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Psalm 119:1-88
New International Version
Psalm 119:1-88
New International Version
Psalm 119[a]
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,(A)
who walk(B) according to the law of the Lord.(C)
2 Blessed(D) are those who keep his statutes(E)
and seek him(F) with all their heart—(G)
3 they do no wrong(H)
but follow his ways.(I)
4 You have laid down precepts(J)
that are to be fully obeyed.(K)
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!(L)
6 Then I would not be put to shame(M)
when I consider all your commands.(N)
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.(O)
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.(P)
ב Beth
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?(Q)
By living according to your word.(R)
10 I seek you with all my heart;(S)
do not let me stray from your commands.(T)
11 I have hidden your word in my heart(U)
that I might not sin(V) against you.
12 Praise be(W) to you, Lord;
teach me(X) your decrees.(Y)
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.(Z)
14 I rejoice in following your statutes(AA)
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts(AB)
and consider your ways.
16 I delight(AC) in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
ג Gimel
17 Be good to your servant(AD) while I live,
that I may obey your word.(AE)
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;(AF)
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed(AG) with longing
for your laws(AH) at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant,(AI) who are accursed,(AJ)
those who stray(AK) from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn(AL) and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.(AM)
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.
ד Daleth
25 I am laid low in the dust;(AN)
preserve my life(AO) according to your word.(AP)
26 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;
teach me your decrees.(AQ)
27 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.(AR)
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;(AS)
strengthen me(AT) according to your word.(AU)
29 Keep me from deceitful ways;(AV)
be gracious to me(AW) and teach me your law.
30 I have chosen(AX) the way of faithfulness;(AY)
I have set my heart(AZ) on your laws.
31 I hold fast(BA) to your statutes, Lord;
do not let me be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of your commands,
for you have broadened my understanding.
ה He
33 Teach me,(BB) Lord, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.[b]
34 Give me understanding,(BC) so that I may keep your law(BD)
and obey it with all my heart.(BE)
35 Direct me(BF) in the path of your commands,(BG)
for there I find delight.(BH)
36 Turn my heart(BI) toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.(BJ)
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life(BK) according to your word.[c](BL)
38 Fulfill your promise(BM) to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace(BN) I dread,
for your laws are good.
40 How I long(BO) for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life.(BP)
ו Waw
41 May your unfailing love(BQ) come to me, Lord,
your salvation, according to your promise;(BR)
42 then I can answer(BS) anyone who taunts me,(BT)
for I trust in your word.
43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth,(BU)
for I have put my hope(BV) in your laws.
44 I will always obey your law,(BW)
for ever and ever.
45 I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.(BX)
46 I will speak of your statutes before kings(BY)
and will not be put to shame,(BZ)
47 for I delight(CA) in your commands
because I love them.(CB)
48 I reach out for your commands, which I love,
that I may meditate(CC) on your decrees.
ז Zayin
49 Remember your word(CD) to your servant,
for you have given me hope.(CE)
50 My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.(CF)
51 The arrogant mock me(CG) unmercifully,
but I do not turn(CH) from your law.
52 I remember,(CI) Lord, your ancient laws,
and I find comfort in them.
53 Indignation grips me(CJ) because of the wicked,
who have forsaken your law.(CK)
54 Your decrees are the theme of my song(CL)
wherever I lodge.
55 In the night, Lord, I remember(CM) your name,
that I may keep your law.(CN)
56 This has been my practice:
I obey your precepts.(CO)
ח Heth
57 You are my portion,(CP) Lord;
I have promised to obey your words.(CQ)
58 I have sought(CR) your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me(CS) according to your promise.(CT)
59 I have considered my ways(CU)
and have turned my steps to your statutes.
60 I will hasten and not delay
to obey your commands.(CV)
61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes,
I will not forget(CW) your law.
62 At midnight(CX) I rise to give you thanks
for your righteous laws.(CY)
63 I am a friend to all who fear you,(CZ)
to all who follow your precepts.(DA)
64 The earth is filled with your love,(DB) Lord;
teach me your decrees.(DC)
ט Teth
65 Do good(DD) to your servant
according to your word,(DE) Lord.
66 Teach me knowledge(DF) and good judgment,
for I trust your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted(DG) I went astray,(DH)
but now I obey your word.(DI)
68 You are good,(DJ) and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.(DK)
69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,(DL)
I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are callous(DM) and unfeeling,
but I delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted(DN)
so that I might learn your decrees.
72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.(DO)
י Yodh
73 Your hands made me(DP) and formed me;
give me understanding to learn your commands.
74 May those who fear you rejoice(DQ) when they see me,
for I have put my hope in your word.(DR)
75 I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous,(DS)
and that in faithfulness(DT) you have afflicted me.
76 May your unfailing love(DU) be my comfort,
according to your promise(DV) to your servant.
77 Let your compassion(DW) come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.(DX)
78 May the arrogant(DY) be put to shame for wronging me without cause;(DZ)
but I will meditate on your precepts.
79 May those who fear you turn to me,
those who understand your statutes.(EA)
80 May I wholeheartedly follow(EB) your decrees,(EC)
that I may not be put to shame.(ED)
כ Kaph
81 My soul faints(EE) with longing for your salvation,(EF)
but I have put my hope(EG) in your word.
82 My eyes fail,(EH) looking for your promise;(EI)
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget(EJ) your decrees.
84 How long(EK) must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?(EL)
85 The arrogant(EM) dig pits(EN) to trap me,
contrary to your law.
86 All your commands are trustworthy;(EO)
help me,(EP) for I am being persecuted(EQ) without cause.(ER)
87 They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken(ES) your precepts.
88 In your unfailing love(ET) preserve my life,(EU)
that I may obey the statutes(EV) of your mouth.
Footnotes
- Psalm 119:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet; moreover, the verses of each stanza begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Psalm 119:33 Or follow it for its reward
- Psalm 119:37 Two manuscripts of the Masoretic Text and Dead Sea Scrolls; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text life in your way
Psalm 119:1-88
King James Version
Psalm 119:1-88
King James Version
119 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.
13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
20 My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.
25 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.
27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
29 Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
30 I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.
31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame.
32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.
41 Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.
44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
49 Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
51 The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.
52 I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself.
53 Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
55 I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and have kept thy law.
56 This I had, because I kept thy precepts.
57 Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words.
58 I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
59 I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
60 I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
61 The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.
65 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
73 Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
74 They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
75 I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
76 Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.
77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
79 Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies.
80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.
81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84 How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
86 All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
87 They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
88 Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
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1 Corinthians 7:20-40
New International Version
1 Corinthians 7:20-40
New International Version
20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.(A)
21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person;(B) similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.(C) 23 You were bought at a price;(D) do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.(E)
Concerning the Unmarried
25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord,(F) but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy(G) is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.(H) 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife.(I) 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned;(J) and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short.(K) From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.(L)
32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs(M)—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.(N) But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided(O) devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong[a] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning.(P) They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right,(Q) but he who does not marry her does better.[b]
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.(R) But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.(S) 40 In my judgment,(T) she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 7:36 Or if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage
- 1 Corinthians 7:38 Or 36 If anyone thinks he is not treating his daughter properly, and if she is getting along in years (or if her passions are too strong), and he feels she ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. He should let her get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind to keep the virgin unmarried—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who gives his virgin in marriage does right, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
1 Corinthians 7:20-40
King James Version
1 Corinthians 7:20-40
King James Version
20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.
22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
25 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
37 Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.
38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
40 But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
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