Psalm 139

English Standard Version

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have ^(A)searched me and known me!
²You ^(B)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you ^(C)discern my thoughts from afar.
³You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, ^(D)you know it altogether.
⁵You ^(E)hem me in, behind and before,
    and ^(F)lay your hand upon me.
⁶^(G)Such knowledge is ^(H)too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷^(I)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where ^(J)shall I flee from your presence?
⁸^(K)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    ^(L)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall ^(M)lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, ^(N)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
¹²^(O)even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

¹³For you ^(P)formed my inward parts;
    you ^(Q)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
^(R)Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵^(S)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in ^(T)the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your ^(U)book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷How precious to me are your ^(V)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸^(W)If I would count them, they are more than ^(X)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹Oh that you would ^(Y)slay the wicked, O God!
    O ^(Z)men of blood, ^(AA)depart from me!
²⁰They ^(AB)speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies ^(AC)take your name in vain.^[b]
²¹^(AD)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not ^(AE)loathe those who ^(AF)rise up against you?
²²I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!
^(AG)Try me and know my thoughts!^[c]
²⁴And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and ^(AH)lead me in ^(AI)the way everlasting!^[d]

Footnotes

Psalm 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
Psalm 139:20 Hebrew lacks your name
Psalm 139:23 Or cares
Psalm 139:24 Or in the ancient way (compare Jeremiah 6:16)

Exodus 5

English Standard Version

Making Bricks Without Straw

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold ^(A)a feast to me in the wilderness.’” ²But Pharaoh said, ^(B)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, ^(C)I will not let Israel go.” ³Then they said, “The ^(D)God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” ⁴But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your ^(E)burdens.” ⁵And Pharaoh said, “Behold, ^(F)the people of the land are now many,^[a] and you make them rest from their burdens!” ⁶The same day Pharaoh commanded the ^(G)taskmasters of the people and their ^(H)foremen, ⁷“You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

¹⁰So the ^(I)taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. ¹¹Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” ¹²So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³The ^(J)taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” ¹⁴And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's ^(K)taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”

¹⁵Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? ¹⁶No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” ¹⁷But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” ¹⁹The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” ²⁰They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; ²¹and ^(L)they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

²²Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? ²³For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

Footnotes

Exodus 5:5 Samaritan they are now more numerous than the people of the land

Matthew 11

English Standard Version

Messengers from John the Baptist

11 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

²^(A)Now when John heard ^(B)in prison about the deeds of ^(C)the Christ, he sent word by ^(D)his disciples ³and said to him, “Are you ^(E)the one who is to come, or shall we ^(F)look for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵^(G)the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers^[a] are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^(H)the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶And blessed is the one who ^(I)is not offended by me.”

⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(J)into the wilderness to see? ^(K)A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸What then did you go out to see? A man^[b] dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. ⁹What then did you go out to see? ^(L)A prophet?^[c] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is he of whom it is written,

^(M)“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²^(N)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,^[d] and the violent take it by force. ¹³^(O)For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^(P)Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵^(Q)He who has ears to hear,^[e] let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁷“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came ^(R)neither eating ^(S)nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came ^(T)eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(U)a friend of ^(V)tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”^[f]

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

²⁰^(W)Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹^(X)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^(Y)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²^(Z)But I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^(AA)the day of judgment for ^(AB)Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, ^(AC)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^(AD)Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴^(AE)But I tell you that ^(AF)it will be more tolerable on ^(AG)the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

²⁵^(AH)At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ^(AI)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AJ)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(AK)revealed them to little children; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your ^(AL)gracious will.^[g] ²⁷^(AM)All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ^(AN)except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^(AO)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ²⁸^(AP)Come to ^(AQ)me, all who labor and are ^(AR)heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and ^(AS)learn from me, for I am ^(AT)gentle and lowly in heart, and ^(AU)you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For ^(AV)my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”