Psalm 27

English Standard Version

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

27 The Lord is my ^(A)light and my ^(B)salvation;
^(C)whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold^[a] of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

²When evildoers assail me
to ^(D)eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

³^(E)Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet^[b] I will be confident.

⁴^(F)One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may ^(G)dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon ^(H)the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire^[c] in his temple.

⁵For he will ^(I)hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will ^(J)lift me high upon a rock.

⁶And now my ^(K)head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of ^(L)joy;
^(M)I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷^(N)Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸You have said, ^(O)“Seek^[d] my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”^[e]
⁹    ^(P)Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    ^(Q)O God of my salvation!
¹⁰For ^(R)my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will ^(S)take me in.

¹¹^(T)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on ^(U)a level path
    because of my enemies.
¹²^(V)Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for ^(W)false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they ^(X)breathe out violence.

¹³I believe that I shall look^[f] upon ^(Y)the goodness of the Lord
    in ^(Z)the land of the living!
¹⁴^(AA)Wait for the Lord;
    ^(AB)be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 27:1 Or refuge
Psalm 27:3 Or in this
Psalm 27:4 Or meditate
Psalm 27:8 The command (seek) is addressed to more than one person
Psalm 27:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Psalm 27:13 Other Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed that I would look

Malachi 2:10-3:1

English Standard Version

Judah Profaned the Covenant

¹⁰Have we not all ^(A)one Father? Has not ^(B)one God created us? Why then are we ^(C)faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? ¹¹Judah has been ^(D)faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For ^(E)Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹²May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant^[a] of the man who does this, who ^(F)brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

¹³And this second thing you do. ^(G)You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ¹⁴^(H)But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord ^(I)was witness between you and the wife of your youth, ^(J)to whom ^(K)you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ¹⁵^(L)Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?^[b] And what was the one God^[c] seeking?^[d] ^(M)Godly offspring. So guard yourselves^[e] in your spirit, and let none of you be ^(N)faithless to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶“For ^(O)the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,^[f] says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers^[g] his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and ^(P)do not be faithless.”

The Messenger of the Lord

¹⁷^(Q)You have wearied the Lord with your words. ^(R)But you say, “How have we wearied him?” ^(S)By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, ^(T)“Where is the God of justice?”

3 ^(U)“Behold, I send ^(V)my messenger, and ^(W)he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^(X)whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^(Y)the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes

Malachi 2:12 Hebrew any who wakes and answers
Malachi 2:15 Hebrew in it
Malachi 2:15 Hebrew the one
Malachi 2:15 Or And not one has done this who has a portion of the Spirit. And what was that one seeking?
Malachi 2:15 Or So take care; also verse 16
Malachi 2:16 Hebrew who hates and divorces
Malachi 2:16 Probable meaning (compare Septuagint and Deuteronomy 24:1–4); or “The Lord, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce, and him who covers

Luke 1:5-17

English Standard Version

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵^(A)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^[a] ^(B)of ^(C)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both ^(D)righteous before God, walking ^(E)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because ^(F)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(G)both were advanced in years.

⁸Now ^(H)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(I)his division was on duty, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(J)to enter ^(K)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people ^(L)were praying ^(M)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(N)the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(O)fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(P)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(Q)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(R)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be ^(S)great before the Lord. And ^(T)he must not drink wine or strong ^(U)drink, and ^(V)he will be ^(W)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(X)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷and ^(Y)he will go before him ^(Z)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(AA)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(AB)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(AC)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”