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Psalm 31

Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;
    do not let me ever be put to shame;
    in your righteousness deliver me.(A)
Incline your ear to me;
    rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
    a strong fortress to save me.(B)

You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
    for your name’s sake lead me and guide me;(C)
take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
    for you are my refuge.(D)

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Psalm 31[a](A)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;(B)
    let me never be put to shame;
    deliver me in your righteousness.(C)
Turn your ear to me,(D)
    come quickly to my rescue;(E)
be my rock of refuge,(F)
    a strong fortress to save me.
Since you are my rock and my fortress,(G)
    for the sake of your name(H) lead and guide me.
Keep me free from the trap(I) that is set for me,
    for you are my refuge.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 31:1 In Hebrew texts 31:1-24 is numbered 31:2-25.

15 My times are in your hand;
    deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.(A)
16 Let your face shine upon your servant;
    save me in your steadfast love.(B)

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15 My times(A) are in your hands;
    deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
    from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine(B) on your servant;
    save me in your unfailing love.(C)

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14 “A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,(A)
    comes up like a flower and withers,
    flees like a shadow and does not last.(B)
Do you fix your eyes on such a one?
    Do you bring me into judgment with you?(C)
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
    No one can.(D)
Since their days are determined,
    and the number of their months is known to you,
    and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass,(E)
look away from them and desist,[a]
    that they may enjoy, like laborers, their days.(F)

“For there is hope for a tree,
    if it is cut down, that it will sprout again
    and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grows old in the earth
    and its stump dies in the ground,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
    and put forth branches like a young plant.(G)
10 But mortals die and are laid low;
    humans expire, and where are they?(H)
11 As waters fail from a lake
    and a river wastes away and dries up,(I)
12 so mortals lie down and do not rise again;
    until the heavens are no more, they will not awake
    or be roused out of their sleep.(J)
13 O that you would hide me in Sheol,
    that you would conceal me until your wrath is past,
    that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!(K)
14 If mortals die, will they live again?
    All the days of my service I would wait
    until my release should come.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.6 Cn: Heb that they may desist

14 “Mortals, born of woman,(A)
    are of few days(B) and full of trouble.(C)
They spring up like flowers(D) and wither away;(E)
    like fleeting shadows,(F) they do not endure.(G)
Do you fix your eye on them?(H)
    Will you bring them[a] before you for judgment?(I)
Who can bring what is pure(J) from the impure?(K)
    No one!(L)
A person’s days are determined;(M)
    you have decreed the number of his months(N)
    and have set limits he cannot exceed.(O)
So look away from him and let him alone,(P)
    till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(Q)

“At least there is hope for a tree:(R)
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
    and its new shoots(S) will not fail.(T)
Its roots may grow old in the ground
    and its stump(U) die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water(V) it will bud
    and put forth shoots like a plant.(W)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;(X)
    he breathes his last and is no more.(Y)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
    or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,(Z)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;(AA)
    till the heavens are no more,(AB) people will not awake
    or be roused from their sleep.(AC)

13 “If only you would hide me in the grave(AD)
    and conceal me till your anger has passed!(AE)
If only you would set me a time
    and then remember(AF) me!(AG)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
    All the days of my hard service(AH)
    I will wait for my renewal[b](AI) to come.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 14:3 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me
  2. Job 14:14 Or release

God’s Steadfast Love Endures

I am one who has seen affliction
    under the rod of God’s[a] wrath;(A)
he has driven and brought me
    into darkness without any light;
against me alone he turns his hand,
    again and again, all day long.(B)

He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
    he has broken my bones;(C)
he has besieged and enveloped me
    with bitterness and tribulation;
he has made me sit in darkness
    like the dead of long ago.(D)

He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
    he has put heavy chains on me;(E)
though I call and cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer;(F)
he has blocked my ways with hewn stones;
    he has made my paths crooked.

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Footnotes

  1. 3.1 Heb his

[a]I am the man who has seen affliction(A)
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.(B)
He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness(C) rather than light;
indeed, he has turned his hand against me(D)
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and my flesh grow old(E)
    and has broken my bones.(F)
He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness(G) and hardship.(H)
He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.(I)

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(J)
    he has weighed me down with chains.(K)
Even when I call out or cry for help,(L)
    he shuts out my prayer.(M)
He has barred(N) my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.(O)

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.

19 The thought of my affliction and my homelessness
    is wormwood and gall!(A)
20 My soul continually thinks of it
    and is bowed down within me.(B)
21 But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,[a]
    his mercies never come to an end;(C)
23 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.(D)
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 3.22 Syr Tg: Heb Lord, we are not cut off

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness(A) and the gall.(B)
20 I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast(C) within me.(D)
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord’s great love(E) we are not consumed,(F)
    for his compassions never fail.(G)
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.(H)
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;(I)
    therefore I will wait for him.”

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Good Stewards of God’s Grace

Since, therefore, Christ suffered in the flesh,[a] arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin),(A) so as to live for the rest of your time in the flesh no longer by human desires but by the will of God.(B) You have already spent enough time in doing what the gentiles like to do, living in debauchery, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry.(C) They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme.[b](D) But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.(E) For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.

The end of all things is near;[c] therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers.(F) Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 4.1 Other ancient authorities add for us or for you
  2. 4.4 Or they malign you
  3. 4.7 Or is at hand

Living for God

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body,(A) arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.(B) As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires,(C) but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past(D) doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.(E) They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.(F) But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.(G) For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead,(H) so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

The end of all things is near.(I) Therefore be alert and of sober mind(J) so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply,(K) because love covers over a multitude of sins.(L)

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The Burial of Jesus

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who also was himself a disciple of Jesus.(A) 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60 and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.(B) 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’(C) 64 Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, his disciples may go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard[a] of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.”[b](D) 66 So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 27.65 Or Take a guard
  2. 27.65 Gk you know how

The Burial of Jesus(A)

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb(B) that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’(C) 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body(D) and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

65 “Take a guard,”(E) Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal(F) on the stone(G) and posting the guard.(H)

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The Burial of Jesus

38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed his body. 39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.(A) 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews.(B) 41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

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The Burial of Jesus(A)

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.(B) With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus,(C) the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[a] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.(D) This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.(E) 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation(F) and since the tomb was nearby,(G) they laid Jesus there.

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Footnotes

  1. John 19:39 Or about 34 kilograms