Psalm 26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 26
Plea for Justice and Declaration of Righteousness
Of David.
1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.(B)
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.[a](C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;(D)
5 I hate the company of evildoers
and will not sit with the wicked.(E)
6 I wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O Lord,(F)
7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving
and telling all your wondrous deeds.(G)
8 O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell
and the place where your glory abides.(H)
9 Do not sweep me away with sinners
nor my life with the bloodthirsty,(I)
10 those in whose hands are evil devices
and whose right hands are full of bribes.(J)
11 But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me and be gracious to me.(K)
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.(L)
Footnotes
- 26.3 Or in your faithfulness
Psalm 28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 28
Prayer for Help and Thanksgiving for It
Of David.
1 To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.(A)
2 Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.[a](B)
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while mischief is in their hearts.(C)
4 Repay them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.(D)
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.(E)
6 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.(F)
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.(G)
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.(H)
9 O save your people and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.(I)
Footnotes
- 28.2 Heb your innermost sanctuary
Psalm 36
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 36
Human Wickedness and Divine Goodness
To the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
before their eyes.(A)
2 For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
they have ceased to act wisely and do good.(B)
4 They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil.(C)
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains;
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.(D)
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.(E)
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.(F)
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.(G)
10 O continue your steadfast love to those who know you
and your salvation to the upright of heart!
11 Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me
or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie prostrate;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.(H)
Psalm 39
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 39
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”(A)
2 I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse;(B)
3 my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.(C)
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah(D)
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up and do not know who will gather.(E)
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.(F)
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.(G)
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.(H)
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows[a] of your hand.(I)
11 “You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah(J)
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.(K)
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.”(L)
Footnotes
- 39.10 Heb hostility
Exodus 19:1-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Israelites Reach Mount Sinai
19 On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.(A) 3 Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites:(B) 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.(C) 5 Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,(D) 6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”(E)
7 So Moses went, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 The people all answered as one, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.(F) 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.”
The People Consecrated
When Moses had told the words of the people to the Lord,(G) 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes(H) 11 and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.(I) 12 You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death.(J) 13 No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows;[a] whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled.(K)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 19.13 Heb lacks with arrows
Colossians 1:1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.[a]
Paul Thanks God for the Colossians
3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the[b] Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,(A) 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,(B) 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel(C) 6 that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.(D) 7 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our[c] behalf,(E) 8 and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s[d] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,(F) 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.(G) 11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully(H) 12 giving thanks to the Father,[e] who has enabled[f] you[g] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,(I) 14 in whom we have redemption,[h] the forgiveness of sins.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1.2 Other ancient authorities add and the Lord Jesus Christ
- 1.3 Other ancient authorities read thank the God and
- 1.7 Other ancient authorities read your
- 1.9 Gk his
- 1.12 Other ancient authorities read God the Father or the God and Father
- 1.12 Other ancient authorities read called
- 1.12 Other ancient authorities read us
- 1.14 Other ancient authorities add through his blood
Matthew 3:7-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his[a] baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(A) 8 Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance,(B) 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.(C) 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(D)
11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire.(E) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”(F)
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.