Psalm 112

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.

¹⁰The wicked will see^(T) and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth^(U) and waste away;^(V)
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.^(W)

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.

Ezra 1

New International Version

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return^(A)

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah,^(B) the Lord moved the heart^(C) of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

²“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed^(D) me to build^(E) a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. ³Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. ⁴And in any locality where survivors^(F) may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold,^(G) with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings^(H) for the temple of God^(I) in Jerusalem.’”^(J)

⁵Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin,^(K) and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved^(L)—prepared to go up and build the house^(M) of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold,^(N) with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.

⁷Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.^[a]^(O) ⁸Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar^(P) the prince of Judah.

⁹This was the inventory:

gold dishes	30
silver dishes	1,000
silver pans^[b]	29
¹⁰gold bowls	30
matching silver bowls	410
other articles	1,000

¹¹In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

Ezra 1:7 Or gods
Ezra 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

1 Corinthians 16:1-9

New International Version

The Collection for the Lord’s People

16 Now about the collection^(A) for the Lord’s people:^(B) Do what I told the Galatian^(C) churches to do. ²On the first day of every week,^(D) each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.^(E) ³Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve^(F) and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

Personal Requests

⁵After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you^(G)—for I will be going through Macedonia.^(H) ⁶Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey,^(I) wherever I go. ⁷For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.^(J) ⁸But I will stay on at Ephesus^(K) until Pentecost,^(L) ⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to me,^(M) and there are many who oppose me.

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Matthew 12:15-21

New International Version

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.^(A) ¹⁶He warned them not to tell others about him.^(B) ¹⁷This was to fulfill^(C) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, in whom I delight;^(D)
I will put my Spirit on him,^(E)
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry out;
    no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
²¹    In his name the nations will put their hope.”^[a]^(F)