Hebrews 11:32-12:13

English Standard Version

³²And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of ^(A)Gideon, ^(B)Barak, ^(C)Samson, ^(D)Jephthah, of ^(E)David and ^(F)Samuel and the prophets— ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, ^(G)stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴^(H)quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, ^(I)became mighty in war, ^(J)put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵^(K)Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even ^(L)chains and imprisonment. ³⁷^(M)They were stoned, they were sawn in two,^[a] ^(N)they were killed with the sword. ^(O)They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy—^(P)wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, ^(Q)though commended through their faith, ^(R)did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better for us, ^(S)that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and ^(T)sin which clings so closely, and ^(U)let us run ^(V)with endurance the race that is ^(W)set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, ^(X)who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising ^(Y)the shame, and ^(Z)is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

³^(AA)Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or ^(AB)fainthearted. ⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

^(AC)“My son, ^(AD)do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
⁶For ^(AE)the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷It is for discipline that you have to endure. ^(AF)God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are left without discipline, ^(AG)in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to ^(AH)the Father of spirits ^(AI)and live? ¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, ^(AJ)that we may share his holiness. ¹¹^(AK)For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields ^(AL)the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore ^(AM)lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³and ^(AN)make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint ^(AO)but rather be healed.

Footnotes

Hebrews 11:37 Some manuscripts add they were tempted

Ezekiel 29-30

English Standard Version

Prophecy Against Egypt

29 ^(A)In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²^(B)“Son of man, ^(C)set your face against ^(D)Pharaoh king of Egypt, ^(E)and prophesy against him and ^(F)against all Egypt; ³speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

^(G)“Behold, I am against you,
    Pharaoh king of Egypt,
^(H)the great dragon that lies
    in the midst of his streams,
^(I)that says, ‘My Nile is my own;
    I made it for myself.’
⁴I will ^(J)put hooks in your jaws,
    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;
and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,
    with all the fish of your streams
    that stick to your scales.
⁵^(K)And I will cast you out into the wilderness,
    you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall ^(L)on the open field,
    and ^(M)not be brought together or gathered.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens
    ^(N)I give you as food.

⁶Then all the inhabitants of Egypt ^(O)shall know that I am the Lord.

“Because you^[a] have been ^(P)a staff of reed to the house of Israel, ⁷^(Q)when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.^[b] ⁸Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(R)Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, ⁹and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. ^(S)Then they will know that I am the Lord.

^(T)“Because you^[c] said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ ¹⁰therefore, ^(U)behold, I am against you and ^(V)against your streams, and ^(W)I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, ^(X)from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. ¹¹^(Y)No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. ¹²^(Z)And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. ^(AA)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.

¹³“For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years ^(AB)I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, ¹⁴and ^(AC)I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to ^(AD)the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, ^(AE)and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶And it shall never again be ^(AF)the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. ^(AG)Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

¹⁷^(AH)In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸^(AI)“Son of man, ^(AJ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AK)Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; ^(AL)and he shall carry off its wealth^[d] ^(AM)and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. ²⁰^(AN)I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.

²¹“On that day ^(AO)I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and ^(AP)I will open your lips among them. ^(AQ)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Lament for Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: ²^(AR)“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

^(AS)“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
³    ^(AT)For the day is near,
    ^(AU)the day of the Lord is near;
it will be ^(AV)a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for^[e] the nations.
⁴^(AW)A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    ^(AX)and anguish shall be in ^(AY)Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and ^(AZ)her wealth^[f] is carried away,
    and ^(BA)her foundations are torn down.

⁵^(BB)Cush, and ^(BC)Put, and Lud, and ^(BD)all Arabia, and Libya,^[g] and the people of the land that is in league,^[h] shall fall with them by the sword.

⁶“Thus says the Lord:
^(BE)Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and ^(BF)her proud might shall come down;
^(BG)from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
⁷^(BH)And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
⁸^(BI)Then they will know that I am the Lord,
    when ^(BJ)I have set fire to Egypt,
    and ^(BK)all her helpers are broken.

⁹“On that day ^(BL)messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting ^(BM)people of Cush, and ^(BN)anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;^[i] for, behold, it comes!

¹⁰“Thus says the Lord God:

^(BO)“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
¹¹He and his people with him, ^(BP)the most ruthless of nations,
    shall be brought in to destroy the land,
^(BQ)and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.
¹²And ^(BR)I will ^(BS)dry up the Nile
    and will sell the land into the hand of ^(BT)evildoers;
^(BU)I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
    by the hand of ^(BV)foreigners;
^(BW)I am the Lord; I have spoken.

¹³“Thus says the Lord God:

^(BX)“I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the images in ^(BY)Memphis;
^(BZ)there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
    so ^(CA)I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
¹⁴I will make ^(CB)Pathros a desolation
    and will set fire to ^(CC)Zoan
    ^(CD)and will execute judgments on ^(CE)Thebes.
¹⁵And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the multitude^[j] of Thebes.
¹⁶And I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
    and ^(CF)Memphis shall face enemies^[k] by day.
¹⁷The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the women^[l] shall go into captivity.
¹⁸At ^(CG)Tehaphnehes ^(CH)the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and ^(CI)her proud might shall come to an end in her;
    she shall be covered by a cloud,
    and her daughters shall go into captivity.
¹⁹Thus ^(CJ)I will execute judgments on Egypt.
    ^(CK)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

²⁰^(CL)In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²¹^(CM)“Son of man, ^(CN)I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, ^(CO)it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. ²²Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and ^(CP)will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³^(CQ)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. ²⁴And ^(CR)I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^(CS)my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him ^(CT)like a man mortally wounded. ²⁵I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. ^(CU)Then they shall know that I am the Lord, ^(CV)when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. ²⁶And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

Ezekiel 29:6 Hebrew they
Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (compare Psalm 69:23); Hebrew to stand
Ezekiel 29:9 Hebrew he
Ezekiel 29:19 Or multitude
Ezekiel 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for
Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10
Ezekiel 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub
Ezekiel 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant
Ezekiel 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt
Ezekiel 30:15 Or wealth
Ezekiel 30:16 Or distress
Ezekiel 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they

Psalm 112

English Standard Version

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

112 ^[a] ^(A)Praise the Lord!
^(B)Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
    who ^(C)greatly delights in his commandments!
²His ^(D)offspring will be mighty in the land;
    ^(E)the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³^(F)Wealth and riches are in his house,
    and his ^(G)righteousness endures forever.
⁴Light dawns in the darkness ^(H)for the upright;
    he is gracious, merciful, and ^(I)righteous.
⁵It is well with the man who ^(J)deals generously and lends;
    who conducts his affairs with justice.
⁶For the righteous will ^(K)never be moved;
    ^(L)he will be remembered forever.
⁷He is not ^(M)afraid of bad news;
    his ^(N)heart is firm, ^(O)trusting in the Lord.
⁸His heart is steady;^[b] he will not be afraid,
    until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
⁹He has ^(P)distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever;
    his ^(Q)horn is exalted in honor.
¹⁰The wicked man sees it and is angry;
    he ^(R)gnashes his teeth and ^(S)melts away;
    ^(T)the desire of the wicked will perish!

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Footnotes

Psalm 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Psalm 112:8 Or established (compare 111:8)