Psalms 37 Cross References - BSB

¹ Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong. ² For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants. ³ Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it. ⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun. ⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes. ⁸ Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm. ⁹ For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. ¹⁰ Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. ¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity. ¹² The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them, ¹³ but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming. ¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. ¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. ¹⁶ Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked. ¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. ¹⁸ The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever. ¹⁹ In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied. ²⁰ But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away. ²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving. ²² Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed. ²³ The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey. ²⁴ Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand. ²⁵ I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread. ²⁶ They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing. ²⁷ Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever. ²⁸ For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off. ²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. ³⁰ The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter. ³² Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them, ³³ the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment. ³⁴ Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. ³⁵ I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree, ³⁶ yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found. ³⁷ Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace. ³⁸ But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off. ³⁹ The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. ⁴⁰ The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.

⁶ Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her and taunt her viciously. ⁷ And this went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival taunted her until she wept and would not eat. ⁸ “Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why is your heart so grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.

³ For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

³¹ Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;

³ A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

¹ Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;

¹⁹ Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.

²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

⁵ Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? ⁶ But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

² Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary? ⁶ Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds, ⁷ he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’ ⁸ He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. ⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree, ³⁶ yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

¹⁷ until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end. ¹⁸ Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. ¹⁹ How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors! ²⁰ Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

⁵ You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— ⁶ in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

⁷ that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.

⁵ May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame. ⁶ May they be like grass on the rooftops, which withers before it can grow, ⁷ unable to fill the hands of the reaper, or the arms of the binder of sheaves.

¹⁰ But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

²⁴ For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

² The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.

²⁰ and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

¹⁹ Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

⁵ Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the LORD.

¹ Of David. Vindicate me, O LORD! For I have walked with integrity; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

¹⁹ to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

⁹ Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. ¹⁰ Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

⁸ Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

¹⁶ Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! ¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.” ¹⁸ “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.

¹¹ He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

¹⁰ Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.

⁷ But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. ⁸ He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

³⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.

⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! ⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

¹⁰ For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so. ¹¹ We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. ¹² Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

¹³ All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

²⁶ Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.

¹⁰ Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?

⁹ For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation! ² You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.

³ Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

¹⁴ then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

⁷ If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

⁸ Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

¹⁴ And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

²⁸ Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.

⁸ “He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”

²² Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

³ Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.

¹ So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

³⁷ Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

²⁵ Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

²² Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

²⁹ And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the Gentiles of the world strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”

⁷ Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

¹⁷ Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.

²⁰ You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.

¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.

⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

¹⁰ and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.

⁸ Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. ⁹ Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.

¹⁸ So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

¹² On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”

⁷ Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? ⁸ Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes. ⁹ Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them. ¹⁰ Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry. ¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about, ¹² singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute. ¹³ They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. ¹⁴ Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways. ¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’ ¹⁶ Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked. ¹⁷ How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction? ¹⁸ Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm? ¹⁹ It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it. ²⁰ Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty. ²¹ For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out? ²² Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high? ²³ One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease. ²⁴ His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow. ²⁵ Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity. ²⁶ But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both. ²⁷ Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me. ²⁸ For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’ ²⁹ Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports? ³⁰ Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath. ³¹ Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done? ³² He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb. ³³ The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number. ³⁴ So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.

⁸ I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are ever before Me.

¹ For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him.

⁵ Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.

³ For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed. ⁵ They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them. ⁷ From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild. ⁸ They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. ⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth. ¹⁰ So their people return to this place and drink up waters in abundance. ¹¹ The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” ¹² Behold, these are the wicked—always carefree as they increase their wealth. ¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands. ¹⁴ For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.

²² Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.

⁸ If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.

¹⁷ I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.

¹³ For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers. ¹⁴ My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”

¹⁵ For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”

¹ Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

²⁵ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. ²⁶ It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

³⁶ Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.

¹¹ Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?”

³ For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

⁹ Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

³⁶ You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. ³⁷ For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. ⁸ You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

³ One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴ They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?” ⁵ The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months. ⁶ And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. ⁸ And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain. ⁹ He who has an ear, let him hear: ¹⁰ “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.

²¹ Now David had just finished saying, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good. ²² May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one of Nabal’s men survive until morning.” ²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.

² For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

⁴ You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?

²² In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.

¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak this way,” then I would have betrayed Your children.

¹¹ In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”

²⁹ A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

³² He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.

¹⁴ Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. ¹⁵ Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy.

¹ Jonah, however, was greatly displeased, and he became angry.

⁹ Then God asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry about the plant?” “I do,” he replied. “I am angry enough to die!”

⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

²⁶ “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

⁸ But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

¹⁹ My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, ²⁰ for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

²³ When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats. ²⁴ Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him. ²⁵ It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him. ²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. ²⁷ The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. ²⁸ The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath. ²⁹ This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”

¹³ This is the wicked man’s portion from God—the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty. ¹⁴ Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food. ¹⁵ His survivors will be buried by the plague, and their widows will not weep for them. ¹⁶ Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay, ¹⁷ what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent. ¹⁸ The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon, like a hut set up by a watchman. ¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone. ²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest sweeps him away in the night. ²¹ The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. ²² It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power. ²³ It claps its hands at him and hisses him out of his place.

¹³ His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity. ¹² The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,

²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.

²³ But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

²¹ For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it;

¹³ When you cry out, let your companies of idols deliver you! Yet the wind will carry off all of them, a breath will take them away. But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain.”

²¹ Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.

¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”

³⁸ About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead. ³⁹ On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking for her in marriage.

²⁵ And Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember that when you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, the LORD lifted up this burden against him:

³⁴ Then Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of this cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was the daughter of a king.” ³⁵ But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ So they went back and told Jehu, who replied, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour the flesh of Jezebel. ³⁷ And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”

¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

¹⁰ He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more.

²¹ Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”

¹⁰ But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?

²⁴ They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.

¹⁰ For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.

⁵ Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹ Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”

¹⁶ when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

⁴² The upright see and rejoice, and all iniquity shuts its mouth. ⁴³ Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.

¹⁶ Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble, ¹⁷ who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?” ¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. ¹⁹ But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch, covered by those slain with the sword, and dumped into a rocky pit like a carcass trampled underfoot.

²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ ²¹ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

²⁷ ‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.

¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?” ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.

⁸ They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.

⁷ May the righteous flourish in his days and prosperity abound, until the moon is no more.

¹⁶⁵ Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your law; nothing can make them stumble.

³ You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.

¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.

¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, ¹⁹ bringing praise to their lips. Peace, peace to those far and near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal them.” ²⁰ But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck. ²¹ “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

²¹ “I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”

⁷ When Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” ⁸ Then Saul summoned all his troops to go to war at Keilah and besiege David and his men. ⁹ When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’” ¹¹ Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter. ¹² While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing.

⁶ And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.

¹³ For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.

¹⁶ Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.

³² Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,

¹² And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.

²⁴ His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.

¹ Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.

⁴ and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.

¹⁶ So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

¹⁰ David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.

²⁰ Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.

⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them.

²⁶ in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you,

²⁷ Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.

²⁵ And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your final punishment.’

²⁹ while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you—to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.

²⁶ And this is the interpretation of the message: MENE means that God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

¹¹ See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. See and know that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

¹⁷ and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.

² For behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrow on the string to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

¹⁰ All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”

² Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity, ³ who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows, ⁴ ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear. ⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say. ⁶ They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.

¹⁰ Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.

²⁷ An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.

¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. ³³ You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? ³⁴ Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town.

⁵² Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. ³ And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”

²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.

⁴ The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength.

⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

⁹ Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king. ¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

¹⁴ Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood. ¹⁵ He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.

⁸ May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.

⁹ He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.

³ There He shattered the flaming arrows, the shield and sword and weapons of war. Selah ⁴ You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains filled with game. ⁵ The valiant lie plundered; they sleep their last sleep. No men of might could lift a hand. ⁶ At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and rider lie stunned.

³⁸ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

⁵⁶ For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will repay in full.

⁵ And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁸ On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and weapons of war in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.

⁶ And they will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the blade drawn. So He will deliver us when Assyria invades our land and marches into our borders.

⁴ “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.” ⁵ So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

³³ The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.

²⁵ A righteous man eats to his heart’s content, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.

¹⁶ Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil. ¹⁷ Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.

⁸ Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

²⁶ To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

⁶ Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

¹⁵ Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.

¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.

²⁴ Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.

¹² In my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever.

¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.

⁸ My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

¹¹⁶ Sustain me as You promised, that I may live; let me not be ashamed of my hope. ¹¹⁷ Uphold me, and I will be saved, that I may always regard Your statutes.

¹⁴ The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.

¹ “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

²¹ “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword. ²² Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³ I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. ²⁴ I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man. ²⁵ I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.

²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

²⁵ May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and may your strength match your days.”

⁶ For the LORD guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

¹¹ You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

⁴ He asked You for life, and You granted it—length of days, forever and ever.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.

¹⁵ My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.

¹³ but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.

⁵ Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?

²⁴ You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.

¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—

³² For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

²¹ For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. ²² If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. ²³ At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

²¹ so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

¹ But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, ⁴ traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. ³ For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. ⁴ So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

²⁵ And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.

³ And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.

²⁰ In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. ²¹ You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes. ²² You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

³ The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.

¹² For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

¹⁶ he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

¹³ Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.

³ Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.

³ From the peace offering he is to bring an offering made by fire to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them, ⁴ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ⁶ If, however, one’s peace offering to the LORD is from the flock, he must present a male or female without blemish. ⁷ If he is presenting a lamb for his offering, he must present it before the LORD. ⁸ He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar. ⁹ And from the peace offering he shall bring an offering made by fire to the LORD consisting of its fat: the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them, ¹⁰ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys. ¹¹ Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

¹⁶ Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.

²⁰ The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven

¹⁴ with the bountiful harvest from the sun and the abundant yield of the seasons, ¹⁵ with the best of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills, ¹⁶ with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers.

³¹ So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.

² As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.

⁹ For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.

³ For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.

³ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

⁵ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

²⁹ “For our God is a consuming fire.”

¹² These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed.

⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand. ¹¹ For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.

¹² The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.

⁴³ The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

¹ Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!” ² “How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” ³ “Go,” said Elisha, “borrow jars, even empty ones, from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few. ⁴ Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these jars, setting the full ones aside.” ⁵ So she left him, and after she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing jars to her, and she kept pouring.

¹ About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. ² Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous. We must get grain in order to eat and stay alive.” ³ Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.” ⁴ Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

¹⁶ If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, ¹⁷ if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— ¹⁸ though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— ¹⁹ if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, ²⁰ if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

⁵ It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.

⁹ He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸ But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

⁷ Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk, ¹⁰ and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.

³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

²⁹ So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

³⁵ In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹² For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God. ¹³ Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all the others. ¹⁴ And their prayers for you will express their affection for you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

¹⁰ For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.

¹⁶ And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

³ I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

¹ Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

⁹ For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.

¹⁸ The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever.

²⁸ For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.

¹⁵ May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

²¹ You rebuke the arrogant—the cursed who stray from Your commandments.

¹ A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways!

³ Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed. ⁴ I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

⁴¹ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

²² If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!

¹⁰ All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

⁹ He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.

¹¹ My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside. ¹² I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.

⁵ My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.

² He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.

¹³ Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.

⁵ Oh, that my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes!

¹³³ Order my steps in Your word; let no sin rule over me.

³ He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.

⁸ The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.

¹⁰ He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man. ¹¹ The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

²⁶ Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.

¹ Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.

²⁰ The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their walk are His delight.

⁹ A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

²⁴ But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

²³ I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all. ²⁰ He protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken.

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹² They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹⁸ If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.

⁶ The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.

¹⁶ For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.

⁷ But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. ⁸ Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.

³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

³¹ Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

⁶⁰ “Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied. While he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went outside and wept bitterly.

²⁷ My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

⁷ I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

⁵ No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

²² Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.

²³ He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

⁶ So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know. ⁷ I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom.

¹⁵ They scavenge for food, and growl if they are not satisfied.

⁹ Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.

¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.

¹⁴ For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.

¹⁰ May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.

² His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.

¹⁶ Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.

⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful, ⁵⁵ as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

¹⁶ Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to stay at the home of Mnason the Cypriot, an early disciple.

⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

⁸ So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

⁸ Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.

¹³ For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.

⁷ The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.

³⁹ I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ³⁷ Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

²⁸ And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

²⁸ The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”

⁶ By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.

¹⁷ The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.

¹⁶ Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! ¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

¹⁵ Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone. ¹² It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

⁸ This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.

¹⁴ And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.

²¹ equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

¹⁹ He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived.

¹⁴ Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food.

⁷ For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.

¹⁰ You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.

²⁵ I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.

⁴⁰ The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.

⁶ Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom. ⁷ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.

¹³ Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. ¹⁴ In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain, ¹⁵ to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”

⁴ The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.

²² but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.

²⁰ You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned. ²¹ Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities.

¹⁸ Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.

²¹ “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.

⁸ For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity; in My faithfulness I will give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁴⁰ I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me. ⁴¹ Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

²⁴ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

³⁹ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

⁹ As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love.

⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

¹ Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:

²⁷ Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.

¹³ But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁷ The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.

⁷ And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁵ My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.

²⁴ My tongue will indeed proclaim Your righteousness all day long, for those who seek my harm are disgraced and confounded.

²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.

³¹ The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

⁷ The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.

¹¹ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. ¹² Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear. ¹³ Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.

⁹ Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is counsel to the soul.

³⁵ The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.

²⁹ Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

⁶ These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts.

¹⁸ Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates,

¹¹ My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.

² But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

²³ The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.

² He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. ³ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

⁸ I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

¹⁸ Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.

² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.

¹¹ I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

⁹⁸ Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me.

⁴ he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.

¹⁵ The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.

⁷ Listen to Me, you who know what is right, you people with My law in your hearts: Do not fear the scorn of men; do not be broken by their insults.

³³ “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

⁶ Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.

¹⁰ For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

⁸ He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless. ⁹ He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net. ¹⁰ They are crushed and beaten down; the hapless fall prey to his strength.

¹² The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,

¹⁰ For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.”

⁷ Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

⁵⁴ waiting to catch Him in something He might say.

¹ One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.

⁴⁷ Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him. ⁴⁸ Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

²⁰ So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²⁴ but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.

²⁶ Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them. ²⁷ Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!” ²⁸ So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why that place is called Sela-hammahlekoth.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul. ⁸ You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.

³¹ For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.

⁶ Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. ⁷ We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the net is torn, and we have slipped away.

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

³³ Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.

¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

⁹ if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

⁹ Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

¹⁰ Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

⁵ Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah ⁶ The righteous will see and fear; they will mock the evildoer, saying,

⁸ You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.

¹⁰ But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; with fine oil I have been anointed. ¹¹ My eyes see the downfall of my enemies; my ears hear the wailing of my wicked foes.

²⁵ Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. ²⁶ Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure. ²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.

¹³ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁷ so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.

¹¹ Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.

¹³ Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish. ¹⁴ His confidence is fragile; his security is in a spider’s web. ¹⁵ He leans on his web, but it gives way; he holds fast, but it does not endure. ¹⁶ He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden. ¹⁷ His roots wrap around the rock heap; he looks for a home among the stones. ¹⁸ If he is uprooted from his place, it will disown him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’ ¹⁹ Surely this is the joy of his way; yet others will spring from the dust.

⁷ Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? ⁸ Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes. ⁹ Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them. ¹⁰ Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry. ¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about, ¹² singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute. ¹³ They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. ¹⁴ Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways. ¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’ ¹⁶ Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked. ¹⁷ How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?

³ For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed. ⁵ They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them. ⁷ From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild. ⁸ They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. ⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth. ¹⁰ So their people return to this place and drink up waters in abundance. ¹¹ The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”

¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” ¹⁵ But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.

⁶ All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade. ⁷ It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its limbs, for its roots extended to abundant waters. ⁸ The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty. ⁹ I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’ ¹⁰ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

¹⁸ Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”

²⁰ The tree you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached the sky and was visible to all the earth, ²¹ whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, providing food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air nested— ²² you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth. ²³ And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying: ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass him by.’ ²⁴ This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree that the Most High has issued against my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes. ²⁶ As for the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.” ²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” ³¹ While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you. ³² You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.” ³³ At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

⁹ The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’ ¹⁰ But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹⁹ For when Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary? ⁶ Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds, ⁷ he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’ ⁸ He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. ⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him. ¹⁰ His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth. ¹¹ The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust. ¹² Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue, ¹³ though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, ¹⁴ yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him. ¹⁵ He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach. ¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him. ¹⁷ He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. ¹⁸ He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading. ¹⁹ For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build. ²⁰ Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure. ²¹ Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure. ²² In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.

¹⁰ Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame. ¹⁷ And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles. ¹⁸ The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man. ¹⁹ The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them.

³³ Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled. ³⁴ He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

²² And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” ²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.

¹² So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³ And he also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵ No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance among their brothers. ¹⁶ After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ And so Job died, old and full of years.

³² The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.

¹⁷ The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.

¹ The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil. ² Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law, ²⁸ Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God, saying: ²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

¹⁴ because I know that this tent will soon be laid aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

⁴ Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind. ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. ⁶ For the LORD guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

¹⁷ The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.

¹⁷ until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end.

³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

⁴⁹ So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴⁶ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

⁸ in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,

⁸ Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah

⁹ The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

¹ For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.

¹⁵ When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.

² Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”

² O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.

⁹ But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!”

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully

²⁰ And because they cried out to God in battle, they were helped against their enemies, and the Hagrites and all their allies were delivered into their hands. Because they put their trust in God, He answered their prayers.

¹³ Arise, O LORD, confront them! Bring them to their knees; deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

⁴ In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. ⁵ They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.

² When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

⁵ Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”

⁴ Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

¹⁷ If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den, and when Daniel was lifted out of the den, no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. ¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him.