Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 99[a]
99 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.[b]
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;[c]
the earth shakes.[d]
2 The Lord is elevated[e] in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He[f] is holy!
4 The king is strong;
he loves justice.[g]
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;[h]
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
5 Praise[i] the Lord our God.
Worship[j] before his footstool.
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.[k]
They[l] prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;[m]
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.[n]
9 Praise[o] the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Footnotes
- Psalm 99:1 sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
- Psalm 99:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”
- Psalm 99:1 sn Cherubim are winged angels. As depicted in the OT, they possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubim suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubim in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
- Psalm 99:1 tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).
- Psalm 99:2 tn Heb “great.”
- Psalm 99:3 tn The pronoun refers to the Lord himself (see vv. 5, 9).
- Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (ʿoz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (ʿaz, “strong”).
- Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “you establish fairness.”
- Psalm 99:5 tn Or “exalt.”
- Psalm 99:5 tn Or “bow down.”
- Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”
- Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.
- Psalm 99:7 sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.
- Psalm 99:8 tn Heb “a God of lifting up [i.e., forgiveness] you were to them, and an avenger concerning their deeds.” The present translation reflects the traditional interpretation, which understands the last line as qualifying the preceding one. God forgave Moses and Aaron, but he also disciplined them when they sinned (cf. NIV, NRSV). Another option is to take “their deeds” as referring to harmful deeds directed against Moses and Aaron. In this case the verse may be translated, “and one who avenged attacks against them.” Still another option is to emend the participial form נֹקֵם (noqem, “an avenger”) to נֹקָם (noqam), a rare Qal participial form of נָקַה (naqah, “purify”) with a suffixed pronoun. In this case one could translate, “and one who purified them from their [sinful] deeds” (cf. NEB “and held them innocent”).
- Psalm 99:9 tn Or “exalt.”
54 When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky.[a] 55 When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: 56 “The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure[b] just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled![c] 57 May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. 58 May he make us submissive,[d] so we can follow all his instructions[e] and obey[f] the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. 59 May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him,[g] so that he might vindicate[h] his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. 60 Then[i] all the nations of the earth will recognize that the Lord is the only genuine God.[j] 61 May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the Lord our God[k] by following[l] his rules and obeying[m] his commandments, as you are now doing.”[n]
Solomon Dedicates the Temple
62 The king and all Israel with him were presenting sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings[o] to the Lord 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord’s temple. 64 That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord’s temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings.[p] 65 At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Stream of Egypt[q] in the south.[r]
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 8:54 tn Or “toward heaven.”
- 1 Kings 8:56 tn Heb “he has given a resting place to his people Israel.”
- 1 Kings 8:56 tn Heb “not one word from his entire good word he spoke by Moses his servant has fallen.”
- 1 Kings 8:58 tn Heb “to bend our hearts toward him.” The infinitive is subordinate to the initial prayer, “may the Lord our God be with us.” The Hebrew term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) here refers to the people’s volition and will.
- 1 Kings 8:58 tn Heb “to walk in all his ways.”
- 1 Kings 8:58 tn Heb “keep.”
- 1 Kings 8:59 tn Heb “May these words of mine, which I have requested before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night.”
- 1 Kings 8:59 tn Heb “accomplish the justice of.”
- 1 Kings 8:60 tn Heb “so that.”
- 1 Kings 8:60 tn Heb “the Lord, he is the God, there is no other.”
- 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “may your hearts be complete with the Lord our God.”
- 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “walking in.”
- 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “keeping.”
- 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “as this day.”
- 1 Kings 8:63 tn Heb “peace offerings that he sacrificed.” “Peace offerings” could be “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
- 1 Kings 8:64 tn Heb “to hold the burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.”
- 1 Kings 8:65 tn Or “the Wadi of Egypt” (NAB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “the Egyptian Gorge.”
- 1 Kings 8:65 tn Heb “Solomon held at that time the festival, and all Israel was with him, a great assembly from Lebo Hamath to the Stream of Egypt, before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days, fourteen days.”
31 The one who comes from above is superior to all.[a] The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things.[b] The one who comes from heaven[c] is superior to all.[d] 32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful.[e] 34 For the one whom God has sent[f] speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly.[g] 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority.[h] 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects[i] the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath[j] remains[k] on him.
Footnotes
- John 3:31 tn Or “is above all.”
- John 3:31 tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”
- John 3:31 sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.
- John 3:31 tc P75 א* D ƒ1 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanō pantōn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (P36vid,66 א2 A B L Ws Θ Ψ 083 086 ƒ13 33 M lat sys,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.tn Or “is above all.”
- John 3:33 tn Or “is true.”
- John 3:34 tn That is, Christ.
- John 3:34 tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.
- John 3:35 tn Grk “has given all things into his hand” (an idiom).
- John 3:36 tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”
- John 3:36 tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”
- John 3:36 tn Or “resides.”
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