Old/New Testament
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]May (A)God arise, [b]may His enemies be scattered,
And [c]may those who hate Him flee from His presence.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before a fire,
So the (D)wicked will perish before God.
3 But the (E)righteous will be joyful; they will rejoice before God;
Yes, they will rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Exalt Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]the Lord, and be jubilant before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy dwelling.
6 God [g](M)makes a home for the lonely;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious live in parched lands.
7 God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the desert, Selah
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
[h](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)made plentiful rain fall, God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was [i]parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
In Your kindness You (V)provided for the poor, God.
11 The Lord gives the [j]command;
The (W)women who proclaim good news are a great army:
12 “(X)Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoils!”
13 [k]When you lie down (Z)among the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with [l]glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)scattered the kings [m]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 (AC)The mountain of Bashan is a [n]mountain of God;
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.
16 Why do you look with envy, you mountains of many peaks,
At the mountain God has (AD)desired as His dwelling?
Indeed, (AE)the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [o]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[p]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have (AH)ascended on high, You have (AI)led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among people,
Even among the rebellious as well, that [q]the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily (AJ)bears our burden,
(AK)The God who is our salvation. Selah
20 God is to us a (AL)God of salvation;
And (AM)to [r]God the Lord belong ways of escape [s]from death.
21 God certainly will (AN)shatter the heads of His enemies,
The hairy [t]head of one who goes about in his guilt.
22 The Lord [u]said, “(AO)I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 So that [v](AP)your foot may shatter them in blood,
And the tongue of your (AQ)dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen (AR)Your procession, God,
The procession of my God, my King, [w](AS)into the sanctuary.
25 The (AT)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[x]In the midst of the (AU)young women beating tambourines.
26 (AV)Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the (AW)fountain of Israel.
27 (AX)Benjamin, the [y]youngest, is there, [z]ruling them,
The leaders of Judah in their company,
The leaders of (AY)Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali.
28 [aa]Your God has (AZ)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, God, You (BA)who acted [ab]in our behalf.
29 [ac]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(BB)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (BC)animals [ad]in the reeds,
The herd of (BD)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling the pieces of silver;
He has (BE)scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 [ae]Messengers will come from (BF)Egypt;
[af](BG)Cush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you (BH)kingdoms of the earth,
(BI)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him who (BJ)rides upon the [ag](BK)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (BL)He [ah]speaks with His voice, a (BM)mighty voice.
34 (BN)Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel,
And (BO)His strength is in the [ai]skies.
35 [aj]God, You are (BP)awesome from Your [ak]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself (BQ)gives strength and power to the people.
(BR)Blessed be God!
A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.
For the music director; according to [al]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, God,
For the (BS)waters have [am]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (BT)mud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [an](BU)flood overflows me.
3 I am (BV)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (BW)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (BX)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [ao]destroy me (BY)are powerful, those who oppose me with lies;
(BZ)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 God, You know (CA)my foolishness,
And (CB)my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (CC)be ashamed because of me, Lord [ap]God of armies;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,
7 Because (CD)for Your sake I have endured disgrace;
(CE)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (CF)estranged [aq]from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
9 For (CG)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (CH)the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (CI)in my soul with fasting,
It became my (CJ)disgrace.
11 When I made (CK)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (CL)a proverb to them.
12 Those who (CM)sit in the gate talk about me,
And (CN)songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, (CO)at an acceptable time;
God, in the (CP)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with [ar]Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the (CQ)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be (CR)rescued from those who hate me, and from the (CS)depths of water.
15 May the [as](CT)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (CU)pit close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for (CV)Your mercy is good;
(CW)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (CX)turn to me,
17 And (CY)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (CZ)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Come near to my soul and (DA)redeem it;
(DB)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (DC)disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;
All my enemies are [at]known to You.
20 Disgrace has (DD)broken my heart, and I am so sick.
And (DE)I waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for (DF)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [au](DG)a bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they (DH)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (DI)their table before them become a snare;
And [av](DJ)when they are at peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (DK)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (DL)hips shake continually.
24 (DM)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [aw](DN)camp be desolated;
May there be none living in their tents.
26 For they have (DO)persecuted him whom (DP)You Yourself struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (DQ)You have [ax]wounded.
27 Add (DR)guilt to their guilt,
And (DS)may they not come into (DT)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (DU)wiped out of the (DV)book of life,
And may they not be [ay](DW)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (DX)afflicted and in pain;
[az]May Your salvation, God, (DY)set me safely on high.
30 I will (DZ)praise the name of God with song,
And (EA)exalt Him with (EB)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (EC)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (ED)humble [ba]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (EE)let your heart [bb]revive.
33 For (EF)the Lord hears the needy,
And (EG)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.
34 (EH)Heaven and earth shall praise Him,
The seas and (EI)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (EJ)save Zion and (EK)build the cities of Judah,
So that they may live there and (EL)possess it.
36 The [bc](EM)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (EN)will live in it.
Deliverance from Bondage
8 Therefore there is now no (A)condemnation at all for those who are (B)in (C)Christ Jesus. 2 For (D)the law of the Spirit of life [a]in (E)Christ Jesus (F)has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For (G)what the Law could not do, [b](H)weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in (I)the likeness of [c]sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the (J)requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who (K)do not walk [d]according to the flesh but [e]according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on (L)the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, (M)the things of the Spirit. 6 (N)For the mind [f]set on the flesh is (O)death, but the mind [g]set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind [h]set on the flesh is (P)hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are (Q)in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not (R)in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God (S)dwells in you. But (T)if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 (U)If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is [i]alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who (V)raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, (W)He who raised (X)Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [j]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for (Y)if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are (Z)putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are (AA)being led by the Spirit of God, these are (AB)sons and daughters of God. 15 For you (AC)have not received a spirit of slavery [k]leading to fear again, but you (AD)have received [l]a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “(AE)Abba! [m]Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself (AF)testifies with our spirit that we are (AG)children of God, 17 and if children, (AH)heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (AI)if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (AJ)are not worthy to be compared with the (AK)glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the (AL)eagerly awaiting creation waits for (AM)the revealing of the (AN)sons and daughters of God. 20 For the creation (AO)was subjected to (AP)futility, not willingly, but (AQ)because of Him who subjected it, [n]in hope 21 that (AR)the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.