Psalm 105:1-42

New International Version

Psalm 105^(A)

¹Give praise to the Lord,^(B) proclaim his name;^(C)
    make known among the nations what he has done.
²Sing to him,^(D) sing praise to him;^(E)
    tell of all his wonderful acts.^(F)
³Glory in his holy name;^(G)
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
⁴Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face^(H) always.

⁵Remember the wonders^(I) he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,^(J)
⁶you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,^(K)
    his chosen^(L) ones, the children of Jacob.
⁷He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.

⁸He remembers his covenant^(M) forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
⁹the covenant he made with Abraham,^(N)
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
¹⁰He confirmed it^(O) to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:^(P)
¹¹“To you I will give the land of Canaan^(Q)
    as the portion you will inherit.”^(R)

¹²When they were but few in number,^(S)
    few indeed, and strangers in it,^(T)
¹³they wandered from nation to nation,^(U)
    from one kingdom to another.
¹⁴He allowed no one to oppress^(V) them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:^(W)
¹⁵“Do not touch^(X) my anointed ones;
    do my prophets^(Y) no harm.”

¹⁶He called down famine^(Z) on the land
    and destroyed all their supplies of food;
¹⁷and he sent a man before them—
    Joseph, sold as a slave.^(AA)
¹⁸They bruised his feet with shackles,^(AB)
    his neck was put in irons,
¹⁹till what he foretold^(AC) came to pass,
    till the word^(AD) of the Lord proved him true.
²⁰The king sent and released him,
    the ruler of peoples set him free.^(AE)
²¹He made him master of his household,
    ruler over all he possessed,
²²to instruct his princes^(AF) as he pleased
    and teach his elders wisdom.^(AG)

²³Then Israel entered Egypt;^(AH)
    Jacob resided^(AI) as a foreigner in the land of Ham.^(AJ)
²⁴The Lord made his people very fruitful;
    he made them too numerous^(AK) for their foes,
²⁵whose hearts he turned^(AL) to hate his people,
    to conspire^(AM) against his servants.
²⁶He sent Moses^(AN) his servant,
    and Aaron,^(AO) whom he had chosen.^(AP)
²⁷They performed^(AQ) his signs^(AR) among them,
    his wonders^(AS) in the land of Ham.
²⁸He sent darkness^(AT) and made the land dark—
    for had they not rebelled against^(AU) his words?
²⁹He turned their waters into blood,^(AV)
    causing their fish to die.^(AW)
³⁰Their land teemed with frogs,^(AX)
    which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
³¹He spoke,^(AY) and there came swarms of flies,^(AZ)
    and gnats^(BA) throughout their country.
³²He turned their rain into hail,^(BB)
    with lightning throughout their land;
³³he struck down their vines^(BC) and fig trees^(BD)
    and shattered the trees of their country.
³⁴He spoke,^(BE) and the locusts came,^(BF)
    grasshoppers^(BG) without number;^(BH)
³⁵they ate up every green thing in their land,
    ate up the produce of their soil.
³⁶Then he struck down all the firstborn^(BI) in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their manhood.
³⁷He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,^(BJ)
    and from among their tribes no one faltered.
³⁸Egypt was glad when they left,
    because dread of Israel^(BK) had fallen on them.

³⁹He spread out a cloud^(BL) as a covering,
    and a fire to give light at night.^(BM)
⁴⁰They asked,^(BN) and he brought them quail;^(BO)
    he fed them well with the bread of heaven.^(BP)
⁴¹He opened the rock,^(BQ) and water gushed out;
    it flowed like a river in the desert.

⁴²For he remembered his holy promise^(BR)
given to his servant Abraham.

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2 Chronicles 20:1-22

New International Version

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After this, the Moabites^(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites^[a]^(B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

²Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army^(C) is coming against you from Edom,^[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar^(D)” (that is, En Gedi).^(E) ³Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast^(F) for all Judah. ⁴The people of Judah^(G) came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard ⁶and said:

“Lord, the God of our ancestors,^(H) are you not the God who is in heaven?^(I) You rule over all the kingdoms^(J) of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.^(K) ⁷Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land^(L) before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?^(M) ⁸They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary^(N) for your Name, saying, ⁹‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine,^(O) we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

¹⁰“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt;^(P) so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. ¹¹See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession^(Q) you gave us as an inheritance. ¹²Our God, will you not judge them?^(R) For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.^(S)”

¹³All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

¹⁴Then the Spirit^(T) of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,^(U) a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

¹⁵He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged^(V) because of this vast army. For the battle^(W) is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^(X) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed down^(Y) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. ¹⁹Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith^(Z) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.^(AA)” ²¹After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his^[c] holiness^(AB) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”^(AC)

²²As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes^(AD) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites
2 Chronicles 20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram
2 Chronicles 20:21 Or him with the splendor of

Luke 13:22-31

New International Version

The Narrow Door

²²Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.^(A) ²³Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,^(B) because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. ²⁵Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’^(C)

²⁶“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’^(D)

²⁸“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth,^(E) when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹People will come from east and west^(F) and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”^(G)