Psalm 75
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 75
Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.(A)
2 At the set time that I appoint,
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;(B)
5 do not lift up your horn on high
or speak with insolent neck.”(C)
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,(D)
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.(E)
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.(F)
9 But I will rejoice[a] forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.(G)
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.(H)
Footnotes
- 75.9 Gk: Heb declare
Psalm 76
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 76
Israel’s God—Judge of All the Earth
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1 In Judah God is known;
his name is great in Israel.(A)
2 His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.(B)
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah(C)
4 Glorious are you, more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.[a]
5 The courageous were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
was able to lift a hand.(D)
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome!
Who can stand before you
when your anger is roused?(E)
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still(F)
9 when God rose up to establish judgment,
to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah(G)
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you,
when you bind the last bit of your[b] wrath around you.(H)
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
let all who are around him bring gifts
to the one who is awesome,(I)
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.(J)
Sirach 46:1-10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Joshua and Caleb
46 Joshua son of Nun was mighty in war
and was the successor of Moses in the prophetic office.
He became, as his name implies,
a great savior of God’s[a] elect,
to take vengeance on the enemies who rose against them,
so that he might give Israel its inheritance.(A)
2 How glorious he was when he lifted his hands
and brandished his sword against the cities!(B)
3 Who before him ever stood so firm?
For he waged the wars of the Lord.
4 Was it not through him that the sun stood still
and one day became as long as two?(C)
5 He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One,
when enemies pressed him on every side,
and the great Lord answered him
with hailstones of mighty power.(D)
6 He overwhelmed that nation in battle,
and on the slope he destroyed his opponents,
so that the nations might know his armament,
because their battle was against[b] the Lord,
for he was a devoted follower of the Mighty One.(E)
7 And in the days of Moses he showed compassion,
he and Caleb son of Jephunneh:
they opposed the congregation,[c]
restrained the people from sin,
and stilled their wicked grumbling.(F)
8 And these two alone were spared
out of six hundred thousand infantry,
to lead the people[d] into their inheritance,
the land flowing with milk and honey.(G)
9 The Lord gave Caleb strength,
which remained with him in his old age,
so that he went up to the hill country,
and his children obtained it for an inheritance,(H)
10 so that all the Israelites might see
how good it is to follow the Lord.
Luke 20:1-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
20 One day as he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders(A) 2 and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”(B) 3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” 5 They discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”(C) 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
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Sirach 42:15-25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Works of God in Nature
15 I will now call to mind the works of the Lord
and will declare what I have seen.
By the word of the Lord his works are made,
and all his creatures do his will.[a](A)
16 The sun looks down on everything with its light,
and the work of the Lord is full of his glory.
17 The Lord has not empowered even his holy ones
to recount all his marvelous works,
which the Lord the Almighty has established
so that the universe may stand firm in his glory.(B)
18 He searches out the abyss and the human heart;
he understands their subtleties.[b]
For the Most High knows all that may be known;
he sees from of old the things that are to come.[c](C)
19 He discloses what has been and what is to be,
and he reveals the traces of hidden things.(D)
20 No thought escapes him,
and not a single word is hidden from him.(E)
21 He has set in order the splendors of his wisdom;
he is from all eternity one and the same.
Nothing can be added or taken away,
and he needs no one to be his counselor.(F)
22 How desirable are all his works,
and how sparkling they are to see
23 All these things live and remain forever;
each creature is preserved to meet a particular need.[e]
24 All things come in pairs, one opposite the other,
and he has made nothing incomplete.(H)
25 Each supplements the virtues of the other.
Who could ever tire of seeing his glory?
Ephesians 3:14-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Prayer for the Readers
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,[a] 15 from whom every family[b] in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit(A) 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth(B) 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.(C)
20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,(D) 21 to him be glory in the church and[c] in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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Psalm 104
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 104
God the Creator and Provider
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,(A)
2 wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent;(B)
3 you set the beams of your[a] chambers on the waters;
you make the clouds your[b] chariot;
you ride on the wings of the wind;(C)
4 you make the winds your[c] messengers,
fire and flame your[d] ministers.(D)
5 You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.(E)
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.(F)
7 At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys,
to the place that you appointed for them.(G)
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.(H)
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,(I)
11 giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.(J)
12 By the streams[e] the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.(K)
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.(L)
14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle
and plants for people to cultivate,
to bring forth food from the earth(M)
15 and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine
and bread to strengthen the human heart.(N)
16 The trees of the field[f] are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.(O)
19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.(P)
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.(Q)
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.(R)
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
23 People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.(S)
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.(T)
25 There is the sea, great and wide;
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.(U)
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;(V)
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.(W)
30 When you send forth your spirit,[g] they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.(X)
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—(Y)
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.(Z)
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.(AA)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!(AB)
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.