Psalm 72-73

New International Version

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice,^(A) O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
²May he judge your people in righteousness,^(B)
your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴May he defend the afflicted^(C) among the people
    and save the children of the needy;^(D)
    may he crush the oppressor.^(E)
⁵May he endure^[a]^(F) as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.^(G)
⁶May he be like rain^(H) falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷In his days may the righteous flourish^(I)
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b]^(J) to the ends of the earth.^(K)
⁹May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish^(L) and of distant shores^(M)
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba^(N) and Seba
    present him gifts.^(O)
¹¹May all kings bow down^(P) to him
    and all nations serve^(Q) him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³He will take pity^(R) on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴He will rescue^(S) them from oppression and violence,
    for precious^(T) is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba^(U) be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.^(V)
¹⁶May grain^(W) abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops^(X) flourish like Lebanon^(Y)
    and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.^(Z)
¹⁷May his name endure forever;^(AA)
    may it continue as long as the sun.^(AB)

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
and they will call him blessed.^(AC)

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,^(AD)
who alone does marvelous deeds.^(AE)
¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name^(AF) forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.^(AG)
Amen and Amen.^(AH)

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.^(AI)

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.^(AJ)

²But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;^(AK)
I had nearly lost my foothold.^(AL)
³For I envied^(AM) the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.^(AN)

⁴They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.^[e]
⁵They are free^(AO) from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶Therefore pride^(AP) is their necklace;^(AQ)
    they clothe themselves with violence.^(AR)
⁷From their callous hearts^(AS) comes iniquity^[f];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸They scoff, and speak with malice;^(AT)
    with arrogance^(AU) they threaten oppression.^(AV)
⁹Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.^[g]
¹¹They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

¹²This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care,^(AW) they go on amassing wealth.^(AX)

¹³Surely in vain^(AY) I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.^(AZ)
¹⁴All day long I have been afflicted,^(BA)
and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
¹⁶When I tried to understand^(BB) all this,
    it troubled me deeply
¹⁷till I entered the sanctuary^(BC) of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.^(BD)

¹⁸Surely you place them on slippery ground;^(BE)
    you cast them down to ruin.^(BF)
¹⁹How suddenly^(BG) are they destroyed,
    completely swept away^(BH) by terrors!
²⁰They are like a dream^(BI) when one awakes;^(BJ)
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.^(BK)

²¹When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
²²I was senseless^(BL) and ignorant;
I was a brute beast^(BM) before you.

²³Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.^(BN)
²⁴You guide^(BO) me with your counsel,^(BP)
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?^(BQ)
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.^(BR)
²⁶My flesh and my heart^(BS) may fail,^(BT)
    but God is the strength^(BU) of my heart
    and my portion^(BV) forever.

²⁷Those who are far from you will perish;^(BW)
    you destroy all who are unfaithful^(BX) to you.
²⁸But as for me, it is good to be near God.^(BY)
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;^(BZ)
    I will tell of all your deeds.^(CA)

Footnotes

Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)
Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat
Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

Romans 9:1-15

New International Version

Paul’s Anguish Over Israel

9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying,^(A) my conscience confirms^(B) it through the Holy Spirit— ²I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³For I could wish that I myself^(C) were cursed^(D) and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people,^(E) those of my own race,^(F) ⁴the people of Israel.^(G) Theirs is the adoption to sonship;^(H) theirs the divine glory,^(I) the covenants,^(J) the receiving of the law,^(K) the temple worship^(L) and the promises.^(M) ⁵Theirs are the patriarchs,^(N) and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,^(O) who is God over all,^(P) forever praised!^[a]^(Q) Amen.

God’s Sovereign Choice

⁶It is not as though God’s word^(R) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.^(S) ⁷Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^[b]^(T) ⁸In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children,^(U) but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.^(V) ⁹For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”^[c]^(W)

¹⁰Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.^(X) ¹¹Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad^(Y)—in order that God’s purpose^(Z) in election might stand: ¹²not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”^[d]^(AA) ¹³Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”^[e]^(AB)

¹⁴What then shall we say?^(AC) Is God unjust? Not at all!^(AD) ¹⁵For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”^[f]^(AE)

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Footnotes

Romans 9:5 Or Messiah, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised!
Romans 9:7 Gen. 21:12
Romans 9:9 Gen. 18:10,14
Romans 9:12 Gen. 25:23
Romans 9:13 Mal. 1:2,3
Romans 9:15 Exodus 33:19