Psalm 39

English Standard Version

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will ^(B)guard my ways,
    that I ^(C)may not sin with my tongue;
I will ^(D)guard my mouth with a muzzle,
    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
²I was ^(E)mute and silent;
    I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
³    My ^(F)heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“O Lord, ^(G)make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and ^(H)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely ^(I)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶    Surely a man ^(J)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[a] they are in turmoil;
    man ^(K)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    ^(L)My hope is in you.
⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    ^(M)Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
⁹^(N)I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    ^(O)for it is you who have done it.
¹⁰^(P)Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹When you discipline a man
    with ^(Q)rebukes for sin,
you ^(R)consume like a ^(S)moth what is dear to him;
    ^(T)surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

¹²^(U)“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am ^(V)a sojourner with you,
    ^(W)a guest, like all my fathers.
¹³^(X)Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    ^(Y)before I depart and ^(Z)am no more!”

Footnotes

Psalm 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath

Psalm 41

English Standard Version

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41 ^(A)Blessed is the one who considers the poor!^[a]
    ^(B)In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
²the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you ^(C)do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
³The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.^[b]

⁴As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^(D)be gracious to me;
    ^(E)heal me,^[c] for I have sinned against you!”
⁵My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶And when one comes to see me, ^(F)he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.^[d]

⁸They say, “A deadly thing is poured out^[e] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹Even my ^(G)close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ^(H)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!

¹¹By this I know that ^(I)you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹²But ^(J)you have upheld me because of ^(K)my integrity,
and ^(L)set me in your presence ^(M)forever.

¹³^(N)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

Footnotes

Psalm 41:1 Or weak
Psalm 41:3 Hebrew you turn all his bed
Psalm 41:4 Hebrew my soul
Psalm 41:7 Or they devise evil against me
Psalm 41:8 Or has fastened

Ecclesiastes 3

English Standard Version

A Time for Everything

3 For everything there is a season, and ^(A)a time for every matter under heaven:

²a time to be born, and a time to ^(B)die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴a time to ^(C)weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to ^(D)dance;
⁵a time to ^(E)cast away stones, and a time to ^(F)gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to ^(G)refrain from embracing;
⁶a time to seek, and a time to ^(H)lose;
a time to keep, and a time to ^(I)cast away;
⁷a time to ^(J)tear, and a time to sew;
a time to ^(K)keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸a time to love, and a time to ^(L)hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

The God-Given Task

⁹What ^(M)gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen ^(N)the business that ^(O)God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹He has ^(P)made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot ^(Q)find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I perceived that there is ^(R)nothing better for them than to be joyful and to ^(S)do good as long as they live; ¹³also ^(T)that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is ^(U)God's gift to man.

¹⁴I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; ^(V)nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵That which is, ^(W)already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God ^(X)seeks what has been driven away.^[a]

From Dust to Dust

¹⁶Moreover, ^(Y)I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even ^(Z)there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. ¹⁷I said in my heart, ^(AA)God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is ^(AB)a time for every matter and for every work. ¹⁸I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but ^(AC)beasts. ¹⁹^(AD)For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.^[b] ²⁰All go to one place. All are from ^(AE)the dust, and to dust all return. ²¹Who knows whether ^(AF)the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? ²²So I saw that there is ^(AG)nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for ^(AH)that is his lot. Who can bring him to see ^(AI)what will be after him?

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 3:15 Hebrew what has been pursued
Ecclesiastes 3:19 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)

1 John 4:7-21

English Standard Version

God Is Love

⁷Beloved, ^(A)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(B)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸^(C)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(D)God is love. ⁹In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(E)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, ^(F)not that we have loved God ^(G)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(H)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²^(I)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(J)his love is perfected in us.

¹³^(K)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And ^(L)we have seen and testify that ^(M)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(N)the world. ¹⁵^(O)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶So ^(P)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(Q)God is love, and ^(R)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷By this ^(S)is love perfected with us, so that ^(T)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(U)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but ^(V)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(W)been perfected in love. ¹⁹^(X)We love because he first loved us. ²⁰^(Y)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(Z)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(AA)whom he has not seen. ²¹And ^(AB)this commandment we have from him: ^(AC)whoever loves God must also love his brother.