Psalm 143

English Standard Version

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    ^(A)give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your ^(B)faithfulness answer me, in your ^(C)righteousness!
²^(D)Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous ^(E)before you.

³For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    ^(F)he has crushed my life to the ground;
    ^(G)he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴Therefore my spirit ^(H)faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.

⁵^(I)I remember the days of old;
    ^(J)I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶^(K)I stretch out my hands to you;
    ^(L)my soul thirsts for you like ^(M)a parched land. Selah

⁷^(N)Answer me quickly, O Lord!
    ^(O)My spirit fails!
^(P)Hide not your face from me,
    ^(Q)lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸^(R)Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I ^(S)trust.
^(T)Make me know the way I should go,
    ^(U)for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹^(V)Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
    I have fled to you for refuge.^[a]
¹⁰^(W)Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
^(X)Let your good Spirit ^(Y)lead me
    on ^(Z)level ground!

¹¹^(AA)For your name's sake, O Lord, ^(AB)preserve my life!
    In your righteousness ^(AC)bring my soul out of trouble!
¹²And in your steadfast love you will ^(AD)cut off my enemies,
    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
    for I am your ^(AE)servant.

Footnotes

Psalm 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered

Proverbs 5

English Standard Version

Warning Against Adultery

5 ^(A)My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
    ^(B)incline your ear to my understanding,
²that you may keep ^(C)discretion,
    and your lips may ^(D)guard knowledge.
³For the lips of ^(E)a forbidden^[a] woman drip honey,
    and her speech^[b] is ^(F)smoother than oil,
⁴but in the end she is ^(G)bitter as ^(H)wormwood,
    ^(I)sharp as ^(J)a two-edged sword.
⁵Her feet ^(K)go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to^[c] Sheol;
⁶she ^(L)does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

⁷And ^(M)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you give your honor to others
    and your years to the merciless,
¹⁰lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
    and your ^(N)labors go to the house of a foreigner,
¹¹and at the end of your life you ^(O)groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
¹²and you say, ^(P)“How I hated discipline,
    and my heart ^(Q)despised reproof!
¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
    or incline my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴^(R)I am at the brink of utter ruin
    in the assembled congregation.”

¹⁵Drink ^(S)water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your ^(T)springs be scattered abroad,
    streams of water ^(U)in the streets?
¹⁷^(V)Let them be for yourself alone,
    and not for strangers with you.
¹⁸Let your ^(W)fountain be blessed,
    and ^(X)rejoice in ^(Y)the wife of your youth,
¹⁹    a lovely ^(Z)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts ^(AA)fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated^[d] always in her love.
²⁰Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^(AB)a forbidden woman
    and embrace the bosom of ^(AC)an adulteress?^[e]
²¹For ^(AD)a man's ways are ^(AE)before the eyes of the Lord,
    and he ^(AF)ponders^[f] all his paths.
²²The ^(AG)iniquities of the wicked ^(AH)ensnare him,
    and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
²³^(AI)He dies for lack of discipline,
    and because of his great folly he is ^(AJ)led astray.

Footnotes

Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew strange; also verse 20
Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew palate
Proverbs 5:5 Hebrew lay hold of
Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew be led astray; also verse 20
Proverbs 5:20 Hebrew a foreign woman
Proverbs 5:21 Or makes level

Philippians 1:12-30

English Standard Version

The Advance of the Gospel

¹²I want you to know, brothers,^[a] that what has happened to me has really ^(A)served to advance the gospel, ¹³so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard^[b] and ^(B)to all the rest that ^(C)my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^(D)to speak the word^[c] without fear.

¹⁵^(E)Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶The latter do it out of love, ^(F)knowing that I am put here for ^(G)the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former proclaim Christ ^(H)out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that ^(I)through your prayers and ^(J)the help of ^(K)the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hope ^(L)that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^(M)courage now as always Christ ^(N)will be honored in my body, ^(O)whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me ^(P)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³^(Q)I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is ^(R)to depart and ^(S)be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵^(T)Convinced of this, ^(U)I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ^(V)progress and ^(W)joy in the faith, ²⁶so that in me ^(X)you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

²⁷Only ^(Y)let your manner of life be ^(Z)worthy^[d] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you ^(AA)that you are standing firm in one spirit, with ^(AB)one mind ^(AC)striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is ^(AD)a clear sign to them of their destruction, but ^(AE)of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For ^(AF)it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also ^(AG)suffer for his sake, ³⁰engaged in the same ^(AH)conflict that ^(AI)you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

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Footnotes

Philippians 1:12 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 verse 14
Philippians 1:13 Greek in the whole praetorium
Philippians 1:14 Some manuscripts add of God
Philippians 1:27 Greek Only behave as citizens worthy