Psalm 104

New International Version

Psalm 104

¹Praise the Lord, my soul.^(A)

Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.^(B)

²The Lord wraps^(C) himself in light^(D) as with a garment;
    he stretches^(E) out the heavens^(F) like a tent^(G)
³    and lays the beams^(H) of his upper chambers on their waters.^(I)
He makes the clouds^(J) his chariot^(K)
    and rides on the wings of the wind.^(L)
⁴He makes winds his messengers,^[a]^(M)
    flames of fire^(N) his servants.

⁵He set the earth^(O) on its foundations;^(P)
    it can never be moved.
⁶You covered it^(Q) with the watery depths^(R) as with a garment;
    the waters stood^(S) above the mountains.
⁷But at your rebuke^(T) the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder^(U) they took to flight;
⁸they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned^(V) for them.
⁹You set a boundary^(W) they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

¹⁰He makes springs^(X) pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
¹¹They give water^(Y) to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys^(Z) quench their thirst.
¹²The birds of the sky^(AA) nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.^(AB)
¹³He waters the mountains^(AC) from his upper chambers;^(AD)
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.^(AE)
¹⁴He makes grass grow^(AF) for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food^(AG) from the earth:
¹⁵wine^(AH) that gladdens human hearts,
    oil^(AI) to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains^(AJ) their hearts.
¹⁶The trees of the Lord^(AK) are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon^(AL) that he planted.
¹⁷There the birds^(AM) make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
¹⁸The high mountains belong to the wild goats;^(AN)
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.^(AO)

¹⁹He made the moon to mark the seasons,^(AP)
    and the sun^(AQ) knows when to go down.
²⁰You bring darkness,^(AR) it becomes night,^(AS)
    and all the beasts of the forest^(AT) prowl.
²¹The lions roar for their prey^(AU)
    and seek their food from God.^(AV)
²²The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.^(AW)
²³Then people go out to their work,^(AX)
    to their labor until evening.^(AY)

²⁴How many are your works,^(AZ) Lord!
    In wisdom you made^(BA) them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.^(BB)
²⁵There is the sea,^(BC) vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.^(BD)
²⁶There the ships^(BE) go to and fro,
    and Leviathan,^(BF) which you formed to frolic^(BG) there.^(BH)

²⁷All creatures look to you
    to give them their food^(BI) at the proper time.
²⁸When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied^(BJ) with good things.
²⁹When you hide your face,^(BK)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.^(BL)
³⁰When you send your Spirit,^(BM)
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord^(BN) endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works^(BO)—
³²he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,^(BP)
who touches the mountains,^(BQ) and they smoke.^(BR)

³³I will sing^(BS) to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice^(BT) in the Lord.
³⁵But may sinners vanish^(BU) from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.^(BV)

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.^[b]^(BW)

Footnotes

Psalm 104:4 Or angels
Psalm 104:35 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; in the Septuagint this line stands at the beginning of Psalm 105.

2 Corinthians 12-13

New International Version

Paul’s Vision and His Thorn

12 I must go on boasting.^(A) Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations^(B) from the Lord. ²I know a man in Christ^(C) who fourteen years ago was caught up^(D) to the third heaven.^(E) Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.^(F) ³And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— ⁴was caught up^(G) to paradise^(H) and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. ⁵I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.^(I) ⁶Even if I should choose to boast,^(J) I would not be a fool,^(K) because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷or because of these surpassingly great revelations.^(L) Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh,^(M) a messenger of Satan,^(N) to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.^(O) ⁹But he said to me, “My grace^(P) is sufficient for you, for my power^(Q) is made perfect in weakness.^(R)”^(S) Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight^(T) in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships,^(U) in persecutions,^(V) in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.^(W)

Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians

¹¹I have made a fool of myself,^(X) but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,”^[a]^(Y) even though I am nothing.^(Z) ¹²I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.^(AA) ¹³How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you?^(AB) Forgive me this wrong!^(AC)

¹⁴Now I am ready to visit you for the third time,^(AD) and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents,^(AE) but parents for their children.^(AF) ¹⁵So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well.^(AG) If I love you more,^(AH) will you love me less? ¹⁶Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you.^(AI) Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! ¹⁷Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent to you? ¹⁸I urged^(AJ) Titus^(AK) to go to you and I sent our brother^(AL) with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit?

¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God^(AM) as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends,^(AN) is for your strengthening.^(AO) ²⁰For I am afraid that when I come^(AP) I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be.^(AQ) I fear that there may be discord,^(AR) jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,^(AS) slander,^(AT) gossip,^(AU) arrogance^(AV) and disorder.^(AW) ²¹I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved^(AX) over many who have sinned earlier^(AY) and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery^(AZ) in which they have indulged.

Final Warnings

13 This will be my third visit to you.^(BA) “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”^[b]^(BB) ²I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent:^(BC) On my return I will not spare^(BD) those who sinned earlier^(BE) or any of the others, ³since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.^(BF) He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. ⁴For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness,^(BG) yet he lives by God’s power.^(BH) Likewise, we are weak^(BI) in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him^(BJ) in our dealing with you.

⁵Examine yourselves^(BK) to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.^(BL) Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you^(BM)—unless, of course, you fail the test? ⁶And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. ⁷Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹We are glad whenever we are weak^(BN) but you are strong;^(BO) and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.^(BP) ¹⁰This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh^(BQ) in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.^(BR)

Final Greetings

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters,^(BS) rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.^(BT) And the God of love^(BU) and peace^(BV) will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss.^(BW) ¹³All God’s people here send their greetings.^(BX)

¹⁴May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,^(BY) and the love of God,^(BZ) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit^(CA) be with you all.