Old/New Testament

⁴ Arrogance pours from their mouths;
    all these troublemakers brag of their exploits.
⁵ They have broken Your people to pieces, O Eternal One,
    and brought ruin to Your future generations.
⁶ They slay a widow, kill a newcomer,
    and murder an orphan.
⁷ Then they say, “The Eternal can’t see what we’re up to;
    the God of Jacob’s people pays no attention to us.”

⁸ Think, brainless people;
    stupid people, when will you get it?
⁹ Does the God who set the ear in its place not hear?
    Does the God who made the eye not see?
¹⁰ Does the God who teaches the nations
    and guides humanity to knowledge,
    not exercise just correction?
¹¹ The Eternal knows the highest thoughts of the wise,
    and they are worthless.^[a]

¹² How fortunate are those You discipline, O Eternal One,
    those You train by Your divine law;
¹³ You relieve them in times of distress,
    until a grave is dug for evildoers.
¹⁴ The Eternal will not abandon His people;
    He will not turn away from those He redeemed
¹⁵ Because justice is coming for those who do what is right
    and all the good-hearted will pursue it.

¹⁶ Who will back me up when evildoers come against me?
    Who is willing to take my side against the wicked?
¹⁷ If the Eternal had not come to my rescue,
    my soul would have descended to the land where death silences every voice.
¹⁸ When I said, “My foot is slipping!”
    Your unfailing love, O Eternal One, held me up.
¹⁹ When anxiety overtakes me and worries are many,
    Your comfort lightens my soul.
²⁰ Can wicked tyrants be Your allies?
    Will You align with rulers who create havoc with unjust decrees?
²¹ They have joined forces against the life of the just-living, the right-seeking,
    and have sentenced the innocent to death.
²² But the Eternal has been my citadel;
    my God, a sure safe haven.
²³ He will fold their wickedness back upon them,
    and because they are malicious, He will silence them.
    The Eternal, our True God, will scatter them.

⁶ Come, let us worship Him. Everyone bow down;
    kneel before the Eternal who made us.
⁷ For He is our God
    and we are His people, the flock of His pasture,
    His sheep protected and nurtured by His hand.

Today, if He speaks, hear His voice.
⁸     “Don’t harden your hearts the way they did in the bitter uprising at Meribah
    or like that day they complained in the wilderness of Massah.
⁹ Your ancestors tested Me,
    wanted Me to prove Myself though they had seen that nothing was too great for Me.
¹⁰ For 40 years I despised that grumbling generation
    and said, ‘Their hearts are unfaithful;
    they no longer walk in My ways; though I call, they do not listen to My voice.’
¹¹ That is why in My anger I swore,
    ‘They will never enter into My rest.’”

⁷ Give all credit to the Eternal, families of the world!
    Credit Him with glory, honor, and strength!
⁸ Credit Him with the glory worthy of His magnificent name;
    gather your sacrifice, and present it at His temple.
⁹ Bow down to the Eternal, adorned in holiness;
    lay awestruck before Him, trembling, all people of the earth.

¹⁰ Shout out to the nations, “The Eternal reigns!
    Yes, indeed, the world is anchored and will not shake loose.
    He governs all people with a fair hand.”
¹¹ And so, let the heavens resound in gladness!
    Let joy be the earth’s rhythm as the sea and all its creatures roar.
¹² Let the fields grow in triumph, a grand jubilee for all that live there.
Let all the trees of the forest dig in and reach high with songs of joy before the Eternal,
¹³ For the Eternal is on His way:
    yes, He is coming to judge the earth.
He will set the world right by His standards,
    and by His faithfulness, He will examine the people.

They will see Him even though they’ve never been told about Him;
    they will understand even though they never heard of Him.^[a]