Psalm 112:1-9

New International Version

Psalm 112^[a]

¹Praise the Lord.^[b]^(A)

Blessed are those^(B) who fear the Lord,^(C)
who find great delight^(D) in his commands.

²Their children^(E) will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³Wealth and riches^(F) are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures^(G) forever.
⁴Even in darkness light dawns^(H) for the upright,
    for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.^(I)
⁵Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,^(J)
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

⁶Surely the righteous will never be shaken;^(K)
    they will be remembered^(L) forever.
⁷They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast,^(M) trusting in the Lord.^(N)
⁸Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;^(O)
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.^(P)
⁹They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,^(Q)
    their righteousness endures^(R) forever;
    their horn^[c] will be lifted^(S) high in honor.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Psalm 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the lines of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 112:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah
Psalm 112:9 Horn here symbolizes dignity.

Isaiah 29:13-16

New International Version

¹³The Lord says:

“These people^(A) come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,^(B)
    but their hearts are far from me.^(C)
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.^[a]^(D)
¹⁴Therefore once more I will astound these people
    with wonder upon wonder;^(E)
the wisdom of the wise^(F) will perish,
    the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.^(G)”
¹⁵Woe to those who go to great depths
    to hide^(H) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
    “Who sees us?^(I) Who will know?”^(J)
¹⁶You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!^(K)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed^(L) it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,^(M)
    “You know nothing”?^(N)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules

Mark 7:1-8

New International Version

That Which Defiles^(A)

7 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ²and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled,^(B) that is, unwashed. ³(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.^(C) ⁴When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.^[a])^(D)

⁵So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders^(E) instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
⁷They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’^[b]^(F)

⁸You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”^(G)

Read full chapter