Psalm 66-67

English Standard Version

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

66 ^(A)Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
²    sing the glory of his name;
    ^(B)give to him glorious praise!
³Say to God, ^(C)“How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies ^(D)come cringing to you.
⁴^(E)All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.” Selah

⁵^(F)Come and see what God has done:
    ^(G)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
⁶He ^(H)turned the sea into dry land;
    they ^(I)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
⁷    who rules by his might forever,
whose ^(J)eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

⁸Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹who has kept our soul among the living
    and ^(K)has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰For you, O God, have ^(L)tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹You brought us into ^(M)the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
¹²you let men ^(N)ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through ^(O)water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

¹³I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will ^(P)perform my vows to you,
¹⁴that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised ^(Q)when I was in trouble.
¹⁵I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

¹⁶^(R)Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
¹⁷I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was on^[a] my tongue.^[b]
¹⁸If I had ^(S)cherished iniquity in my heart,
    ^(T)the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹But truly ^(U)God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!

Make Your Face Shine upon Us

To the choirmaster: with ^(V)stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

67 May God ^(W)be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to ^(X)shine upon us, Selah
²that ^(Y)your way may be known on earth,
    your ^(Z)saving power among all nations.
³^(AA)Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you ^(AB)judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
⁵^(AC)Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

⁶The earth has ^(AD)yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
⁷God shall bless us;
let ^(AE)all the ends of the earth fear him!

Footnotes

Psalm 66:17 Hebrew under
Psalm 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue

Psalm 19

English Standard Version

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

19 ^(A)The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above^[a] proclaims his handiwork.
²Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
³There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
⁴^(B)Their ^(C)voice^[b] goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for ^(D)the sun,
⁵    ^(E)which comes out like ^(F)a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷^(G)The law of the Lord is perfect,^[c]
    ^(H)reviving the soul;
^(I)the testimony of the Lord is ^(J)sure,
    ^(K)making wise ^(L)the simple;
⁸^(M)the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is ^(N)pure,
    ^(O)enlightening the eyes;
⁹the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules^[d] of the Lord are ^(P)true,
    and righteous altogether.
¹⁰More to be desired are they than ^(Q)gold,
    even much ^(R)fine gold;
^(S)sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of ^(T)the honeycomb.
¹¹Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    ^(U)in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²^(V)Who can discern his errors?
    ^(W)Declare me innocent from ^(X)hidden faults.
¹³^(Y)Keep back your servant also from ^(Z)presumptuous sins;
    let them not have ^(AA)dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my ^(AB)rock and my ^(AC)redeemer.

Footnotes

Psalm 19:1 Hebrew the expanse; compare Genesis 1:6–8
Psalm 19:4 Or Their measuring line
Psalm 19:7 Or blameless
Psalm 19:9 Or just decrees

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

Hosea 2:2-14

English Standard Version

²“Plead with your mother, plead—
    for ^(A)she is not my wife,
    and I am not her husband—
that she put away ^(B)her whoring from her face,
    and her adultery from between her breasts;
³lest ^(C)I strip her naked
    and make her as ^(D)in the day she was born,
and ^(E)make her like a wilderness,
    and make her like a parched land,
    and kill her with thirst.
⁴^(F)Upon her children also I will have no mercy,
    ^(G)because they are children of whoredom.
⁵For ^(H)their mother has played the whore;
    she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For ^(I)she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
    who ^(J)give me my bread and my water,
    my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
⁶Therefore ^(K)I will hedge up her^[a] way with thorns,
    and ^(L)I will build a wall against her,
    so that she cannot find her paths.
⁷She shall pursue her lovers
    but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
    but shall not find them.
^(M)Then she shall say,
    ‘I will go and return to ^(N)my first husband,
    ^(O)for it was better for me then than now.’
⁸And ^(P)she did not know
    that it was ^(Q)I who gave her
    ^(R)the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and who lavished on ^(S)her silver and gold,
    ^(T)which they used for Baal.
⁹Therefore ^(U)I will take back
    my grain in its time,
    and my wine in its season,
and ^(V)I will take away my wool and my flax,
    which were to cover her nakedness.
¹⁰Now ^(W)I will uncover her lewdness
    in the sight of her lovers,
    and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
¹¹^(X)And I will put an end to all her mirth,
    her feasts, her ^(Y)new moons, her ^(Z)Sabbaths,
    and all her ^(AA)appointed feasts.
¹²And ^(AB)I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
    ^(AC)of which she said,
‘These are ^(AD)my wages,
    which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
    ^(AE)and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
¹³And ^(AF)I will punish her for ^(AG)the feast days of the Baals
    when she burned offerings to them
and ^(AH)adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
    and went after her lovers
    and forgot me, declares the Lord.

The Lord's Mercy on Israel

¹⁴“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and ^(AI)bring her into the wilderness,
and ^(AJ)speak tenderly to her.

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Footnotes

Hosea 2:6 Hebrew your

James 3:1-13

English Standard Version

Taming the Tongue

3 ^(A)Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ²For ^(B)we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, ^(C)he is a perfect man, ^(D)able also to bridle his whole body. ³If we put ^(E)bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. ⁴Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet ^(F)it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶And ^(G)the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, ^(H)staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,^[a] and set on fire by hell.^[b] ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, ^(I)full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people ^(J)who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,^[c] these things ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Wisdom from Above

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? ^(K)By his good conduct let him show his works ^(L)in the meekness of wisdom.

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Footnotes

James 3:6 Or wheel of birth
James 3:6 Greek Gehenna
James 3:10 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 12

Matthew 13:44-52

English Standard Version

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven ^(A)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^(B)he goes and sells all that he has and ^(C)buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶who, on finding ^(D)one pearl of great value, ^(E)went and sold all that he had and ^(F)bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^(G)like a net that was thrown into the sea and ^(H)gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When it was full, ^(I)men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at ^(J)the end of the age. The angels will come out and ^(K)separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰^(L)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(M)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

⁵¹^(N)“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵²And he said to them, “Therefore every ^(O)scribe ^(P)who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^(Q)brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”