◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 90:1-6 13-17 (Show your servants your works); Deuteronomy 32:1-14 18 (The song of Moses); Titus 2:7-8 11-15 (A life devoted to good works) (New English Translation)

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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 90:1-6

Book 4 (Psalms 90-106)

Psalm 90^[a]

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90 O Lord, you have been our protector^[b] through all generations.
²Even before the mountains came into existence,^[c]
or you brought the world into being,^[d]
you were the eternal God.^[e]
³You make mankind return^[f] to the dust,^[g]
and say, “Return, O people.”
⁴Yes,^[h] in your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday that quickly passes,
or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.^[i]
⁵You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.”^[j]
In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up:
⁶In the morning it glistens^[k] and sprouts up;
at evening time it withers^[l] and dries up.

Footnotes

Psalm 90:1 sn Psalm 90. In this communal lament the worship leader affirms that the eternal God and creator of the world has always been Israel’s protector. But God also causes men, who are as transient as grass, to die, and in his fierce anger he decimates his covenant community, whose brief lives are filled with suffering and end in weakness. The community asks for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors.
Psalm 90:1 tn Or “place of safety.” See Ps 71:3.
Psalm 90:2 tn Heb “were born.”
Psalm 90:2 tn Heb “and you gave birth to the earth and world.” The Polel verbal form in the Hebrew text pictures God giving birth to the world. The LXX and some other ancient textual witnesses assume a Polal (passive) verbal form here. In this case the earth becomes the subject of the verb and the verb is understood as third feminine singular rather than second masculine singular.
Psalm 90:2 tn Heb “and from everlasting to everlasting you [are] God.” Instead of אֵל (ʾel, “God”) the LXX reads אַל (ʾal, “not”) and joins the negative particle to the following verse, making the verb תָּשֵׁב (tashev) a jussive. In this case v. 3a reads as a prayer, “do not turn man back to a low place.” However, taking תָּשֵׁב as a jussive is problematic in light of the following wayyiqtol form וַתֹּאמֶר (vatoʾmer, “and you said/say”), unless one reads the form as a simple vav plus imperfect as indicated by Aquila and Jerome.
Psalm 90:3 tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.
Psalm 90:3 tn The Hebrew term דַּכָּא (dakaʾ) carries the basic sense of “crushed.” Elsewhere it refers to those who are “crushed” in spirit or contrite of heart (see Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15). If one understands this nuance here, then v. 3 is observing that God leads mankind to repentance (the term שׁוּב, shuv, “return,” which appears twice in this verse, is sometimes used of repentance.) However, the following context laments mankind’s mortality and the brevity of life, so it is doubtful if v. 3 should be understood so positively. It is more likely that דַּכָּא here refers to “crushed matter,” that is, the dust that fills the grave (see HALOT 221 s.v. s.v. I דַּכָּא; BDB 194 s.v. דַּכָּא). In this case one may hear an echo of Gen 3:19.
Psalm 90:4 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 90:4 sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”
Psalm 90:5 tn Heb “you bring them to an end [with] sleep.” The Hebrew verb זָרַם (zaram) has traditionally been taken to mean “flood” or “overwhelm” (note the Polel form of a root זרם in Ps 77:17, where the verb is used of the clouds pouring down rain). However, the verb form here is Qal, not Polel, and is better understood as a homonym meaning “to make an end [of life].” The term שֵׁנָה (shenah, “sleep”) can be taken as an adverbial accusative; it is a euphemism here for death (see Ps 76:5-6).
Psalm 90:6 tn Or “flourishes.” The verb is used of a crown shining in Ps 132:18. Perhaps here in Ps 90:6 it refers to the glistening of the grass in the morning dew.
Psalm 90:6 tn The Polel form of this verb occurs only here. Perhaps the form should be emended to a Qal (which necessitates eliminating the final ל [lamed] as dittographic). See Ps 37:2.

Psalm 90:13-17

¹³Turn back toward us, O Lord.
How long must this suffering last?^[a]
Have pity on your servants.^[b]
¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning^[c] with your loyal love.
Then we will shout for joy and be happy^[d] all our days.
¹⁵Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us,
in proportion to the years we have experienced^[e] trouble.
¹⁶May your servants see your work.^[f]
May their sons see your majesty.^[g]
¹⁷May our Sovereign God extend his favor to us.^[h]
Make our endeavors successful.
Yes, make them successful.^[i]

Deuteronomy 32:1-14

Invocation of Witnesses

32 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
²My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew,^[a]
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
³For I will proclaim the name^[b] of the Lord;
you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.
⁴As for the Rock,^[c] his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair^[d] and upright.
⁵His people have been unfaithful^[e] to him;
they have not acted like his children^[f]—this is their sin.^[g]
They are a perverse^[h] and deceitful generation.
⁶Is this how you repay^[i] the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your Creator?
He has made you and established you.
⁷Remember the ancient days;
bear in mind^[j] the years of past generations.^[k]
Ask your father and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
⁸When the Most High^[l] gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind,^[m]
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly.^[n]
⁹For the Lord’s allotment is his people,
Jacob is his special possession.^[o]
¹⁰The Lord^[p] found him^[q] in a desolate land,^[r]
in an empty wasteland where animals howl.^[s]
He continually guarded him^[t] and taught him;^[u]
he continually protected him^[v] like the pupil^[w] of his eye.
¹¹Like an eagle that stirs up^[x] its nest,
that hovers over its young,
so the Lord^[y] spread out his wings and took him,^[z]
he lifted him up on his pinions.
¹²The Lord alone was guiding him,^[aa]
no foreign god was with him.
¹³He enabled him^[ab] to travel over the high terrain of the land,
and he ate of the produce of the fields.
He provided honey for him from the cliffs,^[ac]
and olive oil^[ad] from the hardest of^[ae] rocks,^[af]
¹⁴butter from the herd
and milk from the flock,
along with the fat of lambs,
rams and goats of Bashan,
along with the best of the kernels of wheat;
and from the juice^[ag] of grapes you drank wine.

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 32:2 tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.
Deuteronomy 32:3 tc Smr and Tg read “in the name.”
Deuteronomy 32:4 tc The LXX reads Θεός (theos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”sn The Hebrew term depicts God as a rocky summit where one may find safety and protection. Within a covenantal context it serves as a reminder to the people that their God has committed himself to their protection in return for their allegiance.
Deuteronomy 32:4 tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).
Deuteronomy 32:5 tc The third person masculine singular שָׁחַת (shakhat) is rendered as third person masculine plural by Smr, a reading supported by the plural suffix on מוּם (mum, “defect”) as well as the plural of בֵּן (ben, “sons”).tn Heb “have acted corruptly” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); NRSV “have dealt falsely.”
Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “(they are) not his sons.”
Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “defect” (so NASB). This highly elliptical line suggests that Israel’s major fault was its failure to act like God’s people; in fact, they acted quite the contrary.
Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “twisted,” “crooked.” See Ps 18:26.
Deuteronomy 32:6 tn Or “treat” (TEV).
Deuteronomy 32:7 tc The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read second person masculine singular whereas the MT has second person masculine plural. The former is preferred, the latter perhaps being a misreading (בִּינוּ [binu] for בִּינָה [binah]). Both the preceding (“remember”) and following (“ask”) imperatives are singular forms in the Hebrew text.
Deuteronomy 32:7 tn Heb “generation and generation.” The repetition of the singular noun here singles out each of the successive past generations. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3b.
Deuteronomy 32:8 tn The Hebrew term עֶלְיוֹן (ʿelyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Pss 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.
Deuteronomy 32:8 tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).
Deuteronomy 32:8 tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (b^ene yisraʾel, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelōn theou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (b^ene ʾel) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (bene ʾelim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.
Deuteronomy 32:9 tc Heb “the portion of his inheritance.” The LXX and Smr add “Israel” and BHS suggests the reconstruction: “The Lord’s allotment is Jacob, the portion of his inheritance is Israel” (cf. NAB). While providing good parallelism, it destroys a fine chiastic structure: “allotment” (a), “his people” (b), “Jacob (b’), and “inheritance” (a’).
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn The reference is to “his people/Jacob” (cf. v. 9), that is, Israel (using a collective singular). The singular pronouns are replaced by plural ones throughout vv. 10-14 by some English versions as an aid to the modern reader (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT).
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “a land of wilderness.” A מִדְבָּר (midbar, “wilderness”) refers to a dry region which is characterized as receiving less than twelve inches of rain per year. It therefore cannot support trees and may or may not have sparse vegetation (if receiving less than six inches of rain). The point of the poetic image is that it is desolate.
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “in an empty, howling wasteland.” The word “howling” is derived from a verbal root that typically refers to the wailing of mourners. Here it likely refers to the howling of desert animals, or perhaps to the howling wind, in which case one may translate, “in an empty, windy wasteland.”
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “was surrounding him.” The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing care during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “he gave him understanding.” The form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing protection during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “the little man.” The term אִישׁוֹן (ʾishon) means literally “little man,” perhaps because when one looks into another’s eyes he sees himself reflected there in miniature. See A. Harman, NIDOTTE 1:391.
Deuteronomy 32:11 tn The prefixed verbal form is an imperfect, indicating habitual or typical behavior. The parallel verb (cf. “hovers” in the next line) is used in the same manner.
Deuteronomy 32:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Deuteronomy 32:11 tn The form of the suffix on this and the following verb forms (cf. “lifted him up”) indicates that the verbs are preterites, not imperfects. As such they simply state the action factually. The use of the preterite here suggests that the preceding verb (cf. “spread out”) is preterite as well.
Deuteronomy 32:12 tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing guidance during the period in view.
Deuteronomy 32:13 tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.
Deuteronomy 32:13 tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”
Deuteronomy 32:13 tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.
Deuteronomy 32:13 tn Heb “flinty.”
Deuteronomy 32:13 sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”
Deuteronomy 32:14 tn Heb “blood,” a figurative image based on the color of the juice.

Deuteronomy 32:18

¹⁸You forgot^[a] the Rock who fathered you,
and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.

Titus 2:7-8

⁷showing yourself to be an example of good works in every way. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, ⁸and a sound message that cannot be criticized, so that any opponent will be at a loss,^[a] because he has nothing evil to say about us.

Titus 2:11-15

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.^[a] ¹²It trains us^[b] to reject godless ways^[c] and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing^[d] of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.^[e] ¹⁴He^[f] gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his,^[g] who are eager to do good.^[h] ¹⁵So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke^[i] that carries full authority.^[j] Don’t let anyone look down^[k] on you.

Footnotes

Titus 2:11 tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.
Titus 2:12 tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.
Titus 2:12 tn Grk “ungodliness.”
Titus 2:13 tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”
Titus 2:13 tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, theos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, sōtēr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.
Titus 2:14 tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).
Titus 2:14 tn Or “a people who are his very own.”
Titus 2:14 tn Grk “for good works.”
Titus 2:15 tn Or “reproof,” “censure.” The Greek word ἐλέγχω (elenchō) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.
Titus 2:15 tn Grk “speak these things and exhort and rebuke with all authority.”
Titus 2:15 tn Or “let anyone despise you”; or “let anyone disregard you.”

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Book 4 (Psalms 90-106)

Psalm 90[a]

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Invocation of Witnesses

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 90^[a]