Psalm 115(A)

Not to us, Lord, not to us
    but to your name be the glory,(B)
    because of your love and faithfulness.(C)

Why do the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”(D)
Our God is in heaven;(E)
    he does whatever pleases him.(F)
But their idols are silver and gold,(G)
    made by human hands.(H)
They have mouths, but cannot speak,(I)
    eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,
    noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel,
    feet, but cannot walk,
    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

All you Israelites, trust(J) in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron,(K) trust in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.
11 You who fear him,(L) trust in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.

12 The Lord remembers(M) us and will bless us:(N)
    He will bless his people Israel,
    he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear(O) the Lord
    small and great alike.

14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,(P)
    both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(Q) and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord,(R)
    but the earth he has given(S) to mankind.
17 It is not the dead(T) who praise the Lord,
    those who go down to the place of silence;
18 it is we who extol the Lord,(U)
    both now and forevermore.(V)

Praise the Lord.[a](W)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 115:18 Hebrew Hallelu Yah

Then, at the evening sacrifice,(A) I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands(B) spread out to the Lord my God and prayed:

“I am too ashamed(C) and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.(D) From the days of our ancestors(E) until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword(F) and captivity,(G) to pillage and humiliation(H) at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.

“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious(I) in leaving us a remnant(J) and giving us a firm place[a](K) in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes(L) and a little relief in our bondage. Though we are slaves,(M) our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness(N) in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins,(O) and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

10 “But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands(P) 11 you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: ‘The land you are entering(Q) to possess is a land polluted(R) by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices(S) they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them(T) at any time, that you may be strong(U) and eat the good things(V) of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.’(W)

13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil(X) deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved(Y) and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry(Z) with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us,(AA) leaving us no remnant(AB) or survivor? 15 Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous!(AC) We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand(AD) in your presence.(AE)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 9:8 Or a foothold

The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy

16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while(A) you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”(B)

17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’(C) and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”(D) 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn(E) while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.(F) 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain(G) because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief,(H) but I will see you again(I) and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.(J) 23 In that day(K) you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.(L) 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive,(M) and your joy will be complete.(N)

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