Psalm 37-39

English Standard Version

He Will Not Forsake His Saints

^[a] Of David.

37 ^(A)Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not ^(B)envious of wrongdoers!
²For they will soon ^(C)fade like ^(D)the grass
and wither ^(E)like the green herb.

³^(F)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
^(G)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.^[b]
⁴^(H)Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will ^(I)give you the desires of your heart.

⁵^(J)Commit your way to the Lord;
^(K)trust in him, and he will act.
⁶^(L)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as ^(M)the noonday.

⁷^(N)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
^(O)fret not yourself over the one who ^(P)prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸^(Q)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
^(R)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
⁹^(S)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall ^(T)inherit the land.

¹⁰In ^(U)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at ^(V)his place, he will not be there.
¹¹But ^(W)the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in ^(X)abundant peace.

¹²The wicked ^(Y)plots against the righteous
and ^(Z)gnashes his teeth at him,
¹³but the Lord ^(AA)laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his ^(AB)day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and ^(AC)bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ^(AD)way is upright;
¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart,
    and their ^(AE)bows shall be broken.

¹⁶^(AF)Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷For ^(AG)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord ^(AH)upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord ^(AI)knows the days of the blameless,
and their ^(AJ)heritage will remain forever;
¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times;
in ^(AK)the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like ^(AL)the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like ^(AM)smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous ^(AN)is generous and gives;
²²for those blessed by the Lord^[c] shall ^(AO)inherit the land,
but those cursed by him ^(AP)shall be cut off.

²³The ^(AQ)steps of a man are ^(AR)established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
²⁴^(AS)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord ^(AT)upholds his hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old,
    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
    or his children ^(AU)begging for bread.
²⁶He is ever ^(AV)lending generously,
    and his children become a blessing.

²⁷^(AW)Turn away from evil and do good;
    so shall you ^(AX)dwell forever.
²⁸For the Lord ^(AY)loves justice;
    he will not forsake his ^(AZ)saints.
They are preserved forever,
    but the children of the wicked shall be ^(BA)cut off.
²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land
    and ^(BB)dwell upon it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
³¹^(BC)The law of his God is in his heart;
his ^(BD)steps do not slip.

³²The wicked ^(BE)watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
³³The Lord will not ^(BF)abandon him to his power
or let him ^(BG)be condemned when he is brought to trial.

³⁴^(BH)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on ^(BI)when the wicked are cut off.

³⁵^(BJ)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like ^(BK)a green laurel tree.^[d]
³⁶But he passed away,^[e] and behold, ^(BL)he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of ^(BM)peace.
³⁸But ^(BN)transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked ^(BO)shall be cut off.

³⁹^(BP)The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in ^(BQ)the time of trouble.
⁴⁰The Lord helps them and ^(BR)delivers them;
    ^(BS)he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they ^(BT)take refuge in him.

Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

A Psalm of David, ^(BU)for the memorial offering.

38 O Lord, ^(BV)rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
²For your ^(BW)arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand ^(BX)has come down on me.

³There is ^(BY)no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
there is no health in my ^(BZ)bones
    because of my sin.
⁴For my ^(CA)iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
⁶I am ^(CB)utterly bowed down and ^(CC)prostrate;
    all the day I ^(CD)go about mourning.
⁷For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is ^(CE)no soundness in my flesh.
⁸I am feeble and crushed;
    I ^(CF)groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my ^(CG)sighing is not hidden from you.
¹⁰My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and ^(CH)the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
¹¹My ^(CI)friends and companions ^(CJ)stand aloof from my ^(CK)plague,
    and my nearest kin ^(CL)stand far off.

¹²Those who seek my life ^(CM)lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt ^(CN)speak of ruin
and meditate ^(CO)treachery all day long.

¹³But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like ^(CP)a mute man who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no ^(CQ)rebukes.

¹⁵But for ^(CR)you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
¹⁶For I said, “Only ^(CS)let them not rejoice over me,
who ^(CT)boast against me when my ^(CU)foot slips!”

¹⁷For I am ^(CV)ready to fall,
    and my pain is ever before me.
¹⁸I ^(CW)confess my iniquity;
    I am ^(CX)sorry for my sin.
¹⁹But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me ^(CY)wrongfully.
²⁰Those who ^(CZ)render me evil for good
    ^(DA)accuse me because I ^(DB)follow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not ^(DC)far from me!
²²^(DD)Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my ^(DE)salvation!

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to ^(DF)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will ^(DG)guard my ways,
    that I ^(DH)may not sin with my tongue;
I will ^(DI)guard my mouth with a muzzle,
    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
²I was ^(DJ)mute and silent;
    I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
³    My ^(DK)heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“O Lord, ^(DL)make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and ^(DM)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely ^(DN)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶    Surely a man ^(DO)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[f] they are in turmoil;
    man ^(DP)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    ^(DQ)My hope is in you.
⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    ^(DR)Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
⁹^(DS)I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    ^(DT)for it is you who have done it.
¹⁰^(DU)Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹When you discipline a man
    with ^(DV)rebukes for sin,
you ^(DW)consume like a ^(DX)moth what is dear to him;
    ^(DY)surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

¹²^(DZ)“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am ^(EA)a sojourner with you,
    ^(EB)a guest, like all my fathers.
¹³^(EC)Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    ^(ED)before I depart and ^(EE)am no more!”

Footnotes

Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Psalm 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture
Psalm 37:22 Hebrew by him
Psalm 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain
Psalm 37:36 Or But one passed by
Psalm 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath

1 Corinthians 11

English Standard Version

11 ^(A)Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Head Coverings

²Now I commend you ^(B)because you remember me in everything and ^(C)maintain the traditions ^(D)even as I delivered them to you. ³But I want you to understand that ^(E)the head of every man is Christ, ^(F)the head of a wife^[a] is her husband,^[b] and ^(G)the head of Christ is God. ⁴Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, ⁵but every wife^[c] who prays or ^(H)prophesies ^(I)with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same ^(J)as if her head were shaven. ⁶For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. ⁷For a man ought not to cover his head, since ^(K)he is the image and glory of God, but ^(L)woman is the glory of man. ⁸For ^(M)man was not made from woman, but woman from man. ⁹Neither was man created for woman, but ^(N)woman for man. ¹⁰That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.^[d] ¹¹Nevertheless, ^(O)in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; ¹²for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And ^(P)all things are from God. ¹³Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, ¹⁵but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. ¹⁶^(Q)If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do ^(R)the churches of God.

The Lord's Supper

¹⁷But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, ^(S)I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,^[e] ¹⁹for ^(T)there must be factions among you in order ^(U)that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. ²⁰When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. ²¹For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, ^(V)another gets drunk. ²²What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise ^(W)the church of God and ^(X)humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

²³For ^(Y)I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that ^(Z)the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for^[f] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”^[g] ²⁵In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death ^(AA)until he comes.

²⁷^(AB)Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord ^(AC)in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning ^(AD)the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸^(AE)Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some ^(AF)have died.^[h] ³¹^(AG)But if we judged^[i] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³²But when we are judged by the Lord, ^(AH)we are disciplined^[j] so that we may not be ^(AI)condemned along with the world.

³³So then, my brothers,^[k] when you come together to eat, wait for^[l] one another— ³⁴^(AJ)if anyone is hungry, ^(AK)let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things ^(AL)I will give directions ^(AM)when I come.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 11:3 Greek gunē. This term may refer to a woman or a wife, depending on the context
1 Corinthians 11:3 Greek anēr. This term may refer to a man or a husband, depending on the context
1 Corinthians 11:5 In verses 5–13, the Greek word gunē is translated wife in verses that deal with wearing a veil, a sign of being married in first-century culture
1 Corinthians 11:10 Or messengers, that is, people sent to observe and report
1 Corinthians 11:18 Or I believe a certain report
1 Corinthians 11:24 Some manuscripts broken for
1 Corinthians 11:24 Or as my memorial; also verse 25
1 Corinthians 11:30 Greek have fallen asleep (as in 15:6, 20)
1 Corinthians 11:31 Or discerned
1 Corinthians 11:32 Or when we are judged we are being disciplined by the Lord
1 Corinthians 11:33 Or brothers and sisters
1 Corinthians 11:33 Or share with