Add parallel Print Page Options

Psalm 32

A psalm[a] of David.

Oh, what joy for those
    whose disobedience is forgiven,
    whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
    whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,[b]
    whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
When I refused to confess my sin,
    my body wasted away,
    and I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
    My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
    and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
    And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude

Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time,
    that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
For you are my hiding place;
    you protect me from trouble.
    You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
    I will advise you and watch over you.
Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
    that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

10 Many sorrows come to the wicked,
    but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.
11 So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!
    Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

Footnotes

  1. 32:Title Hebrew maskil. This may be a literary or musical term.
  2. 32:2 Greek version reads of sin. Compare Rom 4:8.

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil[a] of David.

32 (A)Blessed is the one whose (B)transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord (C)counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit (D)there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my (E)bones wasted away
    through my (F)groaning all day long.
For day and night your (G)hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

I (H)acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I (I)will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Therefore let everyone who is (J)godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you (K)may be found;
surely in the rush of (L)great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
You are a (M)hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from (N)trouble;
    you surround me with (O)shouts of deliverance. Selah

I will (P)instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will (Q)counsel you with my eye upon you.
(R)Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with (S)bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

10 (T)Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who (U)trusts in the Lord.
11 (V)Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and (W)shout for joy, all you (X)upright in heart!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 32:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 32:4 Hebrew my vitality was changed

A New Copy of the Covenant

34 Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed. Be ready in the morning to climb up Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. No one else may come with you. In fact, no one is to appear anywhere on the mountain. Do not even let the flocks or herds graze near the mountain.”

So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.

Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.[a] The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,

“Yahweh![b] The Lord!
    The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
    and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.[c]
    I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
    I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
    even children in the third and fourth generations.”

Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped. And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 34:5 Yahweh is a transliteration of the proper name YHWH that is sometimes rendered “Jehovah”; in this translation it is usually rendered “the Lord” (note the use of small capitals).
  2. 34:6 See note on 34:5.
  3. 34:7 Hebrew for thousands.

Moses Makes New Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, (A)“Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, (B)and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, (C)which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me (D)on the top of the mountain. No (E)one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The Lord (F)descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and (G)proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, (H)“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and (I)gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast (J)love and faithfulness, (K)keeping steadfast love for thousands,[a] (L)forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but (M)who will by no means clear the guilty, (N)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly (O)bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please (P)let the Lord go in the midst of us, for (Q)it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for (R)your inheritance.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”

28 Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord[a] wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments[b]—on the stone tablets.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 34:28a Hebrew he.
  2. 34:28b Hebrew the ten words.

27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words (A)I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 (B)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he (C)wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:28 Hebrew the ten words

10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.[a]

Parable of the Lost Sheep

12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11, And the Son of Man came to save those who are lost. Compare Luke 19:10.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise (A)one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven (B)their angels always (C)see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[a] 12 (D)What do you think? (E)If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So (F)it is not the will of my[b] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost
  2. Matthew 18:14 Some manuscripts your