Psalm 28

Of David.

To you, Lord, I call;
    you are my Rock,
    do not turn a deaf ear(A) to me.
For if you remain silent,(B)
    I will be like those who go down to the pit.(C)
Hear my cry for mercy(D)
    as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands(E)
    toward your Most Holy Place.(F)

Do not drag me away with the wicked,
    with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
    but harbor malice in their hearts.(G)
Repay them for their deeds
    and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done(H)
    and bring back on them what they deserve.(I)

Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord
    and what his hands have done,(J)
he will tear them down
    and never build them up again.

Praise be to the Lord,(K)
    for he has heard my cry for mercy.(L)
The Lord is my strength(M) and my shield;
    my heart trusts(N) in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,(O)
    and with my song I praise him.(P)

The Lord is the strength(Q) of his people,
    a fortress of salvation(R) for his anointed one.(S)
Save your people(T) and bless your inheritance;(U)
    be their shepherd(V) and carry them(W) forever.

28 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.

Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.

Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.(A) 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”(B)

31 Then they got Joseph’s robe,(C) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.(D) 32 They took the ornate robe(E) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal(F) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”(G)

34 Then Jacob tore his clothes,(H) put on sackcloth(I) and mourned for his son many days.(J) 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,(K) but he refused to be comforted.(L) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son(M) in the grave.(N)” So his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianites[a](O) sold Joseph(P) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.(Q)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 37:36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also verse 28); Masoretic Text Medanites

29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.

33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

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For if God did not spare angels when they sinned,(A) but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment;(B) if he did not spare the ancient world(C) when he brought the flood on its ungodly people,(D) but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;(E) if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes,(F) and made them an example(G) of what is going to happen to the ungodly;(H) and if he rescued Lot,(I) a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless(J) (for that righteous man,(K) living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials(L) and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.(M) 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire(N) of the flesh[c] and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;(O)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
  2. 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons
  3. 2 Peter 2:10 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 18.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

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