Psalm 113-115

New International Version

Psalm 113

¹Praise the Lord.^[a]^(A)

Praise the Lord, you his servants;^(B)
    praise the name of the Lord.
²Let the name of the Lord be praised,^(C)
    both now and forevermore.^(D)
³From the rising of the sun^(E) to the place where it sets,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.

⁴The Lord is exalted^(F) over all the nations,
    his glory above the heavens.^(G)
⁵Who is like the Lord our God,^(H)
    the One who sits enthroned^(I) on high,^(J)
⁶who stoops down to look^(K)
    on the heavens and the earth?

⁷He raises the poor^(L) from the dust
    and lifts the needy^(M) from the ash heap;
⁸he seats them^(N) with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
⁹He settles the childless^(O) woman in her home
    as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 114

¹When Israel came out of Egypt,^(P)
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
²Judah^(Q) became God’s sanctuary,^(R)
Israel his dominion.

³The sea looked and fled,^(S)
the Jordan turned back;^(T)
⁴the mountains leaped^(U) like rams,
the hills like lambs.

⁵Why was it, sea, that you fled?^(V)
Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
⁶Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
you hills, like lambs?

⁷Tremble, earth,^(W) at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water.^(X)

Psalm 115^(Y)

¹Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,^(Z)
because of your love and faithfulness.^(AA)

²Why do the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”^(AB)
³Our God is in heaven;^(AC)
    he does whatever pleases him.^(AD)
⁴But their idols are silver and gold,^(AE)
    made by human hands.^(AF)
⁵They have mouths, but cannot speak,^(AG)
    eyes, but cannot see.
⁶They have ears, but cannot hear,
    noses, but cannot smell.
⁷They have hands, but cannot feel,
    feet, but cannot walk,
    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
⁸Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

⁹All you Israelites, trust^(AH) in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.
¹⁰House of Aaron,^(AI) trust in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.
¹¹You who fear him,^(AJ) trust in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.

¹²The Lord remembers^(AK) us and will bless us:^(AL)
    He will bless his people Israel,
    he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³he will bless those who fear^(AM) the Lord—
    small and great alike.

¹⁴May the Lord cause you to flourish,^(AN)
both you and your children.
¹⁵May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven^(AO) and earth.

¹⁶The highest heavens belong to the Lord,^(AP)
    but the earth he has given^(AQ) to mankind.
¹⁷It is not the dead^(AR) who praise the Lord,
    those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸it is we who extol the Lord,^(AS)
    both now and forevermore.^(AT)

Praise the Lord.^[b]^(AU)

Footnotes

Psalm 113:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 9
Psalm 115:18 Hebrew Hallelu Yah

2 Corinthians 2

New International Version

2 ¹So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.^(A) ²For if I grieve you,^(B) who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? ³I wrote as I did,^(C) so that when I came I would not be distressed^(D) by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence^(E) in all of you, that you would all share my joy. ⁴For I wrote you^(F) out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

Forgiveness for the Offender

⁵If anyone has caused grief,^(G) he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶The punishment^(H) inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him,^(I) so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹Another reason I wrote you^(J) was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.^(K) ¹⁰Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹in order that Satan^(L) might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.^(M)

Ministers of the New Covenant

¹²Now when I went to Troas^(N) to preach the gospel of Christ^(O) and found that the Lord had opened a door^(P) for me, ¹³I still had no peace of mind,^(Q) because I did not find my brother Titus^(R) there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.^(S)

¹⁴But thanks be to God,^(T) who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma^(U) of the knowledge^(V) of him everywhere. ¹⁵For we are to God the pleasing aroma^(W) of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.^(X) ¹⁶To the one we are an aroma that brings death;^(Y) to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?^(Z) ¹⁷Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.^(AA) On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity,^(AB) as those sent from God.^(AC)