Psalm 109:1-19

New International Version

Psalm 109

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹My God, whom I praise,^(A)
    do not remain silent,^(B)
²for people who are wicked and deceitful^(C)
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.^(D)
³With words of hatred^(E) they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.^(F)
⁴In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.^(G)
⁵They repay me evil for good,^(H)
    and hatred for my friendship.

⁶Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser^(I) stand at his right hand.
⁷When he is tried, let him be found guilty,^(J)
    and may his prayers condemn^(K) him.
⁸May his days be few;^(L)
    may another take his place^(M) of leadership.
⁹May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.^(N)
¹⁰May his children be wandering beggars;^(O)
    may they be driven^[a] from their ruined homes.
¹¹May a creditor^(P) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder^(Q) the fruits of his labor.^(R)
¹²May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity^(S) on his fatherless children.
¹³May his descendants be cut off,^(T)
    their names blotted out^(U) from the next generation.
¹⁴May the iniquity of his fathers^(V) be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
¹⁵May their sins always remain before^(W) the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name^(X) from the earth.

¹⁶For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy^(Y) and the brokenhearted.^(Z)
¹⁷He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.^(AA)
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
¹⁸He wore cursing^(AB) as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,^(AC)
    into his bones like oil.
¹⁹May it be like a cloak wrapped^(AD) about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought

Psalm 109:20-31

New International Version

²⁰May this be the Lord’s payment^(A) to my accusers,
to those who speak evil^(B) of me.

²¹But you, Sovereign Lord,
    help me for your name’s sake;^(C)
    out of the goodness of your love,^(D) deliver me.^(E)
²²For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
²³I fade away like an evening shadow;^(F)
    I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴My knees give^(G) way from fasting;^(H)
    my body is thin and gaunt.^(I)
²⁵I am an object of scorn^(J) to my accusers;
    when they see me, they shake their heads.^(K)

²⁶Help me,^(L) Lord my God;
    save me according to your unfailing love.
²⁷Let them know^(M) that it is your hand,
    that you, Lord, have done it.
²⁸While they curse,^(N) may you bless;
    may those who attack me be put to shame,
    but may your servant rejoice.^(O)
²⁹May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
    and wrapped in shame^(P) as in a cloak.

³⁰With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
in the great throng^(Q) of worshipers I will praise him.
³¹For he stands at the right hand^(R) of the needy,
to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

Read full chapter

1 Kings 13:1-10

New International Version

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God^(A) came from Judah to Bethel,^(B) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ²By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah^(C) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places^(D) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³That same day the man of God gave a sign:^(E) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

⁶Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede^(F) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

⁷The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”^(G)

⁸But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,^(H) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread^(I) or drink water here. ⁹For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

Read full chapter

Acts 11:19-30

New International Version

The Church in Antioch

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed^(A) traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch,^(B) spreading the word only among Jews. ²⁰Some of them, however, men from Cyprus^(C) and Cyrene,^(D) went to Antioch^(E) and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news^(F) about the Lord Jesus. ²¹The Lord’s hand was with them,^(G) and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.^(H)

²²News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas^(I) to Antioch. ²³When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done,^(J) he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.^(K) ²⁴He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit^(L) and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.^(M)

²⁵Then Barnabas went to Tarsus^(N) to look for Saul, ²⁶and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples^(O) were called Christians first^(P) at Antioch.

²⁷During this time some prophets^(Q) came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸One of them, named Agabus,^(R) stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world.^(S) (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)^(T) ²⁹The disciples,^(U) as each one was able, decided to provide help^(V) for the brothers and sisters^(W) living in Judea. ³⁰This they did, sending their gift to the elders^(X) by Barnabas^(Y) and Saul.^(Z)