Old/New Testament
God’s Power over the Earth
97 The Lord rules. Let the earth be full of joy. Let the many islands be glad. 2 Clouds and darkness are all around Him. His throne is built upon what is right and fair. 3 Fire goes before Him and burns up those who hate Him on every side. 4 His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and shakes. 5 The mountains melt like a candle before the Lord, before the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens tell about how right and good He is. And all the people see His shining-greatness.
7 Let all those who serve false gods be ashamed, those who talk about how great their gods are. Worship Him, all you gods! 8 Zion heard this and was glad. The people of Judah have been full of joy because of what You decide, O Lord. 9 For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth. You are honored above all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate what is bad. For He keeps safe the souls of His faithful ones. He takes them away from the hand of the sinful. 11 Light is spread like seed for those who are right and good, and joy for the pure in heart. 12 Be glad in the Lord, you who are right and good. Give thanks to His holy name.
A Call to Praise the Lord
98 Sing a new song to the Lord. For He has done great things. His right hand and His holy arm have won the fight for Him. 2 The Lord has made His saving power known. He has shown to the nations how right and good He is. 3 He has shown His loving-kindness and how beautiful He is to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of our God.
4 Call out for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Sing out loud songs of joy and sing praises. 5 Sing praises to the Lord with harps, with harps and the voice of singing. 6 Call out for joy with the sound of horns before the King, the Lord.
7 Let the sea and all that is in it make a loud noise, and the world and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing together for joy 9 before the Lord. For He is coming to say who is guilty or not on the earth. He will be right in what He decides about the world. And He will be fair to the people.
The Lord Is Good to His People
99 The Lord rules! Let the people shake in fear! He sits on His throne above the angels. Let the earth shake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion. And He is honored above all people. 3 Let them praise Your great name. It is to be honored with fear. He is holy!
4 The strength of the King loves what is right. You have set up what is fair. You do what is right and fair in Jacob. 5 Honor the Lord our God. Worship at His feet. For He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among His religious leaders. And Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called upon the Lord, and He answered them. 7 He spoke to them from the cloud. They kept His Word and the Law that He gave them. 8 O Lord our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them. But You punished them for their wrong-doing. 9 Honor the Lord our God. And worship at His holy mountain. For the Lord our God is holy!
16 I want to let you know about our Christian sister Phoebe. She is a helper in the church in the city of Cenchrea. 2 The Christians should receive her as a sister who belongs to the Lord. Help her any way you can. She has helped many people and has helped me also.
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila. They worked with me for Christ. 4 They almost died for me. I am thankful for them. All the churches that were started among the people who are not Jews are thankful for them also. 5 Greet the church that worships in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my much-loved friend. He was the first Christian in the countries of Asia. 6 Greet Mary. She worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junias. They are from my family and were in prison with me. They put their trust in Christ before I did. They have been respected missionaries. 8 Greet Ampliatus. He is a much-loved Christian brother. 9 Greet Urbanus. He worked with us for Christ. Greet Stachys, my much-loved friend. 10 Greet Apelles. He proved he was faithful to Christ. Greet all the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodian. He is one of my family. Greet the Christians in the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa and Persis. They are all much-loved workmen for the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus and his mother. She was like a mother to me. Rufus is a good Christian. 14 Greet Asyncritus and Phlegon and Hermes and Patrobas and Hermas and all the Christians with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia and Nereus and his sister and Olympas and all the Christians with them.
16 Greet each other with a kiss of holy love. All the churches here greet you.
17 I ask you, Christian brothers, watch out for those who make trouble and start fights. Keep your eye on those who work against the teaching you received. Keep away from them. 18 Men like that are not working for our Lord Jesus Christ. They are chained to their own desires. With soft words they say things people want to hear. People are fooled by them. 19 Everyone knows you have obeyed the teaching you received. I am happy with you because of this. But I want you to be wise about good things and pure about sinful things. 20 God, Who is our peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the loving-favor of our Lord Jesus be yours. 21 Timothy, my helper, greets you. Lucius and Jason and Sosipater from my family say hello also. 22 I, Tertius, who am writing this letter for Paul, greet you as a Christian brother. 23 Gaius is the man taking care of me. The church meets here in his house. He greets you. Erastus, the man who takes care of the money for the city, says hello and Quartus does also. He is a Christian brother. 24 *May you have loving-favor from our Lord Jesus Christ. Let it be so.
25 We give honor to God. He is able to make you strong as I preach from the Holy Writings about Jesus Christ. It was a secret hidden from the beginning of the world. 26 But now it is for us to know. The early preachers wrote about it. God says it is to be preached to all the people of the world so men can put their trust in God and obey Him.
27 May God, Who only is wise, be honored forever through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let it be so.
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