Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of (A)Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord (B)watches over the city,
    the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious (C)toil;
    for he gives to his (D)beloved (E)sleep.

Behold, (F)children are a heritage from the Lord,
    (G)the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of (H)a warrior
    are the children[a] of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
    who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
    when he speaks with his enemies (I)in the gate.[b]

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of (J)Ascents.

128 (K)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
    who (L)walks in his ways!
You (M)shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
    you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Your wife will be like (N)a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like (O)olive shoots
    around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

(P)The Lord bless you (Q)from Zion!
    May you see (R)the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
May you see your (S)children's children!
    (T)Peace be upon Israel!

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of (U)Ascents.

129 “Greatly[c] have they (V)afflicted me (W)from my youth”—
    (X)let Israel now say—
“Greatly have they (Y)afflicted me (Z)from my youth,
    (AA)yet they have not prevailed against me.
(AB)The plowers plowed (AC)upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut (AD)the cords of the wicked.
May all who hate Zion
    be (AE)put to shame and turned backward!
Let them be like (AF)the grass on the housetops,
    which (AG)withers before it grows up,
with which the reaper does not fill his hand
    nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
nor do those who pass by say,
    (AH)“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
    We (AI)bless you in the name of the Lord!”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 127:4 Or sons
  2. Psalm 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate
  3. Psalm 129:1 Or Often; also verse 2

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

What shall we say then? (A)Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can (B)we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us (C)who have been baptized (D)into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were (E)buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as (F)Christ was raised from the dead by (G)the glory of the Father, we too might walk in (H)newness of life.

For (I)if we have been united with him in (J)a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that (K)our old self[a] (L)was crucified with him in order that (M)the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For (N)one who has died (O)has been set free[b] from sin. Now (P)if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that (Q)Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; (R)death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, (S)once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves (T)dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not (U)sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 (V)Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but (W)present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For (X)sin (Y)will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? (Z)Are we to sin (AA)because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves (AB)to anyone as obedient slaves,[c] you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But (AC)thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the (AD)standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, (AE)having been set free from sin, (AF)have become slaves of righteousness. 19 (AG)I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For (AH)just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members (AI)as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 (AJ)For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 (AK)But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things (AL)of which you are now ashamed? (AM)For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you (AN)have been set free from sin and (AO)have become slaves of God, (AP)the fruit you get leads to sanctification and (AQ)its end, eternal life. 23 (AR)For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 6:6 Greek man
  2. Romans 6:7 Greek has been justified
  3. Romans 6:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse; also verses 17, 19 (twice), 20

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