Psalm 138

New King James Version

The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful

A Psalm of David.

138 I will praise You with my whole heart;
^(A)Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
²^(B)I will worship ^(C)toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have ^(D)magnified Your word above all Your name.
³In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

⁴^(E)All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
⁵Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶^(F)Though the Lord is on high,
Yet ^(G)He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

⁷^(H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
⁸^(I)The Lord will ^[a]perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
^(J)Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Footnotes

Psalm 138:8 complete

Numbers 22

New King James Version

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 Then ^(A)the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

²Now ^(B)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³And ^(C)Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. ⁴So Moab said to ^(D)the elders of Midian, “Now this company will ^[a]lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵Then ^(E)he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at ^(F)Pethor, which is near ^[b]the River in the land of ^[c]the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! ⁶^(G)Therefore please come at once, ^(H)curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with ^(I)the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸And he said to them, ^(J)“Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

⁹^(K)Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

¹⁰So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”

¹²And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for ^(L)they are blessed.”

¹³So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

¹⁴And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more ^[d]honorable than they. ¹⁶And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷for I will certainly ^(M)honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. ^(N)Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”

¹⁸Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^(O)“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^(P)I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. ¹⁹Now therefore, please, you also ^(Q)stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”

²⁰^(R)And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but ^(S)only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” ²¹So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

²²Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, ^(T)and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³Now ^(U)the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. ²⁴Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. ²⁶Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸Then the Lord ^(V)opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

²⁹And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have ^[e]abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, ^(W)for now I would kill you!”

³⁰^(X)So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever ^[f]disposed to do this to you?”

And he said, “No.”

³¹Then the Lord ^(Y)opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. ³²And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out ^[g]to stand against you, because your way is ^(Z)perverse^[h] before Me. ³³The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

³⁴And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, ^(AA)“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it ^[i]displeases You, I will turn back.”

³⁵Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^(AB)but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, ^(AC)he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^(AD)which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. ³⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able ^(AE)to honor you?”

³⁸And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? ^(AF)The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” ³⁹So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. ⁴⁰Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

Balaam’s First Prophecy

⁴¹So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the ^(AG)high places of Baal, that from there he might observe ^[j]the extent of the people.

Footnotes

Numbers 22:4 consume
Numbers 22:5 The Euphrates
Numbers 22:5 Or the people of Amau
Numbers 22:15 distinguished
Numbers 22:29 mocked
Numbers 22:30 accustomed
Numbers 22:32 as an adversary
Numbers 22:32 contrary
Numbers 22:34 Lit. is evil in your eyes
Numbers 22:41 the farthest extent

Isaiah 59

New King James Version

Separated from God

59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not ^(A)shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
²But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will ^(B)not hear.
³For ^(C)your hands are defiled with ^[a]blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.

⁴No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in ^(D)empty words and speak lies;
^(E)They conceive ^[b]evil and bring forth iniquity.
⁵They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

⁶^(F)Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
⁷^(G)Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed ^(H)innocent blood;
^(I)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and ^(J)destruction are in their paths.
⁸The way of ^(K)peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
^(L)They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

Sin Confessed

⁹Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
^(M)We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
¹⁰^(N)We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
¹¹We all growl like bears,
And ^(O)moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
¹²For our ^(P)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
¹³In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering ^(Q)from the heart words of falsehood.
¹⁴Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
¹⁵So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a ^(R)prey.

The Redeemer of Zion

Then the Lord saw it, and ^[c]it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
¹⁶^(S)He saw that there was no man,
And ^(T)wondered that there was no intercessor;
^(U)Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
¹⁷^(V)For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
¹⁸^(W)According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
¹⁹^(X)So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in ^(Y)like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

²⁰“The^(Z) Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

²¹“As^(AA) for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 59:3 bloodshed
Isaiah 59:4 trouble
Isaiah 59:15 Lit. it was evil in His eyes

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

New King James Version

Various Exhortations

¹²And we urge you, brethren, ^(A)to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and ^[a]admonish you, ¹³and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. ^(B)Be at peace among yourselves.

¹⁴Now we ^[b]exhort you, brethren, ^(C)warn those who are ^[c]unruly, ^(D)comfort the fainthearted, ^(E)uphold the weak, ^(F)be patient with all. ¹⁵^(G)See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always ^(H)pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

¹⁶^(I)Rejoice always, ¹⁷^(J)pray without ceasing, ¹⁸in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

¹⁹^(K)Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰^(L)Do not despise prophecies. ²¹^(M)Test all things; ^(N)hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil.