Psalm 107:33-43
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,(A)
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(B)
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.(C)
36 And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.(D)
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.(E)
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,(F)
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes,(G)
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress
and makes their families like flocks.(H)
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness stops its mouth.(I)
43 Let those who are wise pay attention to these things
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.(J)
Psalm 107:33-43
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,(A)
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(B)
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.(C)
36 And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.(D)
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.(E)
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,(F)
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes,(G)
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress
and makes their families like flocks.(H)
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness stops its mouth.(I)
43 Let those who are wise pay attention to these things
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.(J)
Jeremiah 23:9-15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
False Prophets of Hope Denounced
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is crushed within me;
all my bones shake;
I have become like a drunkard,
like one overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.(A)
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land mourns,
and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.
Their course has been evil,
and their might is not right.(B)
11 Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even in my house I have found their wickedness,
says the Lord.(C)
12 Therefore their way shall be to them
like slippery paths in the darkness,
into which they shall be driven and fall,
for I will bring disaster upon them
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.(D)
13 In the prophets of Samaria
I saw a disgusting thing:
they prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.(E)
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a more shocking thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from wickedness;
all of them have become like Sodom to me
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.(F)
15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
I am going to make them eat wormwood
and give them poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land.(G)
Romans 9:1-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s Election of Israel
9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit(A)— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.(B) 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;(C) 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever.[a] Amen.(D)
6 It is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all those descended from Israel are Israelites,(E) 7 and not all of Abraham’s children are his descendants, but “it is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.”(F) 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9 For the word of the promise is this: “About this time I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”(G) 10 Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac:(H) 11 even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, 12 not by works but by his call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.”(I) 13 As it is written,
“I have loved Jacob,
but I have hated Esau.”(J)
14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!(K) 15 For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”(L)
16 So it depends not on human will or exertion but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I may show my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”(M) 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.
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- 9.5 Or Messiah, who is God over all, blessed forever; or Messiah. May he who is God over all be blessed forever
John 6:60-71
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Words of Eternal Life
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?(A) 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?(B) 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the ones who did not believe and who was the one who would betray him.(C) 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”(D)
66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”[a](E) 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.”(F) 71 He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot,[b] for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
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Psalm 33
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 33
The Greatness and Goodness of God
1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.(B)
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.(C)
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.(D)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.(E)
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.(F)
7 He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him,(G)
9 for he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.(H)
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.(I)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.(J)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.(K)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.(L)
14 From where he sits enthroned he watches
all the inhabitants of the earth—
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.(M)
16 A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.(N)
17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.(O)
18 Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,(P)
19 to deliver their soul from death
and to keep them alive in famine.(Q)
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
21 Our heart is glad in him
because we trust in his holy name.(R)
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
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.