◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 103:[1-7] 8-13 (God’s compassion and mercy); Genesis 37:12-36 (Joseph’s brothers sin against him); 1 John 3:11-16 (Love one another) (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)
Version
Psalm 103:1-7

Psalm 103[a]

By David.

103 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
With all that is within me, praise[b] his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Do not forget all his kind deeds.[c]
3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,[d]
4 who delivers[e] your life from the Pit,[f]
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life with good things,[g]
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.[h]
6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.[i]
7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts[j] to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:1 sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.
  2. Psalm 103:1 tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
  3. Psalm 103:2 tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).
  4. Psalm 103:3 tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).
  5. Psalm 103:4 tn Or “redeems.”
  6. Psalm 103:4 tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24 HT [55:23 ET]).
  7. Psalm 103:5 tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (ʿedyekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (ʿodekhi, “your duration; your continuance”), that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).
  8. Psalm 103:5 sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.
  9. Psalm 103:6 tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”
  10. Psalm 103:7 tn Heb “made known his ways.” God’s “ways” in this context are his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 18:30; 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 138:5; 145:17).
Psalm 103:8-13

8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient[a] and demonstrates great loyal love.[b]
9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.[c]
10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;[d]
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.[e]
11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers[f] over his faithful followers.[g]
12 As far as the eastern horizon[h] is from the west,[i]
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions[j] from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,[k]
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.[l]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).
  2. Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).
  3. Psalm 103:9 tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).
  4. Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
  5. Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
  6. Psalm 103:11 tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.
  7. Psalm 103:11 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
  8. Psalm 103:12 tn Heb “sunrise.”
  9. Psalm 103:12 tn Or “sunset.”
  10. Psalm 103:12 tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (peshaʿ, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.
  11. Psalm 103:13 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
  12. Psalm 103:13 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
Genesis 37:12-36

12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers[a] are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,”[b] Joseph replied.[c] 14 So Jacob[d] said to him, “Go now and check on[e] the welfare[f] of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob[g] sent him from the valley of Hebron.

15 When Joseph reached Shechem,[h] a man found him wandering[i] in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell[j] me where they are grazing their flocks.” 17 The man said, “They left this area,[k] for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 Now Joseph’s brothers[l] saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams![m] 20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild[n] animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!”[o]

21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph[p] from their hands,[q] saying,[r] “Let’s not take his life!”[s] 22 Reuben continued,[t] “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”[u] (Reuben said this[v] so he could rescue Joseph[w] from them[x] and take him back to his father.)

23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him[y] of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty;[z] there was no water in it.)

25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up[aa] and saw[ab] a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.[ac] 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him,[ad] for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.[ae] 28 So when the Midianite[af] merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled[ag] him[ah] out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites[ai] then took Joseph to Egypt.

29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it![aj] He tore his clothes, 30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat,[ak] and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father[al] and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him![am] Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth,[an] and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters stood by[ao] him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.”[ap] So Joseph’s[aq] father wept for him.

36 Now[ar] in Egypt the Midianites[as] sold Joseph[at] to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.[au]

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 37:13 tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”
  2. Genesis 37:13 sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.
  3. Genesis 37:13 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
  4. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “see.”
  6. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “peace.”
  7. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Genesis 37:15 tn Heb “and he [i.e., Joseph] went to Shechem.” The referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In Hebrew, these are the last two words of verse 14, but they have been carried over to verse 15 in the NET for stylistic reasons.
  9. Genesis 37:15 tn Heb “and a man found him and look, he was wandering in the field.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the action through this unnamed man’s eyes.
  10. Genesis 37:16 tn The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.
  11. Genesis 37:17 tn Heb “they traveled from this place.”
  12. Genesis 37:18 tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. Genesis 37:19 tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.
  14. Genesis 37:20 tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.
  15. Genesis 37:20 tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”
  16. Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. Genesis 37:21 sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).
  18. Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “and he said.”
  19. Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”
  20. Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”
  21. Genesis 37:22 sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.
  22. Genesis 37:22 tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  23. Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  24. Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.
  25. Genesis 37:23 tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  26. Genesis 37:24 tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.
  27. Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”
  28. Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “and they saw and look.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers.
  29. Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”
  30. Genesis 37:27 tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”
  31. Genesis 37:27 tn Heb “listened.”
  32. Genesis 37:28 sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.
  33. Genesis 37:28 tn Heb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).
  34. Genesis 37:28 tn Heb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  35. Genesis 37:28 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  36. Genesis 37:29 tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.
  37. Genesis 37:31 sn It was with two young goats that Jacob deceived his father (Gen 27:9); now with a young goat his sons continue the deception that dominates this family.
  38. Genesis 37:32 tn Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.
  39. Genesis 37:33 sn A wild animal has eaten him. Jacob draws this conclusion on his own without his sons actually having to lie with their words (see v. 20). Dipping the tunic in the goat’s blood was the only deception needed.
  40. Genesis 37:34 tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”
  41. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “arose, stood”; which here suggests that they stood by him in his time of grief.
  42. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Indeed I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol.’” Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death.
  43. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  44. Genesis 37:36 tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.
  45. Genesis 37:36 tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (medanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the letter י (yod) was accidentally omitted in the MT. The LXX, Vulgate, Smr, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”
  46. Genesis 37:36 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  47. Genesis 37:36 sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner. The noun "guard" derives from a verb meaning to slaughter.
1 John 3:11-16

God Is Love, So We Must Love One Another

11 For[a] this is the gospel[b] message[c] that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another,[d] 12 not like Cain[e] who was of the evil one and brutally[f] murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.

13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters,[g] if the world hates you.[h] 14 We know that[i] we have crossed over[j] from death to life[k] because[l] we love our fellow Christians.[m] The one who does not love remains in death.[n] 15 Everyone who hates his fellow Christian[o] is a murderer,[p] and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing[q] in him. 16 We have come to know love by this:[r] that Jesus[s] laid down[t] his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians.

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:11 tn It could be argued (1) that the ὅτι (hoti) at the beginning of 3:11 is grammatically subordinate to the preceding statement at the end of 3:10. As BDF §456.1 points out, however, “Subordination with ὅτι and διότι is often very loose…and must be translated ‘for.’” Thus (2) ὅτι assumes an inferential sense, standing at the beginning of a new sentence and drawing an inference based upon all that has preceded. This is confirmed by the structural parallel between the present verse and 1:5.
  2. 1 John 3:11 tn The word “gospel” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to clarify the meaning. See the notes on the words “gospel” and “message” in 1 John 1:5.
  3. 1 John 3:11 tn See the note on the word “message” in 1 John 1:5, where this same phrase occurs.
  4. 1 John 3:11 sn For this is the gospel message…that we should love one another. The structure of this verse is parallel to 1:5, indicating the beginning of a second major section of the letter.
  5. 1 John 3:12 sn Since the author states that Cain…was of the evil one (ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ, ek tou ponērou), in the immediate context this imagery serves as an illustration of 3:8a: The person who practices sin is of the devil (ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, ek tou diabolou). This is similar to John 8:44, where Jesus told his opponents “you people are from your father the devil…[who] was a murderer from the beginning.” In both Jewish and early Christian writings Cain is a model for those who deliberately disbelieve; Testament of Benjamin 7:5 looks forward to the punishment of those who “are like Cain in the envy and hatred of brothers.” It is not difficult to see why the author of 1 John used Cain here as a model for the opponents in light of their failure to “love the brothers” (see 1 John 3:17).
  6. 1 John 3:12 tn For the Greek verb σφάζω (sphazō) L&N 20.72 states, “to slaughter, either animals or persons; in contexts referring to persons, the implication is of violence and mercilessness—‘to slaughter, to kill.’” As a reflection of this nuance, the translation “brutally murdered” has been used.
  7. 1 John 3:13 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Since the author is addressing his readers directly at this point, “brothers and sisters” (suggesting a degree of familial endearment) has been employed in the translation at this point, while elsewhere the less direct “fellow Christians” has been used (cf. v. 14).
  8. 1 John 3:13 sn Cf. John 15:18, where this phrase also occurs.
  9. 1 John 3:14 tn The first ὅτι (hoti) clause, following a verb of perception, introduces an indirect discourse clause giving the content of what the readers are assumed to know: that they have passed over from death to life, that is, that they possess eternal life. The author gives a similar reassurance to his readers in 5:13. Alternation between the verbs οἶδα (oida) and γινώσκω (ginōskō) in 1 John is probably a matter of stylistic variation (of which the writer is extremely fond) rather than indicative of a subtle difference in meaning.
  10. 1 John 3:14 tn This verb essentially means “to transfer from one place to another, go/pass over,” according to BDAG 638 s.v. μεταβαίνω 1.sn In John 13:1 the same Greek verb translated crossed over here is used to refer to Jesus’ departure from this world as he returns to the Father. Here it is used figuratively to refer to the believer’s transfer from the state of (spiritual) death to the state of (spiritual) life. This use is paralleled in John 5:24, where Jesus states, “the person who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over (same verb) from death to life.”
  11. 1 John 3:14 sn Cf. John 5:24, where this phrase also occurs.
  12. 1 John 3:14 tn The second ὅτι (hoti) clause in 3:14 is also related to οἴδαμεν (oidamen), but in this case the ὅτι is causal, giving the reason why the readers know that they have passed from death to life: because they love the brothers.
  13. 1 John 3:14 tn See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9.sn Because we love our fellow Christians. This echoes Jesus’ words in John 13:35, where he states, “by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” As in 1 John 2:3 and 5, obedience becomes the basis for assurance. But the relationship between loving one’s fellow Christian (Grk “brother”) and possessing eternal life goes beyond a proof or external test. Our love for our fellow Christians is in fact a form of God’s love for us because as far as the author of 1 John is concerned, all love comes from God (cf. 4:7-11). Therefore he can add the next line of 3:14, “the one who does not love remains in death.” Why? Because such a person does not have God’s love residing in them at all. Rather, this person can be described as a “murderer”—as the following verse goes on to do. Note also that the author’s description here of the person who does not love as remaining in death is another way of describing a person who remains in darkness, which is a description of unbelievers in John 12:46. This provides further confirmation of the spiritual state of the author’s opponents in 2:9-11.
  14. 1 John 3:14 sn The one who does not love remains in death. Again, the author has the secessionist opponents in view. Their refusal to show love for the brothers demonstrates that they have not made the transition from (spiritual) death to (spiritual) life, but instead have remained in a state of (spiritual) death.
  15. 1 John 3:15 tn See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9.
  16. 1 John 3:15 sn Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer. On one level it is easy to see how the author could say this; the person who hates his brother is one and the same with the person who murders his brother. Behind the usage here, however, is John 8:44, the only other occurrence of the Greek word translated murderer (ἀνθρωποκτόνος, anthrōpoktonos) in the NT, where the devil is described as a “murderer from the beginning.” John 8:44 refers to the devil’s role in bringing death to Adam and Eve, but even more to his involvement (not directly mentioned in the Genesis account, but elaborated in the intertestamental literature, especially the writings of Philo) in Cain’s murder of his brother Abel. This was the first incident of murder in human history and also the first outward demonstration of the full implications of sin’s entry into the world. Ultimately, then, the devil is behind murder, just as he was behind Cain’s murder of Abel. When the hater kills, he shows himself to be a child of the devil (cf. 1 John 3:10). Once again, conduct is the clue to paternity.
  17. 1 John 3:15 tn The verb μένω (menō) in 3:15 refers to a spiritual reality (eternal life) which in this case does not reside in the person in question. To speak in terms of eternal life not “residing” in such an individual is not to imply that at some time in the past this person did possess eternal life and subsequently lost it, however. The previous verse (3:14) makes it clear that the individual under discussion here has “remained” in death (the realm of spiritual death) and so has never possessed eternal life to begin with, no matter what he may have claimed. Taken together with the use of μένω in 3:14, the use here implies that the opponents have “remained” in death all along, and have not ever been genuine believers. Thus “residing” rather than “remaining” is used as the translation for μένουσαν (menousan) here.
  18. 1 John 3:16 tn Here the phrase ἐν τούτῳ (en toutō) is followed by a ὅτι (hoti) clause which is epexegetical (or explanatory), and thus ἐν τούτῳ refers to what follows.
  19. 1 John 3:16 tn Grk “that one.” Context indicates a reference to Jesus. The mention of the sacrificial death in 3:16 (ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν, huper ēmōn tēn psuchēn autou ethēken) points to Jesus as the referent here. (This provides further confirmation that ἐκεῖνος [ekeinos] in 2:6; 3:3, 5, and 7 refers to Jesus.)
  20. 1 John 3:16 sn References to the fact that Jesus laid down his life using the verb τίθημι (tithēmi) are unique to the Gospel of John (10:11, 15, 17, 18; 13:37, 38; 15:13) and 1 John (only here). From John’s perspective Jesus’ act in giving up his life sacrificially was a voluntary one; Jesus was always completely in control of the situation surrounding his arrest, trials, and crucifixion (see John 10:18). There is a parallel with 1 John 2:6—there, as here, the life of Jesus (during his earthly ministry) becomes the example for believers to follow. This in turn underscores the importance of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry (especially his sacrificial death on the cross), a point of contention between the author and his opponents in 1 John. See 1 John 4:10 for a further parallel.
New English Translation (NET)

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