Psalm 124-125

English Standard Version

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.

124 ^(B)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
    ^(C)let Israel now say—
²if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
    when people rose up against us,
³then they would have ^(D)swallowed us up alive,
    when their anger was kindled against us;
⁴then ^(E)the flood would have ^(F)swept us away,
    the torrent would have gone ^(G)over us;
⁵then over us would have gone
    the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
    who has not given us
    as prey to their teeth!
⁷We have escaped like a bird
    from ^(H)the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
    and we have escaped!

⁸^(I)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of ^(J)Ascents.

125 Those who ^(K)trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which ^(L)cannot be moved, but abides forever.
²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so ^(M)the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.
³For ^(N)the scepter of wickedness shall not ^(O)rest
    on ^(P)the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous ^(Q)stretch out
    their hands to do wrong.
⁴^(R)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
    and to those who are ^(S)upright in their hearts!
⁵But those who ^(T)turn aside to their ^(U)crooked ways
    the Lord will lead away with ^(V)evildoers!
    ^(W)Peace be upon Israel!

Isaiah 59

English Standard Version

Evil and Oppression

59 Behold, ^(A)the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
    or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
²^(B)but your iniquities have made a separation
    between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
    so that he does not hear.
³^(C)For your hands are defiled with blood
    and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
    your tongue mutters wickedness.
⁴^(D)No one enters suit justly;
    no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
    ^(E)they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
⁵They hatch adders' eggs;
    they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
    and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
⁶^(F)Their webs will not serve as clothing;
    men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
    and deeds of violence are in their hands.
⁷^(G)Their feet run to evil,
    and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
    desolation and destruction are in their highways.
⁸The way of peace they do not know,
    and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
    ^(H)no one who treads on them knows peace.

⁹Therefore justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not overtake us;
^(I)we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
¹⁰^(J)We grope for the wall like the blind;
    we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
    ^(K)among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
¹¹We all growl like bears;
    ^(L)we moan and moan like doves;
^(M)we hope for justice, but there is none;
    for salvation, but it is far from us.
¹²For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
    and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
    and we know our iniquities:
¹³transgressing, and denying the Lord,
    and turning back from following our God,
^(N)speaking oppression and revolt,
    conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

Judgment and Redemption

¹⁴^(O)Justice is turned back,
    and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
    and uprightness cannot enter.
¹⁵Truth is lacking,
    and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him^[a]
    that there was no justice.
¹⁶^(P)He saw that there was no man,
    and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
    and his righteousness upheld him.
¹⁷^(Q)He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
    and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
    and wrapped himself in ^(R)zeal as a cloak.
¹⁸^(S)According to their deeds, so will he repay,
    wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
    ^(T)to the coastlands he will render repayment.
¹⁹^(U)So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
    and his glory from the rising of the sun;
^(V)for he will come like a rushing stream,^[b]
    which the wind of the Lord drives.

²⁰^(W)“And ^(X)a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.

²¹“And as for me, ^(Y)this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, ^(Z)and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 59:15 Hebrew and it was evil in his eyes
Isaiah 59:19 Hebrew a narrow river

James 5

English Standard Version

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, ^(A)you rich, weep and howl for the ^(B)miseries that are coming upon you. ²^(C)Your riches have rotted and ^(D)your garments are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(E)You have laid up treasure ^(F)in the last days. ⁴Behold, ^(G)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and ^(H)the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ^(I)the Lord of hosts. ⁵^(J)You have lived on the earth in luxury and ^(K)in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in ^(L)a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and ^(M)murdered ^(N)the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

⁷Be patient, therefore, brothers,^[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives ^(O)the early and the late rains. ⁸You also, be patient. ^(P)Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^(Q)is at hand. ⁹Do not grumble against one another, brothers, ^(R)so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(S)the Judge is standing ^(T)at the door. ¹⁰As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take ^(U)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of ^(V)the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen ^(W)the purpose of the Lord, how ^(X)the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

¹²But above all, my brothers, ^(Y)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him ^(Z)sing praise. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ^(AA)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And ^(AB)if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore, ^(AC)confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, ^(AD)that you may be healed. ^(AE)The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.^[b] ¹⁷Elijah was a man ^(AF)with a nature like ours, and ^(AG)he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for ^(AH)three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸^(AI)Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers, ^(AJ)if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone ^(AK)brings him back, ²⁰let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering ^(AL)will save his soul from death and ^(AM)will cover a multitude of sins.