Psalm 70
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 70
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. Of David, for the memorial offering.
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.
O Lord, make haste to help me!(A)
2 Let those be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who desire to hurt me.(B)
3 Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!”
turn back because of their shame.(C)
4 Let all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!(D)
Psalm 71
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 71
Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help
1 In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.(A)
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.(B)
3 Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress[a] to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.(C)
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.(D)
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.(E)
6 From my birth I have leaned upon you,
my protector since my mother’s womb.[b]
My praise is continually of you.(F)
7 I have been like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.(G)
8 My mouth is filled with your praise
and with your glory all day long.(H)
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is spent.(I)
10 For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult together.(J)
11 They say, “Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken,
for there is no one to deliver.”(K)
12 O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!(L)
13 Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.(M)
14 But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.(N)
16 I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.(O)
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.(P)
18 So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.[c]
Your power(Q) 19 and your righteousness, O God,
reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?(R)
20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.(S)
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22 I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.(T)
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.(U)
24 All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame and disgraced.(V)
Psalm 71
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 71
Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help
1 In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.(A)
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.(B)
3 Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress[a] to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.(C)
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.(D)
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.(E)
6 From my birth I have leaned upon you,
my protector since my mother’s womb.[b]
My praise is continually of you.(F)
7 I have been like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.(G)
8 My mouth is filled with your praise
and with your glory all day long.(H)
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is spent.(I)
10 For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult together.(J)
11 They say, “Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken,
for there is no one to deliver.”(K)
12 O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!(L)
13 Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.(M)
14 But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.(N)
16 I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.(O)
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.(P)
18 So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.[c]
Your power(Q) 19 and your righteousness, O God,
reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?(R)
20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.(S)
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22 I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.(T)
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.(U)
24 All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame and disgraced.(V)
Revelation 14:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Lamb and the 144,000
14 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.(A) 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,(B) 3 and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb,(C) 5 and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.(D)
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live[a] on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people.(E) 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”(F)
8 Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her prostitution.”(G)
9 Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, “Those who worship the beast and its image and receive the brand on their foreheads or on their hands,(H) 10 they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.(I) 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the brand of its name.”(J)
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of[b] Jesus.(K)
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,”[c] says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”(L)
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Matthew 14:1-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus,(A) 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,(B) 4 because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”(C) 5 Though Herod[a] wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.(D) 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took the body and buried him; then they went and told Jesus.
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Psalm 74
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 74
Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
1 O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?(A)
2 Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.(B)
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.(C)
4 Your foes have roared within your holy place;
they set up their emblems there.(D)
5 At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.[a](E)
6 And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it to the ground.(F)
8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.(G)
9 We do not see our emblems;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who knows how long.(H)
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?(I)
11 Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand in[b] your bosom?(J)
12 Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the earth.(K)
13 You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.(L)
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food[c] for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.(M)
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries[d] and the sun.(N)
17 You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.(O)
18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and an impious people reviles your name.(P)
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.(Q)
20 Have regard for your[e] covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.(R)
21 Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.(S)
22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.(T)
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.(U)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.