◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 85:1-2 8-13 (Righteousness and peace); Jeremiah 1:4-10 (God appoints a prophet); Acts 11:19-26 (The new community called “Christian”) (New English Translation)

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December 8, 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 85:1-2

Psalm 85^[a]

For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.

85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.^[b]
²You pardoned^[c] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave^[d] all their sin. (Selah)

Psalm 85:8-13

⁸I will listen to what God the Lord says.^[a]
For he will make^[b] peace with his people, his faithful followers.^[c]
Yet they must not^[d] return to their foolish ways.
⁹Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;^[e]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.^[f]
¹⁰Loyal love and faithfulness meet;^[g]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.^[h]
¹¹Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.^[i]
¹²Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,^[j]
and our land will yield^[k] its crops.
¹³Deliverance goes^[l] before him,
and prepares^[m] a pathway for him.^[n]

Footnotes

Psalm 85:8 sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).
Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
Psalm 85:8 tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (ʾel), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.
Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”
Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with ל (lamed), “to dwell,” probably indicates result here (“then”). When God delivers his people and renews his relationship with them, he will once more reveal his royal splendor in the land.
Psalm 85:10 tn The psalmist probably uses the perfect verbal forms in v. 10 in a dramatic or rhetorical manner, describing what he anticipates as if it were already occurring or had already occurred.
Psalm 85:10 sn Deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss. The psalmist personifies these abstract qualities to emphasize that God’s loyal love and faithfulness will yield deliverance and peace for his people.
Psalm 85:11 sn The psalmist already sees undeniable signs of God’s faithfulness and expects deliverance to arrive soon.
Psalm 85:12 tn Heb “what is good.”
Psalm 85:12 tn Both “bestow” and “yield” translate the same Hebrew verb (נָתַן, natan). The repetition of the word emphasizes that agricultural prosperity is the direct result of divine blessing.
Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will go.”
Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will prepare.”
Psalm 85:13 tn Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (v^eyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (v^eshalom, “and peace”) since “deliverance” and “peace” are closely related earlier in v. 13. This could be translated, “and peace [goes ahead, making] a pathway for his footsteps” (cf. NEB).

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

⁴The Lord’s message came to me,

⁵“Before I formed you in your mother’s womb^[a] I chose you.^[b]
Before you were born I set you apart.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

⁶I answered, “Oh, Sovereign Lord,^[c] Really^[d] I do not know how to speak well enough for that,^[e] for I am too young.”^[f] ⁷The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go^[g] to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. ⁸Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you,^[h] for I will be with you to protect^[i] you,” says the Lord. ⁹Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me.^[j] ¹⁰Know for certain that^[k] I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be^[l] uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.”^[m]

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:5 tn Heb “the womb.” The words “your mother’s” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 1:5 tn Heb “I knew you.” The parallelism here with “set you apart” and “appointed you” make clear that Jeremiah is speaking of his foreordination to be a prophet. For this same nuance of the Hebrew verb see Gen 18:19; Amos 3:2.
Jeremiah 1:6 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.”sn In Jewish tradition, instead of pronouncing the Lord’s name (Yahweh), they would substitute the word for “Lord” (אֲדוֹנַי, ʾadonay). But when the word אֲדוֹנַי (ʾadonay) preceded the Lord’s name, for Yahweh they would substitute the pronunciation of the word for “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ʾelohim). One translation convention is to use small caps for the Lord’s name, as in “Lord” or “Lord God.” The convention here is to translate אֲדוֹנַי (ʾadonay, “Lord”) as “Sovereign” and consistently use “Lord” for the Lord’s name. The English word “Jehovah” results from combining the consonants of the divine name and the vowels of the term אֲדוֹנַי (ʾadonay), resulting in Y^ehovah. The “J” of Jehovah comes from German convention, while the “e” instead of “a” has to do with the nature of the Hebrew consonant.
Jeremiah 1:6 tn The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, commonly rendered “behold” in the KJV) often introduces a speech and calls special attention to a specific word or the statement as a whole (see IBHS 675-78 §40.2.1).
Jeremiah 1:6 tn The words “well enough for that” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not claiming an absolute inability to speak.
Jeremiah 1:6 tn Heb “I am a boy/youth.” The Hebrew word can refer to an infant (Exod 2:6), a young boy (1 Sam 2:11), a teenager (Gen 21:12), or a young man (2 Sam 18:5). The translation is deliberately ambiguous since it is unclear how old Jeremiah was when he was called to begin prophesying.
Jeremiah 1:7 tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”
Jeremiah 1:8 tn Heb “be afraid of them.” The antecedent is the “whomever” in v. 7.
Jeremiah 1:8 tn Heb “rescue.”
Jeremiah 1:9 tn Heb “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” This is an example of the Hebrew “scheduling” perfect or the “prophetic” perfect where a future event is viewed as so certain it is spoken of as past. The Hebrew particle rendered here “assuredly” (Heb הִנֵּה, hinneh) underlines the certitude of the promise for the future. See the translator’s note on v. 6.sn The passage is reminiscent of Deut 18:18, which refers to the Lord’s promise of future revelation through a line of prophets who, like Moses, would speak God’s word.
Jeremiah 1:10 tn Heb “See!” The Hebrew imperative of the verb used here (רָאָה, raʾah) functions the same as the particle in v. 9. See the translator’s note there.
Jeremiah 1:10 tn Heb “I appoint you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot….” The phrase refers to the Lord giving Jeremiah authority as a prophet to declare what he, the Lord, will do; it does not mean that Jeremiah himself will do these things. The expression involves a figure of speech where the subject of a declaration is stated instead of the declaration about it. Compare a similar use of the same figure in Gen 41:13.
Jeremiah 1:10 sn These three pairs represent the twofold nature of Jeremiah’s prophecies, prophecies of judgment and restoration. For the further programmatic use of these pairs for Jeremiah’s ministry see 18:7-10 and 31:27-28.

Acts 11:19-26

Activity in the Church at Antioch

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen^[a] went as far as^[b] Phoenicia,^[c] Cyprus,^[d] and Antioch,^[e] speaking the message^[f] to no one but Jews. ²⁰But there were some men from Cyprus^[g] and Cyrene^[h] among them who came^[i] to Antioch^[j] and began to speak to the Greeks^[k] too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. ²¹The^[l] hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed^[m] turned^[n] to the Lord. ²²A report^[o] about them came to the attention^[p] of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas^[q] to Antioch.^[r] ²³When^[s] he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true^[t] to the Lord with devoted hearts,^[u] ²⁴because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people^[v] were brought to the Lord. ²⁵Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.^[w] So^[x] for a whole year Barnabas and Saul^[y] met with the church and taught a significant number of people.^[z] Now it was in Antioch^[aa] that the disciples were first called Christians.^[ab]

Footnotes

Acts 11:19 sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.
Acts 11:19 tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (diēlthon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.
Acts 11:19 sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
Acts 11:19 tn Grk “and Cyprus,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
Acts 11:19 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.
Acts 11:19 tn Grk “word.”
Acts 11:20 sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
Acts 11:20 sn Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.
Acts 11:20 tn Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 11:20 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
Acts 11:20 sn The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene…began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.
Acts 11:21 tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
Acts 11:21 tn The participle πιστεύσας (pisteusas) is articular and thus cannot be adverbial. It is adjectival, modifying ἀριθμός (arithmos), but has been translated into English as a relative clause (“who believed”).
Acts 11:21 sn Again, the expression turned is a summary term for responding to the gospel.
Acts 11:22 tn Grk “Word.”
Acts 11:22 tn Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.
Acts 11:22 tc ‡ Most mss read the infinitive “to travel” after “Barnabas.” διελθεῖν (dielthein) is found before ἕως (heōs) in D E Ψ 33 M and some versional mss. It is lacking in P⁷⁴ א A B 81 1739 and some versional mss. Although the infinitive with ἕως fits Lukan style, it has the appearance of a scribal clarification. The infinitive has the earmarks of a Western expansion on the text and thus is unlikely to be autographic. NA²⁸ has the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
Acts 11:22 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.
Acts 11:23 tn Grk “Antioch, who when.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
Acts 11:23 tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσμένω 1.a.β has “remain true to the Lord” for προσμένειν (prosmenein) in this verse.sn He…encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord. The call to faithfulness is frequent in Acts (2:40; 14:22; 15:32; 16:39; 20:1-2).
Acts 11:23 tn Grk “with purpose of heart”; BDAG 869 s.v. πρόθεσις 2.a translates this phrase “purpose of heart, i.e. devotion” here.
Acts 11:24 tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
Acts 11:26 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
Acts 11:26 tn Grk “So it happened that” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
Acts 11:26 tn Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
Acts 11:26 tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
Acts 11:26 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
Acts 11:26 sn The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 85[a]

For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

Footnotes

Activity in the Church at Antioch

Footnotes

Psalm 85^[a]