Psalm 143-145

English Standard Version

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    ^(A)give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your ^(B)faithfulness answer me, in your ^(C)righteousness!
²^(D)Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous ^(E)before you.

³For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    ^(F)he has crushed my life to the ground;
    ^(G)he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴Therefore my spirit ^(H)faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.

⁵^(I)I remember the days of old;
    ^(J)I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶^(K)I stretch out my hands to you;
    ^(L)my soul thirsts for you like ^(M)a parched land. Selah

⁷^(N)Answer me quickly, O Lord!
    ^(O)My spirit fails!
^(P)Hide not your face from me,
    ^(Q)lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸^(R)Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I ^(S)trust.
^(T)Make me know the way I should go,
    ^(U)for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹^(V)Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
    I have fled to you for refuge.^[a]
¹⁰^(W)Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
^(X)Let your good Spirit ^(Y)lead me
    on ^(Z)level ground!

¹¹^(AA)For your name's sake, O Lord, ^(AB)preserve my life!
    In your righteousness ^(AC)bring my soul out of trouble!
¹²And in your steadfast love you will ^(AD)cut off my enemies,
    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
    for I am your ^(AE)servant.

My Rock and My Fortress

Of David.

144 Blessed be the Lord, my ^(AF)rock,
    ^(AG)who trains my hands for war,
    and my fingers for battle;
²he is my ^(AH)steadfast love and my ^(AI)fortress,
    my ^(AJ)stronghold and my deliverer,
my ^(AK)shield and he in whom I take refuge,
    who ^(AL)subdues peoples^[b] under me.

³O Lord, ^(AM)what is man that you ^(AN)regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
⁴^(AO)Man is like a breath;
his days are like ^(AP)a passing ^(AQ)shadow.

⁵^(AR)Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
    ^(AS)Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
⁶^(AT)Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
    ^(AU)send out your arrows and rout them!
⁷^(AV)Stretch out your hand from on high;
    ^(AW)rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
    from the hand ^(AX)of foreigners,
⁸whose mouths speak ^(AY)lies
    and whose right hand is ^(AZ)a right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will sing ^(BA)a new song to you, O God;
    upon ^(BB)a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
¹⁰who gives victory to kings,
    who ^(BC)rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
¹¹Rescue me and deliver me
    from the hand ^(BD)of foreigners,
whose mouths speak ^(BE)lies
    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

¹²May our sons in their youth
    be like ^(BF)plants full grown,
our daughters like ^(BG)corner pillars
    cut for the structure of a palace;
¹³^(BH)may our granaries be full,
    ^(BI)providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
    and ten thousands in our fields;
¹⁴may our cattle be heavy with young,
    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;^[c]
may there be no ^(BJ)cry of distress in our streets!
¹⁵^(BK)Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
    ^(BL)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Great Is the Lord

^[d] A Song of Praise. Of David.

145 ^(BM)I will extol you, my God and ^(BN)King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
²Every day I will bless you
    ^(BO)and praise your name forever and ever.
³^(BP)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his ^(BQ)greatness is unsearchable.

⁴^(BR)One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
⁵On ^(BS)the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶They shall speak of ^(BT)the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
⁷They shall pour forth the fame of your ^(BU)abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

⁸The Lord is ^(BV)gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹The Lord is ^(BW)good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

¹⁰^(BX)All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your ^(BY)saints shall bless you!
¹¹They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
¹²to ^(BZ)make known to the children of man your^[e] ^(CA)mighty deeds,
    and ^(CB)the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
¹³^(CC)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.]^[f]
¹⁴The Lord ^(CD)upholds all who are falling
    and ^(CE)raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵The eyes of all ^(CF)look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
¹⁶You ^(CG)open your hand;
    you ^(CH)satisfy the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷The Lord is ^(CI)righteous in all his ways
    and ^(CJ)kind in all his works.
¹⁸The Lord is ^(CK)near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him ^(CL)in truth.
¹⁹He ^(CM)fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also ^(CN)hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰The Lord ^(CO)preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and ^(CP)let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Footnotes

Psalm 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered
Psalm 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people
Psalm 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out
Psalm 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Psalm 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line
Psalm 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll)

2 Corinthians 13

English Standard Version

Final Warnings

13 ^(A)This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established ^(B)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²^(C)I warned ^(D)those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that ^(E)if I come again I will not spare them— ³since you seek proof that Christ ^(F)is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but ^(G)is powerful among you. ⁴For ^(H)he was crucified in weakness, but ^(I)lives by the power of God. For ^(J)we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you ^(K)we will live with him by the power of God.

⁵Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. ^(L)Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that ^(M)Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ⁷But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. ⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹For we are glad when ^(N)we are weak and you are strong. Your ^(O)restoration is what we pray for. ¹⁰For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come ^(P)I may not have to be ^(Q)severe in my use of ^(R)the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Final Greetings

¹¹Finally, brothers,^[a] rejoice. ^(S)Aim for restoration, comfort one another,^[b] ^(T)agree with one another, ^(U)live in peace; and the God of love and ^(V)peace will be with you. ¹²^(W)Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³^(X)All the saints greet you.