Psalm 38
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 38
A Penitent Sufferer’s Plea for Healing
A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.(A)
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.(B)
3 There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.(C)
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.(D)
5 My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness;(E)
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all day long I go around mourning.(F)
7 For my loins are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.(G)
8 I am utterly spent and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.(H)
9 O Lord, all my longing is known to you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.(I)
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,
and my neighbors stand far off.(J)
12 Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin
and meditate on treachery all day long.(K)
13 But I am like the deaf; I do not hear;
like the mute, who cannot speak.(L)
14 Truly, I am like one who does not hear
and in whose mouth is no retort.
15 But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.(M)
16 For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me,
those who boast against me when my foot slips.”(N)
17 For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.(O)
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.(P)
19 Those who are my foes without cause[a] are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.(Q)
20 Those who render me evil for good
are my adversaries because I follow after good.(R)
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me;(S)
22 make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.(T)
Footnotes
- 38.19 Q ms: MT my living foes
Isaiah 44:24-45:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by myself spread out the earth;(A)
25 who frustrates the omens of soothsayers
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns back the wise
and makes their knowledge foolish;(B)
26 who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the prediction of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,”
and of the cities of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins”;(C)
27 who says to the deep, “Be dry—
I will dry up your rivers”;(D)
28 who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose”;
and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”(E)
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed:(F)
2 I will go before you
and level the mountains;[a]
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron;(G)
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.(H)
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name;
I give you a title, though you do not know me.(I)
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,(J)
6 so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.(K)
7 I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.(L)
Footnotes
- 45.2 Q ms Gk: MT the swellings
Ephesians 5:1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 1
Renounce Pagan Ways
3 But sexual immorality and impurity of any kind or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints.(C) 4 Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. 5 Be sure of this, that no sexually immoral or impure person or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.(D)
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient.[b](E) 7 Therefore do not be associated with them, 8 for once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light,(F) 9 for the fruit of the light[c] is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them.(G) 12 For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly, 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”(H)
Mark 4:1-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.(A) 2 He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:(B) 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”(C) 9 And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(D)
The Purpose of the Parables
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret[a] of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything comes in parables,(E) 12 in order that
‘they may indeed look but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’ ”(F)
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.(G) 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.[b] 18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the age and the lure of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20 And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
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Psalm 119:25-48
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
25 My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to your word.(A)
26 When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes.(B)
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.(C)
28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.(D)
29 Put false ways far from me,
and graciously teach me your law.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your ordinances before me.
31 I cling to your decrees, O Lord;
let me not be put to shame.(E)
32 I run the way of your commandments,
for you enlarge my understanding.(F)
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,
and I will observe it to the end.(G)
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.(H)
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
36 Turn my heart to your decrees
and not to selfish gain.(I)
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
be gracious to me[a] according to your word.(J)
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,
which is for those who fear you.(K)
39 Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
for your ordinances are good.
40 See, I have longed for your precepts;
in your righteousness be gracious to me.[b](L)
41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
your salvation according to your promise.(M)
42 Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,
for I trust in your word.(N)
43 Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your ordinances.
44 I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
45 I shall walk at liberty,
for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will also speak of your decrees before kings
and shall not be put to shame;(O)
47 I find my delight in your commandments
because I love them.
48 I revere your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.(P)
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.