Psalm 119:41-64

English Standard Version

Waw

⁴¹Let your ^(A)steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
    your salvation ^(B)according to your promise;
⁴²then ^(C)shall I have an answer for him ^(D)who taunts me,
    for I trust in your word.
⁴³And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
    for my ^(E)hope is in your rules.
⁴⁴I will keep your law continually,
    forever and ever,
⁴⁵and I shall walk ^(F)in a wide place,
    for I have ^(G)sought your precepts.
⁴⁶I will also speak of your testimonies ^(H)before kings
    and shall not be put to shame,
⁴⁷for I ^(I)find my delight in your commandments,
    which I love.
⁴⁸I will ^(J)lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
    and I will ^(K)meditate on your statutes.

Zayin

⁴⁹Remember ^(L)your word to your servant,
    in which you have made me ^(M)hope.
⁵⁰This is ^(N)my comfort in my affliction,
    that your promise ^(O)gives me life.
⁵¹^(P)The insolent utterly deride me,
    but I do not ^(Q)turn away from your law.
⁵²When I think of your rules from of old,
    I take comfort, O Lord.
⁵³^(R)Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
    who forsake your law.
⁵⁴Your statutes have been my songs
    in the house of my ^(S)sojourning.
⁵⁵I ^(T)remember your name in the night, O Lord,
    and keep your law.
⁵⁶This blessing has fallen to me,
    that ^(U)I have kept your precepts.

Heth

⁵⁷^(V)The Lord is my portion;
    I promise to keep your words.
⁵⁸I ^(W)entreat your favor with all my heart;
    be gracious to me ^(X)according to your promise.
⁵⁹When I ^(Y)think on my ways,
    I turn my feet to your testimonies;
⁶⁰I hasten and do not delay
    to keep your commandments.
⁶¹Though ^(Z)the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
    I do not ^(AA)forget your law.
⁶²At ^(AB)midnight I rise to praise you,
    because of your ^(AC)righteous rules.
⁶³^(AD)I am a companion of all who fear you,
    of those who keep your precepts.
⁶⁴^(AE)The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
    ^(AF)teach me your statutes!

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Isaiah 54

English Standard Version

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54 ^(A)“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
    break forth into singing and cry aloud,
    you who have not been in labor!
For the children of ^(B)the desolate one ^(C)will be more
    than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
²^(D)“Enlarge the place of your tent,
    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
    and strengthen your stakes.
³^(E)For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
    and your offspring will possess the nations
    and will people the desolate cities.

⁴“Fear not, ^(F)for you will not be ashamed;
    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
⁵^(G)For your Maker is your husband,
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
^(H)and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    ^(I)the God of the whole earth he is called.
⁶^(J)For the Lord has called you
    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
    says your God.
⁷^(K)For a brief moment I deserted you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.
⁸^(L)In overflowing anger for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
^(M)but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹“This is like ^(N)the days of Noah^[a] to me:
    as I swore that the waters of Noah
    should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
    and will not rebuke you.
¹⁰For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and ^(O)my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

¹¹^(P)“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    behold, ^(Q)I will set your stones in antimony,
    ^(R)and lay your foundations with sapphires.^[b]
¹²I will make your pinnacles of agate,^[c]
    your gates of carbuncles,^[d]
    and all your wall of precious stones.
¹³^(S)All your children ^(T)shall be taught by the Lord,
    ^(U)and great shall be the peace of your children.
¹⁴In righteousness you shall be established;
    you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
¹⁵^(V)If anyone stirs up strife,
    it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
    shall fall because of you.
¹⁶Behold, I have created the smith
    who blows the fire of coals
    and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
¹⁷    no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
    ^(W)and their vindication^[e] from me, declares the Lord.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 54:9 Some manuscripts For this is as the waters of Noah
Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
Isaiah 54:12 Or jasper, or ruby
Isaiah 54:12 Or crystal
Isaiah 54:17 Or righteousness

James 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 ^(A)James, a servant^[a] of God and ^(B)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(C)the twelve tribes in ^(D)the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

²^(E)Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials ^(F)of various kinds, ³for you know that ^(G)the testing of your faith ^(H)produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ^(I)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵^(J)If any of you lacks wisdom, ^(K)let him ask God, ^(L)who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶But ^(M)let him ask in faith, ^(N)with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like ^(O)a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸^(P)he is a double-minded man, ^(Q)unstable in all his ways.

⁹Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰and ^(R)the rich in his humiliation, because ^(S)like a flower of the grass^[c] he will pass away. ¹¹For the sun rises with its scorching heat and ^(T)withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹²^(U)Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive ^(V)the crown of life, ^(W)which God has promised to those who love him. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵Then desire ^(X)when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ^(Y)sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷^(Z)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from ^(AA)the Father of lights, ^(AB)with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^[d] ¹⁸^(AC)Of his own will he ^(AD)brought us forth by the word of truth, ^(AE)that we should be a kind of ^(AF)firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

¹⁹^(AG)Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person ^(AH)be quick to hear, ^(AI)slow to speak, ^(AJ)slow to anger; ²⁰for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore ^(AK)put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with ^(AL)meekness the implanted word, ^(AM)which is able to save your souls.

²²But be ^(AN)doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵But the one who looks into the perfect law, ^(AO)the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, ^(AP)he will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶If anyone thinks he is religious ^(AQ)and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's ^(AR)religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: ^(AS)to visit ^(AT)orphans and widows in their affliction, and ^(AU)to keep oneself ^(AV)unstained from the world.

Footnotes

James 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
James 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 16, 19
James 1:10 Or a wild flower
James 1:17 Some manuscripts variation due to a shadow of turning