Psalm 135

Psalm 134 Psalm 136

Psalm 135 New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 135

¹Praise the Lord.^[a]

Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
²you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.

³Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
⁴For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.

⁵I know that the Lord is great,
    that our Lord is greater than all gods.
⁶The Lord does whatever pleases him,
    in the heavens and on the earth,
    in the seas and all their depths.
⁷He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
    he sends lightning with the rain
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

⁸He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    the firstborn of people and animals.
⁹He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
    against Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰He struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings—
¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites,
    Og king of Bashan,
    and all the kings of Canaan—
¹²and he gave their land as an inheritance,
    an inheritance to his people Israel.

¹³Your name, Lord, endures forever,
your renown, Lord, through all generations.
¹⁴For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    made by human hands.
¹⁶They have mouths, but cannot speak,
    eyes, but cannot see.
¹⁷They have ears, but cannot hear,
    nor is there breath in their mouths.
¹⁸Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

¹⁹All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
    house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
²⁰house of Levi, praise the Lord;
    you who fear him, praise the Lord.
²¹Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
    to him who dwells in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

Footnotes:

Psalm 135:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verses 3 and 21

New International Version (NIV)

Daniel 6

Daniel 5 Daniel 7

Daniel 6 New International Version (NIV)

Daniel in the Den of Lions

6 ^[a]It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, ²with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. ³Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. ⁵Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

⁶So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! ⁷The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. ⁸Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” ⁹So King Darius put the decree in writing.

¹⁰Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹²So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

¹³Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” ¹⁴When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

¹⁵Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

¹⁶So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

¹⁷A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. ¹⁸Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

¹⁹At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. ²⁰When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

²¹Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! ²²My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

²³The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

²⁵Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

“May you prosper greatly!

²⁶“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God
    and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
    his dominion will never end.
²⁷He rescues and he saves;
    he performs signs and wonders
    in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

²⁸So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus^[b] the Persian.

Footnotes:

Daniel 6:1 In Aramaic texts 6:1-28 is numbered 6:2-29.
Daniel 6:28 Or Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus

New International Version (NIV)

1 John 2:12-17

1 John 1 1 John 3

1 John 2:12-17 New International Version (NIV)

Reasons for Writing

¹²I am writing to you, dear children,
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
¹³I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one.

¹⁴I write to you, dear children,
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God lives in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one.

On Not Loving the World

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[a] is not in them. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.