The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd; I shall not (B)want.
    He makes me lie down in green (C)pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
    He (D)restores my soul.
He (E)leads me in (F)paths of righteousness[b]
    for his (G)name's sake.

Even though I (H)walk through the valley of (I)the shadow of death,[c]
    I will (J)fear no evil,
for (K)you are with me;
    your (L)rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You (M)prepare a table before me
    in (N)the presence of my enemies;
you (O)anoint my head with oil;
    my (P)cup overflows.
Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall (Q)dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
    (R)forever.[g]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 23:2 Hebrew beside waters of rest
  2. Psalm 23:3 Or in right paths
  3. Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of deep darkness
  4. Psalm 23:6 Or Only
  5. Psalm 23:6 Or steadfast love
  6. Psalm 23:6 Or shall return to dwell
  7. Psalm 23:6 Hebrew for length of days

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd,(A) I lack nothing.(B)
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,(C)
    he refreshes my soul.(D)
He guides me(E) along the right paths(F)
    for his name’s sake.(G)
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a](H)
I will fear no evil,(I)
    for you are with me;(J)
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table(K) before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;(L)
    my cup(M) overflows.
Surely your goodness and love(N) will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of the shadow of death

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 (A)“I regret[a] that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and (B)has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to (C)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, (D)“Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, (E)for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, (F)“Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? (G)Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, (H)“I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 (I)But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 15:11 See also verses 29, 35

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret(A) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned(B) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”(C) Samuel was angry,(D) and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel.(E) There he has set up a monument(F) in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small(G) in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder(H) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

20 “But I did obey(I) the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

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25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you (A)speak the truth with his neighbor, for (B)we are members one of another. 26 (C)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and (D)give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather (E)let him labor, (F)doing honest work with his own hands, so (G)that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 (H)Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give (I)grace to those who hear. 30 And (J)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, (K)by whom you were sealed for the day of (L)redemption. 31 (M)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 (N)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (O)forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

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25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully(A) to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.(B) 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]:(C) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.(D) 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,(E) doing something useful with their own hands,(F) that they may have something to share with those in need.(G)

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,(H) but only what is helpful for building others up(I) according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,(J) with whom you were sealed(K) for the day of redemption.(L) 31 Get rid of(M) all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.(N) 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,(O) forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:4 (see Septuagint)