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Psalm 31

Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;
    do not let me ever be put to shame;
    in your righteousness deliver me.
Incline your ear to me;
    rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
    a strong fortress to save me.

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Psalm 31[a](A)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;(B)
    let me never be put to shame;
    deliver me in your righteousness.(C)
Turn your ear to me,(D)
    come quickly to my rescue;(E)
be my rock of refuge,(F)
    a strong fortress to save me.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 31:1 In Hebrew texts 31:1-24 is numbered 31:2-25.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;
    you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

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Into your hands I commit my spirit;(A)
    deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.(B)

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24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the Lord.

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24 Be strong and take heart,(A)
    all you who hope in the Lord.

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Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
    my eye wastes away from grief,
    my soul and body also.

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Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;(A)
    my eyes grow weak with sorrow,(B)
    my soul and body(C) with grief.

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15 My times are in your hand;
    deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

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15 My times(A) are in your hands;
    deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
    from those who pursue me.

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17 Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,
    for I call on you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
    let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.

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17 Let me not be put to shame,(A) Lord,
    for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
    and be silent(B) in the realm of the dead.

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The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold,[a] and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.

The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10 Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”

11 But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant[b] in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said,

“It is not the sound made by victors,
or the sound made by losers;
it is the sound of revelers that I hear.”

19 As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 32:4 Or fashioned it with a graving tool; Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. Exodus 32:15 Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,(A) they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before(B) us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”(C)

Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings(D) that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol(E) cast in the shape of a calf,(F) fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b](G) Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”(H)

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival(I) to the Lord.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.(J) Afterward they sat down to eat and drink(K) and got up to indulge in revelry.(L)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,(M) have become corrupt.(N) They have been quick to turn away(O) from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol(P) cast in the shape of a calf.(Q) They have bowed down to it and sacrificed(R) to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’(S)

“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked(T) people. 10 Now leave me alone(U) so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy(V) them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”(W)

11 But Moses sought the favor(X) of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?(Y) 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?(Z) Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster(AA) on your people. 13 Remember(AB) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:(AC) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars(AD) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land(AE) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented(AF) and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law(AG) in his hands.(AH) They were inscribed(AI) on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.(AJ)

17 When Joshua(AK) heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

18 Moses replied:

“It is not the sound of victory,
    it is not the sound of defeat;
    it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf(AL) and the dancing,(AM) his anger burned(AN) and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces(AO) at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned(AP) it in the fire; then he ground it to powder,(AQ) scattered it on the water(AR) and made the Israelites drink it.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 32:1 Or a god; also in verses 23 and 31
  2. Exodus 32:4 Or This is your god; also in verse 8

14 “A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,
    comes up like a flower and withers,
    flees like a shadow and does not last.
Do you fix your eyes on such a one?
    Do you bring me into judgment with you?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
    No one can.
Since their days are determined,
    and the number of their months is known to you,
    and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass,
look away from them, and desist,[a]
    that they may enjoy, like laborers, their days.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 14:6 Cn: Heb that they may desist

14 “Mortals, born of woman,(A)
    are of few days(B) and full of trouble.(C)
They spring up like flowers(D) and wither away;(E)
    like fleeting shadows,(F) they do not endure.(G)
Do you fix your eye on them?(H)
    Will you bring them[a] before you for judgment?(I)
Who can bring what is pure(J) from the impure?(K)
    No one!(L)
A person’s days are determined;(M)
    you have decreed the number of his months(N)
    and have set limits he cannot exceed.(O)
So look away from him and let him alone,(P)
    till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(Q)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 14:3 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me

Psalm 14

Denunciation of Godlessness

To the leader. Of David.

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
    there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
    to see if there are any who are wise,
    who seek after God.

They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
    there is no one who does good,
    no, not one.

Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
    who eat up my people as they eat bread,
    and do not call upon the Lord?

There they shall be in great terror,
    for God is with the company of the righteous.
You would confound the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.

O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
    When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
    Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Psalm 14(A)

For the director of music. Of David.

The fool[a] says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”(B)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven(C)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(D)
    any who seek God.(E)
All have turned away,(F) all have become corrupt;(G)
    there is no one who does good,(H)
    not even one.(I)

Do all these evildoers know nothing?(J)

They devour my people(K) as though eating bread;
    they never call on the Lord.(L)
But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.(M)

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!(N)
    When the Lord restores(O) his people,
    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.

Psalm 102

Prayer to the Eternal King for Help

A prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the Lord.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
    in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
    answer me speedily in the day when I call.

For my days pass away like smoke,
    and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
    I am too wasted to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
    my bones cling to my skin.
I am like an owl of the wilderness,
    like a little owl of the waste places.
I lie awake;
    I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
    those who deride me use my name for a curse.
For I eat ashes like bread,
    and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
    for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
    your name endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
    for it is time to favor it;
    the appointed time has come.

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Psalm 102[a]

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

Hear my prayer,(A) Lord;
    let my cry for help(B) come to you.
Do not hide your face(C) from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear(D) to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke;(E)
    my bones(F) burn like glowing embers.
My heart is blighted and withered like grass;(G)
    I forget to eat my food.(H)
In my distress I groan aloud(I)
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
I am like a desert owl,(J)
    like an owl among the ruins.
I lie awake;(K) I have become
    like a bird alone(L) on a roof.
All day long my enemies(M) taunt me;(N)
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.(O)
For I eat ashes(P) as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears(Q)
10 because of your great wrath,(R)
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;(S)
    I wither(T) away like grass.

12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;(U)
    your renown endures(V) through all generations.(W)
13 You will arise(X) and have compassion(Y) on Zion,
    for it is time(Z) to show favor(AA) to her;
    the appointed time(AB) has come.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102:1 In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.

The Coming of the Lord

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about those who have died,[b] so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.[c] 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.[d] 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Gk brothers
  2. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Gk fallen asleep
  3. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 Gk fallen asleep
  4. 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Gk fallen asleep

Believers Who Have Died

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed(A) about those who sleep in death,(B) so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.(C) 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,(D) and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.(E) 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,(F) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.(G) 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,(H) with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel(I) and with the trumpet call of God,(J) and the dead in Christ will rise first.(K) 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left(L) will be caught up together with them in the clouds(M) to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord(N) forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another(O) with these words.

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The Desolating Sacrilege

15 “So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; 17 the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; 18 the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. 19 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’[a] or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs[b] and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:23 Or the Christ
  2. Matthew 24:24 Or christs

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place(A) ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a](B) spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop(C) go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!(D) 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.(E)

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect(F) those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.(G) 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders(H) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning(I) that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming(J) of the Son of Man.(K) 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:15 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Once Jesus[a] was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among[b] you.”

22 Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.[c] 25 But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them 30 —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:20 Gk he
  2. Luke 17:21 Or within
  3. Luke 17:24 Other ancient authorities lack in his day

The Coming of the Kingdom of God(A)

20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,(B) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’(C) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”[a]

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,(D) but you will not see it.(E) 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.(F) 24 For the Son of Man in his day[b] will be like the lightning,(G) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things(H) and be rejected(I) by this generation.(J)

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah,(K) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “It was the same in the days of Lot.(L) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:21 Or is within you
  2. Luke 17:24 Some manuscripts do not have in his day.