Psalm 72

New International Version

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice,^(A) O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
²May he judge your people in righteousness,^(B)
your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴May he defend the afflicted^(C) among the people
    and save the children of the needy;^(D)
    may he crush the oppressor.^(E)
⁵May he endure^[a]^(F) as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.^(G)
⁶May he be like rain^(H) falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷In his days may the righteous flourish^(I)
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b]^(J) to the ends of the earth.^(K)
⁹May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish^(L) and of distant shores^(M)
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba^(N) and Seba
    present him gifts.^(O)
¹¹May all kings bow down^(P) to him
    and all nations serve^(Q) him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³He will take pity^(R) on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴He will rescue^(S) them from oppression and violence,
    for precious^(T) is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba^(U) be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.^(V)
¹⁶May grain^(W) abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops^(X) flourish like Lebanon^(Y)
    and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.^(Z)
¹⁷May his name endure forever;^(AA)
    may it continue as long as the sun.^(AB)

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
and they will call him blessed.^(AC)

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,^(AD)
who alone does marvelous deeds.^(AE)
¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name^(AF) forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.^(AG)
Amen and Amen.^(AH)

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.^(AI)

Footnotes

Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)

Genesis 28:10-22

New International Version

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

¹⁰Jacob left Beersheba^(A) and set out for Harran.^(B) ¹¹When he reached a certain place,^(C) he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head^(D) and lay down to sleep. ¹²He had a dream^(E) in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.^(F) ¹³There above it^[a] stood the Lord,^(G) and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.^(H) I will give you and your descendants the land^(I) on which you are lying.^(J) ¹⁴Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you^(K) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.^(L) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.^[b]^(M) ¹⁵I am with you^(N) and will watch over you^(O) wherever you go,^(P) and I will bring you back to this land.^(Q) I will not leave you^(R) until I have done what I have promised you.^(S)”^(T)

¹⁶When Jacob awoke from his sleep,^(U) he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!^(V) This is none other than the house of God;^(W) this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head^(X) and set it up as a pillar^(Y) and poured oil on top of it.^(Z) ¹⁹He called that place Bethel,^[c]^(AA) though the city used to be called Luz.^(AB)

²⁰Then Jacob made a vow,^(AC) saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me^(AD) on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear^(AE) ²¹so that I return safely^(AF) to my father’s household,^(AG) then the Lord^[d] will be my God^(AH) ²²and^[e] this stone that I have set up as a pillar^(AI) will be God’s house,^(AJ) and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.^(AK)”

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Footnotes

Genesis 28:13 Or There beside him
Genesis 28:14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
Genesis 28:19 Bethel means house of God.
Genesis 28:21 Or Since God … father’s household, the Lord
Genesis 28:22 Or household, and the Lord will be my God, ²²then

Hebrews 11:13-22

New International Version

¹³All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;^(A) they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,^(B) admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.^(C) ¹⁴People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.^(D) ¹⁶Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.^(E) Therefore God is not ashamed^(F) to be called their God,^(G) for he has prepared a city^(H) for them.

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.^(I) He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^[a]^(J) ¹⁹Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead,^(K) and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.^(L)

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons,^(M) and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²²By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.^(N)

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