◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 75 (It is God who lifts up); 2 Kings 3:4-20 (Pools of water without rain); Ephesians 5:6-20 (The fruit of the light) (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 75

Psalm 75^[a]

For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;^[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.

75 We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks.
You reveal your presence;^[c]
people tell about your amazing deeds.
²God says,^[d]
“At the appointed times,^[e]
I judge^[f] fairly.
³When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,^[g]
I make its pillars secure.”^[h] (Selah)
⁴^[i] I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory.^[j]
⁵Do not be so certain you have won.^[k]
Do not speak with your head held so high.^[l]
⁶For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.^[m]
⁷For God is the judge.^[n]
He brings one down and exalts another.^[o]
⁸For the Lord holds in his hand a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices,^[p]
and pours it out.^[q]
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.”^[r]
⁹As for me, I will continually tell what you have done;^[s]
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
¹⁰God says,^[t]
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.”^[u]

Footnotes

Psalm 75:1 sn Psalm 75. The psalmist celebrates God’s just rule, which guarantees that the godly will be vindicated and the wicked destroyed.
Psalm 75:1 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-59.
Psalm 75:1 tn Heb “and near [is] your name.”
Psalm 75:2 tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in vv. 2-3.
Psalm 75:2 tn Heb “when I take an appointed time.”
Psalm 75:2 tn Heb “I, [in] fairness, I judge.” The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically executes fair judgment as he governs the world. One could take this as referring to an anticipated (future) judgment, “I will judge.”
Psalm 75:3 tn Heb “melt.”
Psalm 75:3 tn The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically prevents the world from being overrun by chaos. One could take this as referring to an anticipated event, “I will make its pillars secure.”
Psalm 75:4 tn The identity of the speaker in vv. 4-6 is unclear. The present translation assumes that the psalmist, who also speaks in vv. 7-9 (where God/the Lord is spoken of in the third person) here addresses the proud and warns them of God’s judgment. The presence of כִּי (ki, “for”) at the beginning of both vv. 6-7 seems to indicate that vv. 4-9 are a unit. However, there is no formal indication of a new speaker in v. 4 (or in v. 10, where God appears to speak). Another option is to see God speaking in vv. 2-6 and v. 10 and to take only vv. 7-9 as the words of the psalmist. In this case one must interpret כִּי at the beginning of v. 7 in an asseverative or emphatic sense (“surely; indeed”).
Psalm 75:4 tn Heb “do not lift up a horn.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Here the idiom seems to refer to an arrogant attitude that assumes victory has been achieved.
Psalm 75:5 tn Heb “do not lift up on high your horn.”
Psalm 75:5 tn Heb “[do not] speak with unrestrained neck.” The negative particle is understood in this line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).sn The image behind the language of vv. 4-5 is that of a powerful wild ox that confidently raises its head before its enemies.
Psalm 75:6 tn Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4-5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.
Psalm 75:7 tn Or “judges.”
Psalm 75:7 tn The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.
Psalm 75:8 tn Heb “for a cup [is] in the hand of the Lord, and wine foams, it is full of a spiced drink.” The noun מֶסֶךְ (mesekh) refers to a “mixture” of wine and spices.
Psalm 75:8 tn Heb “and he pours out from this.”
Psalm 75:8 tn Heb “surely its dregs they slurp up and drink, all the wicked of the earth.”sn The psalmist pictures God as forcing the wicked to gulp down an intoxicating drink that will leave them stunned and vulnerable. Divine judgment is also depicted this way in Ps 60:3; Isa 51:17-23; Hab 2:16.
Psalm 75:9 tn Heb “I will declare forever.” The object needs to be supplied; God’s just judgment is in view.
Psalm 75:10 tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in v. 10.
Psalm 75:10 tn Heb “and all the horns of the wicked I will cut off, the horns of the godly will be lifted up.” The imagery of the wild ox’s horn is once more utilized (see vv. 4-5).

2 Kings 3:4-20

⁴Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder.^[a] He would send as tribute^[b] to the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. ⁵When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶At that time King Jehoram left Samaria and assembled all Israel for war. ⁷He sent^[c] this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?” Jehoshaphat^[d] replied, “I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal.”^[e] ⁸He then asked, “Which invasion route are we going to take?”^[f] Jehoram^[g] answered, “By the road through the wilderness of Edom.” ⁹So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom^[h] set out together. They wandered around on the road for seven days and finally ran out of water for the men and animals they had with them. ¹⁰The king of Israel said, “Oh no!^[i] Certainly the Lord has summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to the king of Moab!” ¹¹Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here that we might seek the Lord’s direction?”^[j] One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah’s servant.”^[k] ¹²Jehoshaphat said, “Yes, he receives the Lord’s messages.”^[l] So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to visit him.

¹³Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why are you here?^[m] Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets!” The king of Israel replied to him, “No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.” ¹⁴Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord of Heaven’s Armies^[n] lives (whom I serve),^[o] if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah,^[p] I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you.^[q] ¹⁵But now, get me a musician.”^[r] When the musician played, the Lord energized him,^[s] ¹⁶and he said, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Make many cisterns in this valley,’^[t] ¹⁷for this is what the Lord has said, ‘You will not feel^[u] any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water, and you and your cattle and animals will drink.’ ¹⁸This is an easy task for the Lord;^[v] he will also hand Moab over to you. ¹⁹You will defeat every fortified city and every important^[w] city. You must chop down^[x] every productive^[y] tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones.”^[z]

²⁰Sure enough, the next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water came flowing down from Edom and filled the land.^[aa]

Footnotes

2 Kings 3:4 tn For a discussion of the meaning of term נֹקֵד (noqed) as “sheep breeder,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 43.
2 Kings 3:4 tn The vav + perfect here indicates customary action contemporary with the situation described in the preceding main clause. See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.
2 Kings 3:7 tn Heb “went and sent.”
2 Kings 3:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoshaphat) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 3:7 tn Heb “I will go up—like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”
2 Kings 3:8 tn Heb “Where is the road we will go up?”
2 Kings 3:8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “the king of Israel and the king of Judah and the king of Edom.”
2 Kings 3:10 tn Or “ah.”
2 Kings 3:11 tn Heb “that we might inquire of the Lord through him?”
2 Kings 3:11 tn Heb “who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” This refers to one of the typical tasks of a servant.
2 Kings 3:12 tn Heb “the Lord’s message is with him.”
2 Kings 3:13 tn Or “What do we have in common?” The text reads literally, “What to me and to you?”
2 Kings 3:14 tn Traditionally “the Lord of hosts.”
2 Kings 3:14 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
2 Kings 3:14 tn Heb “if I did not lift up the face of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah.”
2 Kings 3:14 tn Heb “I would not look at you or see you.”
2 Kings 3:15 tn The term used refers to one who plays a stringed instrument, perhaps a harp.
2 Kings 3:15 tn Heb “the hand of the Lord came on him.” This may refer to what typically happened, “[for] when a musician played, the hand of the Lord would come upon him.”
2 Kings 3:16 tn Heb “making this valley cisterns, cisterns.” The Hebrew noun גֵּב (gev) means “cistern” in Jer 14:3 (cf. Jer 39:10). The repetition of the noun is for emphasis. See GKC 396 §123.e. The verb (“making”) is an infinitive absolute, which has to be interpreted in light of the context. The translation above takes it in an imperatival sense. The command need not be understood as literal, but as hyperbolic. Telling them to build cisterns is a dramatic way of leading into the announcement that he would miraculously provide water in the desert. Some prefer to translate the infinitive as an imperfect with the Lord as the understood subject, “I will turn this valley [into] many pools.”
2 Kings 3:17 tn Heb “see.”
2 Kings 3:18 tn Heb “and this is easy in the eyes of the Lord.”
2 Kings 3:19 tn Heb “choice” or “select.”
2 Kings 3:19 tn Elisha places the object first and uses an imperfect verb form. The stylistic shift may signal that he is now instructing them what to do, rather than merely predicting what would happen.
2 Kings 3:19 tn Heb “good.”
2 Kings 3:19 tn Heb “and ruin every good portion with stones.”
2 Kings 3:20 tn Heb “and in the morning, when the offering is offered up, look, water was coming from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.”

Ephesians 5:6-20

Live in the Light

⁶Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience.^[a] ⁷Therefore do not be sharers with them,^[b] ⁸for you were at one time darkness, but now you are^[c] light in the Lord. Live^[d] like children of light— ⁹for the fruit of the light^[e] consists in^[f] all goodness, righteousness, and truth— ¹⁰trying to learn^[g] what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather^[h] expose them.^[i] ¹²For the things they do^[j] in secret are shameful even to mention. ¹³But all things being exposed by the light are made visible. ¹⁴For everything made visible is light, and for this reason it says:^[k]

“Awake,^[l] O sleeper!^[m]
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you!”^[n]

Live Wisely

¹⁵Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise^[o] by understanding^[p] what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, which^[q] is debauchery,^[r] but be filled by the Spirit,^[s] ¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music^[t] in^[u] your hearts to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for all things^[v] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Footnotes

Ephesians 5:6 sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 2:2-3.
Ephesians 5:7 tn The genitive αὐτῶν (autōn) has been translated as a genitive of association because of its use with συμμέτοχοι (summetochoi)—a verb which implies association in the σύν- (sun-) prefix.
Ephesians 5:8 tn The verb “you are” is implied in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to make it clear.
Ephesians 5:8 tn Grk “Walk,” a common biblical idiom for one’s conduct of life.
Ephesians 5:9 tc Several mss (P⁴⁶ D² Ψ 1175* 1505 M) have πνεύματος (pneumatos, “Spirit”) instead of φωτός (phōtos, “light”). Although most today regard φωτός as obviously the reading of the initial text (UBS⁵ gives it an “A” rating), a case could be made that πνεύματος is what the author wrote. First, although this is largely a Byzantine reading (D² often, if not normally, assimilates to the Byzantine text), P⁴⁶ gives the reading much greater credibility. Internally, the φωτός at the end of v. 8 could have lined up above the πνεύματος in v. 9 in a scribe’s exemplar, thus occasioning dittography. (It is interesting to note that in both P⁴⁹ and א the two instances of φωτός line up.) However, written in a contracted form, as a nomen sacrum (pMnMs)—a practice found even in the earliest mss—πνεύματος would not have been easily confused with fwtos (there being only the last letter to occasion homoioteleuton rather than the last three). Further, the external evidence for φωτός is quite compelling (P⁴⁹ א A B D* F G P 33 81 1175^c 1739 1881 2464 latt co). It is thus doubtful that the early and widespread witnesses all mistook πνεύματος for φωτός. In addition, πνεύματος can be readily explained as harking back to Gal 5:22 (“the fruit of the Spirit”). Thus, on balance, φωτός appears to be autographic, giving rise to the reading πνεύματος.
Ephesians 5:9 tn Grk “in.” The idea is that the fruit of the light is “expressed in” or “consists of.”
Ephesians 5:10 tn BDAG 255 s.v. δοκιμάζω 1 translates δοκιμάζοντες (dokimazontes) in Eph 5:10 as “try to learn.”
Ephesians 5:11 tn The Greek conjunction καὶ (kai) seems to be functioning here ascensively, (i.e., “even”), but is difficult to render in this context using good English. It may read something like: “but rather even expose them!”
Ephesians 5:11 tn Grk “rather even expose.”
Ephesians 5:12 tn The participle τὰ…γινόμενα (ta…ginomena) usually refers to “things happening” or “things which are,” but with the following genitive phrase ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν (hup’ autōn), which indicates agency, the idea seems to be “things being done.” This passive construction was translated as an active one to simplify the English style.
Ephesians 5:14 sn The following passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
Ephesians 5:14 tn Grk “Rise up.”
Ephesians 5:14 tn The articular nominative participle ὁ καθεύδων (ho katheudōn) is probably functioning as a nominative for vocative. To reflect this, it has been translated as “O sleeper.”
Ephesians 5:14 sn A composite quotation, possibly from Isa 26:19; 51:17; 52:1; and 60:1.
Ephesians 5:17 tn “become wise by understanding”; Grk “understanding.” The imperative “be wise” is apparently implied by the construction of vv. 15-21. See the following text-critical note for discussion.
Ephesians 5:17 tc ‡ The best witnesses read the imperative here (so P⁴⁶ א A B P 0278 33 81 1739 pc). The participle is found primarily in the Western and Byzantine families (D² Ψ 1175 1505 1881 2464 M latt [D* F G are slightly different, but support the participial reading]). But the participle is superior on internal grounds: The structure of v. 17 almost requires an imperative after ἀλλά (alla), for this gives balance to the clause: “Do not become foolish, but understand…” If the participle is authentic, it may be imperatival (and thus should be translated just like an imperative), but such is quite rare in the NT. More likely, there is an implied imperative as follows: “Do not become foolish, but become wise, understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Either way, the participle is the harder reading and ought to be considered original. It is significant that seeing an implied imperative in this verse affords a certain symmetry to the author’s thought in vv. 15-21: There are three main sections (vv. 15-16, v. 17, vv. 18-21), each of which provides a negative injunction, followed by a positive injunction, followed by a present adverbial participle. If συνίετε (suniete) is original, this symmetry is lost. Thus, even though the external evidence for συνιέντες (sunientes) is not nearly as weighty as for the imperative, both the transcriptional and intrinsic evidence support it.
Ephesians 5:18 tn Grk “in which.”
Ephesians 5:18 tn Or “dissipation.” See BDAG 148 s.v. ἀσωτία.
Ephesians 5:18 tn Many have taken ἐν πνεύματι (en pneumati) as indicating content, i.e., one is to be filled with the Spirit. ExSyn 375 states, “There are no other examples in biblical Greek in which ἐν + the dative after πληρόω indicates content. Further, the parallel with οἴνῳ as well as the common grammatical category of means suggest that the idea intended is that believers are to be filled by means of the [Holy] Spirit. If so there seems to be an unnamed agent. The meaning of this text can only be fully appreciated in light of the πληρόω language in Ephesians. Always the term is used in connection with a member of the Trinity. Three considerations seem to be key: (1) In Eph 3:19 the ‘hinge’ prayer introducing the last half of the letter makes a request that the believers ‘be filled with all the fullness of God’ (πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ). The explicit content of πληρόω is thus God’s fullness (probably a reference to his moral attributes). (2) In 4:10 Christ is said to be the agent of filling (with v. 11 adding the specifics of his giving spiritual gifts). (3) The author then brings his argument to a crescendo in 5:18: Believers are to be filled by Christ by means of the Spirit with the content of the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 5:19 tn See BDAG 1096 s.v. ψάλλω.
Ephesians 5:19 tn Or “with.”
Ephesians 5:20 tn Grk “for all.” The form “all” can be either neuter or masculine, and an alternative view is “for all” referring to people. The context could suggest believers (“one another” in v. 19). In other places this Greek phrase occurs in the NT, it refers to people (1 Tim 2:6; 2 Cor 5:14-15).

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 75[a]

For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Live in the Light

Live Wisely

Footnotes

Psalm 75^[a]

For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;^[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.