Psalm 88
English Standard Version
I Cry Out Day and Night Before You
A Song. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to (B)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil[a] of (C)Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, (D)God of my salvation,
I (E)cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
(F)incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and (G)my life draws near to (H)Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (I)go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom (J)you remember no more,
for they are (K)cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in (L)the depths of the pit,
in the (M)regions dark and (N)deep.
7 Your wrath (O)lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with (P)all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused (Q)my companions to shun me;
you have made me (R)a horror[b] to them.
I am (S)shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 (T)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I (U)spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your (W)wonders known in (X)the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of (Y)forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, cry (Z)to you;
(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why (AB)do you cast my soul away?
Why (AC)do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.[c]
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your (AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They (AE)surround me like a flood (AF)all day long;
they (AG)close in on me together.
18 You have caused (AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.[d]
Footnotes
- Psalm 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
- Psalm 88:8 Or an abomination
- Psalm 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Psalm 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion
Jeremiah 2
English Standard Version
Israel Forsakes the Lord
2 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,
“I remember the devotion of (A)your youth,
your love (B)as a bride,
(C)how you followed me in the wilderness,
(D)in a land not sown.
3 (E)Israel was holy to the Lord,
(F)the firstfruits of his harvest.
(G)All who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:
(H)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
(I)and went after (J)worthlessness, and became worthless?
6 They did not say, (K)‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us (L)in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
7 (M)And I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, (N)you defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
(O)Those who handle the law did not know me;
(P)the shepherds[a] transgressed against me;
(Q)the prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after (R)things that do not profit.
9 “Therefore (S)I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
and (T)with your children's children I will contend.
10 For cross to the coasts of (U)Cyprus and see,
or send to (V)Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
11 (W)Has a nation changed its gods,
(X)even though they are no gods?
But my people (Y)have changed their glory
for (Z)that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, (AA)O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
(AB)they have forsaken (AC)me,
the fountain of (AD)living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 (AE)“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 (AF)The lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, (AG)without inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the men of (AH)Memphis and (AI)Tahpanhes
(AJ)have shaved[b] the crown of your head.
17 (AK)Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when (AL)he led you in the way?
18 (AM)And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of (AN)the Nile?
(AO)Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of (AP)the Euphrates?[c]
19 (AQ)Your evil will chastise you,
and (AR)your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and (AS)bitter
for (AT)you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For long ago I (AU)broke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, (AV)‘I will not serve.’
Yes, (AW)on every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down (AX)like a whore.
21 (AY)Yet I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
(AZ)How then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?
22 Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
(BA)the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord God.
23 (BB)How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way (BC)in the valley;
know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
24 (BD)a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.
25 Keep (BE)your feet from going unshod
and (BF)your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
(BG)for I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.’
26 “As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
(BH)they, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
27 who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
and not their face.
But (BI)in the time of their trouble they say,
‘Arise and save us!’
28 But (BJ)where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, (BK)if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for (BL)as many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,
declares the Lord.
30 In vain have I (BM)struck your children;
they took no correction;
(BN)your own sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31 And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come no more to you’?
32 (BO)Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet (BP)my people have forgotten me
days without number.
33 “How well you direct your course
to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
you have taught your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
(BQ)the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them (BR)breaking in.
Yet in spite of all these things
35 you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’
(BS)Behold, I will bring you to judgment
for (BT)saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 (BU)How much you go about,
changing your way!
You shall be (BV)put to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 From it too you will come away
with (BW)your hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you will not prosper by them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:8 Or rulers
- Jeremiah 2:16 Hebrew grazed
- Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew the River
Mark 4:21-41
English Standard Version
A Lamp Under a Basket
21 (A)And he said to them, (B)“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 (C)For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 (D)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: (E)with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 (F)For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26 And he said, (G)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; (H)he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once (I)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 (J)And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like (K)a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33 (L)With many such parables he spoke (M)the word to them, (N)as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them (O)without a parable, but (P)privately to his own disciples he (Q)explained everything.
Jesus Calms a Storm
35 (R)On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves (S)were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and (T)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and (U)there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you (V)so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, (W)“Who then is this, that even (X)the wind and the sea obey him?”
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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