Psalm 72

New International Version

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice,^(A) O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
²May he judge your people in righteousness,^(B)
your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴May he defend the afflicted^(C) among the people
    and save the children of the needy;^(D)
    may he crush the oppressor.^(E)
⁵May he endure^[a]^(F) as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.^(G)
⁶May he be like rain^(H) falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷In his days may the righteous flourish^(I)
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b]^(J) to the ends of the earth.^(K)
⁹May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish^(L) and of distant shores^(M)
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba^(N) and Seba
    present him gifts.^(O)
¹¹May all kings bow down^(P) to him
    and all nations serve^(Q) him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³He will take pity^(R) on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴He will rescue^(S) them from oppression and violence,
    for precious^(T) is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba^(U) be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.^(V)
¹⁶May grain^(W) abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops^(X) flourish like Lebanon^(Y)
    and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.^(Z)
¹⁷May his name endure forever;^(AA)
    may it continue as long as the sun.^(AB)

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
and they will call him blessed.^(AC)

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,^(AD)
who alone does marvelous deeds.^(AE)
¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name^(AF) forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.^(AG)
Amen and Amen.^(AH)

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.^(AI)

Footnotes

Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)

1 Samuel 16:1-13

New International Version

Samuel Anoints David

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn^(A) for Saul, since I have rejected^(B) him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil^(C) and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse^(D) of Bethlehem. I have chosen^(E) one of his sons to be king.”

²But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show^(F) you what to do. You are to anoint^(G) for me the one I indicate.”

⁴Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem,^(H) the elders of the town trembled^(I) when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?^(J)”

⁵Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate^(K) yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab^(L) and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance,^(M) but the Lord looks at the heart.”^(N)

⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab^(O) and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹Jesse then had Shammah^(P) pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹So he asked Jesse, “Are these all^(Q) the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”^(R)

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

¹²So he^(S) sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome^(T) features.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed^(U) him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord^(V) came powerfully upon David.^(W) Samuel then went to Ramah.

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Ephesians 3:14-21

New International Version

A Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴For this reason I kneel^(A) before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches^(B) he may strengthen you with power^(C) through his Spirit in your inner being,^(D) ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts^(E) through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted^(F) and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,^(G) to grasp how wide and long and high and deep^(H) is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge^(I)—that you may be filled^(J) to the measure of all the fullness of God.^(K)

²⁰Now to him who is able^(L) to do immeasurably more than all we ask^(M) or imagine, according to his power^(N) that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.^(O)

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Footnotes

Ephesians 3:15 The Greek for family (patria) is derived from the Greek for father (pater).

Matthew 8:18-27

New International Version

The Cost of Following Jesus^(A)

¹⁸When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.^(B) ¹⁹Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(C) has no place to lay his head.”

²¹Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²²But Jesus told him, “Follow me,^(D) and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm^(E)^(F)

²³Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶He replied, “You of little faith,^(G) why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.^(H)

²⁷The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

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