Psalm 87-88

English Standard Version

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. A Song.

87 On ^(B)the holy mount ^(C)stands the city he founded;
²    the Lord ^(D)loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
³^(E)Glorious things of you are spoken,
    O ^(F)city of God. Selah

⁴Among those who ^(G)know me I mention ^(H)Rahab and Babylon;
    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with ^(I)Cush^[a]—
    “This one was born there,” they say.
⁵And of Zion it shall be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her”;
    for the Most High himself will ^(J)establish her.
⁶The Lord records as he ^(K)registers the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah

⁷^(L)Singers and ^(M)dancers alike say,
“All my ^(N)springs are in you.”

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of ^(O)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to ^(P)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil^[b] of ^(Q)Heman the Ezrahite.

88 O Lord, ^(R)God of my salvation,
I ^(S)cry out day and night before you.
²Let my prayer come before you;
^(T)incline your ear to my cry!

³For my soul is full of troubles,
    and ^(U)my life draws near to ^(V)Sheol.
⁴I am counted among those who ^(W)go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
⁵like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom ^(X)you remember no more,
    for they are ^(Y)cut off from your hand.
⁶You have put me in ^(Z)the depths of the pit,
    in the ^(AA)regions dark and ^(AB)deep.
⁷Your wrath ^(AC)lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with ^(AD)all your waves. Selah

⁸You have caused ^(AE)my companions to shun me;
    you have made me ^(AF)a horror^[c] to them.
I am ^(AG)shut in so that I cannot escape;
⁹    ^(AH)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
    I ^(AI)spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰Do you work wonders for the dead?
    ^(AJ)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
¹¹Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹²Are your ^(AK)wonders known in ^(AL)the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of ^(AM)forgetfulness?

¹³But I, O Lord, cry ^(AN)to you;
    ^(AO)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴O Lord, why ^(AP)do you cast my soul away?
    Why ^(AQ)do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.^[d]
¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me;
    your ^(AR)dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷They ^(AS)surround me like a flood ^(AT)all day long;
    they ^(AU)close in on me together.
¹⁸You have caused ^(AV)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.^[e]

Footnotes

Psalm 87:4 Probably Nubia
Psalm 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
Psalm 88:8 Or an abomination
Psalm 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Psalm 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion

Romans 13

English Standard Version

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(A)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(B)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(C)will receive his approval, ⁴for ^(D)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(E)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(F)for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷^(G)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

⁸^(H)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(I)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, ^(J)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(K)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(L)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(M)to wake from sleep. ^(N)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ¹²^(O)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(P)cast off ^(Q)the works of darkness and ^(R)put on the armor of light. ¹³^(S)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(T)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(U)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴But ^(V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(W)to gratify its desires.