Psalm 106:40-48
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
40 So the Lord grew angry with his people,
abhorred his own heritage.
41 He handed them over to the nations,
and their adversaries ruled over them.(A)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
kept them under subjection.
43 Many times did he rescue them,
but they kept rebelling and scheming
and were brought low by their own guilt.(B)
44 Still God had regard for their affliction
when he heard their wailing.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant
and relented in his abundant mercy,(C)
46 Winning for them compassion
from all who held them captive.
C
47 Save us, Lord, our God;
gather us from among the nations
That we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in praising you.(D)
48 [a]Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, Amen!(E)
Hallelujah!
Footnotes
- 106:48 A doxology ending Book IV of the Psalter. It is not part of the Psalm.
Jeremiah 9:12-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 The Lord said: Because they have abandoned my law, which I set before them, and did not listen to me or follow it, 13 but followed instead their stubborn hearts and the Baals, as their ancestors had taught them,(A) 14 therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: See now, I will give this people wormwood to eat and poisoned water to drink.(B) 15 I will scatter them among nations whom neither they nor their ancestors have known; I will send the sword to pursue them until I have completely destroyed them.(C)
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Inquire, and call the wailing women to come;
summon the most skilled of them.
17 Let them come quickly
and raise for us a dirge,
That our eyes may run with tears,
our pupils flow with water.(D)
18 The sound of the dirge is heard from Zion:
We are ruined and greatly ashamed;
We have left the land,
given up our dwellings!
19 Hear, you women, the word of the Lord,
let your ears receive the word of his mouth.
Teach your daughters a dirge,
and each other a lament:
20 Death has come up through our windows,
has entered our citadels,
To cut down children in the street,
young people in the squares.(E)
21 Corpses shall fall
like dung in the open field,
Like sheaves behind the harvester,
with no one to gather them.
True Glory
22 Thus says the Lord:
Let not the wise boast of his wisdom,
nor the strong boast of his strength,
nor the rich man boast of his riches;
23 But rather, let those who boast, boast of this,
that in their prudence they know me,(F)
Know that I, the Lord, act with fidelity,
justice, and integrity on earth.
How I take delight in these—oracle of the Lord.
False Circumcision. 24 See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will demand an account of all those circumcised in the foreskin:(G) 25 Egypt and Judah, Edom and the Ammonites, Moab, and those who live in the wilderness and shave their temples.[a] For all the nations are uncircumcised, even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised at heart.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 9:25 Shave their temples: some Arabian tribes practiced this custom. None of the nations who practice circumcision understand the meaning of their action, not even Israel; no one conforms to life under the covenant.
Acts 4:1-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
1 While they were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees[a] confronted them, 2 disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.(A) 3 They laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. 4 But many of those who heard the word came to believe and [the] number of men grew to [about] five thousand.
Before the Sanhedrin. 5 On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly class. 7 They brought them into their presence and questioned them, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders:(B) 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, 10 then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. 11 (C)He is ‘the stone rejected by you,[b] the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 [c](D)There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 4:1 The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees: the priests performed the temple liturgy; the temple guard was composed of Levites, whose captain ranked next after the high priest. The Sadducees, a party within Judaism at this time, rejected those doctrines, including bodily resurrection, which they believed alien to the ancient Mosaic religion. The Sadducees were drawn from priestly families and from the lay aristocracy.
- 4:11 Early Christianity applied this citation from Ps 118:22 to Jesus; cf. Mk 12:10; 1 Pt 2:7.
- 4:12 In the Roman world of Luke’s day, salvation was often attributed to the emperor who was hailed as “savior” and “god.” Luke, in the words of Peter, denies that deliverance comes through anyone other than Jesus.
Psalm 12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 12[a]
Prayer Against Evil Tongues
1 For the leader; “upon the eighth.” A psalm of David.
I
2 Help, Lord, for no one loyal remains;
the faithful have vanished from the children of men.(A)
3 They tell lies to one another,
speak with deceiving lips and a double heart.(B)
II
4 May the Lord cut off all deceiving lips,
and every boastful tongue,
5 Those who say, “By our tongues we prevail;
when our lips speak, who can lord it over us?”(C)
III
6 “Because they rob the weak, and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will grant safety to whoever longs for it.”(D)
IV
7 The promises of the Lord are sure,
silver refined in a crucible,[b]
silver purified seven times.(E)
8 You, O Lord, protect us always;
preserve us from this generation.
9 On every side the wicked roam;
the shameless are extolled by the children of men.
Footnotes
- Psalm 12 A lament. The psalmist, thrown into a world where lying and violent people persecute the just (Ps 12:2–3), prays that the wicked be punished (Ps 12:4–5). The prayer is not simply for vengeance but arises from a desire to see God’s justice appear on earth. Ps 12:6 preserves the word of assurance spoken by the priest to the lamenter; it is not usually transmitted in such Psalms. In Ps 12:7–8 the psalmist affirms the intention to live by the word of assurance.
- 12:7 A crucible: lit., “in a crucible in the ground.” The crucible was placed in the ground for support.
Proverbs 14:12-31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 Sometimes a way seems right,
but the end of it leads to death!(A)
13 Even in laughter the heart may be sad,
and the end of joy may be sorrow.
14 From their own ways turncoats are sated,
from their own actions, the loyal.
15 The naive believe everything,
but the shrewd watch their steps.[a]
16 The wise person is cautious and turns from evil;
the fool is reckless and gets embroiled.
17 The quick-tempered make fools of themselves,
and schemers are hated.
18 The simple have folly as an adornment,
but the shrewd wear knowledge as a crown.[b]
19 The malicious bow down before the good,
and the wicked, at the gates of the just.
20 Even by their neighbors the poor are despised,
but a rich person’s friends are many.(B)
21 Whoever despises the hungry comes up short,
but happy the one who is kind to the poor![c]
22 Do not those who plan evil go astray?
But those who plan good win steadfast loyalty.
23 In all labor there is profit,
but mere talk tends only to loss.
24 The crown of the wise is wealth;
the diadem of fools is folly.
25 The truthful witness saves lives,
but whoever utters lies is a betrayer.
26 The fear of the Lord is a strong defense,
a refuge even for one’s children.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
turning one from the snares of death.
28 A multitude of subjects is the glory of the king;
but if his people are few, a prince is ruined.
29 Long-suffering results in great wisdom;
a short temper raises folly high.[d](C)
30 A tranquil mind gives life to the body,
but jealousy rots the bones.
31 Those who oppress the poor revile their Maker,
but those who are kind to the needy honor him.(D)
Footnotes
- 14:15 The naive gullibly rely on others’ words whereas the shrewd watch their own steps.
- 14:18 The inner quality of a person, simple or wise, will eventually be revealed.
- 14:21 The paradox is that anyone who spurns the hungry will lack something, but anyone who shows mercy (presumably by giving to the poor) will gain prosperity.
- 14:29 A series of puns on short and long; lit., “long of nostrils (idiom for “patient”), large in wisdom, / short in breath (idiom for “impatient”), makes folly tall.”
Acts 4:1-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
1 While they were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees[a] confronted them, 2 disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.(A) 3 They laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. 4 But many of those who heard the word came to believe and [the] number of men grew to [about] five thousand.
Before the Sanhedrin. 5 On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly class. 7 They brought them into their presence and questioned them, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders:(B) 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, 10 then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. 11 (C)He is ‘the stone rejected by you,[b] the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 [c](D)There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 4:1 The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees: the priests performed the temple liturgy; the temple guard was composed of Levites, whose captain ranked next after the high priest. The Sadducees, a party within Judaism at this time, rejected those doctrines, including bodily resurrection, which they believed alien to the ancient Mosaic religion. The Sadducees were drawn from priestly families and from the lay aristocracy.
- 4:11 Early Christianity applied this citation from Ps 118:22 to Jesus; cf. Mk 12:10; 1 Pt 2:7.
- 4:12 In the Roman world of Luke’s day, salvation was often attributed to the emperor who was hailed as “savior” and “god.” Luke, in the words of Peter, denies that deliverance comes through anyone other than Jesus.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.