(A)“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
(B)For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 (C)“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    (D)giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but (E)it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

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Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

103 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
(B)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and (C)forget not all his benefits,
who (D)forgives all your iniquity,
    who (E)heals all your diseases,
who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
    who (G)crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who (H)satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like (I)the eagle's.

The Lord works (J)righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his (K)ways to Moses,
    his (L)acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is (M)merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
(N)He will not always chide,
    nor will he (O)keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us (P)according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For (Q)as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his (R)steadfast love toward (S)those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he (T)remove our transgressions from us.
13 As (U)a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion (V)to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;[a]
    he (W)remembers that we are dust.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:14 Or knows how we are formed

(A)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. (B)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since (C)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For (D)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, (E)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ (F)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both (G)of the dead and of the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For (H)we will all stand before (I)the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,

(J)“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess[a] to God.”

12 So then (K)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 14:11 Or shall give praise

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often (A)will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? (B)As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished (C)to settle accounts with his servants.[a] 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him (D)ten thousand (E)talents.[b] 25 (F)And since he could not pay, his master ordered him (G)to be sold, with his wife and (H)children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant[c] (I)fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and (J)forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred (K)denarii,[d] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 (L)And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 (M)And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,[e] (N)until he should pay all his debt. 35 (O)So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother (P)from your heart.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:23 Or bondservants; also verses 28, 31
  2. Matthew 18:24 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer
  3. Matthew 18:26 Or bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33
  4. Matthew 18:28 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
  5. Matthew 18:34 Greek torturers

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