Psalm 145

English Standard Version

Great Is the Lord

^[a] A Song of Praise. Of David.

145 ^(A)I will extol you, my God and ^(B)King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
²Every day I will bless you
    ^(C)and praise your name forever and ever.
³^(D)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his ^(E)greatness is unsearchable.

⁴^(F)One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
⁵On ^(G)the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶They shall speak of ^(H)the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
⁷They shall pour forth the fame of your ^(I)abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

⁸The Lord is ^(J)gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹The Lord is ^(K)good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

¹⁰^(L)All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your ^(M)saints shall bless you!
¹¹They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
¹²to ^(N)make known to the children of man your^[b] ^(O)mighty deeds,
    and ^(P)the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
¹³^(Q)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.^[c]]
¹⁴The Lord ^(R)upholds all who are falling
    and ^(S)raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵The eyes of all ^(T)look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
¹⁶You ^(U)open your hand;
    you ^(V)satisfy the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷The Lord is ^(W)righteous in all his ways
    and ^(X)kind in all his works.
¹⁸The Lord is ^(Y)near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him ^(Z)in truth.
¹⁹He ^(AA)fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also ^(AB)hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰The Lord ^(AC)preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and ^(AD)let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Footnotes

Psalm 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Psalm 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line
Psalm 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll)

Lamentations 4

English Standard Version

The Holy Stones Lie Scattered

4 ^(A)How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
^(B)at the head of every street.

²The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in ^(C)fine gold,
how they are regarded as ^(D)earthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!

³Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴The tongue of the nursing infant ^(E)sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
^(F)the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.

⁵Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
^(G)those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.

⁶^(H)For the chastisement^[a] of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment^[b] of Sodom,
^(I)which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.^[c]

⁷Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form^[d] was like sapphire.^[e]

⁸^(J)Now their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.

⁹Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.

¹⁰^(K)The hands of ^(L)compassionate women
^(M)have boiled their own children;
^(N)they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

¹¹^(O)The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and ^(P)he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.

¹²^(Q)The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³This was for ^(R)the sins of her prophets
and ^(S)the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.

¹⁴^(T)They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
^(U)that no one was able to touch
their garments.

¹⁵“Away! ^(V)Unclean!” people cried at them.
    “Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
    people said among the nations,
    “They shall stay with us no longer.”

¹⁶^(W)The Lord himself^[f] has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
^(X)no honor was shown to the priests,
^(Y)no favor to the elders.

¹⁷^(Z)Our eyes failed, ever watching
^(AA)vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for ^(AB)a nation which could not save.

¹⁸^(AC)They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
^(AD)our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^(AE)swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

²⁰^(AF)The breath of our nostrils, ^(AG)the Lord's anointed,
was captured ^(AH)in their pits,
of whom we said, ^(AI)“Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”

²¹^(AJ)Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in ^(AK)the land of Uz;
but to you also ^(AL)the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.

²²^(AM)The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;^[g]
but ^(AN)your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.

Footnotes

Lamentations 4:6 Or iniquity
Lamentations 4:6 Or sin
Lamentations 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Lamentations 4:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Lamentations 4:7 Hebrew lapis lazuli
Lamentations 4:16 Hebrew The face of the Lord
Lamentations 4:22 Or he will not exile you again

Romans 12

English Standard Version

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(A)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, ^(B)to present your bodies ^(C)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^[b] ²^(D)Do not be conformed to this world,^[c] but be transformed by ^(E)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(F)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[d]

Gifts of Grace

³For ^(G)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(I)each according to ^(J)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For ^(K)as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, ^(L)though many, ^(M)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(N)members one of another. ⁶^(O)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(P)prophecy, ^(Q)in proportion to our faith; ⁷if ^(R)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(S)the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

⁹^(U)Let love be genuine. ^(V)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰^(W)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(X)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(Y)be fervent in spirit,^[g] ^(Z)serve the Lord. ¹²^(AA)Rejoice in hope, ^(AB)be patient in tribulation, ^(AC)be constant in prayer. ¹³^(AD)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(AE)seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴^(AF)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵^(AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶^(AH)Live in harmony with one another. ^(AI)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^[h] ^(AJ)Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷^(AK)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(AL)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(AM)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, ^(AN)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(AO)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰To the contrary, ^(AP)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.