David’s Prayer

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?^{(A) 19} And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house into the distant future. May this be instruction for the people,^[a] O Lord God! ²⁰ And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God!^{(B) 21} Because of your promise and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness so that your servant may know it. ²² Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.^{(C) 23} Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another^[b] nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people and to make a name for himself, doing^[c] great and awesome things, driving out^[d] nations and their gods before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt?^{(D) 24} And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.^{(E) 25} And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. ²⁶ Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.^{(F) 27} For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.^{(G) 28} And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant;^{(H) 29} now, therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant so that it may continue forever before you, for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”^(I)

Law or Faith

3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified!^{(A) 2} The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?^{(B) 3} Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?^{(C) 4} Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing.^{(D) 5} Well then, does God^[a] supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard?

⁶ Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”^{(E) 7} so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. ⁸ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would reckon as righteous the gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the gentiles shall be blessed in you.”^{(F) 9} For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.”^{(G) 11} Now it is evident that no one is reckoned as righteous before God by the law, for “the one who is righteous will live by faith.”^{[b](H) 12} But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law^[c] will live by them.”^{(I) 13} Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”^(J)— ¹⁴ in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.^(K)

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.^(A)

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.^{(B) 60} But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” ⁶¹ They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” ⁶² Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.^(C)