Old/New Testament
Psalm 97
1 The Eternal reigns powerful over all;
let the earth sing with joy;
let the distant islands celebrate.
2 Clouds and deep darkness encircle Him;
righteousness and justice are the bedrock of His rule.
3 Fire precedes Him;
it burns away His opponents on all sides.
4 With His lightning flashing about, He illuminates the world;
the earth watches and trembles.
5 Like wax before the flame, mountains melt when the Eternal appears,
the Master of the whole earth.
6 The heavens display His order and perfect justice;
all peoples witness His magnificence.
7 Those who worship idols,
who boast in the impotent creations of human hands, will be shamed.
Worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion heard and was glad,
and the daughters of Judah celebrated
because they saw Your justice, O Eternal One.
9 For You are the Eternal, the Most High, over the entire world;
You far exceed all gods.
10 Hate evil, you lovers of the Eternal.
He protects the souls of those who follow Him;
He rescues them from the devices of the wicked.
11 Light is sown in the just;
as it grows, it brings joy to the pure of heart.
12 Celebrate the Eternal God, all you who are faithful;
offer thanks to His holy name.
Psalm 98
A song.
1 Compose a new song, and sing it to the Eternal
because of the unbelievable things He has done;
He has won the victory
with the skill of His right hand and strength of His holy arm.
2 The Eternal has made it clear that He saves,
and He has shown the nations that He does what is right.
3 He has been true to His promises;
fresh in His mind is His unfailing love
for all of Israel.
Even the ends of the earth have witnessed how our God saves.
This hymn invites all the people on earth and creation itself to join in singing a new song of “beautiful noise” celebrating God’s justice and victories.
4 Raise your voices; make a beautiful noise to the Eternal, all the earth.
Let your joy explode into song and praise;
5 Make music to the Eternal with the harp;
sing a beautiful melody with the harp and chorus.
6 With trumpets and horns,
fill the air with joyful sounds to the King, the Eternal.
7 Let the sea rumble and roar, and all the creatures it holds shout praise;
let the whole world and all those who live in it join the celebration.
8 Let the rivers applaud
and the mountains join in joyful song
9 In the presence of the Eternal because He is coming
to judge the earth.
He is coming,
and His judgment will be what is right for the world
and just to all people.
Psalm 99
1 The Eternal is the king ruling over all;
let all people shake in fear.
He sits on His throne, settled between winged guardians;[a]
let the planet tremble.
2 The Eternal is great in the hearts of His people;
He has made Zion His sacred mountain,
and He reigns majestic over all people.
3 Let them express praise and gratitude to Your amazing and awesome name—
because He is holy, perfect and exalted in His power.
4 The King who rules with strength also treasures justice.
You created order and established what is right.
You have carried out justice
and done what is right to the people of Jacob.
5 Lift up the Eternal our God in your heart;
bow down to the earth where He rests His feet.
He is holy, perfect and exalted in His power.
6 Moses and Aaron were two of His priests;
Samuel was among those who called out to Him.
They asked the Eternal for help, and He answered them.
7 He answered them from a column of cloud;
they heeded His testimonies
and lived by the laws He gave them.
8 You answered them, Eternal our God;
You were, to them, a God who forgives,
yet You did not ignore what they did wrong
and punished them fairly as well.
9 Lift up the Eternal our God in your hearts,
and celebrate His goodness at His holy mountain,
for the Eternal our God is holy, perfect and exalted in His power.
Before Paul treks west to Rome, he must complete an important mission he started years earlier. He must carry to Jerusalem an offering for the poor collected from the outsider churches. Paul, the emissary, hopes not only that the offering will alleviate the human need and suffering brought on by years of famine, but that it will also build a bridge between his mainly non-Jewish churches and the Jewish mother church in Jerusalem. But when he arrives in Jerusalem, Paul’s enemies trump up charges against him that ultimately land him in jail. So Paul makes it to Rome, but not as he planned. Several years later, after a lengthy confinement in Caesarea and a perilous journey at sea, he is led into Rome as a prisoner of the empire.
16 I commend to you our beloved sister Phoebe; she serves the church in Cenchrea as a faithful deacon. 2 It is important that you welcome her in the Lord in a manner befitting your saintly status. Join in her work, and assist her in any way she needs you. She has spent her energy and resources helping others, and I am blessed to have her as my benefactor as well.
3 Give my best to Prisca and Aquila; they are not only my colleagues in my profession of tent making, but more importantly they are my fellow servants of Jesus the Anointed. 4 They put their lives on the line to keep me safe. Not only do I owe them my thanks, so do all the churches of the non-Jews. 5 Send my regards to the church that meets in their house.
Send greetings to Epaenetus. I love him dearly and celebrate his journey to faith because he was the first to believe in the Anointed One in all of Asia.
6 Salute Mary for me; she has worked hard for all of you.
7 Give my regards to Andronicus and Junias, who are part of my own family and served time in prison with me. They are well known among the emissaries[a] and have been in the Anointed longer than I.
8 Give my best to Ampliatus whom I love in the Lord, 9 and greet Urbanus (our fellow worker in service to the Anointed One) and my beloved Stachys.
10 Send greetings to Apelles, a tried and true believer in the Anointed, and to the entire family of Aristobulus.
11 Do not forget to greet Herodion, another of my relatives, and everyone in the family of Narcissus who belong to the Lord.
12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, faithful laborers in the Lord, and our beloved Persis, who also has accomplished a great deal in the Lord.
13 Give my best to Rufus, clearly one of the Lord’s chosen, and also his mother. She’s like a mother to me.
14 My regards also go to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers and sisters who are along with them.
15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and let me not forget Olympas and all the saints who journey with them.
16 Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of the churches of the Anointed under my care send their greetings to all of you.
17 I am pleading with all of you, brothers and sisters, to keep up your guard against anyone who is causing conflicts and enticing others with teachings contrary to what you have already learned. If there are people like that in your churches, stay away from them. 18 These kinds of people are not truly serving our Lord Jesus the Anointed; they have devoted their lives to satisfying their own appetites. With smooth talking and a well-rehearsed blessing, they lead a lot of unsuspecting people down the wrong path. 19 The stories about the way you are living in obedience to God have traveled to all the churches. So celebrate your faithfulness to God that is being displayed in your lives—seek wisdom about the good life, and remain innocent when it comes to evil. 20 If you do this, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet soon. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, be ever present with you.
21 Timothy, my coworker in the spreading of the gospel, also sends his greeting to all of you, as do my kinsmen, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater.
22 I, Tertius, the one who wrote this letter for Paul, greet you in the name of the Lord. 23 Gaius, my host here as well as patron for the whole church, sends his[b] best to all of you. Erastus, the city administrator, sends his greetings along with brother Quartus. [24 May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, touch you all. Amen.][c]
25 So to the One who is able to strengthen you to live consistently with my good news and the preaching of Jesus, the Anointed, with the revelation of the ancient mystery that has been kept secret since the earliest days, 26 this mystery is revealed through the prophetic voices passed down in the Scriptures, as they have been commanded by the Eternal God. In this time, this mystery is being made known to the nations so that all may be led to faith-filled obedience.
27 To the one true and wise God, we offer glory for all times through Jesus, the Anointed One. Amen.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.