Old/New Testament
Psalm 137[a]
137 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep[b]
when we remember Zion.
2 On the poplars in her midst
we hang our harps,
3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs;[c]
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:[d]
“Sing for us a song about Zion!”[e]
4 How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled.[f]
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy.[g]
7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.[h]
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,[i]
right to its very foundation!”
8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated,[j]
how blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us.[k]
9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock.[l]
Psalm 138[m]
By David.
138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly[n] I will sing praises to you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.[o]
3 When[p] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.[q]
4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks[r] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.[s]
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,[t]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.[u]
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles[v] the proud.
7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,[w] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,[x]
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord avenges me.[y]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.[z]
Psalm 139[aa]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you examine me[ab] and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;[ac]
you are aware of everything I do.[ad]
4 Certainly[ae] my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.[af]
5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;
you place your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;
it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.[ag]
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?[ah]
8 If I were to ascend[ai] to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out[aj] in Sheol, there you would be.[ak]
9 If I were to fly away[al] on the wings of the dawn,[am]
and settle down on the other side[an] of the sea,
10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,[ao]
and the light will turn to night all around me,”[ap]
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,[aq]
and the night is as bright as[ar] day;
darkness and light are the same to you.[as]
13 Certainly[at] you made my mind and heart;[au]
you wove me together[av] in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.[aw]
You knew me thoroughly;[ax]
15 my bones were not hidden from you,
when[ay] I was made in secret
and sewed together in the depths of the earth.[az]
16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb.[ba]
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence.[bb]
17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God![bc]
How vast is their sum total.[bd]
18 If I tried to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
Even if I finished counting them,
I would still have to contend with you.[be]
19 If only[bf] you would kill the wicked, O God!
Get away from me, you violent men![bg]
20 They[bh] rebel against you[bi] and act deceitfully;[bj]
your enemies lie.[bk]
21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you?[bl]
22 I absolutely hate them;[bm]
they have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts.[bn]
Test me, and know my concerns.[bo]
24 See if there is any idolatrous way[bp] in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way.[bq]
The Way of Love
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast,[a] but do not have love, I receive no benefit.
4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. 6 It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when what is perfect[b] comes, the partial will be set aside. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult,[c] I set aside childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror indirectly,[d] but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
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