Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!(A)
    Sing the glory of his name;(B)
    make his praise glorious.(C)
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!(D)
    So great is your power
    that your enemies cringe(E) before you.
All the earth bows down(F) to you;
    they sing praise(G) to you,
    they sing the praises of your name.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.

The Lord, Not Idols

“This is what the Lord says—
    Israel’s King(A) and Redeemer,(B) the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;(C)
    apart from me there is no God.(D)

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Israel Freed

12 “Listen(A) to me, Jacob,
    Israel, whom I have called:(B)
I am he;(C)
    I am the first and I am the last.(D)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(E)
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;(F)
when I summon them,
    they all stand up together.(G)

14 “Come together,(H) all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold(I) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(J)
    will carry out his purpose(K) against Babylon;(L)
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.[a]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called(M) him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed(N) in his mission.

16 “Come near(O) me and listen(P) to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(Q)
    at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lord(R) has sent(S) me,
    endowed with his Spirit.(T)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20

In that day(A) you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;(B)
    make known among the nations(C) what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.(D)

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13 So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,(A)
    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.(B)

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;(C)
    from the west(D) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east(E) give glory(F) to the Lord;
    exalt(G) the name(H) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands(I) of the sea.

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Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;(A)
    I will exalt you and praise your name,(B)
for in perfect faithfulness(C)
    you have done wonderful things,(D)
    things planned(E) long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,(F)
    the fortified(G) town a ruin,(H)
the foreigners’ stronghold(I) a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.(J)
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(K)
    cities of ruthless(L) nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge(M) for the poor,(N)
    a refuge for the needy(O) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(P)
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(Q)
    is like a storm driving against a wall
    and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(R) the uproar of foreigners;(S)
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless(T) is stilled.

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12 Lord, you establish peace(A) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done(B) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(C) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name(D) alone do we honor.(E)

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17 In a very short time,(A) will not Lebanon(B) be turned into a fertile field(C)
    and the fertile field seem like a forest?(D)
18 In that day(E) the deaf(F) will hear the words of the scroll,
    and out of gloom and darkness(G)
    the eyes of the blind will see.(H)
19 Once more the humble(I) will rejoice in the Lord;
    the needy(J) will rejoice in the Holy One(K) of Israel.
20 The ruthless(L) will vanish,(M)
    the mockers(N) will disappear,
    and all who have an eye for evil(O) will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
    who ensnare the defender in court(P)
    and with false testimony(Q) deprive the innocent of justice.(R)

22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed(S) Abraham,(T) says to the descendants of Jacob:

“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;(U)
    no longer will their faces grow pale.(V)
23 When they see among them their children,(W)
    the work of my hands,(X)
they will keep my name holy;(Y)
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One(Z) of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are wayward(AA) in spirit will gain understanding;(AB)
    those who complain will accept instruction.”(AC)

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“I am the Lord;(A) that is my name!(B)
    I will not yield my glory to another(C)
    or my praise to idols.(D)

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16 He saw that there was no one,(A)
    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(B)
so his own arm achieved salvation(C) for him,
    and his own righteousness(D) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(E)
    and the helmet(F) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(G) of vengeance(H)
    and wrapped himself in zeal(I) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
    so will he repay(J)
wrath to his enemies
    and retribution to his foes;
    he will repay the islands(K) their due.
19 From the west,(L) people will fear the name of the Lord,
    and from the rising of the sun,(M) they will revere his glory.(N)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
    that the breath(O) of the Lord drives along.[a]

20 “The Redeemer(P) will come to Zion,(Q)
    to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(R)
declares the Lord.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant(S) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(T) who is on you, will not depart from you,(U) and my words that I have put in your mouth(V) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight

64 [a]Oh, that you would rend the heavens(A) and come down,(B)
    that the mountains(C) would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name(D) known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake(E) before you!
For when you did awesome(F) things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled(G) before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,(H)
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.(I)
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,(J)
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.(K)
    How then can we be saved?

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.

God and Idols(A)

10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations(B)
    or be terrified by signs(C) in the heavens,
    though the nations are terrified by them.
For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
    they cut a tree out of the forest,
    and a craftsman(D) shapes it with his chisel.(E)
They adorn it with silver(F) and gold;
    they fasten it with hammer and nails
    so it will not totter.(G)
Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
    their idols cannot speak;(H)
they must be carried
    because they cannot walk.(I)
Do not fear them;
    they can do no harm(J)
    nor can they do any good.”(K)

No one is like you,(L) Lord;
    you are great,(M)
    and your name is mighty in power.
Who should not fear(N) you,
    King of the nations?(O)
    This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
    and in all their kingdoms,
    there is no one like you.

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14 “However, the days are coming,”(A) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(B) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(C) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(D) For I will restore(E) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(F)

16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(G) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(H) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(I) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(J) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(K) 18 I will repay(L) them double(M) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(N) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(O) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(P)(Q)

19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
    my refuge(R) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(S)
    from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(T)
    worthless idols(U) that did them no good.(V)
20 Do people make their own gods?
    Yes, but they are not gods!”(W)

21 “Therefore I will teach them—
    this time I will teach them
    my power and might.
Then they will know
    that my name(X) is the Lord.

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