Psalm 46

English Standard Version

God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. According to ^(B)Alamoth.^[a] A Song.

46 God is our ^(C)refuge and strength,
    a very ^(D)present^[b] help in ^(E)trouble.
²Therefore we will not fear ^(F)though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into ^(G)the heart of the sea,
³though ^(H)its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

⁴There is ^(I)a river whose streams make glad ^(J)the city of God,
    the holy ^(K)habitation of the Most High.
⁵^(L)God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
⁶^(M)The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he ^(N)utters his voice, the earth ^(O)melts.
⁷^(P)The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

⁸^(Q)Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
⁹^(R)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he ^(S)breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    ^(T)he burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰^(U)“Be still, and know that I am God.
    ^(V)I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
¹¹^(W)The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Footnotes

Psalm 46:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 46:1 Or well proved

Jeremiah 51:41-64

English Standard Version

⁴¹“How ^(A)Babylon^[a] is taken,
    ^(B)the praise of the whole earth ^(C)seized!
How Babylon has become
    a horror among the nations!
⁴²^(D)The sea has come up on Babylon;
    she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
⁴³Her cities have become a horror,
    ^(E)a land of drought and a desert,
^(F)a land in which no one dwells,
    and through which no son of man passes.
⁴⁴And I will punish ^(G)Bel in Babylon,
    and ^(H)take out of his mouth ^(I)what he has swallowed.
^(J)The nations shall no longer flow to him;
    ^(K)the wall of Babylon has fallen.

⁴⁵“Go out of the midst of her, ^(L)my people!
    Let every one save his life
    from ^(M)the fierce anger of the Lord!
⁴⁶Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
    ^(N)at the report heard in the land,
^(O)when a report comes in one year
    and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
    ^(P)and ruler is against ruler.

⁴⁷“Therefore, behold, the days are coming
    when ^(Q)I will punish the images of Babylon;
^(R)her whole land shall be put to shame,
    and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
⁴⁸^(S)Then the heavens and the earth,
    and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
    ^(T)for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the Lord.
⁴⁹Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
    ^(U)just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.

⁵⁰^(V)“You who have escaped from the sword,
    go, do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
    and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
⁵¹^(W)‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
    ^(X)dishonor has covered our face,
^(Y)for foreigners have come
    into the holy places of the Lord's house.’

⁵²“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when ^(Z)I will execute judgment upon her images,
^(AA)and through all her land
    the wounded shall groan.
⁵³Though Babylon should ^(AB)mount up to heaven,
    and though she should ^(AC)fortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me against her,
    declares the Lord.

⁵⁴^(AD)“A voice! A cry from Babylon!
    The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
⁵⁵For the Lord is laying Babylon waste
    and stilling her mighty voice.
^(AE)Their waves roar like many waters;
    the noise of their voice is raised,
⁵⁶for a destroyer has come upon her,
    upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
    their bows are broken in pieces,
^(AF)for the Lord is a God of recompense;
    he will surely repay.
⁵⁷^(AG)I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,
    ^(AH)her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
    declares ^(AI)the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

⁵⁸“Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The broad ^(AJ)wall of Babylon
    shall be leveled to the ground,
^(AK)and her high gates
    shall be burned with fire.
^(AL)The peoples labor for nothing,
    and ^(AM)the nations weary themselves only for fire.”

⁵⁹The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah ^(AN)the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, ^(AO)in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. ⁶⁰^(AP)Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, ^(AQ)all these words that are written concerning Babylon. ⁶¹And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, ⁶²and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so ^(AR)that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be ^(AS)desolate forever.’ ⁶³When you finish reading this book, ^(AT)^(AU)tie a stone to it ^(AV)and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, ⁶⁴and say, ^(AW)‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, ^(AX)and they shall become exhausted.’”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 51:41 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon

Romans 15

English Standard Version

The Example of Christ

15 ^(A)We who are strong ^(B)have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ²^(C)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For ^(D)Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ^(E)“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” ⁴For ^(F)whatever was written in former days was written for our ^(G)instruction, that through endurance and through ^(H)the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^(I)to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶that together you may with one voice glorify ^(J)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁸For I tell you that Christ ^(K)became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order ^(L)to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and in order ^(M)that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

^(N)“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”

¹⁰And again it is said,

^(O)“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹And again,

^(P)“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”

¹²And again Isaiah says,

^(Q)^(R)“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
^(S)in him will the Gentiles hope.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all ^(T)joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴^(U)I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,^[a] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ^(V)all knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^(W)because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶to be ^(X)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^(Y)in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^(Z)the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^(AA)reason to be proud of ^(AB)my work for God. ¹⁸For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^(AC)what Christ has accomplished through me ^(AD)to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, ¹⁹^(AE)by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^(AF)from Jerusalem and all the way around ^(AG)to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^(AH)lest I build on someone else's foundation, ²¹but as it is written,

^(AI)“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²²This is the reason why ^(AJ)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^(AK)since I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴I hope to see you in passing as I go ^(AL)to Spain, and ^(AM)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵At present, however, ^(AN)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶For ^(AO)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(AP)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[b] I will leave ^(AQ)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[c] of Christ.

³⁰I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(AR)the love of the Spirit, ^(AS)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ³¹^(AT)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^(AU)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³²so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and ^(AV)be refreshed in your company. ³³May ^(AW)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.