Psalm 74:1-8

New International Version

Psalm 74

A maskil^[a] of Asaph.

¹O God, why have you rejected^(A) us forever?^(B)
    Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?^(C)
²Remember the nation you purchased^(D) long ago,^(E)
    the people of your inheritance,^(F) whom you redeemed^(G)—
    Mount Zion,^(H) where you dwelt.^(I)
³Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,^(J)
    all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

⁴Your foes roared^(K) in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards^(L) as signs.
⁵They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.^(M)
⁶They smashed all the carved^(N) paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled^(O) the dwelling place^(P) of your Name.^(Q)
⁸They said in their hearts, “We will crush^(R) them completely!”
    They burned^(S) every place where God was worshiped in the land.

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Footnotes

Psalm 74:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term

Proverbs 16:16-17

New International Version

¹⁶How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to get insight^(A) rather than silver!^(B)

¹⁷The highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their ways preserve their lives.^(C)

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Luke 1:26-38

New International Version

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel^(A) to Nazareth,^(B) a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph,^(C) a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,^(D) Mary; you have found favor with God.^(E) ³¹You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.^(F) ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.^(G) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,^(H) ³³and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom^(I) will never end.”^(J)

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you,^(K) and the power of the Most High^(L) will overshadow you. So the holy one^(M) to be born will be called^[a] the Son of God.^(N) ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child^(O) in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”^(P)

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

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Footnotes

Luke 1:35 Or So the child to be born will be called holy,

Galatians 2:1-10

New International Version

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

2 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem,^(A) this time with Barnabas.^(B) I took Titus^(C) along also. ²I went in response to a revelation^(D) and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.^(E) I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race^(F) in vain. ³Yet not even Titus,^(G) who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.^(H) ⁴This matter arose because some false believers^(I) had infiltrated our ranks to spy on^(J) the freedom^(K) we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel^(L) might be preserved for you.

⁶As for those who were held in high esteem^(M)—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism^(N)—they added nothing to my message.^(O) ⁷On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task^(P) of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,^[a]^(Q) just as Peter^(R) had been to the circumcised.^[b] ⁸For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle^(S) to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle^(T) to the Gentiles. ⁹James,^(U) Cephas^[c]^(V) and John, those esteemed as pillars,^(W) gave me and Barnabas^(X) the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.^(Y) They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles,^(Z) and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor,^(AA) the very thing I had been eager to do all along.