Psalm 72

A Prayer for the King

Of Solomon.(A)

God, give your justice to the king
and your righteousness to the king’s son.(B)
He will judge your people with righteousness
and your afflicted ones with justice.(C)
May the mountains bring well-being[a] to the people
and the hills, righteousness.(D)
May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,
help the poor,
and crush the oppressor.(E)

May they fear you[b] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.(F)
May the king be like rain that falls on the cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.(G)
May the righteous[c] flourish in his days
and well-being abound
until the moon is no more.(H)

May he rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.(I)
May desert tribes kneel before him
and his enemies lick the dust.(J)
10 May the kings of Tarshish
and the coasts and islands bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(K)
11 Let all kings bow in homage to him,
all nations serve him.(L)

12 For he will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.(M)
13 He will have pity on the poor and helpless
and save the lives of the poor.(N)
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are[d] precious[e] in his sight.(O)

15 May he live long!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be offered for him continually,
and may he be blessed all day long.(P)
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.(Q)
17 May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.(R)

18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonders.(S)
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
the whole earth is filled with his glory.(T)
Amen and amen.
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are concluded.(U)

Footnotes

  1. 72:3 Or peace, also in v. 7
  2. 72:5 LXX reads May he continue
  3. 72:7 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Jer read May righteousness
  4. 72:14 Lit their blood is
  5. 72:14 Or valuable

Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the pride of children is their fathers.

Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;
how much worse are lies for a ruler.

A bribe(A) seems like a magic stone to its owner;
wherever he turns, he succeeds.(B)

Whoever conceals an offense promotes love,(C)
but whoever gossips about it separates friends.(D)

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Fulfill Your Ministry

I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge(A) the living and the dead,(B) and because of his appearing and his kingdom:(C) Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine,(D) but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.(E) But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,(F) fulfill your ministry.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering,(G) and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown(H) of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,(I) will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.[a](J)

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Footnotes

  1. 4:8 Or have longed for his appearing

Sixth Vision: Flying Scroll

I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.(A) “What do you see?” he asked me.

“I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “thirty feet[a] long and fifteen feet[b] wide.”(B)

Then he said to me, “This is the curse(C) that is going out over the whole land, for everyone who is a thief, contrary to what is written on one side, has gone unpunished,[c] and everyone who swears falsely, contrary to what is written on the other side, has gone unpunished. I will send it out,”(D)—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by my name. It will stay inside his house and destroy it along with its timbers and stones.”(E)

Seventh Vision: Woman in the Basket

Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Look up and see what this is that is approaching.”

So I asked, “What is it?”

He responded, “It’s a measuring basket[d] that is approaching.” And he continued, “This is their iniquity[e] in all the land.” Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman(F) sitting inside the basket.(G) “This is Wickedness,” he said. He shoved her down into the basket and pushed the lead weight over its opening. Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork,(H) and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.

10 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

11 “To build a shrine for it in the land of Shinar,”(I) he told me. “When that is ready, the basket will be placed there on its pedestal.”

Footnotes

  1. 5:2 Lit 20 cubits
  2. 5:2 Lit 10 cubits
  3. 5:3 Or side, will be removed
  4. 5:6 Lit It’s an ephah
  5. 5:6 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read eye

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