Psalm 1-3

English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man^[a]
    who ^(A)walks not in ^(B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in ^(C)the way of sinners,
    nor ^(D)sits in ^(E)the seat of ^(F)scoffers;
²but his ^(G)delight is in the law^[b] of the Lord,
    and on his ^(H)law he meditates day and night.

³He is like ^(I)a tree
    planted by ^(J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its ^(K)leaf does not wither.
^(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴The wicked are not so,
    but are like ^(M)chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked ^(N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in ^(O)the congregation of the righteous;
⁶for the Lord ^(P)knows ^(Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

2 ^(R)Why do ^(S)the nations rage^[c]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
²The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his ^(T)Anointed, saying,
³“Let us ^(U)burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

⁴He who ^(V)sits in the heavens ^(W)laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
⁵Then he will speak to them in his ^(X)wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
⁶“As for me, I have ^(Y)set my King
    on ^(Z)Zion, my ^(AA)holy hill.”

⁷I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, ^(AB)“You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and ^(AC)the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹You shall ^(AD)break^[d] them with ^(AE)a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like ^(AF)a potter's vessel.”

¹⁰Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
¹¹^(AG)Serve the Lord with ^(AH)fear,
    and ^(AI)rejoice with ^(AJ)trembling.
¹²^(AK)Kiss ^(AL)the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his ^(AM)wrath is quickly kindled.
^(AN)Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, ^(AO)when he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, ^(AP)how many are my foes!
Many are ^(AQ)rising against me;
²many are saying of my soul,
^(AR)“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah^[e]

³But you, O Lord, are ^(AS)a shield ^(AT)about me,
my glory, and ^(AU)the lifter of my head.
⁴I ^(AV)cried aloud to the Lord,
and he ^(AW)answered me from his ^(AX)holy hill. Selah

⁵I ^(AY)lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶I ^(AZ)will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have ^(BA)set themselves against me all around.

⁷^(BB)Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you ^(BC)strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you ^(BD)break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸^(BE)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

Footnotes

Psalm 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
Psalm 1:2 Or instruction
Psalm 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
Psalm 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule
Psalm 3:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word Selah, used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction

Psalm 4

English Standard Version

Answer Me When I Call

To the ^(A)choirmaster: with ^(B)stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 Answer me when I call, O God of my ^(C)righteousness!
You have ^(D)given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

²O men,^[a] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after ^(E)lies? Selah
³But know that the Lord has ^(F)set apart ^(G)the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴^(H)Be angry,^[b] and do not sin;
^(I)ponder in your own hearts ^(J)on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵Offer ^(K)right sacrifices,
and put your ^(L)trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
^(M)Lift up ^(N)the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
⁷You have put ^(O)more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace I will both ^(P)lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me ^(Q)dwell in safety.

Footnotes

Psalm 4:2 Or O men of rank
Psalm 4:4 Or Be agitated

Psalm 7

English Standard Version

In You Do I Take Refuge

A ^(A)Shiggaion^[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

7 O Lord my God, in you do I ^(B)take refuge;
^(C)save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
²lest like ^(D)a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with ^(E)none to deliver.

³O Lord my God, ^(F)if I have done this,
    if there is ^(G)wrong in my hands,
⁴if I have repaid ^(H)my friend^[b] with evil
    or ^(I)plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
    and let him ^(J)trample my life to the ground
    and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

⁶^(K)Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
    ^(L)lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
    ^(M)awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
⁷Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
    over it return on high.

⁸The Lord ^(N)judges the peoples;
    ^(O)judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
    and according to the integrity that is in me.
⁹Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
    and may you establish the righteous—
you who ^(P)test ^(Q)the minds and hearts,^[c]
    O righteous God!
¹⁰My shield is ^(R)with God,
    who saves ^(S)the upright in heart.
¹¹God is ^(T)a righteous judge,
    and a God who feels ^(U)indignation every day.

¹²If a man^[d] does not repent, God^[e] will ^(V)whet his sword;
    he has ^(W)bent and ^(X)readied his bow;
¹³he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
    making his ^(Y)arrows ^(Z)fiery shafts.
¹⁴Behold, the wicked man ^(AA)conceives evil
    and is ^(AB)pregnant with mischief
    and gives birth to lies.
¹⁵He makes ^(AC)a pit, digging it out,
    and falls into the hole that he has made.
¹⁶His ^(AD)mischief returns upon his own head,
    and on his own skull his violence descends.

¹⁷I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will ^(AE)sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Footnotes

Psalm 7:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me
Psalm 7:9 Hebrew the hearts and kidneys
Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he
Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he

Isaiah 40:12-23

English Standard Version

¹²^(A)Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?
¹³^(B)Who has measured^[a] the Spirit of the Lord,
    or what man shows him his counsel?
¹⁴Whom did he consult,
    and who made him understand?
^(C)Who taught him the path of justice,
    and taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?
¹⁵Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and are accounted ^(D)as the dust on the scales;
    behold, he takes up ^(E)the coastlands like fine dust.
¹⁶Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
    nor are ^(F)its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
¹⁷^(G)All the nations are as nothing before him,
    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

¹⁸^(H)To whom then will you liken God,
    ^(I)or what likeness compare with him?
¹⁹^(J)An idol! A craftsman casts it,
    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
    and casts for it silver chains.
²⁰^(K)He who is too impoverished for an offering
    chooses wood^[b] that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
    to set up an idol that will not move.

²¹^(L)Do you not know? Do you not hear?
    Has it not been told you from the beginning?
    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
²²It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
    and its inhabitants are ^(M)like grasshoppers;
^(N)who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
    and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
²³^(O)who brings princes to nothing,
    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 40:13 Or has directed
Isaiah 40:20 Or He chooses valuable wood

Ephesians 1:1-14

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and ^(C)are faithful^[a] in Christ Jesus:

²^(D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³^(E)Blessed be ^(F)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing ^(G)in the heavenly places, ⁴^(H)even as he ^(I)chose us in him ^(J)before the foundation of the world, that we should be ^(K)holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵^(L)he predestined us^[b] for ^(M)adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, ^(N)according to the purpose of his will, ⁶^(O)to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in ^(P)the Beloved. ⁷^(Q)In him we have ^(R)redemption ^(S)through his blood, ^(T)the forgiveness of our trespasses, ^(U)according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹^(V)making known^[c] to us the mystery of his will, ^(W)according to his purpose, which he ^(X)set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for ^(Y)the fullness of time, ^(Z)to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

¹¹In him we have obtained ^(AA)an inheritance, ^(AB)having been predestined ^(AC)according to the purpose of him who works all things according to ^(AD)the counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be ^(AE)to the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you heard ^(AF)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, ^(AG)were sealed with the ^(AH)promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is ^(AI)the guarantee^[d] of our ^(AJ)inheritance until ^(AK)we acquire ^(AL)possession of it,^[e] ^(AM)to the praise of his glory.

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Footnotes

Ephesians 1:1 Some manuscripts saints who are also faithful (omitting in Ephesus)
Ephesians 1:5 Or before him in love, ⁵having predestined us
Ephesians 1:9 Or he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known…
Ephesians 1:14 Or down payment
Ephesians 1:14 Or until God redeems his possession

Mark 1:1-13

English Standard Version

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.^[a]

²^(B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

^(C)“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way,
³^(D)the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
    ^(E)‘Prepare^[c] the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’”

⁴^(F)John appeared, baptizing in ^(G)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(H)a baptism of ^(I)repentance ^(J)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(K)confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was ^(L)clothed with camel's hair and ^(M)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^(N)locusts and ^(O)wild honey. ⁷And he preached, saying, ^(P)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸^(Q)I have baptized you with water, but ^(R)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

⁹^(S)In those days Jesus ^(T)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(U)saw ^(V)the heavens being torn open ^(W)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹And ^(X)a voice came from heaven, ^(Y)“You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

¹²^(Z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³^(AA)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(AB)tempted by ^(AC)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(AD)the angels were ministering to him.