Psalm 52[a]

For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite(A) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
    Why do you boast(B) all day long,(C)
    you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
You who practice deceit,(D)
    your tongue plots destruction;(E)
    it is like a sharpened razor.(F)
You love evil(G) rather than good,
    falsehood(H) rather than speaking the truth.[c]
You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!(I)

Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
    He will snatch you up and pluck(J) you from your tent;
    he will uproot(K) you from the land of the living.(L)
The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh(M) at you, saying,
“Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold(N)
but trusted in his great wealth(O)
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

But I am like an olive tree(P)
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust(Q) in God’s unfailing love
    for ever and ever.
For what you have done I will always praise you(R)
    in the presence of your faithful people.(S)
And I will hope in your name,(T)
    for your name is good.(U)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:1 In Hebrew texts 52:1-9 is numbered 52:3-11.
  2. Psalm 52:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 52:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 5.

52 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

The tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:

Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

A Basket of Ripe Fruit

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(A) a basket of ripe fruit. “What do you see,(B) Amos?(C)” he asked.

“A basket(D) of ripe fruit,” I answered.

Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(E)

“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[a](F) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(G)

Hear this, you who trample the needy
    and do away with the poor(H) of the land,(I)

saying,

“When will the New Moon(J) be over
    that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
    that we may market(K) wheat?”(L)
skimping on the measure,
    boosting the price
    and cheating(M) with dishonest scales,(N)
buying the poor(O) with silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(P)

The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(Q) “I will never forget(R) anything they have done.(S)

“Will not the land tremble(T) for this,
    and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
    it will be stirred up and then sink
    like the river of Egypt.(U)

“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,

“I will make the sun go down at noon
    and darken the earth in broad daylight.(V)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(W) into mourning
    and all your singing into weeping.(X)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(Y)
    and shave(Z) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(AA)
    and the end of it like a bitter day.(AB)

11 “The days are coming,”(AC) declares the Sovereign Lord,
    “when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
    but a famine(AD) of hearing the words of the Lord.(AE)
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
    and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the Lord,
    but they will not find it.(AF)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:3 Or “the temple singers will wail

Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

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The Supremacy of the Son of God

15 The Son is the image(A) of the invisible God,(B) the firstborn(C) over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created:(D) things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;(E) all things have been created through him and for him.(F) 17 He is before all things,(G) and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head(H) of the body, the church;(I) he is the beginning and the firstborn(J) from among the dead,(K) so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased(L) to have all his fullness(M) dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile(N) to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,(O) by making peace(P) through his blood,(Q) shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies(R) in your minds(S) because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled(T) you by Christ’s physical body(U) through death to present you(V) holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation(W) 23 if you continue(X) in your faith, established(Y) and firm, and do not move from the hope(Z) held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven,(AA) and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.(AB)

Paul’s Labor for the Church

24 Now I rejoice(AC) in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions,(AD) for the sake of his body, which is the church.(AE) 25 I have become its servant(AF) by the commission God gave me(AG) to present to you the word of God(AH) in its fullness— 26 the mystery(AI) that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known(AJ) among the Gentiles the glorious riches(AK) of this mystery, which is Christ in you,(AL) the hope of glory.

28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing(AM) and teaching everyone with all wisdom,(AN) so that we may present everyone fully mature(AO) in Christ.

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Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:21 Or minds, as shown by

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

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At the Home of Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha(A) opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary,(B) who sat at the Lord’s feet(C) listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care(D) that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried(E) and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a](F) Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 10:42 Some manuscripts but only one thing is needed

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

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