Psalm 36-38
English Standard Version
How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
To the choirmaster. Of David, the (A)servant of the Lord.
36 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;[a]
(B)there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 (C)For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are (D)trouble and deceit;
(E)he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He (F)plots (G)trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in (H)a way that is not good;
(I)he does not reject evil.
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 (J)Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
(K)your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you (L)save, O Lord.
7 (M)How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge (N)in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on (O)the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from (P)the river of (Q)your delights.
9 For with you is (R)the fountain of life;
(S)in your light do we see light.
10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who (T)know you,
and your righteousness to (U)the upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There (V)the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, (W)unable to rise.
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
[b] Of David.
37 (X)Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not (Y)envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon (Z)fade like (AA)the grass
and wither (AB)like the green herb.
3 (AC)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
(AD)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[c]
4 (AE)Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will (AF)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (AG)Commit your way to the Lord;
(AH)trust in him, and he will act.
6 (AI)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as (AJ)the noonday.
7 (AK)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
(AL)fret not yourself over the one who (AM)prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 (AN)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
(AO)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 (AP)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall (AQ)inherit the land.
10 In (AR)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at (AS)his place, he will not be there.
11 But (AT)the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in (AU)abundant peace.
12 The wicked (AV)plots against the righteous
and (AW)gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord (AX)laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his (AY)day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and (AZ)bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose (BA)way is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their (BB)bows shall be broken.
16 (BC)Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For (BD)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord (BE)upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord (BF)knows the days of the blameless,
and their (BG)heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in (BH)the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like (BI)the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like (BJ)smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous (BK)is generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord[d] shall (BL)inherit the land,
but those cursed by him (BM)shall be cut off.
23 The (BN)steps of a man are (BO)established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 (BP)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord (BQ)upholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children (BR)begging for bread.
26 He is ever (BS)lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 (BT)Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you (BU)dwell forever.
28 For the Lord (BV)loves justice;
he will not forsake his (BW)saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be (BX)cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and (BY)dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 (BZ)The law of his God is in his heart;
his (CA)steps do not slip.
32 The wicked (CB)watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not (CC)abandon him to his power
or let him (CD)be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 (CE)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on (CF)when the wicked are cut off.
35 (CG)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like (CH)a green laurel tree.[e]
36 But he passed away,[f] and behold, (CI)he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of (CJ)peace.
38 But (CK)transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked (CL)shall be cut off.
39 (CM)The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in (CN)the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and (CO)delivers them;
(CP)he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they (CQ)take refuge in him.
Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord
A Psalm of David, (CR)for the memorial offering.
38 O Lord, (CS)rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your (CT)arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand (CU)has come down on me.
3 There is (CV)no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my (CW)bones
because of my sin.
4 For my (CX)iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am (CY)utterly bowed down and (CZ)prostrate;
all the day I (DA)go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is (DB)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
I (DC)groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my (DD)sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and (DE)the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My (DF)friends and companions (DG)stand aloof from my (DH)plague,
and my nearest kin (DI)stand far off.
12 Those who seek my life (DJ)lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt (DK)speak of ruin
and meditate (DL)treachery all day long.
13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like (DM)a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no (DN)rebukes.
15 But for (DO)you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only (DP)let them not rejoice over me,
who (DQ)boast against me when my (DR)foot slips!”
17 For I am (DS)ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
18 I (DT)confess my iniquity;
I am (DU)sorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me (DV)wrongfully.
20 Those who (DW)render me evil for good
(DX)accuse me because I (DY)follow after good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not (DZ)far from me!
22 (EA)Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my (EB)salvation!
Footnotes
- Psalm 36:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Jerome (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts in my heart
- Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
- Psalm 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture
- Psalm 37:22 Hebrew by him
- Psalm 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain
- Psalm 37:36 Or But one passed by
John 12:1-26
English Standard Version
Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
12 Six days before (A)the Passover, (B)Jesus therefore came to Bethany, (C)where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. (D)Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 (E)Mary therefore took a pound[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[b] and (F)given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and (G)having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it[c] for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus[d] was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, (H)whom he had raised from the dead. 10 (I)So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because (J)on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 The next day (K)the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of (L)palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, (M)“Hosanna! Blessed is (N)he who comes in the name of the Lord, even (O)the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 (P)“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!”
16 (Q)His disciples did not understand these things at first, but (R)when Jesus was glorified, then (S)they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 (T)The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him (U)was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, (V)“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, (W)the world has gone after him.”
Some Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now (X)among those who went up to worship at the feast were some (Y)Greeks. 21 So these came to (Z)Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told (AA)Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, (AB)“The hour has come (AC)for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, (AD)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 (AE)Whoever loves his life loses it, and (AF)whoever (AG)hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must (AH)follow me; and (AI)where I am, there will my servant be also. (AJ)If anyone serves me, (AK)the Father will honor him.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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