Psalm 1

English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man^[a]
    who ^(A)walks not in ^(B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in ^(C)the way of sinners,
    nor ^(D)sits in ^(E)the seat of ^(F)scoffers;
²but his ^(G)delight is in the law^[b] of the Lord,
    and on his ^(H)law he meditates day and night.

³He is like ^(I)a tree
    planted by ^(J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its ^(K)leaf does not wither.
^(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴The wicked are not so,
    but are like ^(M)chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked ^(N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in ^(O)the congregation of the righteous;
⁶for the Lord ^(P)knows ^(Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
Psalm 1:2 Or instruction

Psalm 2

English Standard Version

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

2 ^(A)Why do ^(B)the nations rage^[a]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
²The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his ^(C)Anointed, saying,
³“Let us ^(D)burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

⁴He who ^(E)sits in the heavens ^(F)laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
⁵Then he will speak to them in his ^(G)wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
⁶“As for me, I have ^(H)set my King
    on ^(I)Zion, my ^(J)holy hill.”

⁷I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, ^(K)“You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and ^(L)the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹You shall ^(M)break^[b] them with ^(N)a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like ^(O)a potter's vessel.”

¹⁰Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
¹¹^(P)Serve the Lord with ^(Q)fear,
    and ^(R)rejoice with ^(S)trembling.
¹²^(T)Kiss ^(U)the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his ^(V)wrath is quickly kindled.
^(W)Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Footnotes

Psalm 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
Psalm 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule

Exodus 10

English Standard Version

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, ²and ^(A)that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, ^(B)that you may know that I am the Lord.”

³So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to ^(C)humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. ⁴For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^(D)locusts into your country, ⁵and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall ^(E)eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, ⁶and they shall fill ^(F)your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” ⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, ^(G)“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” ⁹Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for ^(H)we must hold a feast to the Lord.” ¹⁰But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your ^(I)little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.^[a] ¹¹No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

¹²Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(J)“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ^(K)eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” ¹³So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴^(L)The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, ^(M)such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. ¹⁵They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and ^(N)they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. ¹⁶Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, ^(O)“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. ¹⁷Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and ^(P)plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” ¹⁸So ^(Q)he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. ¹⁹And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them ^(R)into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. ²⁰But the Lord ^(S)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(T)“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^(U)darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” ²²So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. ²³They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but ^(V)all the people of Israel had light where they lived. ²⁴Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ^(W)“Go, serve the Lord; ^(X)your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” ²⁵But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” ²⁷But the Lord ^(Y)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” ²⁹Moses said, “As you say! ^(Z)I will not see your face again.”

Footnotes

Exodus 10:10 Hebrew before your face

Matthew 13:44-58

English Standard Version

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven ^(A)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^(B)he goes and sells all that he has and ^(C)buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶who, on finding ^(D)one pearl of great value, ^(E)went and sold all that he had and ^(F)bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^(G)like a net that was thrown into the sea and ^(H)gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When it was full, ^(I)men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at ^(J)the end of the age. The angels will come out and ^(K)separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰^(L)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(M)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

⁵¹^(N)“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵²And he said to them, “Therefore every ^(O)scribe ^(P)who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^(Q)brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ⁵⁴^(R)and coming to ^(S)his hometown ^(T)he taught them in their synagogue, so that ^(U)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵^(V)Is not this ^(W)the carpenter's^[a] son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not ^(X)his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷And ^(Y)they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ^(Z)“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸And he did not do many mighty works there, ^(AA)because of their unbelief.