Psalm 102

New International Version

Psalm 102^[a]

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

¹Hear my prayer,^(A) Lord;
    let my cry for help^(B) come to you.
²Do not hide your face^(C) from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear^(D) to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

³For my days vanish like smoke;^(E)
    my bones^(F) burn like glowing embers.
⁴My heart is blighted and withered like grass;^(G)
    I forget to eat my food.^(H)
⁵In my distress I groan aloud^(I)
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶I am like a desert owl,^(J)
    like an owl among the ruins.
⁷I lie awake;^(K) I have become
    like a bird alone^(L) on a roof.
⁸All day long my enemies^(M) taunt me;^(N)
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.^(O)
⁹For I eat ashes^(P) as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears^(Q)
¹⁰because of your great wrath,^(R)
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹My days are like the evening shadow;^(S)
    I wither^(T) away like grass.

¹²But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;^(U)
    your renown endures^(V) through all generations.^(W)
¹³You will arise^(X) and have compassion^(Y) on Zion,
    for it is time^(Z) to show favor^(AA) to her;
    the appointed time^(AB) has come.
¹⁴For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.
¹⁵The nations will fear^(AC) the name of the Lord,
    all the kings^(AD) of the earth will revere your glory.
¹⁶For the Lord will rebuild Zion^(AE)
    and appear in his glory.^(AF)
¹⁷He will respond to the prayer^(AG) of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

¹⁸Let this be written^(AH) for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created^(AI) may praise the Lord:
¹⁹“The Lord looked down^(AJ) from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
²⁰to hear the groans of the prisoners^(AK)
    and release those condemned to death.”
²¹So the name of the Lord will be declared^(AL) in Zion
    and his praise^(AM) in Jerusalem
²²when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship^(AN) the Lord.

²³In the course of my life^[b] he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.^(AO)
²⁴So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on^(AP) through all generations.
²⁵In the beginning^(AQ) you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens^(AR) are the work of your hands.^(AS)
²⁶They will perish,^(AT) but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
²⁷But you remain the same,^(AU)
    and your years will never end.^(AV)
²⁸The children of your servants^(AW) will live in your presence;
    their descendants^(AX) will be established before you.”

Footnotes

Psalm 102:1 In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.
Psalm 102:23 Or By his power

Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3

New International Version

¹⁶And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

¹⁷I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment^(A)
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time to judge every deed.”^(B)

¹⁸I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.^(C) ¹⁹Surely the fate of human beings^(D) is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath^[a]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. ²⁰All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.^(E) ²¹Who knows if the human spirit rises upward^(F) and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

²²So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work,^(G) because that is their lot.^(H) For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

4 Again I looked and saw all the oppression^(I) that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.^(J)
²And I declared that the dead,^(K)
    who had already died,
are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.^(L)
³But better than both
    is the one who has never been born,^(M)
who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.^(N)

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 3:19 Or spirit

Galatians 3:1-14

New International Version

Faith or Works of the Law

3 You foolish^(A) Galatians!^(B) Who has bewitched you?^(C) Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.^(D) ²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit^(E) by the works of the law,^(F) or by believing what you heard?^(G) ³Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?^[a] ⁴Have you experienced^[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain? ⁵So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles^(H) among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?^(I) ⁶So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[c]^(J)

⁷Understand, then, that those who have faith^(K) are children of Abraham.^(L) ⁸Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”^[d]^(M) ⁹So those who rely on faith^(N) are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.^(O)

¹⁰For all who rely on the works of the law^(P) are under a curse,^(Q) as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”^[e]^(R) ¹¹Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God,^(S) because “the righteous will live by faith.”^[f]^(T) ¹²The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”^[g]^(U) ¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law^(V) by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”^[h]^(W) ¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,^(X) so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.^(Y)

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Footnotes

Galatians 3:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
Galatians 3:4 Or suffered
Galatians 3:6 Gen. 15:6
Galatians 3:8 Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18
Galatians 3:10 Deut. 27:26
Galatians 3:11 Hab. 2:4
Galatians 3:12 Lev. 18:5
Galatians 3:13 Deut. 21:23

Matthew 14:13-21

New International Version

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(A)^(B)

¹³When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them^(C) and healed their sick.^(D)

¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷“We have here only five loaves^(E) of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.^(F) Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

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