Psalm 68

English Standard Version

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

68 ^(A)God shall arise, his enemies shall be ^(B)scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
²As ^(C)smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    ^(D)as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
³But ^(E)the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!

⁴Sing to God, ^(F)sing praises to his name;
    ^(G)lift up a song to him who ^(H)rides through ^(I)the deserts;
his name is ^(J)the Lord;
    exult before him!
⁵^(K)Father of the fatherless and ^(L)protector of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
⁶God ^(M)settles the solitary in a home;
    he ^(N)leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
    but ^(O)the rebellious dwell in ^(P)a parched land.

⁷O God, when you ^(Q)went out before your people,
    ^(R)when you marched through ^(S)the wilderness, Selah
⁸^(T)the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God,^[a] the God of Israel.
⁹^(U)Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
    you restored your inheritance as it languished;
¹⁰your flock^[b] found a dwelling in it;
    in your goodness, O God, you ^(V)provided for the needy.

¹¹The Lord gives ^(W)the word;
    ^(X)the women who announce the news are a great host:
¹²    ^(Y)“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home ^(Z)divide the spoil—
¹³    though you men lie among ^(AA)the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
    its pinions with shimmering gold.
¹⁴When the Almighty scatters kings there,
    let snow fall on ^(AB)Zalmon.

¹⁵O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
    O many-peaked^[c] mountain, mountain of Bashan!
¹⁶Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
    at the mount that God ^(AC)desired for his abode,
    yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
¹⁷^(AD)The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
    thousands upon thousands;
    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
¹⁸^(AE)You ascended on high,
    ^(AF)leading a host of captives in your train
    and ^(AG)receiving gifts among men,
even among ^(AH)the rebellious, ^(AI)that the Lord God may dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily ^(AJ)bears us up;
    God is our salvation. Selah
²⁰Our God is a God of salvation,
    ^(AK)and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
²¹^(AL)But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
²²The Lord said,
    “I will bring them back ^(AM)from Bashan,
^(AN)I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
²³that you may ^(AO)strike your feet in their blood,
    that ^(AP)the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

²⁴Your procession is^[d] seen, O God,
    the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
²⁵^(AQ)the singers in front, ^(AR)the musicians last,
    between them ^(AS)virgins playing tambourines:
²⁶^(AT)“Bless God in the great congregation,
    the Lord, O you^[e] who are of ^(AU)Israel's fountain!”
²⁷There is ^(AV)Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
    the princes of Judah in their throng,
    the princes of ^(AW)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸^(AX)Summon your power, O God,^[f]
    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
²⁹Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings shall ^(AY)bear gifts to you.
³⁰Rebuke ^(AZ)the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
    the herd of ^(BA)bulls with the calves of the peoples.
^(BB)Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
    scatter the peoples who delight in war.^[g]
³¹Nobles shall come from ^(BC)Egypt;
    ^(BD)Cush shall hasten to ^(BE)stretch out her hands to God.

³²^(BF)O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
    sing praises to the Lord, Selah
³³to him ^(BG)who rides in ^(BH)the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    behold, he ^(BI)sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
³⁴^(BJ)Ascribe power to God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    and whose ^(BK)power is in ^(BL)the skies.
³⁵^(BM)Awesome is God from his^[h] ^(BN)sanctuary;
    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives ^(BO)power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!

Footnotes

Psalm 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God
Psalm 68:10 Or your congregation
Psalm 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16
Psalm 68:24 Or has been
Psalm 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here
Psalm 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power
Psalm 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Psalm 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your

Matthew 17

English Standard Version

The Transfiguration

17 ^(A)And after six days Jesus took with him ^(B)Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ²And he was ^(C)transfigured before them, and ^(D)his face shone like the sun, and ^(E)his clothes became white as light. ³And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^(F)Elijah.” ⁵He was still speaking when, behold, ^(G)a bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^(H)a voice from the cloud said, ^(I)“This is my beloved Son,^[a] with whom I am well pleased; ^(J)listen to him.” ⁶When ^(K)the disciples heard this, ^(L)they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷But Jesus came and ^(M)touched them, saying, “Rise, and ^(N)have no fear.” ⁸And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

⁹^(O)And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^(P)“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” ¹⁰And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^(Q)that first Elijah must come?” ¹¹He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^(R)he will restore all things. ¹²But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^(S)did to him whatever they pleased. ^(T)So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” ¹³^(U)Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

¹⁴^(V)And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, ¹⁵said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has ^(W)seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, and ^(X)they could not heal him.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^(Y)twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^(Z)How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸And Jesus ^(AA)rebuked the demon,^[b] and it^[c] came out of him, and ^(AB)the boy was healed instantly.^[d] ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰He said to them, ^(AC)“Because of your little faith. For ^(AD)truly, I say to you, ^(AE)if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^(AF)you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^(AG)nothing will be impossible for you.”^[e]

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

²²^(AH)As they were gathering^[f] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^(AI)the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

²⁴^(AJ)When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^(AK)the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” ²⁵He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^(AL)“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^(AM)tax? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.^[g] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Footnotes

Matthew 17:5 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
Matthew 17:18 Greek it
Matthew 17:18 Greek the demon
Matthew 17:18 Greek from that hour
Matthew 17:20 Some manuscripts insert verse 21: But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting
Matthew 17:22 Some manuscripts remained
Matthew 17:27 Greek stater, a silver coin worth four drachmas or approximately one shekel