Psalm 119:9-16

Common English Bible

ב bet

⁹How can young people keep their paths pure?
    By guarding them according to what you’ve said.^[a]
¹⁰I have sought you with all my heart.
    Don’t let me stray from any of your commandments!
¹¹I keep your word close, in my heart,
    so that I won’t sin against you.
¹²You, Lord, are to be blessed!
    Teach me your statutes.
¹³I will declare out loud
    all the rules you have spoken.
¹⁴I rejoice in the content of your laws
    as if I were rejoicing over great wealth.
¹⁵I will think about your precepts
    and examine all your paths.
¹⁶I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget what you have said.

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Footnotes

Psalm 119:9 LXX

Haggai 2:1-9

Common English Bible

Encouraging the people

2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord’s word came through Haggai the prophet: ²Say to Judah’s governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and to the chief priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son, and to the rest of the people:

³Who among you is left who saw this house in its former glory?
How does it look to you now?
    Doesn’t it appear as nothing to you?
⁴So now, be strong, Zerubbabel, says the Lord.
Be strong, High Priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son,
        and be strong, all you people of the land, says the Lord.
Work, for I am with you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
⁵As with our agreement when you came out of Egypt,
        my spirit stands in your midst.
Don’t fear.
⁶This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
In just a little while, I will make the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land quake.
⁷I will make all the nations quake.
        The wealth of all the nations will come.
I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
⁸The silver and the gold belong to me, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
⁹This house will be more glorious than its predecessor, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
        I will provide prosperity in this place, says the Lord of heavenly forces.

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Haggai 2:20-23

Common English Bible

Royal expectations

²⁰And the Lord’s word came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth of the month, saying:

²¹Speak to Judah’s governor Zerubbabel:
I am about to make the heavens and the earth quake.
²²        I will overthrow the thrones of the kingdoms;
            I will destroy the strength of the nations.^[a]
        I will overthrow chariot and rider;
            horses and riders will fall.
        Each one will fall by the sword of his companion.
²³On that day, says the Lord of heavenly forces:
I will take you, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, my servant, says the Lord;
        I will make you like a signet ring
            because I have chosen you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.

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Footnotes

Haggai 2:22 Or of the kingdoms of the nations

John 12:34-50

Common English Bible

³⁴The crowd responded, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Human One^[a] must be lifted up? Who is this Human One?”^[b]

³⁵Jesus replied, “The light is with you for only a little while. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. ³⁶As long as you have the light, believe in the light so that you might become people whose lives are determined by the light.” After Jesus said these things, he went away and hid from them.

Fulfillment of prophecy

³⁷Jesus had done many miraculous signs before the people, but they didn’t believe in him. ³⁸This was to fulfill the word of the prophet Isaiah:

Lord, who has believed through our message?
To whom is the arm of the Lord fully revealed?^[c]

³⁹Isaiah explains why they couldn’t believe:

⁴⁰He made their eyes blind
        and closed their minds
    so that they might not see with their eyes,
        understand with their minds,
        and turn their lives around—
    and I would heal them.^[d]

⁴¹Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory; he spoke about Jesus. ⁴²Even so, many leaders believed in him, but they wouldn’t acknowledge their faith because they feared that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. ⁴³They believed, but they loved human praise more than God’s glory.

Summary of Jesus’ teaching

⁴⁴Jesus shouted, “Whoever believes in me doesn’t believe in me but in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵Whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. ⁴⁶I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who believes in me won’t live in darkness. ⁴⁷If people hear my words and don’t keep them, I don’t judge them. I didn’t come to judge the world but to save it. ⁴⁸Whoever rejects me and doesn’t receive my words will be judged at the last day by the word I have spoken. ⁴⁹I don’t speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me regarding what I should speak and say. ⁵⁰I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, whatever I say is just as the Father has said to me.”