Psalm 144
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 144
A King’s Prayer
Of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock(A)
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.(B)
2 He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield,(C) and I take refuge in him;(D)
he subdues my people[a] under me.(E)
3 Lord, what is a human that you care for him,
a son of man[b] that you think of him?(F)
4 A human is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.(G)
5 Lord, part your heavens and come down.(H)
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.(I)
6 Flash your lightning and scatter the foe;[c]
shoot your arrows and rout them.(J)
7 Reach down[d] from on high;(K)
rescue me from deep water, and set me free
from the grasp of foreigners(L)
8 whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(M)
9 God, I will sing a new song to you;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for you(N)—
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who frees his servant David
from the deadly sword.(O)
11 Set me free and rescue me
from foreigners(P)
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(Q)
12 Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.(R)
13 Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;(S)
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.(T)
14 Our cattle will be well fed.[e]
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,[f]
and no cry of lament in our public squares.(U)
15 Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.(V)
Luke 1:39-45
Christian Standard Bible
Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah 40 where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.(A) 42 Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed![a] 43 How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1:42 Lit and the fruit of your abdomen (or womb) is blessed
Isaiah 9:1-7
Christian Standard Bible
Birth of the Prince of Peace
9 Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.(A) But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;(B)
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.(C)
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.[a](D)
The people have rejoiced before you
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.(E)
4 For you have shattered their oppressive yoke(F)
and the rod on their shoulders,
the staff of their oppressor,
just as you did on the day of Midian.(G)
5 For every trampling boot of battle
and the bloodied garments of war
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,(H)
and the government will be on his shoulders.(I)
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor,(J) Mighty God,(K)
Eternal Father,(L) Prince of Peace.(M)
7 The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.(N)
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.(O)
Footnotes
- 9:3 Alt Hb tradition reads have not increased joy
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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