◀ All Reading Plans / Old/New Testament / Psalm 84-86 Romans 12 (New English Translation)

Prev Day

August 12, 2017

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

August 2017
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Return to today's reading

Old/New Testament

Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.

Duration: 365 days

Psalm 84-86

Psalm 84^[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;^[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.

84 How lovely is the place where you live,^[c]
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies!^[d]
²I desperately want to be^[e]
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.^[f]
My heart and my entire being^[g] shout for joy
to the living God.
³Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow^[h] builds a nest,
where she can protect her young^[i]
near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
my King and my God.
⁴How blessed^[j] are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually. (Selah)
⁵How blessed are those who^[k] find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.^[l]
⁶As they pass through the Baca Valley,^[m]
he provides a spring for them.^[n]
The rain^[o] even covers it with pools of water.^[p]
⁷They are sustained as they travel along;^[q]
each one appears^[r] before God in Zion.
⁸O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,^[s]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
⁹O God, take notice of our shield.^[t]
Show concern for your chosen king.^[u]
¹⁰Certainly^[v] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.^[w]
I would rather stand at the entrance^[x] to the temple of my God
than live^[y] in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.^[z]
The Lord bestows favor^[aa] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.^[ab]
¹²O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,^[ac]
how blessed are those who trust in you.^[ad]

Psalm 85^[ae]

For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.

85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.^[af]
²You pardoned^[ag] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave^[ah] all their sin. (Selah)
³You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.^[ai]
⁴Restore us, O God our deliverer.
Do not be displeased with us.^[aj]
⁵Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?^[ak]
⁶Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you.
⁷O Lord, show us your loyal love.
Bestow on us your deliverance.
⁸I will listen to what God the Lord says.^[al]
For he will make^[am] peace with his people, his faithful followers.^[an]
Yet they must not^[ao] return to their foolish ways.
⁹Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;^[ap]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.^[aq]
¹⁰Loyal love and faithfulness meet;^[ar]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.^[as]
¹¹Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.^[at]
¹²Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,^[au]
and our land will yield^[av] its crops.
¹³Deliverance goes^[aw] before him,
and prepares^[ax] a pathway for him.^[ay]

Psalm 86^[az]

A prayer of David.

86 Listen,^[ba] O Lord. Answer me.
For I am oppressed and needy.
²Protect me,^[bb] for I am loyal.
You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you.
³Have mercy on me,^[bc] O Lord,
for I cry out to you all day long.
⁴Make your servant^[bd] glad,
for to you, O Lord, I pray.^[be]
⁵Certainly,^[bf] O Lord, you are kind^[bg] and forgiving,
and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
⁶O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for mercy.
⁷In my time of trouble I cry out to you,
for you will answer me.
⁸None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord.
Your exploits are incomparable.^[bh]
⁹All the nations, whom you created,
will come and worship you,^[bi] O Lord.
They will honor your name.
¹⁰For you are great and do amazing things.
You alone are God.
¹¹O Lord, teach me how you want me to live.^[bj]
Then I will obey your commands.^[bk]
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you.^[bl]
¹²O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
I will honor your name continually.^[bm]
¹³For you will extend your great loyal love to me,^[bn]
and will deliver my life^[bo] from the depths of Sheol.^[bp]
¹⁴O God, arrogant men attack me;^[bq]
a gang^[br] of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.^[bs]
¹⁵But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient^[bt] and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.^[bu]
¹⁶Turn toward me and have mercy on me.
Give your servant your strength.
Deliver this son of your female servant.^[bv]
¹⁷Show me evidence of your favor.^[bw]
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed,^[bx]
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.^[by]

Footnotes

Psalm 84:1 sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.
Psalm 84:1 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.
Psalm 84:1 tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).
Psalm 84:1 tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).
Psalm 84:2 tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”
Psalm 84:2 tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).
Psalm 84:2 tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.
Psalm 84:3 tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.
Psalm 84:3 tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”sn The psalmist here romanticizes the temple as a place of refuge and safety. As he thinks of the birds nesting near its roof, he envisions them finding protection in God’s presence.
Psalm 84:4 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
Psalm 84:5 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here was certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to in v. 5a is representative of followers of God, as the use of plural forms in vv. 5b-7 indicates.
Psalm 84:5 tn Heb “roads [are] in their heart[s].” The roads are here those that lead to Zion (see v. 7).
Psalm 84:6 tn The translation assumes that the Hebrew phrase עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא (ʿemeq habbakhaʾ) is the name of an otherwise unknown arid valley through which pilgrims to Jerusalem passed. The term בָּכָא (bakhaʾ) may be the name of a particular type of plant or shrub that grew in this valley. O. Borowski (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 130) suggests it is the black mulberry. Some take the phrase as purely metaphorical and relate בָּכָא to the root בָּכָה (bakhah, “to weep”). In this case one might translate, “the valley of weeping” or “the valley of affliction.”
Psalm 84:6 tc The MT reads “a spring they make it,” but this makes little sense. Many medieval Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX, understand God to be the subject and the valley to be the object, “he [God] makes it [the valley] [into] a spring.”
Psalm 84:6 tn This rare word may refer to the early (or autumn) rains (see Joel 2:23).
Psalm 84:6 tc The MT reads בְּרָכוֹת (b^erakhot, “blessings”) but the preceding reference to a “spring” favors an emendation to בְּרֵכוֹת (b^erekhot, “pools”).sn Pools of water. Because water is so necessary for life, it makes an apt symbol for divine favor and blessing. As the pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem, God provided for their physical needs and gave them a token of his favor and of the blessings awaiting them at the temple.
Psalm 84:7 tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.
Psalm 84:7 tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one”) sense.
Psalm 84:8 tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (ts^evaʾot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9) but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ʾelohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת in Pss 59:5 and 80:4, 19 as well.
Psalm 84:9 tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “your anointed one” here and with “our king” in Ps 89:18.
Psalm 84:9 tn Heb “look [on] the face of your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (m^eshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17).
Psalm 84:10 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 84:10 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
Psalm 84:10 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
Psalm 84:10 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
Psalm 84:11 tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.
Psalm 84:11 tn Or “grace.”
Psalm 84:11 tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”
Psalm 84:12 tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”
Psalm 84:12 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.
Psalm 85:1 sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.
Psalm 85:1 tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (sh^evut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.
Psalm 85:2 tn Heb “lifted up.”
Psalm 85:2 tn Heb “covered over.”
Psalm 85:3 tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81. See Pss 69:24; 78:49.
Psalm 85:4 tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).
Psalm 85:5 tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”
Psalm 85:8 sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).
Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
Psalm 85:8 tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (ʾel), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.
Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”
Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with ל (lamed), “to dwell,” probably indicates result here (“then”). When God delivers his people and renews his relationship with them, he will once more reveal his royal splendor in the land.
Psalm 85:10 tn The psalmist probably uses the perfect verbal forms in v. 10 in a dramatic or rhetorical manner, describing what he anticipates as if it were already occurring or had already occurred.
Psalm 85:10 sn Deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss. The psalmist personifies these abstract qualities to emphasize that God’s loyal love and faithfulness will yield deliverance and peace for his people.
Psalm 85:11 sn The psalmist already sees undeniable signs of God’s faithfulness and expects deliverance to arrive soon.
Psalm 85:12 tn Heb “what is good.”
Psalm 85:12 tn Both “bestow” and “yield” translate the same Hebrew verb (נָתַן, natan). The repetition of the word emphasizes that agricultural prosperity is the direct result of divine blessing.
Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will go.”
Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will prepare.”
Psalm 85:13 tn Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (v^eyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (v^eshalom, “and peace”) since “deliverance” and “peace” are closely related earlier in v. 13. This could be translated, “and peace [goes ahead, making] a pathway for his footsteps” (cf. NEB).
Psalm 86:1 sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.
Psalm 86:1 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
Psalm 86:2 tn Heb “my life.”
Psalm 86:3 tn Or “show me favor.”
Psalm 86:4 tn Heb “the soul of your servant.”
Psalm 86:4 tn Heb “I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 86:5 tn Or “for.”
Psalm 86:5 tn Heb “good.”
Psalm 86:8 tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”
Psalm 86:9 tn Or “bow down before you.”
Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles he expects the psalmist to follow. See Pss 25:4; 27:11.
Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The Lord’s commandments are referred to as “truth” here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. See Ps 25:5.
Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).
Psalm 86:12 tn Or “forever.”
Psalm 86:13 tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”
Psalm 86:13 tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.
Psalm 86:13 tn Or “lower Sheol.”
Psalm 86:14 tn Heb “rise up against me.”
Psalm 86:14 tn Or “assembly.”
Psalm 86:14 tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.
Psalm 86:15 tn Heb “slow to anger.”
Psalm 86:15 tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.
Psalm 86:16 tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The phrase may be used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant. Or it may be a reference to the psalmist’s own mother who also was a servant of the Lord.
Psalm 86:17 tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.
Psalm 86:17 tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.
Psalm 86:17 tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).

Romans 12

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,^[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God^[b]—which is your reasonable service. ²Do not be conformed^[c] to this present world,^[d] but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve^[e] what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Conduct in Humility

³For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you^[f] a measure of faith.^[g] ⁴For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, ⁵so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. ⁶And we have different gifts^[h] according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.^[i] ⁷If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; ⁸if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Conduct in Love

⁹Love must be^[j] without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.^[k] Do not be conceited.^[l] ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.^[m] ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.^[n] ¹⁹Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath,^[o] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”^[p] says the Lord. ²⁰Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.^[q] ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Footnotes

Romans 12:1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
Romans 12:1 tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.sn Taken as predicate adjectives, the terms alive, holy, and pleasing are showing how unusual is the sacrifice that believers can now offer, for OT sacrifices were dead. As has often been quipped about this text, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.”
Romans 12:2 tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschēmatizesthe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.
Romans 12:2 tn Grk “to this age.”
Romans 12:2 sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazō) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”
Romans 12:3 tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.
Romans 12:3 tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”
Romans 12:6 tn This word comes from the same root as “grace” in the following clause; it means “things graciously given,” “grace-gifts.”
Romans 12:6 tn The last part of this verse has no verb; either an indicative or imperative is implied. Most likely an imperative is intended because of the general tenor of this section of the epistle as exhortation and because of the particular flow of this verse, which seems to imply how to use spiritual gifts.
Romans 12:9 tn The verb “must be” is understood in the Greek text.
Romans 12:16 tn Or “but give yourselves to menial tasks.” The translation depends on whether one takes the adjective “lowly” as masculine or neuter.
Romans 12:16 tn Grk “Do not be wise in your thinking.”
Romans 12:17 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
Romans 12:18 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
Romans 12:19 tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.
Romans 12:19 sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.
Romans 12:20 sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.

New English Translation (NET)

Prev Day

Top

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

Log in to read this devotional and:

Old/New Testament

Psalm 84[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.

Psalm 85[ae]

For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.

Psalm 86[az]

A prayer of David.

Footnotes

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

Conduct in Humility

Conduct in Love

Footnotes

Psalm 84^[a]

For the music director, according to the gittith style;^[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.

Psalm 85^[ae]

Psalm 86^[az]