Psalm 58

English Standard Version

God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David.

58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?^[b]
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
²No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands ^(C)deal out violence on earth.

³The wicked are ^(D)estranged from the womb;
    they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
⁴^(E)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
    like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
⁵so that it ^(F)does not hear the voice of charmers
    or of the cunning enchanter.

⁶O God, ^(G)break the teeth in their mouths;
    tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
⁷Let them ^(H)vanish like water that runs away;
    when he ^(I)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
⁸Let them be like the snail ^(J)that dissolves into slime,
    like ^(K)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
⁹Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of ^(L)thorns,
    whether green or ablaze, may he ^(M)sweep them away!^[c]

¹⁰^(N)The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will ^(O)bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
¹¹Mankind will say, “Surely there is ^(P)a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who ^(Q)judges on earth.”

Footnotes

Psalm 58:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 58:1 Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)
Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

Psalm 60

English Standard Version

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Shushan Eduth. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David; ^(C)for instruction; when he ^(D)strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

60 O God, ^(E)you have rejected us, ^(F)broken our defenses;
    you have been angry; ^(G)oh, restore us.
²You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
    ^(H)repair its breaches, for it totters.
³^(I)You have made your people see hard things;
    ^(J)you have given us ^(K)wine to drink that made us stagger.

⁴You have set up ^(L)a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it ^(M)from the bow.^[b] Selah
⁵^(N)That your ^(O)beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

⁶God has spoken ^(P)in his holiness:^[c]
    “With exultation ^(Q)I will divide up ^(R)Shechem
    and portion out the Vale of ^(S)Succoth.
⁷^(T)Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    ^(U)Ephraim is ^(V)my helmet;
    Judah is my ^(W)scepter.
⁸^(X)Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I ^(Y)cast my shoe;
    over ^(Z)Philistia I shout in triumph.”^[d]

⁹Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    ^(AA)Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰Have you not ^(AB)rejected us, O God?
    You ^(AC)do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
¹¹Oh, grant us help against the foe,
    for ^(AD)vain is the salvation of man!
¹²With God we shall ^(AE)do valiantly;
    it is he who will ^(AF)tread down our foes.

Footnotes

Psalm 60:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
Psalm 60:4 Or that it may be displayed because of truth
Psalm 60:6 Or sanctuary
Psalm 60:8 Revocalization (compare Psalm 108:10); Masoretic Text over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph

Proverbs 21

English Standard Version

21 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
    he ^(A)turns it wherever he will.
²^(B)Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
    but the Lord ^(C)weighs the heart.
³^(D)To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
⁴^(E)Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    ^(F)the lamp^[a] of the wicked, are sin.
⁵The plans of ^(G)the diligent lead surely to abundance,
    but everyone who is ^(H)hasty comes ^(I)only to poverty.
⁶^(J)The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
    is a ^(K)fleeting ^(L)vapor and a ^(M)snare of death.^[b]
⁷The violence of the wicked will ^(N)sweep them away,
    because they refuse to do what is just.
⁸The way of the guilty ^(O)is crooked,
    but the conduct of the pure is upright.
⁹It is ^(P)better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil;
    his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
¹¹When ^(Q)a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;
    when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
¹²The Righteous One ^(R)observes the house of the wicked;
    he throws the wicked down to ruin.
¹³^(S)Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
    will himself call out and not be answered.
¹⁴^(T)A gift in secret averts anger,
    and a concealed bribe,^[c] strong wrath.
¹⁵When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
    ^(U)but terror to evildoers.
¹⁶One who wanders from the way of good sense
    ^(V)will rest in the assembly of the dead.
¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
    he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
¹⁸^(W)The wicked is a ^(X)ransom for the righteous,
    and the traitor for the upright.
¹⁹It is ^(Y)better to live in a desert land
    than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
²⁰^(Z)Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,
    but a foolish man ^(AA)devours it.
²¹Whoever ^(AB)pursues righteousness and kindness
    will find ^(AC)life, righteousness, and honor.
²²^(AD)A wise man scales the city of the mighty
    and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
²³^(AE)Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
    ^(AF)keeps himself out of ^(AG)trouble.
²⁴^(AH)“Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
    who acts with arrogant pride.
²⁵The desire of ^(AI)the sluggard kills him,
    for his hands refuse to labor.
²⁶All day long he craves and craves,
    but the righteous ^(AJ)gives and does not hold back.
²⁷^(AK)The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
    how much more ^(AL)when he brings it with evil intent.
²⁸^(AM)A false witness will perish,
    but the word of a man who hears will endure.
²⁹A wicked man puts on a bold face,
    but the upright ^(AN)gives thought to^[d] his ways.
³⁰^(AO)No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
    can avail against the Lord.
³¹^(AP)The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but ^(AQ)the victory belongs to the Lord.

Footnotes

Proverbs 21:4 Or the plowing
Proverbs 21:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Latin; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death
Proverbs 21:14 Hebrew a bribe in the bosom
Proverbs 21:29 Or establishes

Ephesians 4:1-16

English Standard Version

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, ^(A)a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to ^(B)walk in a manner worthy of ^(C)the calling to which you have been called, ²with all ^(D)humility and ^(E)gentleness, with ^(F)patience, ^(G)bearing with one another in love, ³eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in ^(H)the bond of peace. ⁴There is ^(I)one body and ^(J)one Spirit—just as you were called to the one ^(K)hope that belongs to your call— ⁵^(L)one Lord, ^(M)one faith, ^(N)one baptism, ⁶^(O)one God and Father of all, ^(P)who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷But ^(Q)grace was given ^(R)to each one of us ^(S)according to the measure of Christ's gift. ⁸Therefore it says,

^(T)“When he ascended on high ^(U)he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”^[a]

⁹(^(V)In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ^(W)the lower regions, the earth?^[b] ¹⁰He who descended is the one who also ^(X)ascended ^(Y)far above all the heavens, that he might ^(Z)fill all things.) ¹¹And ^(AA)he gave the ^(AB)apostles, the prophets, the ^(AC)evangelists, the ^(AD)shepherds^[c] and teachers,^[d] ¹²^(AE)to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^(AF)building up ^(AG)the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to ^(AH)the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^(AI)to mature manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of ^(AJ)the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, ^(AK)tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^(AL)deceitful schemes. ¹⁵Rather, ^(AM)speaking the truth in love, we are to ^(AN)grow up in every way into him who is ^(AO)the head, into Christ, ¹⁶^(AP)from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, ^(AQ)when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.