◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 14 (God in the company of the righteous); 2 Samuel 10:1-5 (The Ammonites dishonor David’s envoys); Colossians 1:9-14 (Growing in the knowledge of God) (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 14

Psalm 14^[a]

For the music director, by David.

14 Fools say to themselves,^[b] “There is no God.”^[c]
They sin and commit evil deeds;^[d]
none of them does what is right.^[e]
²The Lord looks down from heaven^[f] at the human race,^[g]
to see if there is anyone who is wise^[h] and seeks God.^[i]
³Everyone rejects God;^[j]
they are all morally corrupt.^[k]
None of them does what is right,^[l]
not even one.
⁴All those who behave wickedly^[m] do not understand—^[n]
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
⁵They are absolutely terrified,^[o]
for God defends the godly.^[p]
⁶You want to humiliate the oppressed,^[q]
even though^[r] the Lord is their^[s] shelter.
⁷I wish the deliverance^[t] of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the well-being of his people,^[u]
may Jacob rejoice,^[v]
may Israel be happy!^[w]

Footnotes

Psalm 14:1 sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.
Psalm 14:1 tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.
Psalm 14:1 sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).
Psalm 14:1 tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism—living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions—makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.
Psalm 14:1 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
Psalm 14:2 sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.
Psalm 14:2 tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”
Psalm 14:2 tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.
Psalm 14:2 sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.
Psalm 14:3 tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”
Psalm 14:3 tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”
Psalm 14:3 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
Psalm 14:4 tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.
Psalm 14:4 tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).
Psalm 14:5 tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.
Psalm 14:5 tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.
Psalm 14:6 tn Heb “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame.” Using a second person plural verb form, the psalmist addresses the wicked. Since the context indicates their attempt to harm the godly will be thwarted, the imperfect should be taken in a subjunctive (cf. NASB, NRSV) rather than an indicative manner (cf. NIV). Here it probably expresses their desire or intent (“want to humiliate”).
Psalm 14:6 tn It is unlikely that כִּי (ki) has a causal force here. The translation assumes a concessive force; another option is to understand an asseverative use (“certainly, indeed”).
Psalm 14:6 tn Heb “his.” The antecedent of the singular pronoun is the singular form עָנִי (ʿani, “oppressed”) in the preceding line. The singular is collective or representative here (and thus translated as plural, “they”).
Psalm 14:7 sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.
Psalm 14:7 tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (sh^evut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).
Psalm 14:7 tn The verb form is jussive.
Psalm 14:7 tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

2 Samuel 10:1-5

David and the Ammonites

10 Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him.^[a] ²David said, “I will express my loyalty^[b] to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal^[c] to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death.^[d] When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites, ³the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy?^[e] No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!”^[f]

⁴So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed,^[g] and then sent them away. ⁵Messengers^[h] told David what had happened,^[i] so he sent them to the men who were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

Colossians 1:9-14

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

⁹For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you,^[a] have not ceased praying for you and asking God^[b] to fill^[c] you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so that you may live^[d] worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects^[e]—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of^[f] all patience and steadfastness, joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share^[g] in the saints’^[h] inheritance in the light. ¹³He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves,^[i] ¹⁴in whom we have redemption,^[j] the forgiveness of sins.

Footnotes

Colossians 1:9 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
Colossians 1:9 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
Colossians 1:9 tn The ἵνα (hina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.
Colossians 1:10 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripatēsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseuchomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
Colossians 1:10 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”
Colossians 1:11 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.
Colossians 1:12 tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.
Colossians 1:12 tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (tōn hagiōn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”
Colossians 1:13 tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).
Colossians 1:14 tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou haimatos autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 M latt co as well as several other versions and fathers. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 14[a]

For the music director, by David.

Footnotes

David and the Ammonites

Footnotes

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

Footnotes

Psalm 14^[a]