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July 6, 2024

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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 48

Psalm 48^[a]

A song, a psalm by the Korahites.

48 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise
in the city of our God,^[b] his holy hill.
²It is lofty and pleasing to look at,^[c]
a source of joy to the whole earth.^[d]
Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon;^[e]
it is the city of the great king.
³God is in its fortresses;
he reveals himself as its defender.^[f]
⁴For^[g] look, the kings assemble;^[h]
they advance together.
⁵As soon as they see,^[i] they are shocked;^[j]
they are terrified, they quickly retreat.^[k]
⁶Look at them shake uncontrollably,^[l]
like a woman writhing in childbirth.^[m]
⁷With an east wind
you shatter^[n] the large ships.^[o]
⁸We heard about God’s mighty deeds; now we have seen them,^[p]
in the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,^[q]
in the city of our God.
God makes it permanently secure.^[r] (Selah)
⁹Within your temple
we reflect on your loyal love, O God.
¹⁰The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth
is worthy of your reputation, O God.^[s]
You execute justice.^[t]
¹¹Mount Zion rejoices;
the towns^[u] of Judah are happy,^[v]
because of your acts of judgment.^[w]
¹²Walk around^[x] Zion. Encircle it.
Count its towers.
¹³Consider its defenses.^[y]
Walk through^[z] its fortresses,
so you can tell the next generation about it.^[aa]
¹⁴For God, our God, is our defender forever.^[ab]
He guides^[ac] us.^[ad]

Footnotes

Psalm 48:1 sn Psalm 48. This so-called “Song of Zion” celebrates the greatness and glory of the Lord’s dwelling place, Jerusalem. His presence in the city elevates it above all others and assures its security.
Psalm 48:1 sn The city of our God is Jerusalem, which is also referred to here as “his holy hill,” that is, Zion (see v. 2, as well as Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; 87:1; Dan 9:16).
Psalm 48:2 tn Heb “beautiful of height.” The Hebrew term נוֹף (nof, “height”) is a genitive of specification after the qualitative noun “beautiful.” The idea seems to be that Mount Zion, because of its lofty appearance, is pleasing to the sight.
Psalm 48:2 sn A source of joy to the whole earth. The language is hyperbolic. Zion, as the dwelling place of the universal king, is pictured as the world’s capital. The prophets anticipated this idealized picture becoming a reality in the eschaton (see Isa 2:1-4).
Psalm 48:2 tn Heb “Mount Zion, the peaks of Zaphon.” Like all the preceding phrases in v. 2, both phrases are appositional to “city of our God, his holy hill” in v. 1, suggesting an identification in the poet’s mind between Mount Zion and Zaphon. “Zaphon” usually refers to the “north” in a general sense (see Pss 89:12; 107:3), but here, where it is collocated with “peaks,” it refers specifically to Mount Zaphon, located in the vicinity of ancient Ugarit and viewed as the mountain where the gods assembled (see Isa 14:13). By alluding to West Semitic mythology in this way, the psalm affirms that Mount Zion is the real divine mountain, for it is here that the Lord God of Israel lives and rules over the nations. See P. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 353, and T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 103.
Psalm 48:3 tn Heb “its elevated place,” or “its refuge.”
Psalm 48:4 tn The logical connection between vv. 3-4 seems to be this: God is the protector of Zion and reveals himself as the city’s defender—this is necessary because hostile armies threaten the city.
Psalm 48:4 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 4-6 are understood as descriptive. In dramatic style (note הִנֵּה, hinneh, “look”) the psalm describes an enemy attack against the city as if it were occurring at this very moment. Another option is to take the perfects as narrational (“the kings assembled, they advanced”), referring to a particular historical event, such as Sennacherib’s siege of the city in 701 b.c. (cf. NIV, NRSV). Even if one translates the verses in a dramatic-descriptive manner (as the present translation does), the Lord’s victory over the Assyrians was probably what served as the inspiration of the description (see v. 8).
Psalm 48:5 tn The object of “see” is omitted, but v. 3b suggests that the Lord’s self-revelation as the city’s defender is what they see.
Psalm 48:5 tn Heb “they look, so they are shocked.” Here כֵּן (ken, “so”) has the force of “in the same measure.”
Psalm 48:5 tn The translation attempts to reflect the staccato style of the Hebrew text, where the main clauses of vv. 4-6 are simply juxtaposed without connectives.
Psalm 48:6 tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).
Psalm 48:6 tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”sn The language of vv. 5-6 is reminiscent of Exod 15:15.
Psalm 48:7 tn The switch to the imperfect, as well as the introduction of the ship metaphor, perhaps signals a change to a generalizing tone; the Lord typically shatters these large ships, symbolic of the human strength of hostile armies (see the following note on “large ships”). The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Pss 29:5; 46:9). In the OT it occurs thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3).
Psalm 48:7 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to and from the distant western port of Tarshish. These ships, which were the best of their class, here symbolize the mere human strength of hostile armies, which are incapable of withstanding the Lord’s divine power (see Isa 2:16).
Psalm 48:8 tn Heb “As we have heard, so we have seen.” The community had heard about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history. Having personally witnessed his saving power with their own eyes, they could now affirm that the tradition was not exaggerated or inaccurate.
Psalm 48:8 tn Heb “the Lord of hosts.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Pss 24:10; 46:7, 11).
Psalm 48:8 tn Or “God makes it secure forever.” The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.
Psalm 48:10 tn Heb “like your name, O God, so [is] your praise to the ends of the earth.” Here “name” refers to God’s reputation and revealed character.
Psalm 48:10 tn Heb “your right hand is full of justice.” The “right hand” suggests activity and power.
Psalm 48:11 tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).
Psalm 48:11 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [l^emaʿan], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)
Psalm 48:11 sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.
Psalm 48:12 tn The verb forms in vv. 12-13 are plural; the entire Judahite community is addressed.
Psalm 48:13 tn Heb “set your heart to its rampart.”
Psalm 48:13 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word translated “walk through,” which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Cf. NEB “pass…in review”; NIV “view.”
Psalm 48:13 sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.
Psalm 48:14 tn Heb “for this is God, our God, forever and ever.” “This” might be paraphrased, “this protector described and praised in the preceding verses.”
Psalm 48:14 tn The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.
Psalm 48:14 tn In the Hebrew text the psalm ends with the words עַל־מוּת (ʿal-mut, “upon [unto?] dying”), which make little, if any, sense. M. Dahood (Psalms [AB], 1:293) proposes an otherwise unattested plural form עֹלָמוֹת (ʿolamot; from עוֹלָם, ʿolam, “eternity”). This would provide a nice parallel to עוֹלָם וָעֶד (ʿolam vaʿed, “forever”) in the preceding line, but elsewhere the plural of עוֹלָם appears as עֹלָמִים (ʿolamim). It is preferable to understand the phrase as a musical direction of some sort (see עַל־מוּת [ʿal-mut] in the superscription of Ps 9) or to emend the text to עַל־עֲלָמוֹת (ʿal ʿalamot, “according to the alamoth style”; see the heading of Ps 46). In either case it should be understood as belonging with the superscription of the following psalm.

2 Samuel 3:31-38

³¹David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes. Put on sackcloth. Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed^[a] behind the funeral pallet.^[b] ³²So they buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly^[c] over Abner’s grave, and all the people wept too. ³³The king chanted the following lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died like a fool?
³⁴Your hands^[d] were not bound,
and your feet were not put into irons.
You fell the way one falls before criminals.”

All the people^[e] wept over him again. ³⁵Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely^[f] if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”

³⁶All the people noticed this and it pleased them.^[g] In fact, everything the king did pleased all the people. ³⁷All the people and all Israel realized on that day that the killing of Abner son of Ner was not done at the king’s instigation.^[h]

³⁸Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not realize that a great leader^[i] has fallen this day in Israel?

Matthew 8:18-22

Challenging Professed Followers

¹⁸Now when Jesus saw a large crowd^[a] around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake.^[b] ¹⁹Then^[c] an expert in the law^[d] came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”^[e] ²⁰Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky^[f] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”^[g] ²¹Another^[h] of the^[i] disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ²²But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”^[j]

Footnotes

Matthew 8:18 tc ‡ Codex B and some Sahidic mss read simply ὄχλον (ochlon, “crowd”), the reading that NA²⁸ follows; the first hand of א, ƒ¹, and a few other witnesses have ὄχλους (ochlous, “crowds”); other witnesses (1424 sa^ms mae) read πολὺν ὄχλον (polun ochlon, “a large crowd”). But the reading most likely to be authentic seems to be πολλοὺς ὄχλους (pollous ochlous, “large crowds”). It is found in א² C L N Γ Δ Θ 0233 ƒ¹³ 33 565 579 700 M lat; it is judged to be superior on internal grounds (the possibility of accidental omission of πολλούς/πολύν in isolated witnesses) and, to a lesser extent, external grounds (geographically widespread, various textual clusters). For reasons of English style, however, this phrase has been translated as “a large crowd.”
Matthew 8:18 tn The phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has been supplied here for clarity.
Matthew 8:19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then.”
Matthew 8:19 tn Or “a scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
Matthew 8:19 sn The statement I will follow you wherever you go is an offer to follow Jesus as a disciple, no matter what the cost. There is nothing wrong with this profession, but it is unlikely that the speaker had fully thought through all the implications of such a sweeping commitment to follow Jesus.
Matthew 8:20 tn Or “the wild birds”; Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
Matthew 8:20 sn According to Matt 4:13 Jesus made his home in Capernaum, so in spite of the common interpretation of this statement he was not technically homeless. More likely Jesus’ reply here has to do with the increasing opposition and rejection he and his disciples are encountering, so the question amounts to this: Does the man who wants to follow him understand the rejection he will be facing? The implication is that he does not.
Matthew 8:21 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Matthew 8:21 tc ‡ Most mss (C L N W Γ Δ Θ 0250 ƒ^{1, 13} 565 579 700 1424 M al lat sy mae bo) read αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) here, but the earliest witnesses, א and B (along with 33 it sa), lack it. The addition may have been a motivated reading to clarify whose disciples were in view. NA²⁸ includes the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
Matthew 8:22 sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Let the dead bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. (See, e.g., C. A. Evans, Jesus and the Ossuaries, 26-30.) Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to follow Jesus.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 48[a]

A song, a psalm by the Korahites.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Challenging Professed Followers

Footnotes

Psalm 48^[a]