Psalm 135
New King James Version
Praise to God in Creation and Redemption
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
(A)Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
2 (B)You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In (C)the courts of the house of our God,
3 Praise the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, (E)for it is pleasant.
4 For (F)the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [a]special treasure.
5 For I know that (G)the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
6 (H)Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
7 (I)He causes the [b]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
(J)He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His (K)treasuries.
8 (L)He [c]destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
[d]Both of man and beast.
9 (M)He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
(N)Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 (O)He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And (P)all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 (Q)And gave their land as a [e]heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 (R)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 (S)For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.
15 (T)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
19 (U)Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord (V)out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 135:4 precious possession
- Psalm 135:7 Water vapor
- Psalm 135:8 Lit. struck down
- Psalm 135:8 Lit. From man to beast
- Psalm 135:12 inheritance
Isaiah 44:6-28
New King James Version
There Is No Other God
6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
(A)‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7 And (B)who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.
8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
(C)Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
(D)You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed (E)there is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ ”
Idolatry Is Foolishness
9 (F)Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
(G)They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god or mold an image
(H)That profits him nothing?
11 Surely all his companions would be (I)ashamed;
And the workmen, they are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together,
Let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear,
They shall be ashamed together.
12 (J)The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
Fashions it with hammers,
And works it with the strength of his arms.
Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and is faint.
13 The craftsman stretches out his rule,
He marks one out with chalk;
He fashions it with a plane,
He marks it out with the compass,
And makes it like the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He [a]secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 (K)They do not know nor understand;
For (L)He has [b]shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot (M)understand.
19 And no one (N)considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on ashes;
(O)A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a (P)lie in my right hand?”
Israel Is Not Forgotten
21 “Remember these, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be (Q)forgotten by Me!
22 (R)I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for (S)I have redeemed you.”
23 (T)Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into singing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And (U)glorified Himself in Israel.
Judah Will Be Restored
24 Thus says the Lord, (V)your Redeemer,
And (W)He who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who makes all things,
(X)Who stretches out the heavens [c]all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
25 Who (Y)frustrates the signs (Z)of the babblers,
And drives diviners mad;
Who turns wise men backward,
(AA)And makes their knowledge foolishness;
26 (AB)Who confirms the word of His servant,
And performs the counsel of His messengers;
Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’
And I will raise up her waste places;
27 (AC)Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
And I will dry up your rivers’;
28 Who says of (AD)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, (AE)“You shall be built,”
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:14 Lit. appropriates
- Isaiah 44:18 Lit. smeared over
- Isaiah 44:24 By Himself
Revelation 5
New King James Version
The Lamb Takes the Scroll
5 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne (A)a scroll written inside and on the back, (B)sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, (C)“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open [a]and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, (D)the Lion of the tribe of (E)Judah, (F)the Root of David, has (G)prevailed to open the scroll (H)and [b]to loose its seven seals.”
6 And I looked, [c]and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood (I)a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and (J)seven eyes, which are (K)the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand (L)of Him who sat on the throne.
Worthy Is the Lamb
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, (M)the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the (N)prayers of the saints. 9 And (O)they sang a new song, saying:
(P)“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And (Q)have redeemed us to God (R)by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made [d]us (S)kings[e] and (T)priests to our God;
And [f]we shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And (U)every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
(V)“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him (W)who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and [g]ever!”
14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the [h]twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped [i]Him who lives forever and ever.
Footnotes
- Revelation 5:4 NU, M omit and read
- Revelation 5:5 NU, M omit to loose
- Revelation 5:6 NU, M I saw in the midst . . . a Lamb standing
- Revelation 5:10 NU, M them
- Revelation 5:10 NU a kingdom
- Revelation 5:10 NU, M they
- Revelation 5:13 M adds Amen
- Revelation 5:14 NU, M omit twenty-four
- Revelation 5:14 NU, M omit Him who lives forever and ever
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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