Psalm 138

New International Version

Psalm 138

Of David.

¹I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    before the “gods”^(A) I will sing^(B) your praise.
²I will bow down toward your holy temple^(C)
    and will praise your name^(D)
    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,^(E)
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
    that it surpasses your fame.^(F)
³When I called,^(G) you answered me;^(H)
    you greatly emboldened^(I) me.

⁴May all the kings of the earth^(J) praise you, Lord,
when they hear what you have decreed.
⁵May they sing^(K) of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lord^(L) is great.

⁶Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;^(M)
    though lofty, he sees them^(N) from afar.
⁷Though I walk^(O) in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life.^(P)
You stretch out your hand^(Q) against the anger of my foes;^(R)
    with your right hand^(S) you save me.^(T)
⁸The Lord will vindicate^(U) me;
    your love, Lord, endures forever^(V)—
    do not abandon^(W) the works of your hands.^(X)

Deuteronomy 3:18-28

New International Version

¹⁸I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given^(A) you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites.^(B) ¹⁹However, your wives,^(C) your children and your livestock^(D) (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, ²⁰until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

²¹At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. ²²Do not be afraid^(E) of them;^(F) the Lord your God himself will fight^(G) for you.”

²³At that time I pleaded^(H) with the Lord: ²⁴“Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness^(I) and your strong hand. For what god^(J) is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works^(K) you do?^(L) ²⁵Let me go over and see the good land^(M) beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.^(N)”

²⁶But because of you the Lord was angry^(O) with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. ²⁷Go up to the top of Pisgah^(P) and look west and north and south and east.^(Q) Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross^(R) this Jordan.^(S) ²⁸But commission^(T) Joshua, and encourage^(U) and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across^(V) and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”

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Romans 9:19-33

New International Version

¹⁹One of you will say to me:^(A) “Then why does God still blame us?^(B) For who is able to resist his will?”^(C) ²⁰But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?^(D) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,^(E) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”^[a]^(F) ²¹Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?^(G)

²²What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience^(H) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?^(I) ²³What if he did this to make the riches of his glory^(J) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory^(K)— ²⁴even us, whom he also called,^(L) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?^(M) ²⁵As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”^[b]^(N)

²⁶and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”^[c]^(O)

²⁷Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,^(P)
only the remnant will be saved.^(Q)
²⁸For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”^[d]^(R)

²⁹It is just as Isaiah said previously:

“Unless the Lord Almighty^(S)
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.”^[e]^(T)

Israel’s Unbelief

³⁰What then shall we say?^(U) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;^(V) ³¹but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,^(W) have not attained their goal.^(X) ³²Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.^(Y) ³³As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^[f]^(Z)

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Footnotes

Romans 9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9
Romans 9:25 Hosea 2:23
Romans 9:26 Hosea 1:10
Romans 9:28 Isaiah 10:22,23 (see Septuagint)
Romans 9:29 Isaiah 1:9
Romans 9:33 Isaiah 8:14; 28:16

Matthew 24:1-14

New International Version

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times^(A)

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ²“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another;^(B) every one will be thrown down.”

³As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,^(C) the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming^(D) and of the end of the age?”^(E)

⁴Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.^(F) ⁵For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.^(G) ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^(H) There will be famines^(I) and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted^(J) and put to death,^(K) and you will be hated by all nations because of me.^(L) ¹⁰At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹and many false prophets^(M) will appear and deceive many people.^(N) ¹²Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.^(O) ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom^(P) will be preached in the whole world^(Q) as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.