Psalm 26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 26
Plea for Justice and Declaration of Righteousness
Of David.
1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.(B)
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.[a](C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;(D)
5 I hate the company of evildoers
and will not sit with the wicked.(E)
6 I wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O Lord,(F)
7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving
and telling all your wondrous deeds.(G)
8 O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell
and the place where your glory abides.(H)
9 Do not sweep me away with sinners
nor my life with the bloodthirsty,(I)
10 those in whose hands are evil devices
and whose right hands are full of bribes.(J)
11 But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me and be gracious to me.(K)
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.(L)
Footnotes
- 26.3 Or in your faithfulness
Psalm 28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 28
Prayer for Help and Thanksgiving for It
Of David.
1 To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.(A)
2 Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.[a](B)
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while mischief is in their hearts.(C)
4 Repay them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.(D)
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.(E)
6 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.(F)
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.(G)
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.(H)
9 O save your people and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.(I)
Footnotes
- 28.2 Heb your innermost sanctuary
James 2:14-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Faith without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it?(A) 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food(B) 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith.(C) 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.(D) 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless?[a] 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?(E) 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion.(F) 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”[b] and he was called the friend of God.(G) 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers[c] and sent them out by another road?(H) 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
Read full chapter
Mark 14:66-72
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Peter Denies Jesus
66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the female servants of the high priest came by.(A) 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”(B) 68 But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt.[a] Then the cock crowed.[b](C) 69 And the female servant, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and you talk like one.”[c](D) 71 But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” 72 At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.(E)
Read full chapter
Psalm 36
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 36
Human Wickedness and Divine Goodness
To the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
before their eyes.(A)
2 For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
they have ceased to act wisely and do good.(B)
4 They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil.(C)
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains;
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.(D)
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.(E)
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.(F)
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.(G)
10 O continue your steadfast love to those who know you
and your salvation to the upright of heart!
11 Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me
or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie prostrate;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.(H)
Psalm 39
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 39
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”(A)
2 I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse;(B)
3 my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.(C)
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah(D)
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up and do not know who will gather.(E)
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.(F)
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.(G)
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.(H)
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows[a] of your hand.(I)
11 “You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah(J)
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.(K)
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.”(L)
Footnotes
- 39.10 Heb hostility
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.