Psalm 1-3

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.

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

2 ^(R)Why do ^(S)the nations rage^[c]
    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 ^(T)Anointed, saying,
³“Let us ^(U)burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

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

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

¹⁰Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
¹¹^(AG)Serve the Lord with ^(AH)fear,
    and ^(AI)rejoice with ^(AJ)trembling.
¹²^(AK)Kiss ^(AL)the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his ^(AM)wrath is quickly kindled.
^(AN)Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, ^(AO)when he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, ^(AP)how many are my foes!
Many are ^(AQ)rising against me;
²many are saying of my soul,
^(AR)“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah^[e]

³But you, O Lord, are ^(AS)a shield ^(AT)about me,
my glory, and ^(AU)the lifter of my head.
⁴I ^(AV)cried aloud to the Lord,
and he ^(AW)answered me from his ^(AX)holy hill. Selah

⁵I ^(AY)lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶I ^(AZ)will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have ^(BA)set themselves against me all around.

⁷^(BB)Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you ^(BC)strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you ^(BD)break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸^(BE)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

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 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
Psalm 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule
Psalm 3:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word Selah, used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction

Matthew 15

English Standard Version

Traditions and Commandments

15 ^(A)Then Pharisees and ^(B)scribes came to Jesus ^(C)from Jerusalem and said, ²^(D)“Why do your disciples break ^(E)the tradition of the elders? ^(F)For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, ^(G)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^(H)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”^[a] ⁶he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^(I)made void the word^[b] of God. ⁷^(J)You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

⁸^(K)“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
⁹in vain do they worship me,
teaching as ^(L)doctrines the commandments of men.’”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰And he called the people to him and said to them, ^(M)“Hear and understand: ¹¹^(N)it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” ¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^(O)offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³He answered, ^(P)“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^(Q)will be rooted up. ¹⁴Let them alone; ^(R)they are blind guides.^[c] And ^(S)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵But Peter said to him, ^(T)“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶And he said, ^(U)“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that ^(V)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^[d] ¹⁸But ^(W)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹For out of the heart come ^(X)evil thoughts, ^(Y)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(Z)slander. ²⁰^(AA)These are what defile a person. But ^(AB)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

²¹^(AC)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And behold, ^(AD)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^(AE)“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^(AF)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴He answered, ^(AG)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and ^(AH)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and ^(AI)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^(AJ)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^(AK)great is your faith! ^(AL)Be it done for you as you desire.” ^(AM)And her daughter was ^(AN)healed instantly.^[e]

Jesus Heals Many

²⁹^(AO)Jesus went on from there and walked ^(AP)beside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^(AQ)went up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^(AR)the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, ³¹^(AS)so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^(AT)the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^(AU)they glorified ^(AV)the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

³²^(AW)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^(AX)“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” ³³And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” ³⁴And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(AY)“Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^(AZ)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷And ^(BA)they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^(BB)Magadan.