Micah 6:1-8

English Standard Version

The Indictment of the Lord

6 ^(A)Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
    and let the hills hear your voice.
²^(B)Hear, you mountains, ^(C)the indictment of the Lord,
    and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,
    and he will contend with Israel.

³“O my people, ^(D)what have I done to you?
    ^(E)How have I wearied you? Answer me!
⁴For ^(F)I brought you up from the land of Egypt
    and ^(G)redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
    Aaron, and ^(H)Miriam.
⁵O my people, remember ^(I)what Balak king of Moab devised,
    and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from ^(J)Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know ^(K)the righteous acts of the Lord.”

What Does the Lord Require?

⁶^(L)“With what shall I come before the Lord,
    and bow myself before ^(M)God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
⁷^(N)Will the Lord be pleased with^[a] thousands of rams,
    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
^(O)Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
⁸He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and ^(P)what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,^[b]
    and to ^(Q)walk humbly with your God?

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Footnotes

Micah 6:7 Or Will the Lord accept
Micah 6:8 Or steadfast love

Psalm 37:1-11

English Standard Version

He Will Not Forsake His Saints

^[a] Of David.

37 ^(A)Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not ^(B)envious of wrongdoers!
²For they will soon ^(C)fade like ^(D)the grass
and wither ^(E)like the green herb.

³^(F)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
^(G)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.^[b]
⁴^(H)Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will ^(I)give you the desires of your heart.

⁵^(J)Commit your way to the Lord;
^(K)trust in him, and he will act.
⁶^(L)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as ^(M)the noonday.

⁷^(N)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
^(O)fret not yourself over the one who ^(P)prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸^(Q)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
^(R)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
⁹^(S)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall ^(T)inherit the land.

¹⁰In ^(U)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at ^(V)his place, he will not be there.
¹¹But ^(W)the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in ^(X)abundant peace.

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Footnotes

Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Psalm 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

English Standard Version

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸For the word of the cross is ^(A)folly to ^(B)those who are perishing, but to us ^(C)who are being saved it is ^(D)the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written,

^(E)“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

²⁰^(F)Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^(G)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[a] to save those who believe. ²²For ^(H)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ ^(I)crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(J)the power of God and ^(K)the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶For consider your calling, brothers: ^(L)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[b] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But ^(M)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(N)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(O)things that are not, to ^(P)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹so ^(Q)that no human being^[c] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰And because of him^[d] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(R)wisdom from God, ^(S)righteousness and ^(T)sanctification and ^(U)redemption, ³¹so that, as it is written, ^(V)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

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Footnotes

1 Corinthians 1:21 Or the folly of preaching
1 Corinthians 1:26 Greek according to the flesh
1 Corinthians 1:29 Greek no flesh
1 Corinthians 1:30 Greek And from him

Matthew 5:1-12

English Standard Version

The Sermon on the Mount

5 Seeing the crowds, ^(A)he went up on the mountain, and when he ^(B)sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

²And ^(C)he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³^(D)“Blessed are ^(E)the poor in spirit, for ^(F)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are ^(G)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the ^(H)meek, for they ^(I)shall inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and ^(J)thirst ^(K)for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷“Blessed are ^(L)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are ^(M)the pure in heart, for ^(N)they shall see God.

⁹“Blessed are ^(O)the peacemakers, for ^(P)they shall be called ^(Q)sons^[a] of God.

¹⁰^(R)“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for ^(S)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹^(T)“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^(U)on my account. ¹²^(V)Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^(W)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.