Jeremiah 8:18-9:6

New International Version

¹⁸You who are my Comforter^[a] in sorrow,
    my heart is faint^(A) within me.
¹⁹Listen to the cry of my people
    from a land far away:^(B)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King^(C) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused^(D) my anger with their images,
with their worthless^(E) foreign idols?”^(F)

²⁰“The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”

²¹Since my people are crushed,^(G) I am crushed;
    I mourn,^(H) and horror grips me.
²²Is there no balm in Gilead?^(I)
    Is there no physician^(J) there?
Why then is there no healing^(K)
    for the wound of my people?

9 ^[b]¹Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!^(L)
I would weep^(M) day and night
    for the slain of my people.^(N)
²Oh, that I had in the desert^(O)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,^(P)
    a crowd of unfaithful^(Q) people.

³“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;^(R)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph^[c] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge^(S) me,”
declares the Lord.
⁴“Beware of your friends;^(T)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.^(U)
For every one of them is a deceiver,^[d]^(V)
    and every friend a slanderer.^(W)
⁵Friend deceives friend,^(X)
    and no one speaks the truth.^(Y)
They have taught their tongues to lie;^(Z)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
⁶You^[e] live in the midst of deception;^(AA)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)

Psalm 119:97-120

New International Version

מ Mem

⁹⁷Oh, how I love your law!^(A)
    I meditate^(B) on it all day long.
⁹⁸Your commands are always with me
    and make me wiser^(C) than my enemies.
⁹⁹I have more insight than all my teachers,
    for I meditate on your statutes.^(D)
¹⁰⁰I have more understanding than the elders,
    for I obey your precepts.^(E)
¹⁰¹I have kept my feet^(F) from every evil path
    so that I might obey your word.^(G)
¹⁰²I have not departed from your laws,^(H)
    for you yourself have taught^(I) me.
¹⁰³How sweet are your words to my taste,
    sweeter than honey^(J) to my mouth!^(K)
¹⁰⁴I gain understanding^(L) from your precepts;
    therefore I hate every wrong path.^(M)

נ Nun

¹⁰⁵Your word is a lamp^(N) for my feet,
    a light^(O) on my path.
¹⁰⁶I have taken an oath^(P) and confirmed it,
    that I will follow your righteous laws.^(Q)
¹⁰⁷I have suffered much;
    preserve my life,^(R) Lord, according to your word.
¹⁰⁸Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,^(S)
    and teach me your laws.^(T)
¹⁰⁹Though I constantly take my life in my hands,^(U)
    I will not forget^(V) your law.
¹¹⁰The wicked have set a snare^(W) for me,
    but I have not strayed^(X) from your precepts.
¹¹¹Your statutes are my heritage forever;
    they are the joy of my heart.^(Y)
¹¹²My heart is set^(Z) on keeping your decrees
    to the very end.^[a]^(AA)

ס Samekh

¹¹³I hate double-minded people,^(AB)
    but I love your law.^(AC)
¹¹⁴You are my refuge and my shield;^(AD)
    I have put my hope^(AE) in your word.
¹¹⁵Away from me,^(AF) you evildoers,
    that I may keep the commands of my God!
¹¹⁶Sustain me,^(AG) my God, according to your promise,^(AH) and I will live;
    do not let my hopes be dashed.^(AI)
¹¹⁷Uphold me,^(AJ) and I will be delivered;^(AK)
    I will always have regard for your decrees.^(AL)
¹¹⁸You reject all who stray^(AM) from your decrees,
    for their delusions come to nothing.
¹¹⁹All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;^(AN)
    therefore I love your statutes.^(AO)
¹²⁰My flesh trembles^(AP) in fear of you;^(AQ)
    I stand in awe^(AR) of your laws.

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Footnotes

Psalm 119:112 Or decrees / for their enduring reward

Romans 5:1-11

New International Version

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified^(A) through faith,^(B) we^[a] have peace^(C) with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,^(D) ²through whom we have gained access^(E) by faith into this grace in which we now stand.^(F) And we^[b] boast in the hope^(G) of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings,^(H) because we know that suffering produces perseverance;^(I) ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope^(J) does not put us to shame, because God’s love^(K) has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,^(L) who has been given to us.

⁶You see, at just the right time,^(M) when we were still powerless,^(N) Christ died for the ungodly.^(O) ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.^(P)

⁹Since we have now been justified^(Q) by his blood,^(R) how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath^(S) through him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies,^(T) we were reconciled^(U) to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!^(V) ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.^(W)

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Footnotes

Romans 5:1 Many manuscripts let us
Romans 5:2 Or let us
Romans 5:3 Or let us

John 8:12-20

New International Version

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

¹²When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am^(A) the light of the world.^(B) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”^(C)

¹³The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”^(D)

¹⁴Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.^(E) But you have no idea where I come from^(F) or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge by human standards;^(G) I pass judgment on no one.^(H) ¹⁶But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.^(I) ¹⁷In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.^(J) ¹⁸I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”^(K)

¹⁹Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,”^(L) Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”^(M) ²⁰He spoke these words while teaching^(N) in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put.^(O) Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.^(P)