Psalm 46

God’s Defense of His City and People

To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.

A Vision of God in the Temple

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.^{(A) 2} Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.^{(B) 3} And one called to another and said,

⁴ The pivots^[a] on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”^(D)

⁶ Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. ⁷ The seraph^[b] touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”^{(E) 8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”^(F)

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.^(A)

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.^(B)

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.^(C)

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.^(D)

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^[a] on my account.^{(E) 12} Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.^(F)

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.^(G)

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.^(H)

Peace and Security through Obedience

The Judgment of the Nations

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.^{(A) 32} All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,^{(B) 33} and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ³⁴ Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,^{(C) 35} for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,^{(D) 36} I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’^{(E) 37} Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸ And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹ And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ ⁴⁰ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’^{(F) 41} Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,^{(G) 42} for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’^{(H) 46} And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”^(I)

Messengers from John the Baptist

¹⁸ The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples ¹⁹ and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?” ²⁰ When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?’ ” ²¹ Jesus^[a] had just then cured many people of diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits and had given sight to many who were blind.^{(A) 22} And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight; the lame walk; those with a skin disease are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised; the poor have good news brought to them.^{(B) 23} And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.^{(A) 43} And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?^{(B) 44} For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be^[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise

⁴⁶ And Mary^[b] said,