Psalm 116-118

New International Version

Psalm 116

¹I love the Lord,^(A) for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry^(B) for mercy.^(C)
²Because he turned his ear^(D) to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

³The cords of death^(E) entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
⁴Then I called on the name^(F) of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!^(G)”

⁵The Lord is gracious and righteous;^(H)
our God is full of compassion.^(I)
⁶The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low,^(J) he saved me.^(K)

⁷Return to your rest,^(L) my soul,
for the Lord has been good^(M) to you.

⁸For you, Lord, have delivered me^(N) from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
⁹that I may walk before the Lord^(O)
    in the land of the living.^(P)

¹⁰I trusted^(Q) in the Lord when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;^(R)
¹¹in my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”^(S)

¹²What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness^(T) to me?

¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name^(U) of the Lord.
¹⁴I will fulfill my vows^(V) to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵Precious in the sight^(W) of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful servants.^(X)
¹⁶Truly I am your servant, Lord;^(Y)
    I serve you just as my mother did;^(Z)
    you have freed me from my chains.^(AA)

¹⁷I will sacrifice a thank offering^(AB) to you
    and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸I will fulfill my vows^(AC) to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹in the courts^(AD) of the house of the Lord—
    in your midst, Jerusalem.^(AE)

Praise the Lord.^[a]

Psalm 117

¹Praise the Lord,^(AF) all you nations;^(AG)
extol him, all you peoples.
²For great is his love^(AH) toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord^(AI) endures forever.

Praise the Lord.^[b]

Psalm 118

¹Give thanks to the Lord,^(AJ) for he is good;^(AK)
his love endures forever.^(AL)

²Let Israel say:^(AM)
    “His love endures forever.”^(AN)
³Let the house of Aaron say:^(AO)
    “His love endures forever.”
⁴Let those who fear the Lord^(AP) say:
    “His love endures forever.”

⁵When hard pressed,^(AQ) I cried to the Lord;
    he brought me into a spacious place.^(AR)
⁶The Lord is with me;^(AS) I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?^(AT)
⁷The Lord is with me; he is my helper.^(AU)
    I look in triumph on my enemies.^(AV)

⁸It is better to take refuge in the Lord^(AW)
    than to trust in humans.^(AX)
⁹It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.^(AY)
¹⁰All the nations surrounded me,
    but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.^(AZ)
¹¹They surrounded me^(BA) on every side,^(BB)
    but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
¹²They swarmed around me like bees,^(BC)
    but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;^(BD)
    in the name of the Lord I cut them down.^(BE)
¹³I was pushed back and about to fall,
    but the Lord helped me.^(BF)
¹⁴The Lord is my strength^(BG) and my defense^[c];
    he has become my salvation.^(BH)

¹⁵Shouts of joy^(BI) and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand^(BJ) has done mighty things!^(BK)
¹⁶    The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
¹⁷I will not die^(BL) but live,
    and will proclaim^(BM) what the Lord has done.
¹⁸The Lord has chastened^(BN) me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.^(BO)
¹⁹Open for me the gates^(BP) of the righteous;
    I will enter^(BQ) and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰This is the gate of the Lord^(BR)
    through which the righteous may enter.^(BS)
²¹I will give you thanks, for you answered me;^(BT)
    you have become my salvation.^(BU)

²²The stone^(BV) the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;^(BW)
²³the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous^(BX) in our eyes.
²⁴The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.^(BY)

²⁵Lord, save us!^(BZ)
Lord, grant us success!

²⁶Blessed is he who comes^(CA) in the name of the Lord.
    From the house of the Lord we bless you.^[d]^(CB)
²⁷The Lord is God,^(CC)
    and he has made his light shine^(CD) on us.
With boughs in hand,^(CE) join in the festal procession
    up^[e] to the horns of the altar.^(CF)

²⁸You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God,^(CG) and I will exalt^(CH) you.

²⁹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 116:19 Hebrew Hallelu Yah
Psalm 117:2 Hebrew Hallelu Yah
Psalm 118:14 Or song
Psalm 118:26 The Hebrew is plural.
Psalm 118:27 Or Bind the festal sacrifice with ropes / and take it

1 Corinthians 7:1-19

New International Version

Concerning Married Life

7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”^(A) ²But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. ³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,^(B) and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time,^(C) so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan^(D) will not tempt you^(E) because of your lack of self-control. ⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command.^(F) ⁷I wish that all of you were as I am.^(G) But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.^(H)

⁸Now to the unmarried^[a] and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.^(I) ⁹But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry,^(J) for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.^(K) ¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.^(L) And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹²To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord):^(M) If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.^(N)

¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.^(O) ¹⁶How do you know, wife, whether you will save^(P) your husband?^(Q) Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Concerning Change of Status

¹⁷Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.^(R) This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.^(S) ¹⁸Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.^(T) ¹⁹Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing.^(U) Keeping God’s commands is what counts.