Psalm 31
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 31
A Plea for Protection
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, I seek refuge in you;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
Save me by your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.(B)
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;(C)
you lead and guide me
for your name’s sake.(D)
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for you are my refuge.(E)
5 Into your hand I entrust my spirit;(F)
you have redeemed me,[a] Lord, God of truth.(G)
6 I[b] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(H)
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your faithful love
because you have seen my affliction.
You know the troubles of my soul(I)
8 and have not handed me over to the enemy.(J)
You have set my feet in a spacious place.(K)
9 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am in distress;(L)
my eyes are worn out from frustration—
my whole being[c] as well.(M)
10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;(N)
my strength has failed
because of my iniquity,[d]
and my bones waste away.(O)
11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.(P)
12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person—like broken pottery.(Q)
13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.(R)
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.(S)
14 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(T)
15 The course of my life is in your power;(U)
rescue me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.(V)
16 Make your face shine on your servant;(W)
save me by your faithful love.(X)
17 Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on you.(Y)
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be quiet[e][f] in Sheol.(Z)
18 Let lying lips(AA)
that arrogantly speak against the righteous
in proud contempt be silenced.(AB)
19 How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you.
In the presence of everyone[g] you have acted
for those who take refuge in you.(AC)
20 You hide them in the protection of your presence;(AD)
you conceal them in a shelter
from human schemes,
from quarrelsome tongues.(AE)
21 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown his faithful love to me
in a city under siege.(AF)
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight.”(AG)
But you heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to you for help.(AH)
Matthew 18:10-14
Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones,(A) because I tell you that in heaven their angels(B) continually view the face of my Father in heaven.[a](C) 12 What do you think?(D) If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray?(E) 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep[b] more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
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Galatians 4:8-31
Christian Standard Bible
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 But in the past, since you didn’t know God,(A) you were enslaved to things[a] that by nature are not gods. 9 But now, since you know God,(B) or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless(C) elements?(D) Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? 10 You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years.(E) 11 I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.
12 I beg you, brothers and sisters: Become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have not wronged me; 13 you know[b] that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a weakness of the flesh. 14 You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you.[c] On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself.
15 Where, then, is your blessing? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth?(F) 17 They court you eagerly, but not for good. They want to exclude you from me, so that you would pursue them. 18 But it is always good to be pursued[d] in a good manner—and not just when I am with you. 19 My children,(G) I am again suffering labor pains(H) for you until Christ is formed in you. 20 I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.
Sarah and Hagar: Two Covenants
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, don’t you hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham(I) had two sons, one by a slave(J) and the other by a free woman. 23 But the one by the slave was born as a result of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born through promise. 24 These things are being taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai(K) and bears children into slavery—this is Hagar.(L) 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia(M) and corresponds to the present Jerusalem,(N) for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above(O) is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,(P)
Rejoice, childless woman,(Q)
unable to give birth.
Burst into song and shout,
you who are not in labor,
for the children of the desolate woman will be many,
more numerous than those
of the woman who has a husband.[e](R)
28 Now you too, brothers and sisters, like Isaac,(S) are children of promise.(T) 29 But just as then the child born as a result of the flesh persecuted the one born as a result of the Spirit,(U) so also now.(V) 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman.”[f](W) 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave but of the free woman.(X)
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