Psalm 89:1-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 89
God’s Covenant with David
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,[a] forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.(A)
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.(B)
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to my servant David:(C)
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever
and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah(D)
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.(E)
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,(F)
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and awesome[b] above all who are around him?(G)
8 O Lord God of hosts,
who is as mighty as you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.(H)
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.(I)
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.(J)
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it—you founded them.(K)
12 The north and the south[c]—you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.(L)
13 You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.(M)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.(N)
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;(O)
16 they exult in your name all day long
and extol[d] your righteousness.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.(P)
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.(Q)
Acts 20:17-38
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders
17 From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him.(A) 18 When they came to him, he said to them:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,(B) 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. 20 I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house,(C) 21 as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus.[a](D) 22 And now, as a captive to the Spirit,[b] I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,(E) 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me.(F) 24 But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.(G)
25 “And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again.(H) 26 Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,(I) 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.(J) 28 Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God[c] that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.[d](K) 29 I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.(L) 30 Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears.(M) 32 And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified.(N) 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing.(O) 34 You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions.(P) 35 In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”(Q)
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed.(R) 37 There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,(S) 38 grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again. Then they brought him to the ship.(T)
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Mark 9:42-50
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Temptations to Sin
42 “If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me[a] to sin,[b] it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.(A) 43 If your hand causes you to sin,[c] cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell,[d] to the unquenchable fire.[e](B) 45 And if your foot causes you to sin,[f] cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.[g][h](C) 47 And if your eye causes you to sin,[i] tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,[j](D) 48 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.(E)
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.[k](F) 50 Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?[l] Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”(G)
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- 9.42 Other ancient authorities lack in me
- 9.42 Or stumble
- 9.43 Or stumble
- 9.43 Gk Gehenna
- 9.43 Other ancient authorities add 9.44 and 9.46, which are identical to 9.48
- 9.45 Or stumble
- 9.45 Gk Gehenna
- 9.45 Other ancient authorities add 9.44 and 9.46, which are identical to 9.48
- 9.47 Or stumble
- 9.47 Gk Gehenna
- 9.49 Other ancient authorities add or substitute and every sacrifice will be salted with salt
- 9.50 Or how can you restore its saltiness?
Psalm 89:19-52
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one and said,
“I have set the crown[a] on one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.(A)
20 I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;(B)
21 my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.(C)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.(D)
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.(E)
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’(F)
27 I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.(G)
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.(H)
29 I will establish his line forever
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.(I)
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my ordinances,(J)
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges,(K)
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.(L)
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.(M)
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.(N)
36 His line shall continue forever,
and his throne endure before me like the sun.(O)
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
an enduring witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have spurned and rejected him;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.(P)
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.(Q)
40 You have broken through all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.(R)
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(S)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.(T)
43 Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not supported him in battle.(U)
44 You have removed the scepter from his hand[b]
and hurled his throne to the ground.(V)
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah(W)
46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?(X)
47 Remember how short my time is—[c]
for what vanity you have created all mortals!(Y)
48 Who can live and never see death?
Who can escape the power of Sheol? Selah(Z)
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?(AA)
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted,
how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,[d](AB)
51 with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,
with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.(AC)
52 Blessed be the Lord forever.
Amen and Amen.(AD)
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.