Psalm 123-125

English Standard Version

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

123 To you I ^(B)lift up my eyes,
    O you who are ^(C)enthroned in the heavens!
²Behold, as the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he has mercy upon us.

³^(D)Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of ^(E)contempt.
⁴Our soul has had more than enough
    of ^(F)the scorn of ^(G)those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of ^(H)the proud.

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of ^(I)Ascents. Of David.

124 ^(J)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
    ^(K)let Israel now say—
²if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
    when people rose up against us,
³then they would have ^(L)swallowed us up alive,
    when their anger was kindled against us;
⁴then ^(M)the flood would have ^(N)swept us away,
    the torrent would have gone ^(O)over us;
⁵then over us would have gone
    the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
    who has not given us
    as prey to their teeth!
⁷We have escaped like a bird
    from ^(P)the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
    and we have escaped!

⁸^(Q)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of ^(R)Ascents.

125 Those who ^(S)trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which ^(T)cannot be moved, but abides forever.
²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so ^(U)the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.
³For ^(V)the scepter of wickedness shall not ^(W)rest
    on ^(X)the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous ^(Y)stretch out
    their hands to do wrong.
⁴^(Z)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
    and to those who are ^(AA)upright in their hearts!
⁵But those who ^(AB)turn aside to their ^(AC)crooked ways
    the Lord will lead away with ^(AD)evildoers!
    ^(AE)Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 128-130

English Standard Version

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

128 ^(B)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who ^(C)walks in his ways!
²You ^(D)shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

³Your wife will be like ^(E)a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like ^(F)olive shoots
    around your table.
⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

⁵^(G)The Lord bless you ^(H)from Zion!
    May you see ^(I)the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
⁶May you see your ^(J)children's children!
    ^(K)Peace be upon Israel!

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of ^(L)Ascents.

129 “Greatly^[a] have they ^(M)afflicted me ^(N)from my youth”—
    ^(O)let Israel now say—
²“Greatly have they ^(P)afflicted me ^(Q)from my youth,
    ^(R)yet they have not prevailed against me.
³^(S)The plowers plowed ^(T)upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
⁴The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut ^(U)the cords of the wicked.
⁵May all who hate Zion
    be ^(V)put to shame and turned backward!
⁶Let them be like ^(W)the grass on the housetops,
    which ^(X)withers before it grows up,
⁷with which the reaper does not fill his hand
    nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
⁸nor do those who pass by say,
    ^(Y)“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
    We ^(Z)bless you in the name of the Lord!”

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of ^(AA)Ascents.

130 Out of ^(AB)the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
² O Lord, hear my voice!
^(AC)Let your ears be attentive
to ^(AD)the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³If you, O Lord, should ^(AE)mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could ^(AF)stand?
⁴But with you there is ^(AG)forgiveness,
^(AH)that you may be feared.

⁵I ^(AI)wait for the Lord, ^(AJ)my soul waits,
    and ^(AK)in his word I hope;
⁶my soul ^(AL)waits for the Lord
    more than ^(AM)watchmen for ^(AN)the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷O Israel, ^(AO)hope in the Lord!
    For ^(AP)with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸And he will ^(AQ)redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.

Footnotes

Psalm 129:1 Or Often; also verse 2

James 2

English Standard Version

The Sin of Partiality

2 My brothers,^[a] ^(A)show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(B)the Lord of glory. ²For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, ³and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” ^(C)while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” ⁴have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become ^(D)judges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers, ^(E)has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be ^(F)rich in faith and heirs of ^(G)the kingdom, ^(H)which he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you ^(I)have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who ^(J)drag you ^(K)into court? ⁷Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable ^(L)name by which you were called?

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ^(M)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹But if you ^(N)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point ^(O)has become guilty of all of it. ¹¹For he who said, ^(P)“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ^(Q)“Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under ^(R)the law of liberty. ¹³For ^(S)judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith ^(T)but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵^(U)If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶^(V)and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[b] is that? ¹⁷So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^(W)apart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^(X)by my works. ¹⁹^(Y)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^(Z)the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ²¹^(AA)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that ^(AB)faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^(AC)by his works; ²³and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^(AD)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^(AE)friend of God. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And in the same way was not also ^(AF)Rahab the prostitute justified by works ^(AG)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.