Psalm 34

Praise for Deliverance from Trouble

Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,^{(A) 2} with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,^{(B) 3} making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: ⁴ there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,^{(C) 5} one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.^[a]

⁷ But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.^{(D) 8} Therefore it is said,

⁹ (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended^[c] into the lower parts of the earth?^{[d] 10} He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) ¹¹ He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers^{(F) 12} to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,^{(G) 13} until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity,^[e] to the measure of the full stature of Christ.^{(H) 14} We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming;^{(I) 15} but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,^{(J) 16} from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Feeding the Five Thousand

6 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.^{[a] 2} A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. ³ Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. ⁵ When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”^{(A) 6} He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. ⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they^[b] sat down, about five thousand in all. ¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.^{(B) 12} When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”^(C)

Psalm 33

The Greatness and Goodness of God