Psalm 55

English Standard Version

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. A Maskil^[a] of David.

55 ^(B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
²Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless ^(C)in my complaint and I ^(D)moan,
³because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they ^(E)drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me;
    ^(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and ^(G)horror ^(H)overwhelms me.
⁶And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
⁷^(I)yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸I would hurry to find a shelter
    from ^(J)the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹Destroy, O Lord, ^(K)divide their tongues;
    for I see ^(L)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and ^(M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
¹¹    ruin is in its midst;
^(N)oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.

¹²For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who ^(O)deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
¹³^(P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
¹⁴We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in ^(Q)the throng.
¹⁵Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol ^(R)alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

¹⁶But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
¹⁷^(S)Evening and ^(T)morning and at ^(U)noon
    I ^(V)utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
¹⁸He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for ^(W)many are arrayed against me.
¹⁹God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is ^(X)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not ^(Y)change
    and do not fear God.

²⁰My companion^[b] ^(Z)stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
²¹His ^(AA)speech was ^(AB)smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were ^(AC)drawn swords.

²²^(AD)Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
^(AE)he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

²³But you, O God, ^(AF)will cast them down
into ^(AG)the pit of destruction;
men of ^(AH)blood and treachery
shall not ^(AI)live out half their days.
But I will ^(AJ)trust in you.

Footnotes

Psalm 55:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 55:20 Hebrew He

Proverbs 20

English Standard Version

20 ^(A)Wine is a mocker, ^(B)strong drink a brawler,
    and whoever ^(C)is led astray by it is not wise.^[a]
²The terror of a king is like ^(D)the growling of a lion;
    whoever provokes him to anger ^(E)forfeits his life.
³It is an honor for a man to ^(F)keep aloof from strife,
    but every fool will be quarreling.
⁴^(G)The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
    ^(H)he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
⁵The purpose in a man's heart is like ^(I)deep water,
    but a man of understanding will draw it out.
⁶Many a man ^(J)proclaims his own steadfast love,
    but ^(K)a faithful man who can find?
⁷The righteous who ^(L)walks in his integrity—
    ^(M)blessed are his children after him!
⁸^(N)A king who sits on the throne of judgment
    ^(O)winnows all evil with his eyes.
⁹^(P)Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;
    I am clean from my sin”?
¹⁰^(Q)Unequal^[b] weights and unequal measures
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹¹Even a child ^(R)makes himself known by his acts,
    by whether his conduct is pure and upright.^[c]
¹²^(S)The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
    ^(T)the Lord has made them both.
¹³^(U)Love not sleep, lest you ^(V)come to poverty;
    open your eyes, and you will have ^(W)plenty of bread.
¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
    but when he goes away, then he boasts.
¹⁵There is gold and abundance of ^(X)costly stones,
    ^(Y)but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
¹⁶^(Z)Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
    and ^(AA)hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.^[d]
¹⁷^(AB)Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
    but afterward his mouth will be full of ^(AC)gravel.
¹⁸^(AD)Plans are established by counsel;
    by ^(AE)wise guidance ^(AF)wage war.
¹⁹Whoever ^(AG)goes about slandering reveals secrets;
    therefore do not associate with ^(AH)a simple babbler.^[e]
²⁰^(AI)If one curses his father or his mother,
    ^(AJ)his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.
²¹^(AK)An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning
    will not be blessed in the end.
²²Do not say, ^(AL)“I will repay evil”;
    ^(AM)wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
²³^(AN)Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,
    and ^(AO)false scales are not good.
²⁴A man's ^(AP)steps are from the Lord;
    how then can man understand his way?
²⁵It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
    and to reflect only ^(AQ)after making vows.
²⁶A wise king ^(AR)winnows the wicked
    and drives ^(AS)the wheel over them.
²⁷^(AT)The spirit^[f] of man is the lamp of the Lord,
    ^(AU)searching all ^(AV)his innermost parts.
²⁸^(AW)Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,
    and by steadfast love his ^(AX)throne is upheld.
²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,
    but ^(AY)the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
³⁰^(AZ)Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
    strokes make clean ^(BA)the innermost parts.

Footnotes

Proverbs 20:1 Or will not become wise
Proverbs 20:10 Or Two kinds of; also verse 23
Proverbs 20:11 Or Even a child can dissemble in his actions, though his conduct seems pure and upright
Proverbs 20:16 Or for an adulteress (compare 27:13)
Proverbs 20:19 Hebrew with one who is simple in his lips
Proverbs 20:27 Hebrew breath

Ephesians 3

English Standard Version

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, ^(A)a prisoner of Christ Jesus ^(B)on behalf of you Gentiles— ²assuming that you have heard of ^(C)the stewardship of ^(D)God's grace that was given to me for you, ³^(E)how the mystery was made known to me ^(F)by revelation, ^(G)as I have written briefly. ⁴^(H)When you read this, you can perceive my insight into ^(I)the mystery of Christ, ⁵which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ⁶This mystery is^[a] that the Gentiles are ^(J)fellow heirs, ^(K)members of the same body, and ^(L)partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

⁷^(M)Of this gospel I was made ^(N)a minister according to the gift of ^(O)God's grace, which was given me ^(P)by the working of his power. ⁸To me, ^(Q)though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, ^(R)to preach to the Gentiles the ^(S)unsearchable ^(T)riches of Christ, ⁹and ^(U)to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery ^(V)hidden for ages in^[b] God, ^(W)who created all things, ¹⁰so that through the church the manifold ^(X)wisdom of God ^(Y)might now be made known to ^(Z)the rulers and authorities ^(AA)in the heavenly places. ¹¹This was ^(AB)according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹²in whom we have ^(AC)boldness and ^(AD)access with ^(AE)confidence through our ^(AF)faith in him. ¹³So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering ^(AG)for you, ^(AH)which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

¹⁴For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom ^(AI)every family^[c] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to ^(AJ)the riches of his glory ^(AK)he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit ^(AL)in your inner being, ¹⁷^(AM)so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being ^(AN)rooted and ^(AO)grounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to ^(AP)comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ^(AQ)height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ ^(AR)that surpasses knowledge, that ^(AS)you may be filled with all ^(AT)the fullness of God.

²⁰^(AU)Now to ^(AV)him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, ^(AW)according to the power at work within us, ²¹^(AX)to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Footnotes

Ephesians 3:6 The words This mystery is are inferred from verse 4
Ephesians 3:9 Or by
Ephesians 3:15 Or from whom all fatherhood; the Greek word patria in verse 15 is closely related to the word for Father in verse 14