Psalm 46-50

English Standard Version

God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. According to ^(B)Alamoth.^[a] A Song.

46 God is our ^(C)refuge and strength,
    a very ^(D)present^[b] help in ^(E)trouble.
²Therefore we will not fear ^(F)though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into ^(G)the heart of the sea,
³though ^(H)its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

⁴There is ^(I)a river whose streams make glad ^(J)the city of God,
    the holy ^(K)habitation of the Most High.
⁵^(L)God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
⁶^(M)The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he ^(N)utters his voice, the earth ^(O)melts.
⁷^(P)The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

⁸^(Q)Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
⁹^(R)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he ^(S)breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    ^(T)he burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰^(U)“Be still, and know that I am God.
    ^(V)I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
¹¹^(W)The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(X)the Sons of Korah.

47 ^(Y)Clap your hands, all peoples!
    ^(Z)Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
²For the Lord, the Most High, ^(AA)is to be feared,
    ^(AB)a great king over all the earth.
³He ^(AC)subdued peoples under us,
    and nations under our feet.
⁴He chose our ^(AD)heritage for us,
    ^(AE)the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

⁵God ^(AF)has gone up with a shout,
    the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises!
    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
⁷For God is ^(AG)the King of all the earth;
    sing praises ^(AH)with a psalm!^[c]

⁸God ^(AI)reigns over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.
⁹^(AJ)The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
For ^(AK)the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted!

Zion, the City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of ^(AL)the Sons of Korah.

48 ^(AM)Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
    in ^(AN)the city of our God!
His ^(AO)holy mountain, ²^(AP)beautiful in elevation,
    is ^(AQ)the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
    ^(AR)the city of the great King.
³Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.

⁴For behold, ^(AS)the kings assembled;
    they came on together.
⁵As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic; they took to flight.
⁶^(AT)Trembling took hold of them there,
    anguish ^(AU)as of a woman in labor.
⁷By ^(AV)the east wind you ^(AW)shattered
    the ships of ^(AX)Tarshish.
⁸As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in ^(AY)the city of our God,
    which God will ^(AZ)establish forever. Selah

⁹We have thought on your ^(BA)steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
¹⁰As your ^(BB)name, O God,
    so your praise reaches to ^(BC)the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹    Let Mount ^(BD)Zion be glad!
Let ^(BE)the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

¹²Walk about Zion, go around her,
    number her towers,
¹³consider well her ^(BF)ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
^(BG)that you may tell the next generation
¹⁴    that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will ^(BH)guide us forever.^[d]

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(BI)the Sons of Korah.

49 ^(BJ)Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
²^(BK)both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
³My mouth shall speak ^(BL)wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(BM)a proverb;
    I will solve my ^(BN)riddle to the music of the lyre.

⁵^(BO)Why should I fear in ^(BP)times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
⁶those who ^(BQ)trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷Truly no man ^(BR)can ransom another,
    or ^(BS)give to God ^(BT)the price of his life,
⁸for ^(BU)the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
⁹that he should live on forever
    and ^(BV)never see the pit.

¹⁰For he sees ^(BW)that even the wise die;
    ^(BX)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and ^(BY)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^(BZ)graves are their homes forever,^[e]
    their dwelling places ^(CA)to all generations,
    though they ^(CB)called lands by their own names.
¹²Man in his pomp ^(CC)will not remain;
    ^(CD)he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the path of those who have ^(CE)foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.^[f] Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright ^(CF)shall rule over them in the morning.
    ^(CG)Their form shall be consumed ^(CH)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
¹⁵But God will ^(CI)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will ^(CJ)receive me. Selah

¹⁶Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
¹⁷^(CK)For when he dies he will ^(CL)carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
¹⁸For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^(CM)blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹his soul will ^(CN)go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again ^(CO)see light.
²⁰^(CP)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of ^(CQ)Asaph.

50 ^(CR)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
    speaks and summons the earth
    ^(CS)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
²Out of Zion, ^(CT)the perfection of beauty,
    ^(CU)God shines forth.

³Our God comes; he ^(CV)does not keep silence;^[g]
    before him is a devouring ^(CW)fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
⁴^(CX)He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵“Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made ^(CY)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
⁶^(CZ)The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for ^(DA)God himself is judge! Selah

⁷^(DB)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    ^(DC)I am God, your God.
⁸Not for your sacrifices ^(DD)do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
⁹I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
¹⁰For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹^(DE)I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

¹²“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    ^(DF)for the world and its fullness are mine.
¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
¹⁴^(DG)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,^[h]
    and ^(DH)perform your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵and ^(DI)call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will ^(DJ)deliver you, and you shall ^(DK)glorify me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
¹⁷^(DL)For you hate discipline,
    ^(DM)and you cast my words behind you.
¹⁸If you see a thief, ^(DN)you are pleased with him,
    ^(DO)and you keep company with adulterers.

¹⁹“You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    ^(DP)and your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother's son.
²¹These things you have done, and I ^(DQ)have been silent;
    you thought that I^[i] was one like yourself.
But now I ^(DR)rebuke you and ^(DS)lay the charge before you.

²²“Mark this, then, you who ^(DT)forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be ^(DU)none to deliver!
²³The one who ^(DV)offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who ^(DW)orders his way rightly
    I will show the ^(DX)salvation of God!”

Footnotes

Psalm 46:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 46:1 Or well proved
Psalm 47:7 Hebrew maskil
Psalm 48:14 Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death
Psalm 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever
Psalm 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts
Psalm 50:3 Or May our God come, and not keep silence
Psalm 50:14 Or Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God
Psalm 50:21 Or that the I am

1 Corinthians 14

English Standard Version

Prophecy and Tongues

14 ^(A)Pursue love, and ^(B)earnestly desire the ^(C)spiritual gifts, especially that you may ^(D)prophesy. ²For ^(E)one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. ⁴The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. ⁵Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but ^(F)even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

⁶Now, brothers,^[a] if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some ^(G)revelation or knowledge or prophecy or ^(H)teaching? ⁷If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? ⁸And ^(I)if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be ^(J)speaking into the air. ¹⁰There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, ¹¹but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be ^(K)a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. ¹²So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

¹³Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; ^(L)I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will ^(M)sing with my mind also. ¹⁶Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider^[b] say ^(N)“Amen” to ^(O)your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. ¹⁸I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. ¹⁹Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰Brothers, ^(P)do not be children in your thinking. ^(Q)Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be ^(R)mature. ²¹^(S)In the Law it is written, ^(T)“By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” ²²Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign^[c] not for unbelievers but for believers. ²³If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, ^(U)will they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, ²⁵^(V)the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, ^(W)falling on his face, he will worship God and ^(X)declare that God is really among you.

Orderly Worship

²⁶What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has ^(Y)a hymn, ^(Z)a lesson, ^(AA)a revelation, ^(AB)a tongue, or ^(AC)an interpretation. ^(AD)Let all things be done for building up. ²⁷If any speak in ^(AE)a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. ²⁸But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others ^(AF)weigh what is said. ³⁰If a revelation is made to another sitting there, ^(AG)let the first be silent. ³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, ³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. ³³For God is not a God of ^(AH)confusion but of peace.

As in ^(AI)all the churches of the saints, ³⁴^(AJ)the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but ^(AK)should be in submission, as ^(AL)the Law also says. ³⁵If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

³⁶Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? ³⁷^(AM)If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. ³⁸If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. ³⁹So, my brothers, ^(AN)earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰^(AO)But all things should be done decently and ^(AP)in order.