Psalm 37
English Standard Version
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
[a] Of David.
37 (A)Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not (B)envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon (C)fade like (D)the grass
and wither (E)like the green herb.
3 (F)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
(G)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord;
(K)trust in him, and he will act.
6 (L)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as (M)the noonday.
7 (N)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
(O)fret not yourself over the one who (P)prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 (Q)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
(R)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 (S)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall (T)inherit the land.
10 In (U)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at (V)his place, he will not be there.
11 But (W)the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in (X)abundant peace.
12 The wicked (Y)plots against the righteous
and (Z)gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord (AA)laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his (AB)day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and (AC)bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose (AD)way is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their (AE)bows shall be broken.
16 (AF)Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For (AG)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord (AH)upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord (AI)knows the days of the blameless,
and their (AJ)heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in (AK)the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like (AL)the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like (AM)smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous (AN)is generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord[c] shall (AO)inherit the land,
but those cursed by him (AP)shall be cut off.
23 The (AQ)steps of a man are (AR)established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 (AS)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord (AT)upholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children (AU)begging for bread.
26 He is ever (AV)lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 (AW)Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you (AX)dwell forever.
28 For the Lord (AY)loves justice;
he will not forsake his (AZ)saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be (BA)cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and (BB)dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 (BC)The law of his God is in his heart;
his (BD)steps do not slip.
32 The wicked (BE)watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not (BF)abandon him to his power
or let him (BG)be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 (BH)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on (BI)when the wicked are cut off.
35 (BJ)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like (BK)a green laurel tree.[d]
36 But he passed away,[e] and behold, (BL)he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of (BM)peace.
38 But (BN)transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked (BO)shall be cut off.
39 (BP)The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in (BQ)the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and (BR)delivers them;
(BS)he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they (BT)take refuge in him.
Footnotes
- Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
- Psalm 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture
- Psalm 37:22 Hebrew by him
- Psalm 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain
- Psalm 37:36 Or But one passed by
Psalm 42-43
English Standard Version
Book Two
Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?
To the choirmaster. A Maskil[a] of (A)the Sons of Korah.
42 (B)As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 (C)My soul thirsts for God,
for (D)the living God.
When shall I come and (E)appear before God?[b]
3 (F)My tears have been my food
day and night,
(G)while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I (H)pour out my soul:
(I)how I would go (J)with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
(K)a multitude keeping festival.
5 (L)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you (M)in turmoil within me?
(N)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation[c] 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I (O)remember you
(P)from the land of Jordan and of (Q)Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
(R)all your breakers and your (S)waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord (T)commands his steadfast love,
and at (U)night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, (V)my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
(W)Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
(X)while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 (Y)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Send Out Your Light and Your Truth
43 (Z)Vindicate me, O God, and (AA)defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from (AB)the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
2 For you are (AC)the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you (AD)rejected me?
Why do I (AE)go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 (AF)Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your (AG)holy hill
and to your (AH)dwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 (AI)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
(AJ)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Footnotes
- Psalm 42:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 42:2 Revocalization yields and see the face of God
- Psalm 42:5 Hebrew the salvation of my face; also verse 11 and 43:5
Romans 8
English Standard Version
Life in the Spirit
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of (A)the Spirit of life (B)has set you[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For (C)God has done what the law, (D)weakened by the flesh, (E)could not do. (F)By sending his own Son (G)in the likeness of sinful flesh and (H)for sin,[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that (I)the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, (J)who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For (K)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on (L)the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on (M)the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set (N)the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is (O)hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; (P)indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact (Q)the Spirit of God dwells in you. (R)Anyone who does not have (S)the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of (T)him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus[d] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies (U)through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Heirs with Christ
12 So then, brothers,[e] we are debtors, (V)not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you (W)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are (X)led by the Spirit of God are (Y)sons[f] of God. 15 For (Z)you did not receive (AA)the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of (AB)adoption as sons, by whom we cry, (AC)“Abba! Father!” 16 (AD)The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then (AE)heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (AF)provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Future Glory
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (AG)are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for (AH)the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation (AI)was subjected to futility, not willingly, but (AJ)because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that (AK)the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that (AL)the whole creation (AM)has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have (AN)the firstfruits of the Spirit, (AO)groan inwardly as (AP)we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, (AQ)the redemption of our bodies. 24 For (AR)in this hope we were saved. Now (AS)hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we (AT)wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For (AU)we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but (AV)the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And (AW)he who searches hearts knows what is (AX)the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit (AY)intercedes for the saints (AZ)according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together (BA)for good,[h] for (BB)those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he (BC)foreknew he also (BD)predestined (BE)to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be (BF)the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also (BG)justified, and those whom he justified he also (BH)glorified.
God's Everlasting Love
31 What then shall we say to these things? (BI)If God is for us, who can be[i] against us? 32 (BJ)He who did not spare his own Son but (BK)gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? (BL)It is God who justifies. 34 (BM)Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—(BN)who is at the right hand of God, (BO)who indeed is interceding for us.[j] 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
(BP)“For your sake (BQ)we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than (BR)conquerors through (BS)him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes
- Romans 8:1 Some manuscripts add who walk not according to the flesh (but according to the Spirit)
- Romans 8:2 Some manuscripts me
- Romans 8:3 Or and as a sin offering
- Romans 8:11 Some manuscripts lack Jesus
- Romans 8:12 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 29
- Romans 8:14 See discussion on “sons” in the Preface
- Romans 8:27 Or that
- Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good
- Romans 8:31 Or who is
- Romans 8:34 Or Is it Christ Jesus who died… for us?
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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