1 Paul, summoned by the will and purpose of God to be an apostle (special messenger) of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

² To the church (assembly) of God which is in Corinth, to those consecrated and purified and made holy in Christ Jesus, [who are] selected and called to be saints (God’s people), together with all those who in any place call upon and give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

³ Grace (favor and spiritual blessing) be to you and [heart] peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I thank my God at all times for you because of the grace (the favor and spiritual blessing) of God which was bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,

⁵ [So] that in Him in every respect you were enriched, in full power and readiness of speech [to speak of your faith] and complete knowledge and illumination [to give you full insight into its meaning].

⁶ In this way [our] witnessing concerning Christ (the Messiah) was so confirmed and established and made sure in you

⁷ That you are not [consciously] falling behind or lacking in any special spiritual endowment or Christian grace [^[a]the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in your souls by the Holy Spirit], while you wait and watch [constantly living in hope] for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and [His] being made visible to all.

⁸ And He will establish you to the end [keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication; He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be] guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

⁹ God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰ But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments.

¹¹ For it has been made clear to me, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions and wrangling and factions among you.

¹² What I mean is this, that each one of you [either] says, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas (Peter), or I belong to Christ.

¹³ Is Christ (the Messiah) divided into parts? Was Paul crucified on behalf of you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?

¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

¹⁵ Lest anyone should say that I baptized in my own name.

¹⁶ [Yes] I did baptize the household of Stephanas also. More than these, I do not remember that I baptized anyone.

¹⁷ For Christ (the Messiah) sent me out not to baptize but [to evangelize by] preaching the glad tidings (the Gospel), and that not with verbal eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of force and emptied of its power and rendered vain (fruitless, void of value, and of no effect).

¹⁸ For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.

¹⁹ For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing.^(A)

²⁰ Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world’s wisdom?

²¹ For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).

²² For while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom,

²³ We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense.

²⁴ But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.

²⁵ [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.

²⁷ [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.

²⁸ And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,

²⁹ So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.

³⁰ But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].

³¹ So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord.^(B)

Psalm 104

¹ Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty—

² [You are the One] Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent,

³ Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,

⁴ Who makes winds His messengers, flames of fire His ministers.^(A)

⁵ You laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.^(B)

⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.^(C)

⁷ At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.

⁸ The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which You appointed for them.

⁹ You have set a boundary [for the waters] which they may not pass over, that they turn not again to deluge the earth.

¹⁰ He sends forth springs into the valleys; their waters run among the mountains.

¹¹ They give drink to every [wild] beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst there.

¹² Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests; they sing among the branches.^(D)

¹³ He waters the mountains from His upper rooms; the earth is satisfied and abounds with the fruit of His works.

¹⁴ He causes vegetation to grow for the cattle, and all that the earth produces for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food out of the earth—

¹⁵ And wine that gladdens the heart of man, to make his face shine more than oil, and bread to support, refresh, and strengthen man’s heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly and are filled with sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He has planted,

¹⁷ Where the birds make their nests; as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the conies and badgers.

¹⁹ [The Lord] appointed the moon for the seasons; the sun knows [the exact time of] its setting.

²⁰ You [O Lord] make darkness and it becomes night, in which creeps forth every wild beast of the forest.

²¹ The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.

²² When the sun arises, they withdraw themselves and lie down in their dens.

²³ Man goes forth to his work and remains at his task until evening.

²⁴ O Lord, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.

²⁵ Yonder is the sea, great and wide, in which are swarms of innumerable creeping things, creatures both small and great.

²⁶ There go the ships of the sea, and Leviathan (the sea monster), which You have formed to sport in it.

²⁷ These all wait and are dependent upon You, that You may give them their food in due season.

²⁸ When You give it to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, and they are filled with good things.

²⁹ When You hide Your face, they are troubled and dismayed; when You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

³⁰ When You send forth Your Spirit and give them breath, they are created, and You replenish the face of the ground.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works—

³² Who looks on the earth, and it quakes and trembles, Who touches the mountains, and they smoke!

³³ I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.

³⁴ May my meditation be sweet to Him; as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord.

³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Psalm 105

¹ O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His doings among the peoples!

² Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His marvelous deeds and devoutly praise them.

³ Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek and require the Lord [as their indispensable necessity].

⁴ Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation); seek and require His face and His presence [continually] evermore.

⁵ [Earnestly] remember the marvelous deeds that He has done, His miracles and wonders, the judgments and sentences which He pronounced [upon His enemies, as in Egypt].^(E)

⁶ O you offspring of Abraham His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones,

⁷ He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

⁸ He is [earnestly] mindful of His covenant and forever it is imprinted on His heart, the word which He commanded and established to a thousand generations,

⁹ The covenant which He made with Abraham, and His sworn promise to Isaac,^(F)

¹⁰ Which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

¹¹ Saying, Unto you will I give the land of Canaan as your measured portion, possession, and inheritance.

¹² When they were but a few men in number, in fact, very few, and were temporary residents and strangers in it,

¹³ When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people,

¹⁴ He allowed no man to do them wrong; in fact, He reproved kings for their sakes,^(G)

¹⁵ Saying, Touch not My anointed, and do My prophets no harm.^(H)

¹⁶ Moreover, He called for a famine upon the land [of Egypt]; He cut off every source of bread.^(I)

¹⁷ He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold as a servant.^(J)

¹⁸ His feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into the iron,

¹⁹ Until his word [to his cruel brothers] came true, until the word of the Lord tried and tested him.

²⁰ The king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the peoples, and let him go free.

²¹ He made Joseph lord of his house and ruler of all his substance,^(K)

²² To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his elders wisdom.

²³ Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.^(L)

²⁴ There [the Lord] greatly increased His people and made them stronger than their oppressors.

²⁵ He turned the hearts [of the Egyptians] to hate His people, to deal craftily with His servants.

²⁶ He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron, whom He had chosen.

²⁷ They showed His signs among them, wonders and miracles in the land of Ham (Egypt).

²⁸ He sent [thick] darkness and made the land dark, and they [God’s two servants] rebelled not against His word.^(M)

²⁹ He turned [Egypt’s] waters into blood and caused their fish to die.^(N)

³⁰ Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, even in the chambers of their kings.^(O)

³¹ He spoke, and there came swarms of beetles and flies and mosquitoes and lice in all their borders.^(P)

³² He gave them hail for rain, with lightning like flaming fire in their land.^(Q)

³³ He smote their vines also and their fig trees and broke the [ice-laden] trees of their borders.^(R)

³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came, and the grasshoppers, and that without number,^(S)

³⁵ And ate up all the vegetation in their land and devoured the fruit of their ground.

³⁶ He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the beginning and chief substance of all their strength.^(T)

³⁷ He brought [Israel] forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.^(U)

³⁸ Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen upon the people.^(V)

³⁹ The Lord spread a cloud for a covering [by day], and a fire to give light in the night.^(W)

⁴⁰ [The Israelites] asked, and He brought quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.^(X)

⁴¹ He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it ran in the dry places like a river.^(Y)

⁴² For He [earnestly] remembered His holy word and promise to Abraham His servant.^(Z)

⁴³ And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen ones with gladness and singing,

⁴⁴ And gave them the lands of the nations [of Canaan], and they reaped the fruits of those peoples’ labor,^(AA)

⁴⁵ That they might observe His statutes and keep His laws [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Psalm 106

¹ Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!^(AB)

² Who can put into words and tell the mighty deeds of the Lord? Or who can show forth all the praise [that is due Him]?

³ Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who observe justice [treating others fairly] and who do right and are in right standing with God at all times.

⁴ [Earnestly] remember me, O Lord, when You favor Your people! O visit me also when You deliver them, and grant me Your salvation!—

⁵ That I may see and share the welfare of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your heritage.

⁶ We have sinned, as did also our fathers; we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.^(AC)

⁷ Our fathers in Egypt understood not nor appreciated Your miracles; they did not [earnestly] remember the multitude of Your mercies nor imprint Your loving-kindness [on their hearts], but they were rebellious and provoked the Lord at the sea, even at the Red Sea.^(AD)

⁸ Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake [to prove the righteousness of the divine character], that He might make His mighty power known.

⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths as through a pastureland.^(AE)

¹⁰ And He saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the [Egyptian] enemy.^(AF)

¹¹ And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.^(AG)

¹² Then [Israel] believed His words [trusting in, relying on them]; they sang His praise.

¹³ But they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] regarding them,

¹⁴ But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.^(AH)

¹⁵ And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls and [thinned their numbers by] disease and death.^(AI)

¹⁶ They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron [the high priest], the holy one of the Lord.^(AJ)

¹⁷ Therefore the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and closed over the company of Abiram.^(AK)

¹⁸ And a fire broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.^(AL)

¹⁹ They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image.^(AM)

²⁰ Thus they exchanged Him Who was their Glory for the image of an ox that eats grass [they traded their Honor for the image of a calf]!

²¹ They forgot God their Savior, Who had done such great things in Egypt,

²² Wonders and miracles in the land of Ham, dreadful and awesome things at the Red Sea.

²³ Therefore He said He would destroy them. [And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the breach before Him to turn away His threatening wrath.^(AN)

²⁴ Then they spurned and despised the pleasant and desirable land [Canaan]; they believed not His word [neither trusting in, relying on, nor holding to it];

²⁵ But they murmured in their tents and hearkened not to the voice of the Lord.

²⁶ Therefore He lifted up His hand [as if taking an oath] against them, that He would cause them to fall in the wilderness,

²⁷ Cast out their descendants among the nations, and scatter them in the lands [of the earth].

²⁸ They joined themselves also to the [idol] Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices [offered] to the lifeless [gods].

²⁹ Thus they provoked the Lord to anger with their practices, and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰ Then stood up Phinehas [the priest] and executed judgment, and so the plague was stayed.^(AO)

³¹ And that was credited to him for righteousness (right doing and right standing with God) to all generations forever.

³² They angered the Lord also at the waters of Meribah, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes;^(AP)

³³ For they provoked [Moses’] spirit, so that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.

³⁴ They did not destroy the [heathen] nations as the Lord commanded them,

³⁵ But mingled themselves with the [idolatrous] nations and learned their ways and works

³⁶ And served their idols, which were a snare to them.

³⁷ Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons^(AQ)

³⁸ And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with their blood.

³⁹ Thus were they defiled by their own works, and they played the harlot and practiced idolatry with their own deeds [of idolatrous rites].

⁴⁰ Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred and rejected His own heritage.^(AR)

⁴¹ And He gave them into the hands of the [heathen] nations, and they that hated them ruled over them.

⁴² Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under the hand of their foes.

⁴³ Many times did [God] deliver them, but they were rebellious in their counsel and sank low through their iniquity.

⁴⁴ Nevertheless He regarded their distress when He heard their cry;

⁴⁵ And He [earnestly] remembered for their sake His covenant and relented their sentence of evil [comforting and easing Himself] according to the abundance of His mercy and loving-kindness [when they cried out to Him].

⁴⁶ He also caused [Israel] to find sympathy among those who had carried them away captive.

⁴⁷ Deliver us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name and glory in praising You.

⁴⁸ Blessed (affectionately and gratefully praised) be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, Amen! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)^(AS)