Psalm 27

Of David.

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced.^(A) The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. ² With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold^(B) for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,^[a](C) stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.^(D)

David’s Prayer

¹⁰ David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?^(F) Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.^{(G) 15} We are foreigners and strangers^(H) in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow,^(I) without hope. ¹⁶ Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you test the heart^(J) and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.^{(K) 18} Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble^(A) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.^{(B) 2} It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones^(C) to stumble.^{(D) 3} So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister^[a] sins against you, rebuke them;^(E) and if they repent, forgive them.^{(F) 4} Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”^(G)

⁵ The apostles^(H) said to the Lord,^(I) “Increase our faith!”

⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,^(J) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.^(K)

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me^(L) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”^(M)

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem,^(N) Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.^{(O) 12} As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[b](P) met him. They stood at a distance^{(Q) 13} and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,^(R) have pity on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”^(S) And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God^(T) in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.^(U)

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”^(V)

The Coming of the Kingdom of God^(W)

²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,^(X) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’^(Y) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[c]

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,^(Z) but you will not see it.^{(AA) 23} People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.^{(AB) 24} For the Son of Man in his day^[d] will be like the lightning,^(AC) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things^(AD) and be rejected^(AE) by this generation.^(AF)

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah,^(AG) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot.^(AH) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.^{(AI) 31} On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.^{(AJ) 32} Remember Lot’s wife!^{(AK) 33} Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.^{(AL) 34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”^{(AM) [36] [e]}

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”^(AN)

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?^(A) By no means! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey^(B)—whether you are slaves to sin,^(C) which leads to death,^(D) or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God^(E) that, though you used to be slaves to sin,^(F) you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching^(G) that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin^(H) and have become slaves to righteousness.^(I)

¹⁹ I am using an example from everyday life^(J) because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness^(K) leading to holiness. ²⁰ When you were slaves to sin,^(L) you were free from the control of righteousness.^{(M) 21} What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!^{(N) 22} But now that you have been set free from sin^(O) and have become slaves of God,^(P) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.^{(Q) 23} For the wages of sin is death,^(R) but the gift of God is eternal life^(S) in^[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.