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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 20

Psalm 20^[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

20 May the Lord answer^[b] you^[c] when you are in trouble;^[d]
may the God of Jacob^[e] make you secure.
²May he send you help from his temple;^[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
³May he take notice of^[g] all your offerings;
may he accept^[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
⁴May he grant your heart’s desire;^[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.^[j]
⁵Then we will shout for joy over your^[k] victory;
we will rejoice^[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
⁶Now I am sure^[m] that the Lord will deliver^[n] his chosen king;^[o]
he will intervene for him^[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,^[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.^[r]
⁷Some trust in chariots and others in horses,^[s]
but we^[t] depend on^[u] the Lord our God.
⁸They will fall down,^[v]
but we^[w] will stand firm.^[x]
⁹The Lord will deliver the king;^[y]
he will answer us^[z] when we call to him for help!^[aa]

Footnotes

Psalm 20:1 sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.
Psalm 20:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.
Psalm 20:1 sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.
Psalm 20:1 tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”
Psalm 20:1 tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.
Psalm 20:2 tc Heb “from [the] temple.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (וֹ, holem vav) has probably been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word begins with a prefixed vav (ו). See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 184.
Psalm 20:3 tn Or “remember.” For other examples of the verb זָכַר (zakhar) carrying the nuance “take notice of,” see Pss 8:4 and 9:12.
Psalm 20:3 tc Heb “consider as fat.” The verbal form should probably be emended to יְדַשְּׁנֶהָ (y^edash^eneha), the final he (ה) being understood as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix referring back to the feminine noun “burnt sacrifice.”
Psalm 20:4 tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.
Psalm 20:4 sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.
Psalm 20:5 sn Your victory. Here the king is addressed (see v. 1).
Psalm 20:5 tc The Hebrew verb דָּגַל (dagal) occurs only here in the Qal. If accepted as original, it may carry the nuance “raise a banner,” but it is preferable to emend the form to נָגִיל (nagil, “we will rejoice”) which provides better parallelism with “shout for joy” and fits well with the prepositional phrase “in the name of our God” (see Ps 89:16).
Psalm 20:6 tn Or “know.”sn Now I am sure. The speaker is not identified. It is likely that the king, referring to himself in the third person (note “his chosen king”), responds to the people’s prayer. Perhaps his confidence is due to the reception of a divine oracle of salvation.
Psalm 20:6 tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.
Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.
Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “he will answer him.”
Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”
Psalm 20:6 tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).
Psalm 20:7 tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. The convention of backward ellipsis can apply to the final word of the 2nd line, as in this verse. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.
Psalm 20:7 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.
Psalm 20:7 tc The LXX translates the verb as μεγαλυνθησόμεθα (megalunthēsometha) “we will boast.” This may reflect another verb, the Hiphil of גָּבַר (gavar), and depends on two letter confusions, ג (gimel) for ז (zayin) and ב (bet) for כ (kaf).tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the Lord’s name in prayer, the people demonstrate their trust in him.
Psalm 20:8 tn Or “stumble and fall down.”
Psalm 20:8 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.
Psalm 20:8 tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (ʿud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.
Psalm 20:9 tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshiʿah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O Lord, deliver”). But the immediate context is one of confidence (vv. 6-8), not petition (vv. 1-5). If one takes the final he on the verb “deliver” as dittographic (note the initial he (ה) on the following phrase, “the king”), one can repoint the verbal form as a perfect and understand it as expressing the people’s confidence, “the Lord will deliver the king” (see v. 6). The Hebrew scribal tradition takes “the king” with the following line, in which case it would be best interpreted as a divine title, “may the King answer us” or “the king will answer us” (see Pss 98:6; 145:1). However, the poetic parallelism is better balanced if “the king” is taken with the first line. In this case the referent is the Davidic king, who is earlier called the Lord’s “anointed one” (cf. note on “chosen king” in v. 6; see Pss 21:7; 45:5, 11; 63:11).
Psalm 20:9 tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).
Psalm 20:9 tn Heb “in the day we call.”

Numbers 6:22-27

The Priestly Benediction

²²^[a] The Lord spoke to Moses: ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way^[b] you are to bless^[c] the Israelites. Say^[d] to them:

²⁴“The Lord bless you^[e] and protect^[f] you;
²⁵The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;^[g]
²⁶The Lord lift up his countenance upon you^[h]
and give you peace.”’

²⁷“So they will put my name^[i] on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Footnotes

Numbers 6:22 sn This brief section records the blessing of the priest, especially the high priest after he emerges from the holy of holies to bless the people (see Lev 9:22). The two main elements in the oracle are “grace and peace.” It is probable that the Apostle Paul based his salutations on this oracle. For additional information, see L. J. Liebreich, “The Songs of Ascent and the Priestly Blessing,” JBL 74 (1955): 33-36; P. D. Miller, “The Blessing of God: An Interpretation of Num 6:22-27, ” Int 29 (1975): 240-51; and A. Murtonen, “The Use and Meaning of the Words l^ebarek and b^erakah in the Old Testament,” VT 9 (1959): 158-77.
Numbers 6:23 tn Or “thus.”
Numbers 6:23 tn The Piel imperfect has the nuance of instruction. The particle “thus” explains that the following oracle is the form to use.
Numbers 6:23 tn Here is the only use of the verb אָמַר (ʾamar) as an infinitive absolute; it functions as a verb form, an imperative or an imperfect of instruction. Several commentators have attempted to emend the text to get around the difficulty, but such emendations are unnecessary.
Numbers 6:24 tn The short blessing uses the jussive throughout, here the Piel jussive with a pronominal suffix. While the jussive has quite a range of nuances, including wish, desire, prayer, or greeting, the jussives here are stronger. The formal subject of the verb is the Lord, and the speaker pronouncing the blessing is the priest, notably after emerging from the holy of holies where atonement has been made. The Lord says in this passage that when the priest says this, then the Lord will bless them. The jussive then is an oracle, not a wish or a prayer. It is a declaration of what the Lord imparts. It is as binding and sure as a patriarchal blessing which once said officially could not be taken back. The priest here is then pronouncing the word of the Lord, declaring to the congregation the outcome of the atonement.
Numbers 6:24 tn The verb “to keep” concerns the divine protection of the people; its basic meaning is “to exercise great care over,” “to guard,” or “to give attention to” (see TWOT 2:939). No doubt the priestly blessing informed the prayer and promise that makes up Ps 121, for the verb occurs six times in the eight verses. So in addition to the divine provision (“bless” basically means “enrich” in a number of ways) there is the assurance of divine protection.
Numbers 6:25 tn Whereas the first line of the blessing had three Hebrew words, the second has five, and the third has seven. In this second line and the following third, the blessing takes the form of an emblem followed by the truth. For the Lord to make his face shine on them would mean to be gracious to them. M. Noth rightly calls this image of the shining face “a figure of speech for benevolence and favour” (Numbers [OTL], 59); see, for example, Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 119:135; Dan 9:17). The image may have its inspiration in the theophanies. The picture is of divine favor—the beaming face of a parent for his beloved.
Numbers 6:26 tn The last line of the blessing also has first the image and then the parallel interpretation—for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of the fallen face is one of anger (see Gen 4:6, 7); and the idea of the hidden face is that of withholding support, favor, or peace (see Deut 31:18; Pss 30:8; 44:25). If God lifts his face toward his people, it means he has given them peace—peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, and the like.
Numbers 6:27 tn The idea of their putting the name of Yahweh on the people is somewhat problematic. The pronouncing of the name of Yahweh in this context over the people was taken to be the effectual means of blessings. “Putting the name on them” is an expression that emphasizes the truth that he is their God and they are his people or that having his name is having his blessing.

Mark 4:21-25

The Parable of the Lamp

²¹He also said to them, “A lamp^[a] isn’t brought to be put under a basket^[b] or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand? ²²For nothing is hidden except to be revealed,^[c] and nothing concealed except to be brought to light. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!”^[d] ²⁴And he said to them, “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive,^[e] and more will be added to you. ²⁵For whoever has will be given more, but^[f] whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”^[g]

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 20[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

Footnotes

The Priestly Benediction

Footnotes

The Parable of the Lamp

Footnotes

Psalm 20^[a]