Psalm 104

English Standard Version

O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

104 ^(A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are ^(B)very great!
^(C)You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
²    covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    ^(D)stretching out the heavens ^(E)like a tent.
³He ^(F)lays the beams of his ^(G)chambers on the waters;
he makes ^(H)the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on ^(I)the wings of the wind;
⁴he ^(J)makes his messengers winds,
    his ^(K)ministers ^(L)a flaming fire.

⁵He ^(M)set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
⁶You ^(N)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷At ^(O)your rebuke they fled;
    at ^(P)the sound of your thunder they ^(Q)took to flight.
⁸The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you ^(R)appointed for them.
⁹You set ^(S)a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they ^(T)might not again cover the earth.

¹⁰You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
¹¹they ^(U)give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹²Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
¹³^(V)From your lofty abode you ^(W)water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴You cause ^(X)the grass to grow for the livestock
    and ^(Y)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth ^(Z)food from the earth
¹⁵    and ^(AA)wine to gladden the heart of man,
^(AB)oil to make his face shine
    and bread to ^(AC)strengthen man's heart.

¹⁶The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    ^(AD)the cedars of Lebanon ^(AE)that he planted.
¹⁷In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
¹⁸The high mountains are for ^(AF)the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for ^(AG)the rock badgers.

¹⁹He made the moon to mark the ^(AH)seasons;^[a]
    the sun knows its time for setting.
²⁰^(AI)You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
²¹^(AJ)The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
²²When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their ^(AK)dens.
²³^(AL)Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

²⁴O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In ^(AM)wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵Here is the sea, great and wide,
    ^(AN)which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
²⁶There go the ships,
    and ^(AO)Leviathan, which you formed to ^(AP)play in it.^[b]

²⁷These ^(AQ)all look to you,
    to ^(AR)give them their food in due season.
²⁸When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you ^(AS)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
²⁹When you ^(AT)hide your face, they are ^(AU)dismayed;
    when you ^(AV)take away their breath, they die
    and ^(AW)return to their dust.
³⁰When you ^(AX)send forth your Spirit,^[c] they are created,
    and you ^(AY)renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord ^(AZ)endure forever;
    may the Lord ^(BA)rejoice in his works,
³²who looks on the earth and it ^(BB)trembles,
    who ^(BC)touches the mountains and they smoke!
³³I will sing to the Lord ^(BD)as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
³⁴May my ^(BE)meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵Let ^(BF)sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
^(BG)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
^(BH)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)
Psalm 104:26 Or you formed to play with
Psalm 104:30 Or breath

Jeremiah 33

English Standard Version

The Lord Promises Peace

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^(A)shut up in the court of the guard: ²“Thus says ^(B)the Lord who made the earth,^[a] the Lord who formed it to establish it—^(C)the Lord is his name: ³^(D)Call to me and I will answer you, ^(E)and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. ⁴For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to make a defense against ^(F)the siege mounds and against the sword: ⁵They are coming in ^(G)to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them^[b] with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down ^(H)in my anger and my wrath, ^(I)for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. ⁶^(J)Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. ⁷^(K)I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, ^(L)and rebuild them as they were ^(M)at first. ⁸^(N)I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, ^(O)and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. ⁹^(P)And this city^[c] shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall ^(Q)fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

¹⁰“Thus says the Lord: In this place ^(R)of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again ¹¹^(S)the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring ^(T)thank offerings to the house of the Lord:

^(U)“‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!’

^(V)For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

¹²“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(W)In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be ^(X)habitations of shepherds ^(Y)resting their flocks. ¹³^(Z)In the cities of the hill country, ^(AA)in the cities of the Shephelah, ^(AB)and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, ^(AC)the places about Jerusalem, ^(AD)and in the cities of Judah, ^(AE)flocks shall again pass under the hands ^(AF)of the one who counts them, says the Lord.

The Lord's Eternal Covenant with David

¹⁴^(AG)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^(AH)I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous ^(AI)Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved, ^(AJ)and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ^(AK)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

¹⁷“For thus says the Lord: ^(AL)David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ¹⁸^(AM)and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”

¹⁹The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰^(AN)“Thus says the Lord: ^(AO)If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, ^(AP)so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, ²¹^(AQ)then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. ²²As ^(AR)the host of heaven cannot be numbered and ^(AS)the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

²³The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁴“Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. ²⁵Thus says the Lord: ^(AT)If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, ²⁶then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^(AU)For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 33:2 Septuagint; Hebrew it
Jeremiah 33:5 That is, the torn-down houses
Jeremiah 33:9 Hebrew And it

1 Corinthians 16

English Standard Version

The Collection for the Saints

16 Now concerning^[a] ^(A)the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ²On ^(B)the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, ^(C)as he may prosper, ^(D)so that there will be no collecting when I come. ³And when I arrive, I will send ^(E)those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Plans for Travel

⁵^(F)I will visit you after passing through ^(G)Macedonia, for ^(H)I intend to pass through Macedonia, ⁶and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may ^(I)help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷For I do not want to see you now ^(J)just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, ^(K)if the Lord permits. ⁸But I will stay in Ephesus until ^(L)Pentecost, ⁹for ^(M)a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and ^(N)there are many adversaries.

¹⁰^(O)When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for ^(P)he is doing ^(Q)the work of the Lord, as I am. ¹¹So ^(R)let no one despise him. ^(S)Help him on his way ^(T)in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Final Instructions

¹²Now concerning ^(U)our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will^[b] to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

¹³^(V)Be watchful, ^(W)stand firm in the faith, ^(X)act like men, ^(Y)be strong. ¹⁴^(Z)Let all that you do be done in love.

¹⁵Now I urge you, brothers^[c]—you know that ^(AA)the household^[d] of Stephanas were ^(AB)the first converts^[e] in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves ^(AC)to the service of the saints— ¹⁶^(AD)be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. ¹⁷I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for ^(AE)your absence, ¹⁸for they ^(AF)refreshed my spirit as well as yours. ^(AG)Give recognition to such people.

Greetings

¹⁹The churches of Asia send you greetings. ^(AH)Aquila and Prisca, together with ^(AI)the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. ²⁰All the brothers send you greetings. ^(AJ)Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹I, Paul, write ^(AK)this greeting with my own hand. ²²If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be ^(AL)accursed. Our Lord, come!^[f] ²³^(AM)The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 16:1 The expression Now concerning introduces a reply to a question in the Corinthians' letter; see 7:1; also verse 12
1 Corinthians 16:12 Or God's will for him
1 Corinthians 16:15 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 20
1 Corinthians 16:15 Greek house
1 Corinthians 16:15 Greek the firstfruits
1 Corinthians 16:22 Greek Maranatha (a transliteration of Aramaic)