Psalm 38

English Standard Version

Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

A Psalm of David, ^(A)for the memorial offering.

38 O Lord, ^(B)rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
²For your ^(C)arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand ^(D)has come down on me.

³There is ^(E)no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
there is no health in my ^(F)bones
    because of my sin.
⁴For my ^(G)iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
⁶I am ^(H)utterly bowed down and ^(I)prostrate;
    all the day I ^(J)go about mourning.
⁷For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is ^(K)no soundness in my flesh.
⁸I am feeble and crushed;
    I ^(L)groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my ^(M)sighing is not hidden from you.
¹⁰My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and ^(N)the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
¹¹My ^(O)friends and companions ^(P)stand aloof from my ^(Q)plague,
    and my nearest kin ^(R)stand far off.

¹²Those who seek my life ^(S)lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt ^(T)speak of ruin
and meditate ^(U)treachery all day long.

¹³But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like ^(V)a mute man who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no ^(W)rebukes.

¹⁵But for ^(X)you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
¹⁶For I said, “Only ^(Y)let them not rejoice over me,
who ^(Z)boast against me when my ^(AA)foot slips!”

¹⁷For I am ^(AB)ready to fall,
    and my pain is ever before me.
¹⁸I ^(AC)confess my iniquity;
    I am ^(AD)sorry for my sin.
¹⁹But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me ^(AE)wrongfully.
²⁰Those who ^(AF)render me evil for good
    ^(AG)accuse me because I ^(AH)follow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not ^(AI)far from me!
²²^(AJ)Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my ^(AK)salvation!

Jeremiah 50:1-20

English Standard Version

Judgment on Babylon

50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning ^(A)Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, ^(B)by Jeremiah the prophet:

²“Declare among the nations and proclaim,
    set up a banner and proclaim,
    conceal it not, and say:
^(C)‘Babylon is taken,
    ^(D)Bel is put to shame,
    Merodach is dismayed.
^(E)Her images are put to shame,
    her idols are dismayed.’

³“For ^(F)out of the north a nation has come up against her, ^(G)which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ^(H)both man and beast shall flee away.

⁴^(I)“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^(J)the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^(K)weeping as they come, and they ^(L)shall seek the Lord their God. ⁵^(M)They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^(N)saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^(O)everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

⁶^(P)“My people have been lost sheep. ^(Q)Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. ⁷All who found them have devoured them, ^(R)and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^(S)they have sinned against the Lord, ^(T)their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^(U)the hope of their fathers.’

⁸^(V)“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^(W)and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. ⁹For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon ^(X)a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. ¹⁰^(Y)Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

¹¹^(Z)“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
    O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
    and neigh like stallions,
¹²your mother shall be utterly shamed,
    and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
    ^(AA)a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
¹³^(AB)Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
    but shall be an utter desolation;
^(AC)everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
    ^(AD)and hiss because of all her wounds.
¹⁴^(AE)Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
    ^(AF)all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
    ^(AG)for she has sinned against the Lord.
¹⁵^(AH)Raise a shout against her all around;
    she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
    ^(AI)her walls are thrown down.
For ^(AJ)this is the vengeance of the Lord:
    take vengeance on her;
    ^(AK)do to her as she has done.
¹⁶Cut off from Babylon the sower,
    and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
^(AL)because of the sword of the oppressor,
    ^(AM)every one shall turn to his own people,
    and every one shall flee to his own land.

¹⁷^(AN)“Israel is a hunted sheep ^(AO)driven away by lions. ^(AP)First the king of Assyria ^(AQ)devoured him, and now at last ^(AR)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(AS)has gnawed his bones. ¹⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^(AT)I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^(AU)as I punished the king of Assyria. ¹⁹^(AV)I will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^(AW)he shall feed on ^(AX)Carmel and in ^(AY)Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^(AZ)Gilead. ²⁰In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^(BA)iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^(BB)I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

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Romans 11

English Standard Version

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, ^(A)has God rejected his people? By no means! For ^(B)I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ²^(C)God has not rejected his people whom he ^(D)foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³^(E)“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴But what is God's reply to him? ^(F)“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵So too at the present time there is ^(G)a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶^(H)But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? ^(I)Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest ^(J)were hardened, ⁸as it is written,

^(K)“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
^(L)eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

⁹And David says,

^(M)“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
¹⁰let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”

Gentiles Grafted In

¹¹So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass ^(N)salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. ¹²Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion^[b] mean!

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^(O)I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and ^(P)thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection means ^(Q)the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶^(R)If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷But if ^(S)some of the branches were broken off, and you, ^(T)although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root^[c] of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you ^(U)stand fast through faith. So ^(V)do not become proud, but ^(W)fear. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²²Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, ^(X)provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise ^(Y)you too will be cut off. ²³And ^(Z)even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Mystery of Israel's Salvation

²⁵^(AA)Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:^[d] ^(AB)a partial hardening has come upon Israel, ^(AC)until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

^(AD)“The Deliverer will come ^(AE)from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
²⁷“and this will be my ^(AF)covenant with them
^(AG)when I take away their sins.”

²⁸As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^(AH)beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹For the gifts and ^(AI)the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰For just as ^(AJ)you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now^[e] receive mercy. ³²For God ^(AK)has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.