Old/New Testament
Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Futility of Idols.
135 [a](A)Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, you (B)servants of the Lord,
2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the (C)courtyards of the house of our God!
3 [c]Praise [d]the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
(E)Sing praises to His name, (F)for it is lovely.
4 For [e]the Lord has (G)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His (H)own possession.
5 For I know that (I)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is (J)above all gods.
6 (K)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the ocean depths.
7 [f]He (L)causes the [g]mist to ascend from the ends of the earth,
[h]He (M)makes lightning for the rain;
[i]He (N)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
8 [j]He (O)struck the firstborn of Egypt,
[k]Both human firstborn and animal.
9 [l]He sent (P)signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
Upon (Q)Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 [m](R)He (S)struck many nations
And brought death to mighty kings,
11 (T)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
(U)Og, king of Bashan,
And (V)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He (W)gave their land as an inheritance,
An inheritance to His people Israel.
13 Your (X)name, Lord, is everlasting,
The mention of You, Lord, is [n]throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will (Y)judge His people
And (Z)will have compassion on His servants.
15 The (AA)idols of the nations are nothing but silver and gold,
The work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will become like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.
19 House of (AB)Israel, bless the Lord;
House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord;
You (AC)who [o]revere the Lord, bless the Lord.
21 Blessed be the Lord (AD)from Zion,
Who (AE)dwells in Jerusalem.
[p]Praise [q]the Lord!
Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.
136 (AF)Give thanks to the Lord, for (AG)He is good,
For (AH)His [r]faithfulness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the (AI)God of gods,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the (AJ)Lord of lords,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
4 To Him who (AK)alone does great [s]wonders,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
5 To Him who (AL)made the heavens [t](AM)with skill,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
6 To Him who (AN)spread out the earth above the waters,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
7 To Him who (AO)made the great lights,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
8 The (AP)sun to rule [u]by day,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
9 The (AQ)moon and stars to rule [v]by night,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
10 To Him who (AR)struck [w]the Egyptians, that is, their firstborn,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
11 And (AS)brought Israel out from their midst,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
12 With a (AT)strong hand and an (AU)outstretched arm,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
13 To Him who (AV)divided the [x]Red Sea in parts,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
14 And (AW)allowed Israel to pass through the midst of it,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
15 But (AX)He [y]overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the [z]Red Sea,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
16 To Him who (AY)led His people through the wilderness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
17 To Him who (AZ)struck great kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
18 And (BA)brought death to [aa]mighty kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
19 (BB)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
20 And (BC)Og, king of Bashan,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
21 And (BD)gave their land as an inheritance,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
22 An inheritance to His (BE)servant Israel,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
23 Who (BF)remembered us in our lowliness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
24 And has (BG)rescued us from our enemies,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
25 Who (BH)gives food to all flesh,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the (BI)God of heaven,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
The Use of Spiritual Gifts
12 Now concerning (A)spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, (B)I do not want you to be unaware. 2 (C)You know that when you were [a]pagans, you were (D)led [b]astray to the (E)mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking [c](F)by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is [d](G)accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is (H)Lord,” except [e](I)by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are (J)varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same (K)God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit (L)for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of (M)wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of (N)knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another (O)faith [f]by the same Spirit, and to another (P)gifts of [g]healing [h]by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the [i]effecting of [j](Q)miracles, and to another (R)prophecy, and to another the [k](S)distinguishing of spirits, to another various (T)kinds of tongues, and to another the (U)interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, (V)distributing to each one individually just as He [l]wills.
12 For just (W)as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, (X)so also is Christ. 13 For [m](Y)by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether (Z)Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to (AA)drink of one Spirit.
14 For (AB)the body is not one part, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [n]any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [o]any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has (AC)arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, (AD)just as He desired. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 But now (AE)there are many parts, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, [p]it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those parts of the body which we [q]consider less honorable, [r]on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked, 25 so that there may be no [s]division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is [t]honored, all the parts rejoice with it.
27 Now you are (AF)Christ’s body, and (AG)individually parts of it. 28 And God has [u](AH)appointed in (AI)the church, first (AJ)apostles, second (AK)prophets, third (AL)teachers, then [v](AM)miracles, then (AN)gifts of healings, helps, (AO)administrations, and various (AP)kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of [w]miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not (AQ)interpret, do they? 31 But (AR)earnestly desire the greater gifts.
And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.
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