1 Corinthians 1:10-21

New King James Version

Sectarianism Is Sin

¹⁰Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(A)that you all ^[a]speak the same thing, and that there be no ^[b]divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are ^[c]contentions among you. ¹²Now I say this, that ^(B)each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of ^(C)Apollos,” or “I am of ^(D)Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³^(E)Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

¹⁴I thank God that I baptized ^(F)none of you except ^(G)Crispus and ^(H)Gaius, ¹⁵lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶Yes, I also baptized the household of ^(I)Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, ^(J)not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God^(K)

¹⁸For the ^[d]message of the cross is ^(L)foolishness to ^(M)those who are perishing, but to us ^(N)who are being saved it is the ^(O)power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

^(P)“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

²⁰^(Q)Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the ^[e]disputer of this age? ^(R)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹For since, in the ^(S)wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

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Footnotes

1 Corinthians 1:10 Have a uniform testimony
1 Corinthians 1:10 schisms or dissensions
1 Corinthians 1:11 quarrels
1 Corinthians 1:18 Lit. word
1 Corinthians 1:20 debater

Psalm 139-140

New King James Version

God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, ^(A)You have searched me and known me.
²^(B)You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You ^(C)understand my thought afar off.
³^(D)You ^[a]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, ^(E)You know it altogether.
⁵You have ^[b]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶^(F)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷^(G)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸^(H)If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
^(I)If I make my bed in ^[c]hell, behold, You are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall ^[d]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹²Indeed, ^(J)the darkness ^[e]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

¹³For You formed my inward parts;
You ^[f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I will praise You, for ^[g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵^(K)My ^[h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷^(L)How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹Oh, that You would ^(M)slay the wicked, O God!
^(N)Depart from me, therefore, you ^[i]bloodthirsty men.
²⁰For they ^(O)speak against You wickedly;
^[j]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
²¹^(P)Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with ^[k]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³^(Q)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
²⁴And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And ^(R)lead me in the way everlasting.

Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

140 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
²Who plan evil things in their hearts;
^(S)They continually gather together for war.
³They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The ^(T)poison of asps is under their lips. Selah

⁴^(U)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
⁵The proud have hidden a ^(V)snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah

⁶I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
⁷O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have ^[l]covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
^(W)Lest they be exalted. Selah

⁹“As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
¹⁰^(X)Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
¹¹Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(Y)maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.