The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song (A)at the dedication of the house of David.

30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my foes (C)rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You (D)healed me.
O Lord, (E)You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, [a]that I should not go down to the pit.

(F)Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of [b]His holy name.
For (G)His anger is but for a moment,
(H)His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But [c]joy comes in the morning.

Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be [d]moved.”
Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
(I)You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
(J)Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”

11 (K)You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off [e]my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 To the end that my [f]glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

The Lord a Fortress in Adversity

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

31 In (L)You, O Lord, I [g]put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
(M)Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of [h]refuge,
A [i]fortress of defense to save me.

(N)For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, (O)for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
(P)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of (Q)truth.

I have hated those (R)who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the Lord.
I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have (S)known my soul in [j]adversities,
And have not (T)shut[k] me up into the hand of the enemy;
(U)You have set my feet in a wide place.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
(V)My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my [l]body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 (W)I am a [m]reproach among all my enemies,
But (X)especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
(Y)Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 (Z)I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a [n]broken vessel.
13 (AA)For I hear the slander of many;
(AB)Fear is on every side;
While they (AC)take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your (AD)hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
16 (AE)Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
17 (AF)Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
(AG)Let them be silent in the grave.
18 (AH)Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which (AI)speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 (AJ)Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 (AK)You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
(AL)You shall keep them secretly in a [o]pavilion
From the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord,
For (AM)He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a [p]strong city!
22 For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.

23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 (AN)Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 30:3 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., LXX, Syr., Vg. from those who descend to the pit
  2. Psalm 30:4 Or His holiness
  3. Psalm 30:5 a shout of joy
  4. Psalm 30:6 shaken
  5. Psalm 30:11 The sackcloth of my mourning
  6. Psalm 30:12 soul
  7. Psalm 31:1 have taken refuge
  8. Psalm 31:2 strength
  9. Psalm 31:2 Lit. house of fortresses
  10. Psalm 31:7 troubles
  11. Psalm 31:8 given me over
  12. Psalm 31:9 Lit. belly
  13. Psalm 31:11 despised thing
  14. Psalm 31:12 Lit. perishing
  15. Psalm 31:20 shelter
  16. Psalm 31:21 fortified

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate(A)

27 When morning came, (B)all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and (C)delivered Him to [a]Pontius Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself(D)

(E)Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty (F)pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!

Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and (G)departed, and went and hanged himself.

But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called (H)the Field of Blood to this day.

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, (I)“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and (J)gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Faces Pilate(K)

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. (L)And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

Jesus said to him, (M)It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, (N)He answered nothing.

13 Then Pilate said to Him, (O)“Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Taking the Place of Barabbas(P)

15 (Q)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called [b]Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of (R)envy.

19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”

20 (S)But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”

They said, (T)“Barabbas!”

22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”

They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!”

23 Then the governor said, (U)“Why, what evil has He done?”

But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a [c]tumult was rising, he (V)took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this [d]just Person. You see to it.

25 And all the people answered and said, (W)“His blood be on us and on our children.”

26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when (X)he had [e]scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus(Y)

27 (Z)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the [f]Praetorium and gathered the whole [g]garrison around Him. 28 And they (AA)stripped Him and (AB)put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 (AC)When they had [h]twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then (AD)they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, (AE)and led Him away to be crucified.

The King on a Cross(AF)

32 (AG)Now as they came out, (AH)they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. 33 (AI)And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, 34 (AJ)they gave Him [i]sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

35 (AK)Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, [j]that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

(AL)“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”

36 (AM)Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 37 And they (AN)put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38 (AO)Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.

39 And (AP)those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, (AQ)“You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! (AR)If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the [k]scribes and elders, said, 42 “He (AS)saved others; Himself He cannot save. [l]If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe [m]Him. 43 (AT)He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

44 (AU)Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

Jesus Dies on the Cross(AV)

45 (AW)Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour (AX)Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, (AY)“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, (AZ)filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.

49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”

50 And Jesus (BA)cried out again with a loud voice, and (BB)yielded up His spirit.

51 Then, behold, (BC)the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

54 (BD)So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, (BE)“Truly this was the Son of God!”

55 And many women (BF)who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, 56 (BG)among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and [n]Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb(BH)

57 Now (BI)when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and (BJ)laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting [o]opposite the tomb.

Pilate Sets a Guard

62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, (BK)‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come [p]by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, (BL)sealing the stone and setting the guard.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:2 NU omits Pontius
  2. Matthew 27:16 NU Jesus Barabbas
  3. Matthew 27:24 an uproar
  4. Matthew 27:24 NU omits just
  5. Matthew 27:26 flogged with a Roman scourge
  6. Matthew 27:27 The governor’s headquarters
  7. Matthew 27:27 cohort
  8. Matthew 27:29 Lit. woven
  9. Matthew 27:34 NU omits sour
  10. Matthew 27:35 NU, M omit the rest of v. 35.
  11. Matthew 27:41 M scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders
  12. Matthew 27:42 NU omits If
  13. Matthew 27:42 NU, M in Him
  14. Matthew 27:56 NU Joseph
  15. Matthew 27:61 in front of
  16. Matthew 27:64 NU omits by night

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