Psalm 49

English Standard Version

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

49 ^(B)Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
²^(C)both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
³My mouth shall speak ^(D)wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(E)a proverb;
    I will solve my ^(F)riddle to the music of the lyre.

⁵^(G)Why should I fear in ^(H)times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
⁶those who ^(I)trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷Truly no man ^(J)can ransom another,
    or ^(K)give to God ^(L)the price of his life,
⁸for ^(M)the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
⁹that he should live on forever
    and ^(N)never see the pit.

¹⁰For he sees ^(O)that even the wise die;
    ^(P)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and ^(Q)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^(R)graves are their homes forever,^[a]
    their dwelling places ^(S)to all generations,
    though they ^(T)called lands by their own names.
¹²Man in his pomp ^(U)will not remain;
    ^(V)he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the path of those who have ^(W)foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.^[b] Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright ^(X)shall rule over them in the morning.
    ^(Y)Their form shall be consumed ^(Z)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
¹⁵But God will ^(AA)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will ^(AB)receive me. Selah

¹⁶Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
¹⁷^(AC)For when he dies he will ^(AD)carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
¹⁸For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^(AE)blessed—
    and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹his soul will ^(AF)go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again ^(AG)see light.
²⁰^(AH)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever
Psalm 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts

Deuteronomy 21

English Standard Version

Atonement for Unsolved Murders

21 “If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, ²then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. ³And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer ^(A)that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. ⁴And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. ⁵Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen ^(B)them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and ^(C)by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. ⁶And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man ^(D)shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, ⁷and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. ⁸Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and ^(E)do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ ⁹So ^(F)you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

Marrying Female Captives

¹⁰“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, ¹¹and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, ¹²and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. ¹³And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and ^(G)lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. ¹⁴But if you no longer delight in her, you shall ^(H)let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you ^(I)treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

¹⁵“If a man has two wives, ^(J)the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,^[a] ¹⁶then on the day when ^(K)he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, ¹⁷but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is ^(L)the firstfruits of his strength. ^(M)The right of the firstborn is his.

A Rebellious Son

¹⁸“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, ¹⁹then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, ²⁰and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ ²¹^(N)Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. ^(O)So you shall purge the evil from your midst, ^(P)and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed

²²“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, ²³^(Q)his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for ^(R)a hanged man is cursed by God. ^(S)You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 21:15 Or hated; also verses 16, 17

John 13:21-38

English Standard Version

One of You Will Betray Me

²¹After saying these things, ^(A)Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ^(B)“Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(C)one of you will betray me.” ²²^(D)The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. ²³^(E)One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table ^(F)at Jesus' side,^[a] ²⁴so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus^[b] of whom he was speaking. ²⁵^(G)So that disciple, ^(H)leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶Jesus answered, ^(I)“It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread ^(J)when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, ^(K)he gave it to Judas, ^(L)the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷Then after he had taken the morsel, ^(M)Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ^(N)“What you are going to do, do quickly.” ²⁸Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. ²⁹Some thought that, ^(O)because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need ^(P)for the feast,” or that he should ^(Q)give something to the poor. ³⁰So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. ^(R)And it was night.

A New Commandment

³¹When he had gone out, Jesus said, ^(S)“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and ^(T)God is glorified in him. ³²If God is glorified in him, ^(U)God will also glorify him in himself, and ^(V)glorify him at once. ³³Little children, ^(W)yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just ^(X)as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ ³⁴^(Y)A new commandment ^(Z)I give to you, ^(AA)that you love one another: ^(AB)just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵^(AC)By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

³⁶Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” ^(AD)Jesus answered him, “Where I am going ^(AE)you cannot follow me now, ^(AF)but you will follow afterward.” ³⁷^(AG)Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” ³⁸Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AH)the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.