◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 17 (The righteous shall see God); 2 Samuel 11:2-26 (David sins); Revelation 3:1-6 (Wake up to your faithlessness) (New English Translation)
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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.
Duration: 1245 days
New English Translation (NET)
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Psalm 17

Psalm 17[a]

A prayer of David.

17 Lord, consider my just cause.[b]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[c]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[d]
Decide what is right.[e]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[f]
you have examined me during the night.[g]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[h]
4 As for the actions of people[i]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[j]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[k]
I do not deviate from them.[l]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![m]
Hear what I say![n]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[o]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[p]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[q]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[r]
9 Protect me from[s] the wicked men who attack[t] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[u]
10 They are calloused;[v]
they speak arrogantly.[w]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[x]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[y]
12 He[z] is like a lion[aa] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[ab]
like a young lion crouching[ac] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[ad] Knock him down.[ae]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[af]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[ag]
from the murderers of this world.[ah]
They enjoy prosperity;[ai]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[aj]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[ak]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[al]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[am]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 17:1 sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.
  2. Psalm 17:1 tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”
  3. Psalm 17:1 tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”
  4. Psalm 17:2 tn Heb “From before you may my justice come out.” The prefixed verbal form יָצָא (yatsaʾ) could be taken as an imperfect, but following the imperatives in v. 1, it is better understood as a jussive of prayer.
  5. Psalm 17:2 tn Heb “May your eyes look at what is right.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as jussive. (See also the preceding note on the word “behalf.”)
  6. Psalm 17:3 tn Heb “you tested my heart.”
  7. Psalm 17:3 tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”
  8. Psalm 17:3 tc Heb “you tested me, you do not find, I plan, my mouth will not cross over.” The Hebrew verbal form זַמֹּתִי (zammoti) is a Qal perfect, first person singular from the root זָמַם (zamam, “plan, plan evil”). Some emend the form to a suffixed form of the noun, זִמָּתִי (zimmati, “my plan/evil plan”), and take it as the object of the preceding verb “find.” However, the suffix seems odd, since the psalmist is denying that he has any wrong thoughts. If one takes the form with what precedes, it might make better sense to read זִמּוֹת (zimmot, “evil plans”). However, this emendation leaves an unclear connection with the next line. The present translation maintains the verbal form found in the MT and understands it in a neutral sense, “I have decided” (see Jer 4:28). The words “my mouth will not cross over” (i.e., “transgress, sin”) can then be taken as a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb.
  9. Psalm 17:4 tn Heb “with regard to the deeds of man[kind].”
  10. Psalm 17:4 tn Heb “by the word of your lips, I, I have watched the paths of the violent” (i.e., “watched” in the sense of “watched for the purpose of avoiding”).
  11. Psalm 17:5 tn Heb “my steps stay firm in your tracks.” The infinitive absolute functions here as a finite verb (see GKC 347 §113.gg). God’s “tracks” are his commands, i.e., the moral pathways he has prescribed for the psalmist.
  12. Psalm 17:5 tn Heb “my footsteps do not stagger.”
  13. Psalm 17:6 tn Heb “Turn your ear toward me.”
  14. Psalm 17:6 tn Heb “my word.”
  15. Psalm 17:7 tn Heb “Set apart faithful acts.”
  16. Psalm 17:7 tn Heb “[O] one who delivers those who seek shelter from the ones raising themselves up, by your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver.sn Those who look to you for protection from their enemies. “Seeking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
  17. Psalm 17:8 tc Heb “Protect me like the pupil, a daughter of an eye.” The noun בַּת (bat, “daughter”) should probably be emended to בָּבַת (bavat, “pupil”). See Zech 2:12 HT (2:8 ET) and HALOT 107 s.v. *בָּבָה.
  18. Psalm 17:8 sn Your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.
  19. Psalm 17:9 tn Heb “from before”; or “because.” In the Hebrew text v. 9 is subordinated to v. 8. The words “protect me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  20. Psalm 17:9 tn Heb “destroy.” The psalmist uses the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of danger. He describes the wicked as being already in the process of destroying him.
  21. Psalm 17:9 tn Heb “my enemies, at the risk of life they surround me.” The Hebrew phrase בְּנֶפֶשׁ (benefesh) sometimes has the nuance “at the risk of [one’s] life” (see 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23; Lam 5:9).
  22. Psalm 17:10 tn Heb “their fat they close.” The Hebrew term חֵלֶב (khelev, “fat”) appears to stand by metonymy for their calloused hearts. They attack the psalmist without feeling any pity or remorse. Some propose emending the text to חֵלֶב לִבָּמוֹ (khelev libbamo, “fat of their heart[s]; cf. Ps 119:70, “their heart is insensitive like fat”). This assumes haplography of the לב (lamed-bet) consonantal sequence.
  23. Psalm 17:10 tn Heb “[with] their mouth they speak with arrogance.”
  24. Psalm 17:11 tc Heb “our steps, now they surround me.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “surround me,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has “surround us,” harmonizing the pronoun to the preceding “our steps.” The first person plural pronoun does not fit the context, where the psalmist speaks as an individual. In the preceding verses the psalmist uses a first person singular verbal or pronominal form twenty times. For this reason it is preferable to emend “our steps” to אִשְּׁרוּנִי (ʾisheruni, “they attack me”) from the verbal root אָשַׁר (ʾashar, “march, stride, track”).
  25. Psalm 17:11 tn Heb “their eyes they set to bend down in the ground.”
  26. Psalm 17:12 tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.
  27. Psalm 17:12 tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”
  28. Psalm 17:12 tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”
  29. Psalm 17:12 tn Heb “sitting.”
  30. Psalm 17:13 tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”
  31. Psalm 17:13 tn Or “bring him to his knees.”
  32. Psalm 17:13 tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”
  33. Psalm 17:14 tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimetim, “from men”) to מִמְּמִתִים (mimmemitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).
  34. Psalm 17:14 tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”
  35. Psalm 17:14 tn Heb “their portion, in life.”
  36. Psalm 17:14 tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”sn You overwhelm them with the riches they desire. The psalmist is not accusing God of being unjust; he is simply observing that the wicked often prosper and that God is the ultimate source of all blessings that human beings enjoy (see Matt 5:45). When the wicked are ungrateful for God’s blessings, they become even more culpable and deserving of judgment. So this description of the wicked actually supports the psalmist’s appeal for deliverance. God should rescue him because he is innocent (see vv. 3-5) and because the wicked, though blessed abundantly by God, still have the audacity to attack God’s people.
  37. Psalm 17:14 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”
  38. Psalm 17:15 tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”
  39. Psalm 17:15 tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (temunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see Job 4:15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.sn When I awake you will reveal yourself to me. Some see in this verse an allusion to resurrection. According to this view, when the psalmist awakens from the sleep of death, he will see God. It is unlikely that the psalmist had such a highly developed personal eschatology. As noted above, it is more likely that he is anticipating a divine visitation and mystical encounter as a prelude to his deliverance from his enemies.
2 Samuel 11:2-26

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace.[a] From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive.[b] 3 So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger[c] said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

4 David sent some messengers to get her.[d] She came to[e] him and he went to bed with her.[f] (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.)[g] Then she returned to her home. 5 The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.”

6 So David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about how Joab and the army were doing and how the campaign was going.[h] 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your home and relax.”[i] When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him.[j] 9 But Uriah stayed at the door of the palace with all[k] the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house.

10 So they informed David, “Uriah has not gone down to his house.” So David said to Uriah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why haven’t you gone down to your house?” 11 Uriah replied to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord’s soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and go to bed with[l] my wife? As surely as you are alive,[m] I will not do this thing!” 12 So David said to Uriah, “Stay here another day. Tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem both that day and the following one.[n] 13 Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote: “Station Uriah at the front in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed.”

16 So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers[o] were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David’s soldiers[p] fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.

18 Then Joab sent a full battle report to David.[q] 19 He instructed the messenger as follows: “When you finish giving the battle report to the king, 20 if the king becomes angry and asks you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone[r] down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”

22 So the messenger departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and attacked us[s] in the field. But we forced them to retreat[t] all the way to the door of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall and some of the king’s soldiers[u] died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you.[v] There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down.[w] Press the battle against the city and conquer[x] it.’ Encourage him with these words.”[y]

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him.[z]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 11:2 tn Heb “on the roof of the house of the king.” So also in vv. 8, 9.
  2. 2 Samuel 11:2 tn The disjunctive clause highlights this observation and builds the tension of the story.
  3. 2 Samuel 11:3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the messenger) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”
  5. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations, the implied purpose for approaching someone. Here it refers only to the stage of approaching while the next verb describes the result. That she is the subject of this verb (while David is the subject of the next verb) probably indicates that the act was consensual.
  6. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “he lay down with her.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.
  7. 2 Samuel 11:4 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause further heightens the tension by letting the reader know that Bathsheba, having just completed her menstrual cycle, is ripe for conception. See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 286. Since she just had her period, it will also be obvious to those close to the scene that Uriah, who has been away fighting, cannot be the father of the child.
  8. 2 Samuel 11:7 tn Heb “concerning the peace of Joab and concerning the peace of the people and concerning the peace of the battle.”
  9. 2 Samuel 11:8 tn Heb “and wash your feet.”
  10. 2 Samuel 11:8 tn Heb “and there went out after him the gift of the king.”
  11. 2 Samuel 11:9 tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation lacks the word “all.”
  12. 2 Samuel 11:11 tn Heb “lie with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.
  13. 2 Samuel 11:11 tn Heb “as you live and as your soul lives.”
  14. 2 Samuel 11:12 tn On the chronology involved here see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 287.
  15. 2 Samuel 11:16 tn Heb “the valiant men.” This refers in context to the strongest or most valiant defenders of the city Joab and the Israelite army were besieging, so the present translation uses “the best enemy soldiers” for clarity.
  16. 2 Samuel 11:17 tn Heb “some of the people from the servants of David.”
  17. 2 Samuel 11:18 tn Heb “Joab sent and related to David all the matters of the battle.”
  18. 2 Samuel 11:21 sn The upper millstone (Heb “millstone of riding”) refers to the heavy circular stone that was commonly rolled over a circular base in order to crush and grind such things as olives.
  19. 2 Samuel 11:23 tn Heb “and came out to us.”
  20. 2 Samuel 11:23 tn Heb “but we were on them.”
  21. 2 Samuel 11:24 tc The translation follows the Qere (“your servants”) rather than the Kethib (“your servant”).
  22. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”
  23. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”
  24. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn Heb “overthrow.”
  25. 2 Samuel 11:25 tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  26. 2 Samuel 11:26 tn Heb “for her lord.”
Revelation 3:1-6

To the Church in Sardis

3 “To[a] the angel of the church in Sardis write the following:[b]

“This is the solemn pronouncement of[c] the one who holds[d] the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation[e] that you are alive, but[f] in reality[g] you are dead. 2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about[h] to die, because I have not found your deeds complete[i] in the sight[j] of my God. 3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard,[k] and obey it,[l] and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never[m] know at what hour I will come against[n] you. 4 But you have a few individuals[o] in Sardis who have not stained[p] their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed[q] in white, because they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers[r] will be dressed like them[s] in white clothing,[t] and I will never[u] erase[v] his name from the book of life, but[w] will declare[x] his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 3:1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
  2. Revelation 3:1 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
  3. Revelation 3:1 tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.
  4. Revelation 3:1 tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).
  5. Revelation 3:1 tn Grk “a name.”
  6. Revelation 3:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
  7. Revelation 3:1 tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.
  8. Revelation 3:2 tn The verb ἔμελλον (emellon) is in the imperfect tense.
  9. Revelation 3:2 tn The perfect passive participle has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect here.
  10. Revelation 3:2 tn Or “in the judgment.” BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 3 states, “in the opinion/judgment of…As a rule…of θεός or κύριος; so after…πεπληρωμένος Rv 3:2.”
  11. Revelation 3:3 tn The expression πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας (pōs eilēphas kai ēkousas) probably refers to the initial instruction in the Christian life they had received and been taught; this included doctrine and ethical teaching.
  12. Revelation 3:3 tn Grk “keep it,” in the sense of obeying what they had initially been taught.
  13. Revelation 3:3 tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mē, the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek).
  14. Revelation 3:3 tn Or “come on.”
  15. Revelation 3:4 tn Grk “a few names”; here ὄνομα (onoma) is used by figurative extension to mean “person” or “people”; according to L&N 9.19 there is “the possible implication of existence or relevance as individuals.”
  16. Revelation 3:4 tn Or “soiled” (so NAB, NRSV, NIV); NCV “have kept their clothes unstained”; CEV “have not dirtied your clothes with sin.”
  17. Revelation 3:4 tn The word “dressed” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
  18. Revelation 3:5 tn Or “who overcomes.”
  19. Revelation 3:5 tn Grk “thus.”
  20. Revelation 3:5 tn Or “white robes.”
  21. Revelation 3:5 tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mē), the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek.
  22. Revelation 3:5 tn Or “will never wipe out.”
  23. Revelation 3:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
  24. Revelation 3:5 tn Grk “will confess.”
New English Translation (NET)

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