Psalm 100-102

New International Version

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹Shout for joy^(A) to the Lord, all the earth.
²    Worship the Lord^(B) with gladness;
    come before him^(C) with joyful songs.
³Know that the Lord is God.^(D)
    It is he who made us,^(E) and we are his^[a];
    we are his people,^(F) the sheep of his pasture.^(G)

⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving^(H)
    and his courts^(I) with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.^(J)
⁵For the Lord is good^(K) and his love endures forever;^(L)
    his faithfulness^(M) continues through all generations.

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

¹I will sing of your love^(N) and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
²I will be careful to lead a blameless life^(O)—
when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs^(P) of my house
with a blameless heart.
³I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.^(Q)

I hate what faithless people do;^(R)
I will have no part in it.
⁴The perverse of heart^(S) shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

⁵Whoever slanders their neighbor^(T) in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes^(U) and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate.

⁶My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless^(V)
will minister to me.

⁷No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.

⁸Every morning^(W) I will put to silence
all the wicked^(X) in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer^(Y)
from the city of the Lord.^(Z)

Psalm 102^[b]

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

¹Hear my prayer,^(AA) Lord;
    let my cry for help^(AB) come to you.
²Do not hide your face^(AC) from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear^(AD) to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

³For my days vanish like smoke;^(AE)
    my bones^(AF) burn like glowing embers.
⁴My heart is blighted and withered like grass;^(AG)
    I forget to eat my food.^(AH)
⁵In my distress I groan aloud^(AI)
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶I am like a desert owl,^(AJ)
    like an owl among the ruins.
⁷I lie awake;^(AK) I have become
    like a bird alone^(AL) on a roof.
⁸All day long my enemies^(AM) taunt me;^(AN)
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.^(AO)
⁹For I eat ashes^(AP) as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears^(AQ)
¹⁰because of your great wrath,^(AR)
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹My days are like the evening shadow;^(AS)
    I wither^(AT) away like grass.

¹²But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;^(AU)
    your renown endures^(AV) through all generations.^(AW)
¹³You will arise^(AX) and have compassion^(AY) on Zion,
    for it is time^(AZ) to show favor^(BA) to her;
    the appointed time^(BB) has come.
¹⁴For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.
¹⁵The nations will fear^(BC) the name of the Lord,
    all the kings^(BD) of the earth will revere your glory.
¹⁶For the Lord will rebuild Zion^(BE)
    and appear in his glory.^(BF)
¹⁷He will respond to the prayer^(BG) of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

¹⁸Let this be written^(BH) for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created^(BI) may praise the Lord:
¹⁹“The Lord looked down^(BJ) from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
²⁰to hear the groans of the prisoners^(BK)
    and release those condemned to death.”
²¹So the name of the Lord will be declared^(BL) in Zion
    and his praise^(BM) in Jerusalem
²²when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship^(BN) the Lord.

²³In the course of my life^[c] he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.^(BO)
²⁴So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on^(BP) through all generations.
²⁵In the beginning^(BQ) you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens^(BR) are the work of your hands.^(BS)
²⁶They will perish,^(BT) but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
²⁷But you remain the same,^(BU)
    and your years will never end.^(BV)
²⁸The children of your servants^(BW) will live in your presence;
    their descendants^(BX) will be established before you.”

Footnotes

Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
Psalm 102:1 In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.
Psalm 102:23 Or By his power

1 Corinthians 4

New International Version

The Nature of True Apostleship

4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants^(A) of Christ and as those entrusted^(B) with the mysteries^(C) God has revealed. ²Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience^(D) is clear, but that does not make me innocent.^(E) It is the Lord who judges me.^(F) ⁵Therefore judge nothing^(G) before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.^(H) He will bring to light^(I) what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.^(J)

⁶Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.”^(K) Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.^(L) ⁷For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?^(M) And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

⁸Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich!^(N) You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! ⁹For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die^(O) in the arena. We have been made a spectacle^(P) to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ,^(Q) but you are so wise in Christ!^(R) We are weak, but you are strong!^(S) You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.^(T) ¹²We work hard with our own hands.^(U) When we are cursed, we bless;^(V) when we are persecuted,^(W) we endure it; ¹³when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage^(X) of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

¹⁴I am writing this not to shame you^(Y) but to warn you as my dear children.^(Z) ¹⁵Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father^(AA) through the gospel.^(AB) ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me.^(AC) ¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you^(AD) Timothy,^(AE) my son^(AF) whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.^(AG)

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant,^(AH) as if I were not coming to you.^(AI) ¹⁹But I will come to you very soon,^(AJ) if the Lord is willing,^(AK) and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of^(AL) talk but of power.^(AM) ²¹What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline,^(AN) or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?