forgave Moses and Aaron, but he also disciplined them when they sinned (cf. NIV, NRSV). Another option is to take “their deeds” as referring to harmful deeds directed against Moses and Aaron. In this case the verse may be translated, “and one who avenged attacks against them.” Still another option is to emend the participial form נֹקֵם (noqem, “an avenger”) to נֹקָם (noqam), a rare Qal participial form of נָקַה (naqah, “purify”) with a suffixed pronoun. In this case one could translate, “and one who purified them from their [sinful] deeds” (cf. NEB “and held them innocent”).
Psalm 99:9 tn Or “exalt.”

Exodus 31:1-11

Willing Artisans

31 ^[a] The Lord spoke to Moses,^[b] ²“See, I have chosen^[c] Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³and I have filled him with the Spirit of God^[d] in skill,^[e] in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of^[f] craftsmanship, ⁴to make artistic designs^[g] for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, ⁵and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. ⁶Moreover,^[h] I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled,^[i] that they may make^[j] everything I have commanded you: ⁷the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings^[k] of the tent, ⁸the table with its utensils, the pure lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, ⁹the altar for the burnt offering with all its utensils, the large basin with its base, ¹⁰the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests, ¹¹the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the Holy Place. They will make all these things just as I have commanded you.”

Footnotes

Exodus 31:1 sn The next unit describes the preparation of skilled workers to build all that has been listed now for several chapters. This chapter would have been the bridge to the building of the sanctuary (35-39) if it were not for the idolatrous interlude. God called individuals and prepared them by his Spirit to be skilled to do the work for the tabernacle. If this were the substance of an exposition, it would clearly be a message on gifted people doing the work—close to the spiritual lesson of Ephesians 4. There would be two levels of meaning: the physical, which looks at the skilled artisans providing for a place to worship Yahweh, and the spiritual, which would bring in the Spirit-filled servants of God participating in building up his kingdom.
Exodus 31:1 tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”
Exodus 31:2 tn Heb “called by name.” This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.
Exodus 31:3 sn The expression in the Bible means that the individual was given special, supernatural enablement to do what God wanted done. It usually is said of someone with exceptional power or ability. The image of “filling” usually means under the control of the Spirit, so that the Spirit is the dominant force in the life.
Exodus 31:3 sn The following qualities are the ways in which the Spirit’s enablement will be displayed. “Skill” is the ability to produce something valuable to God and the community, “understanding” is the ability to distinguish between things, to perceive the best way to follow, and “knowledge” is the experiential awareness of how things are done.
Exodus 31:3 tn Heb “and in all work”; “all” means “all kinds of” here.
Exodus 31:4 tn The expression is לַחְשֹׁב מַחֲשָׁבֹת (lakhshov makhashavot, “to devise devices”). The infinitive emphasizes that Bezalel will be able to design or plan works that are artistic or skillful. He will think thoughts or devise the plans, and then he will execute them in silver or stone or whatever other material he uses.
Exodus 31:6 tn The expression uses the independent personal pronoun (“and I”) with the deictic particle (“behold”) to enforce the subject of the verb—“and I, indeed I have given.”
Exodus 31:6 tn Heb “and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom.”sn The verse means that there were a good number of very skilled and trained artisans that could come to do the work that God wanted done. But God’s Spirit further endowed them with additional wisdom and skill for the work that had to be done.
Exodus 31:6 tn The form is a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The form at this place shows the purpose or the result of what has gone before, and so it is rendered “that they may make.”
Exodus 31:7 tn Heb “all the vessels of the tent.”

1 Peter 5:1-5

Leading and Living in God’s Flock

5 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: ²Give a shepherd’s care to^[a] God’s flock among you, exercising oversight^[b] not merely as a duty^[c] but willingly under God’s direction,^[d] not for shameful profit but eagerly. ³And do not lord it over^[e] those entrusted to you,^[f] but be examples to the flock. ⁴Then^[g] when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.

⁵In the same way, you who are younger,^[h] be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.^[i]

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 99[a]

Footnotes

Willing Artisans

Footnotes

Leading and Living in God’s Flock

Footnotes

Psalm 99^[a]