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Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

 ² He will ^[a] judge your people in righteousness,
       your afflicted ones with justice.

 ³ The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
       the hills the fruit of righteousness.

 ⁴ He will defend the afflicted among the people
       and save the children of the needy;
       he will crush the oppressor.

 ⁵ He will endure ^[b] as long as the sun,
       as long as the moon, through all generations.

 ⁶ He will be like rain falling on a mown field,
       like showers watering the earth.

 ⁷ In his days the righteous will flourish;
       prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

 ⁸ He will rule from sea to sea
       and from the River ^[c] to the ends of the earth. ^[d]

 ⁹ The desert tribes will bow before him
       and his enemies will lick the dust.

 ¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
       will bring tribute to him;
       the kings of Sheba and Seba
       will present him gifts.

 ¹¹ All kings will bow down to him
       and all nations will serve him.

 ¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
       the afflicted who have no one to help.

 ¹³ He will take pity on the weak and the needy
       and save the needy from death.

 ¹⁴ He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
       for precious is their blood in his sight.

 ¹⁵ Long may he live!
       May gold from Sheba be given him.
       May people ever pray for him
       and bless him all day long.

 ¹⁶ Let grain abound throughout the land;
       on the tops of the hills may it sway.
       Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon;
       let it thrive like the grass of the field.

 ¹⁷ May his name endure forever;
       may it continue as long as the sun.
       All nations will be blessed through him,
       and they will call him blessed.

 ¹⁸ Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
       who alone does marvelous deeds.

 ¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever;
       may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
       Amen and Amen.

 ²⁰ This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

Psalm 73

BOOK III : Psalms 73-89

A psalm of Asaph.

 ² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
       I had nearly lost my foothold.

 ³ For I envied the arrogant
       when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 ⁴ They have no struggles;
       their bodies are healthy and strong. ^[e]

 ⁵ They are free from the burdens common to man;
       they are not plagued by human ills.

 ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
       they clothe themselves with violence.

 ⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity ^[f] ;
       the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

 ⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
       in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

 ⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
       and their tongues take possession of the earth.

 ¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
       and drink up waters in abundance. ^[g]

 ¹¹ They say, "How can God know?
       Does the Most High have knowledge?"

 ¹² This is what the wicked are like—
       always carefree, they increase in wealth.

 ¹³ Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
       in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

 ¹⁴ All day long I have been plagued;
       I have been punished every morning.

 ¹⁵ If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
       I would have betrayed your children.

 ¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
       it was oppressive to me

 ¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;
       then I understood their final destiny.

 ¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;
       you cast them down to ruin.

 ¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
       completely swept away by terrors!

 ²⁰ As a dream when one awakes,
       so when you arise, O Lord,
       you will despise them as fantasies.

 ²¹ When my heart was grieved
       and my spirit embittered,

 ²² I was senseless and ignorant;
       I was a brute beast before you.

 ²³ Yet I am always with you;
       you hold me by my right hand.

 ²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
       and afterward you will take me into glory.

 ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
       And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

 ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
       but God is the strength of my heart
       and my portion forever.

 ²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
       you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

 ²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
       I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
       I will tell of all your deeds.

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Romans 9

God's Sovereign Choice

 ⁶It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."^{[b] 8}In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. ⁹For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."^[c]

 ¹⁰Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. ¹¹Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: ¹²not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."^{[d] 13}Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."^[e]

 ¹⁴What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵For he says to Moses,
   "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
      and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."^[f]