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Psalm 128

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

How joyful are those who fear the Lord
    all who follow his ways!
You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
    How joyful and prosperous you will be!
Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine,
    flourishing within your home.
Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees
    as they sit around your table.
That is the Lord’s blessing
    for those who fear him.

May the Lord continually bless you from Zion.
    May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.
May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.
    May Israel have peace!

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of (A)Ascents.

128 (B)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
    who (C)walks in his ways!
You (D)shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
    you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Your wife will be like (E)a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like (F)olive shoots
    around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

(G)The Lord bless you (H)from Zion!
    May you see (I)the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
May you see your (J)children's children!
    (K)Peace be upon Israel!

22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.[a] 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. 30 I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. 31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. 32 But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!

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Footnotes

  1. 36:26 Hebrew a heart of flesh.

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: (A)It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, (B)which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 (C)And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. (D)And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 (E)I will take you (F)from the nations and gather you from all the countries and (G)bring you into your own land. 25 (H)I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from (I)all your uncleannesses, and (J)from all your idols (K)I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you (L)a new heart, and (M)a new spirit I will put within you. (N)And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 (O)And I will put my Spirit within you, (P)and cause you to walk in my statutes and (Q)be careful to obey my rules.[a] 28 (R)You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and (S)you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And (T)I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And (U)I will summon the grain and make it abundant and (V)lay no famine upon you. 30 (W)I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, (X)that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then (Y)you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 (Z)It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 36:27 Or my just decrees


[The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]

53 Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.

A Woman Caught in Adultery

Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.][a]

The Woman Caught in Adultery

53 [[They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. (A)Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and (B)he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now (C)in the Law, Moses commanded us (D)to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said (E)to test him, (F)that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, (G)“Let him who is without sin among you (H)be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, (I)“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on (J)sin no more.”]]

Footnotes

  1. John 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text