Psalm 119:1-88

New King James Version

Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God

א ALEPH

119 Blessed are the ^[a]undefiled in the way,
^(A)Who walk in the law of the Lord!
²Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the ^(B)whole heart!
³^(C)They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.
⁴You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.
⁵Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!
⁶^(D)Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments.
⁷I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
⁸I will keep Your statutes;
Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

ב BETH

⁹How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
¹⁰With my whole heart I have ^(E)sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
¹¹^(F)Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
¹²Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes.
¹³With my lips I have ^(G)declared
All the judgments of Your mouth.
¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate on Your precepts,
And ^[b]contemplate Your ways.
¹⁶I will ^(H)delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

ג GIMEL

¹⁷^(I)Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
¹⁸Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.
¹⁹^(J)I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
²⁰^(K)My soul ^[c]breaks with longing
For Your judgments at all times.
²¹You rebuke the proud—the cursed,
Who stray from Your commandments.
²²^(L)Remove from me reproach and contempt,
For I have kept Your testimonies.
²³Princes also sit and speak against me,
But Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
²⁴Your testimonies also are my delight
And my counselors.

ד DALETH

²⁵^(M)My soul clings to the dust;
^(N)Revive me according to Your word.
²⁶I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
^(O)Teach me Your statutes.
²⁷Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So ^(P)shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.
²⁸^(Q)My soul ^[d]melts from ^[e]heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
²⁹Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.
³⁰I have chosen the way of truth;
Your judgments I have laid before me.
³¹I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
³²I will run the course of Your commandments,
For You shall ^(R)enlarge my heart.

ה HE

³³^(S)Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
³⁴^(T)Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
³⁵Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
³⁶^[f]Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to ^(U)covetousness.
³⁷^(V)Turn^[g] away my eyes from ^(W)looking at worthless things,
And revive me in ^[h]Your way.
³⁸^(X)Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.
³⁹Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
⁴⁰Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.

ו WAW

⁴¹Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—
Your salvation according to Your word.
⁴²So shall I have an answer for him who ^[i]reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
⁴³And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
⁴⁴So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
⁴⁵And I will walk ^[j]at ^(Y)liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
⁴⁶^(Z)I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
⁴⁷And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
⁴⁸My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes.

ז ZAYIN

⁴⁹Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.
⁵⁰This is my ^(AA)comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.
⁵¹The proud have me in great derision,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.
⁵²I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord,
And have comforted myself.
⁵³^(AB)Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.
⁵⁴Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
⁵⁵^(AC)I remember Your name in the night, O Lord,
And I keep Your law.
⁵⁶This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.

ח HETH

⁵⁷^(AD)You are my portion, O Lord;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
⁵⁸I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
⁵⁹I ^(AE)thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
⁶⁰I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
⁶¹The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
⁶²^(AF)At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
⁶³I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
⁶⁴^(AG)The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

ט TETH

⁶⁵You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
⁶⁶Teach me good judgment and ^(AH)knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.
⁶⁷Before I was ^(AI)afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
⁶⁸You are ^(AJ)good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.
⁶⁹The proud have ^(AK)forged^[k] a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.
⁷⁰^(AL)Their heart is ^[l]as fat as grease,
But I delight in Your law.
⁷¹It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
⁷²^(AM)The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

י YOD

⁷³^(AN)Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
⁷⁴^(AO)Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.
⁷⁵I know, O Lord, ^(AP)that Your judgments are ^[m]right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
⁷⁶Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
⁷⁷Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.
⁷⁸Let the proud ^(AQ)be ashamed,
For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood;
But I will meditate on Your precepts.
⁷⁹Let those who fear You turn to me,
Those who know Your testimonies.
⁸⁰Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes,
That I may not be ashamed.

כ KAPH

⁸¹^(AR)My soul faints for Your salvation,
But I hope in Your word.
⁸²My eyes fail from searching Your word,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
⁸³For ^(AS)I have become like a wineskin in smoke,
Yet I do not forget Your statutes.
⁸⁴^(AT)How many are the days of Your servant?
^(AU)When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
⁸⁵^(AV)The proud have dug pits for me,
Which is not according to Your law.
⁸⁶All Your commandments are faithful;
They persecute me ^(AW)wrongfully;
Help me!
⁸⁷They almost made an end of me on earth,
But I did not forsake Your precepts.
⁸⁸Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

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Footnotes

Psalm 119:1 blameless
Psalm 119:15 look into
Psalm 119:20 is crushed
Psalm 119:28 Lit. drops
Psalm 119:28 grief
Psalm 119:36 Cause me to long for
Psalm 119:37 Lit. Cause my eyes to pass away from
Psalm 119:37 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Tg. Your words
Psalm 119:42 taunts
Psalm 119:45 Lit. in a wide place
Psalm 119:69 Lit. smeared me with a lie
Psalm 119:70 Insensible
Psalm 119:75 Lit. righteous

1 Corinthians 7:20-40

New King James Version

²⁰Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. ²¹Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. ²²For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is ^(A)the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is ^(B)Christ’s slave. ²³^(C)You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. ²⁴Brethren, let each one remain with ^(D)God in that state in which he was called.

To the Unmarried and Widows

²⁵Now concerning virgins: ^(E)I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one ^(F)whom the Lord in His mercy has made ^(G)trustworthy. ²⁶I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—^(H)that it is good for a man to remain as he is: ²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.

²⁹But ^(I)this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, ³⁰those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, ³¹and those who use this world as not ^(J)misusing it. For ^(K)the form of this world is passing away.

³²But I want you to be without ^[a]care. ^(L)He who is unmarried ^[b]cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. ³³But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. ³⁴There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman ^(M)cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. ³⁵And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

³⁶But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his ^[c]virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. ³⁷Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his ^[d]virgin, does well. ³⁸^(N)So then he who gives ^[e]her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.

³⁹^(O)A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, ^(P)only in the Lord. ⁴⁰But she is happier if she remains as she is, ^(Q)according to my judgment—and ^(R)I think I also have the Spirit of God.