Psalm 119:153-176

English Standard Version

Resh

¹⁵³Look on my ^(A)affliction and deliver me,
    for ^(B)I do not forget your law.
¹⁵⁴^(C)Plead my cause and redeem me;
    ^(D)give me life according to your promise!
¹⁵⁵^(E)Salvation is far from the wicked,
    ^(F)for they do not seek your statutes.
¹⁵⁶^(G)Great is your mercy, O Lord;
    ^(H)give me life according to your rules.
¹⁵⁷^(I)Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
    but I do not ^(J)swerve from your testimonies.
¹⁵⁸I look at ^(K)the faithless with ^(L)disgust,
    because they do not keep your commands.
¹⁵⁹Consider how I ^(M)love your precepts!
    ^(N)Give me life, O Lord, according to your steadfast love.
¹⁶⁰^(O)The sum of your word is ^(P)truth,
    and every one of your ^(Q)righteous rules endures forever.

Sin and Shin

¹⁶¹^(R)Princes persecute me ^(S)without cause,
    but my heart ^(T)stands in awe of your words.
¹⁶²I ^(U)rejoice at your word
    like one who ^(V)finds great spoil.
¹⁶³I hate and abhor falsehood,
    but I love ^(W)your law.
¹⁶⁴Seven times a day I praise you
    for your ^(X)righteous rules.
¹⁶⁵Great ^(Y)peace have those who love your law;
    ^(Z)nothing can make them stumble.
¹⁶⁶I ^(AA)hope for your salvation, O Lord,
    and I do your commandments.
¹⁶⁷My soul keeps your testimonies;
    I ^(AB)love them exceedingly.
¹⁶⁸I keep your precepts and testimonies,
    ^(AC)for all my ways are before you.

Taw

¹⁶⁹Let my ^(AD)cry come before you, O Lord;
    ^(AE)give me understanding ^(AF)according to your word!
¹⁷⁰Let my plea come before you;
    ^(AG)deliver me according to your word.
¹⁷¹My lips will ^(AH)pour forth praise,
    for you ^(AI)teach me your statutes.
¹⁷²My tongue will sing of your word,
    for ^(AJ)all your commandments are right.
¹⁷³Let your hand be ready to help me,
    for I have ^(AK)chosen your precepts.
¹⁷⁴I ^(AL)long for your salvation, O Lord,
    and your law is my ^(AM)delight.
¹⁷⁵Let my soul live and praise you,
    and let your rules help me.
¹⁷⁶I have ^(AN)gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
    for I do not ^(AO)forget your commandments.

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Job 28

English Standard Version

Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
    and a place for gold that they ^(A)refine.
²Iron is taken out of the earth,
    and copper is smelted from the ore.
³Man puts an end to darkness
    and searches out to the farthest limit
    the ore in ^(B)gloom and ^(C)deep darkness.
⁴He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
    they are forgotten by travelers;
    they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
⁵As for the earth, ^(D)out of it comes bread,
    but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
⁶Its stones are the place of ^(E)sapphires,^[a]
    and it has dust of gold.

⁷“That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
⁸^(F)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
^(G)the lion has not passed over it.

⁹“Man puts his hand to ^(H)the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
¹⁰He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
¹¹He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

¹²^(I)“But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
¹³Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in ^(J)the land of the living.
¹⁴^(K)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵It ^(L)cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
¹⁶It cannot be valued in ^(M)the gold of ^(N)Ophir,
    in precious ^(O)onyx or ^(P)sapphire.
¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
¹⁸No mention shall be made of ^(Q)coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above ^(R)^(S)pearls.
¹⁹^(T)The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰“From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
²¹It is hidden from the eyes of ^(U)all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
²²^(V)Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

²³^(W)“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
²⁴For he ^(X)looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵When he ^(Y)gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
²⁶when he made a decree for the rain
    and ^(Z)a way for the lightning of the thunder,
²⁷then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
²⁸And he said to man,
‘Behold, ^(AA)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to ^(AB)turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Footnotes

Job 28:6 Or lapis lazuli; also verse 16

James 2:14-26

English Standard Version

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith ^(A)but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵^(B)If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶^(C)and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[a] is that? ¹⁷So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^(D)apart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^(E)by my works. ¹⁹^(F)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^(G)the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ²¹^(H)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that ^(I)faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^(J)by his works; ²³and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^(K)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^(L)friend of God. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And in the same way was not also ^(M)Rahab the prostitute justified by works ^(N)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.