The Steadfast Love of God Endures

To the choirmaster. A Maskil[a] of David, when (A)Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
    The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
Your (B)tongue plots destruction,
    like (C)a sharp razor, you (D)worker of deceit.
You love evil more than good,
    and (E)lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
You love all words that devour,
    O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever;
    he will snatch and (F)tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from (G)the land of the living. Selah
The righteous shall (H)see and fear,
    and shall (I)laugh at him, saying,
“See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
but (J)trusted in the abundance of his riches
    and sought refuge in his own destruction!”[b]

But I am like (K)a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, (L)for it is good,
    in the presence of the (M)godly.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 52:7 Or in his work of destruction

There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to (A)Mahalath. A Maskil[a] of David.

53 (B)The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
    there is none who does good.

God looks down from heaven
    on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,[b]
    who seek after God.

They have all fallen away;
    together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
    not even one.

Have those who work evil no knowledge,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread,
    and do not call upon God?

There they are, in great terror,
    (C)where there is no terror!
For God (D)scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
    you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
  2. Psalm 53:2 Or who act wisely

The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David, (B)when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

54 O God, save me by your (C)name,
    and vindicate me by your might.
O God, (D)hear my prayer;
    give ear to the words of my mouth.

(E)For (F)strangers[b] have risen against me;
    ruthless men (G)seek my life;
    they do not set God before themselves. Selah

Behold, (H)God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
    in your (I)faithfulness (J)put an end to them.

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, (K)for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has (L)looked in triumph on my enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 54:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Targum insolent men (compare Psalm 86:14)

The Birth of Isaac

21 The Lord (A)visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah (B)as he had promised. And Sarah (C)conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age (D)at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, (E)Isaac.[a] And Abraham (F)circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, (G)as God had commanded him. (H)Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, (I)“God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? (J)Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

God Protects Hagar and Ishmael

And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah (K)saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, (L)laughing.[b] 10 So she said to Abraham, (M)“Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for (N)through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make (O)a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of (P)Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then (Q)God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness (R)and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

A Treaty with Abimelech

22 At that time (S)Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, (T)“God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but (U)as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants (V)had seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men (W)made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this[c] may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore (X)that place was called Beersheba,[d] because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and (Y)called there on the name of the Lord, (Z)the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:3 Isaac means he laughs
  2. Genesis 21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery
  3. Genesis 21:30 Or you
  4. Genesis 21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath

I and the Father Are One

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, (A)in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are (B)the Christ, (C)tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. (D)The works that I do (E)in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but (F)you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 (G)My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 (H)I give them eternal life, and (I)they will never perish, and (J)no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, (K)who has given them to me,[a] (L)is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of (M)the Father's hand. 30 (N)I and the Father are one.”

31 (O)The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but (P)for blasphemy, because you, being a man, (Q)make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in (R)your Law, (S)‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be (T)broken— 36 do you say of him whom (U)the Father consecrated and (V)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because (W)I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 (X)If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, (Y)even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that (Z)the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 (AA)Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place (AB)where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but (AC)everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And (AD)many believed in him there.

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Footnotes

  1. John 10:29 Some manuscripts What my Father has given to me

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