Psalm 144

New International Version

Psalm 144

Of David.

¹Praise be to the Lord my Rock,^(A)
    who trains my hands for war,
    my fingers for battle.
²He is my loving God and my fortress,^(B)
    my stronghold^(C) and my deliverer,
my shield,^(D) in whom I take refuge,
    who subdues peoples^[a]^(E) under me.

³Lord, what are human beings^(F) that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
⁴They are like a breath;^(G)
their days are like a fleeting shadow.^(H)

⁵Part your heavens,^(I) Lord, and come down;^(J)
    touch the mountains, so that they smoke.^(K)
⁶Send forth lightning^(L) and scatter^(M) the enemy;
    shoot your arrows^(N) and rout them.
⁷Reach down your hand from on high;^(O)
    deliver me and rescue me^(P)
from the mighty waters,^(Q)
    from the hands of foreigners^(R)
⁸whose mouths are full of lies,^(S)
    whose right hands^(T) are deceitful.^(U)

⁹I will sing a new song^(V) to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre^(W) I will make music to you,
¹⁰to the One who gives victory to kings,^(X)
who delivers his servant David.^(Y)

From the deadly sword^(Z) ¹¹deliver me;
rescue me^(AA) from the hands of foreigners^(AB)
whose mouths are full of lies,^(AC)
whose right hands are deceitful.^(AD)

¹²Then our sons in their youth
    will be like well-nurtured plants,^(AE)
and our daughters will be like pillars^(AF)
    carved to adorn a palace.
¹³Our barns will be filled^(AG)
    with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
    by tens of thousands in our fields;
¹⁴    our oxen^(AH) will draw heavy loads.^[b]
There will be no breaching of walls,^(AI)
    no going into captivity,
    no cry of distress in our streets.^(AJ)
¹⁵Blessed is the people^(AK) of whom this is true;
    blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 144:2 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Jerome and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text subdues my people
Psalm 144:14 Or our chieftains will be firmly established

2 Thessalonians 2

New International Version

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ^(A) and our being gathered to him,^(B) we ask you, brothers and sisters, ²not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter^(C)—asserting that the day of the Lord^(D) has already come.^(E) ³Don’t let anyone deceive you^(F) in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion^(G) occurs and the man of lawlessness^[a] is revealed,^(H) the man doomed to destruction. ⁴He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God^(I) or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.^(J)

⁵Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?^(K) ⁶And now you know what is holding him back,^(L) so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back^(M) will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸And then the lawless one will be revealed,^(N) whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth^(O) and destroy by the splendor of his coming.^(P) ⁹The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan^(Q) works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders^(R) that serve the lie, ¹⁰and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.^(S) They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.^(T) ¹¹For this reason God sends them^(U) a powerful delusion^(V) so that they will believe the lie^(W) ¹²and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.^(X)

Stand Firm

¹³But we ought always to thank God for you,^(Y) brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits^[b]^(Z) to be saved^(AA) through the sanctifying work of the Spirit^(AB) and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴He called you^(AC) to this through our gospel,^(AD) that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm^(AE) and hold fast to the teachings^[c] we passed on to you,^(AF) whether by word of mouth or by letter.

¹⁶May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,^(AG) who loved us^(AH) and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷encourage^(AI) your hearts and strengthen^(AJ) you in every good deed and word.

Footnotes

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Some manuscripts sin
2 Thessalonians 2:13 Some manuscripts because from the beginning God chose you
2 Thessalonians 2:15 Or traditions

2 Peter 3:14-18

New International Version

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless^(A) and at peace with him. ¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience^(B) means salvation,^(C) just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.^(D) ¹⁶He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable^(E) people distort,^(F) as they do the other Scriptures,^(G) to their own destruction.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard^(H) so that you may not be carried away by the error^(I) of the lawless^(J) and fall from your secure position.^(K) ¹⁸But grow in the grace^(L) and knowledge^(M) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.^(N) To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.^(O)