Psalm 27

English Standard Version

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

27 The Lord is my ^(A)light and my ^(B)salvation;
^(C)whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold^[a] of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

²When evildoers assail me
to ^(D)eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

³^(E)Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet^[b] I will be confident.

⁴^(F)One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may ^(G)dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon ^(H)the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire^[c] in his temple.

⁵For he will ^(I)hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will ^(J)lift me high upon a rock.

⁶And now my ^(K)head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of ^(L)joy;
^(M)I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷^(N)Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸You have said, ^(O)“Seek^[d] my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”^[e]
⁹    ^(P)Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    ^(Q)O God of my salvation!
¹⁰For ^(R)my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will ^(S)take me in.

¹¹^(T)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on ^(U)a level path
    because of my enemies.
¹²^(V)Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for ^(W)false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they ^(X)breathe out violence.

¹³I believe that I shall look^[f] upon ^(Y)the goodness of the Lord
    in ^(Z)the land of the living!
¹⁴^(AA)Wait for the Lord;
    ^(AB)be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 27:1 Or refuge
Psalm 27:3 Or in this
Psalm 27:4 Or meditate
Psalm 27:8 The command (seek) is addressed to more than one person
Psalm 27:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Psalm 27:13 Other Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed that I would look

2 Corinthians 4

English Standard Version

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(A)this ministry ^(B)by the mercy of God,^[a] we do not lose heart. ²But we have renounced ^(C)disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice^[b] cunning or ^(D)to tamper with God's word, but ^(E)by the open statement of the truth ^(F)we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³And even ^(G)if our gospel is veiled, ^(H)it is veiled to ^(I)those who are perishing. ⁴In their case ^(J)the god of this world ^(K)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(L)the light of ^(M)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(N)who is the image of God. ⁵For what ^(O)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(P)ourselves as your servants^[c] for Jesus' sake. ⁶For God, who said, ^(Q)“Let light shine out of darkness,” ^(R)has shone in our hearts to give ^(S)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

⁷But we have this treasure in ^(T)jars of clay, ^(U)to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are ^(V)afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but ^(W)not forsaken; ^(X)struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰^(Y)always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^(Z)so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So ^(AA)death is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³Since we have ^(AB)the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^(AC)“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴knowing that ^(AD)he who raised the Lord Jesus ^(AE)will raise us also with Jesus and ^(AF)bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵For ^(AG)it is all for your sake, so that as ^(AH)grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^(AI)to the glory of God.

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. ^(AJ)Though our outer self^[d] is wasting away, ^(AK)our inner self ^(AL)is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For ^(AM)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸^(AN)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 4:1 Greek having this ministry as we have received mercy
2 Corinthians 4:2 Greek to walk in
2 Corinthians 4:5 Or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
2 Corinthians 4:16 Greek man