Psalm 119:49-72
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
49 Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.(A)
51 The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.(B)
52 When I think of your ordinances from of old,
I take comfort, O Lord.(C)
53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
those who forsake your law.(D)
54 Your statutes have been my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
and keep your law.(E)
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
for I have kept your precepts.
57 The Lord is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.(F)
58 I implore your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.(G)
59 When I think of your ways,
I turn my feet to your decrees;(H)
60 I hurry and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law.(I)
62 At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous ordinances.(J)
63 I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.(K)
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes.(L)
65 You have dealt well with your servant,
O Lord, according to your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was humbled I went astray,
but now I keep your word.(M)
68 You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.(N)
69 The arrogant smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.(O)
70 Their hearts are thick like fat,[a]
but I delight in your law.(P)
71 It is good for me that I was humbled,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.(Q)
Footnotes
- 119.70 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Philippians 2:1-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Imitating Christ’s Humility
2 If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy,(A) 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.(B) 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.(C) 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.(D) 5 Let the same mind be in you that was[a] in Christ Jesus,(E)
6 who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,(F)
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,(G)
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.(H)
9 Therefore God exalted him even more highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,(I)
10 so that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,(J)
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.(K)
Footnotes
- 2.5 Or that you have
Matthew 2:1-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Visit of the Magi
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem,(A) 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east[b] and have come to pay him homage.”(B) 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:(C)
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd[d] my people Israel.’ ”(D)
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped,[g] they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.(E) 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.(F)
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Psalm 49
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 49
The Folly of Trust in Riches
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
give ear, all inhabitants of the world,(A)
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.(B)
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.(C)
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,(D)
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?(E)
7 Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life;[a]
there is no price one can give to God for it.(F)
8 For the ransom of life is costly
and can never suffice,(G)
9 that one should live on forever
and never see the Pit.(H)
10 When we look at the wise, they die;
fool and dolt perish together
and leave their wealth to others.(I)
11 Their graves[b] are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they named lands their own.(J)
12 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.(K)
13 Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
the end of those[c] who are pleased with their lot. Selah(L)
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,[d]
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home.[e](M)
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah(N)
16 Do not be afraid when some become rich,
when the wealth of their houses increases.(O)
17 For when they die they will carry nothing away;
their wealth will not go down after them.(P)
18 Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
—for you are praised when you do well for yourself—(Q)
19 they[f] will go to the company of their ancestors,
who will never again see the light.(R)
20 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.(S)
Psalm 53
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 53
Denunciation of Godlessness
To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt; they commit abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.(A)
2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.(B)
3 They have all fallen away; they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.(C)
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon God?(D)
5 There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;[a]
they will be put to shame,[b] for God has rejected them.(E)
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.(F)
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.