Wickedness of Humanity and Goodness of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.

A ^[a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord ^[b]concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.

¹⁴ There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are ^(A)righteous people to whom it ^[a]happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are ^(B)evil people to whom it ^[b]happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. ¹⁵ So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for ^(C)a person under the sun except to eat, drink, and be joyful, and this will stand by him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I ^(D)devoted my ^[c]mind to know wisdom and to see the business which has been done on the earth (even though one should ^[d](E)never sleep day or night), ¹⁷ and I saw every work of God, I concluded that ^(F)one cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though a person laboriously seeks, he will not discover; and ^(G)even if the wise person claims to know, he cannot discover.

People Are in the Hand of God

9 For I have taken all this to my heart, even to ^[e]examine ^[f]it all, that righteous people, wise people, and their deeds are ^(H)in the hand of God. ^(I)People do not know whether it will be ^(J)love or hatred; anything ^[g]awaits them.

^2 (K)It is the same for all. There is ^(L)one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and the unclean; for the person who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good person is, so is the sinner; the one who swears an oath is just as the one who ^[h]is afraid to swear an oath. ³ This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun, that there is ^(M)one fate for everyone. Furthermore, ^(N)the hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and ^(O)insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterward they go to the dead. ⁴ For whoever is joined to all the living, there is hope; for better a live dog, than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they will die; but the dead ^(P)do not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their ^(Q)memory is forgotten. ⁶ Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a ^(R)share in all that is done under the sun.

⁷ Go then, ^(S)eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. ⁸ See that your ^(T)clothes are white all the time, and that there is no lack of ^(U)oil on your head. ^9 [i]Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your ^(V)futile life which He has given you under the sun, ^[j]all the days of your futility; for this is your ^(W)reward in life and in your work which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, ^(X)do it with all your might; for there is no ^(Y)activity, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in ^(Z)Sheol where you are going.

Slave and Free

²¹ Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not ^(A)listen to the Law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, ^(B)one by the slave woman and ^(C)one by the free woman. ²³ But ^(D)the son by the slave woman ^[a]was born according to the flesh, and ^(E)the son by the free woman through the promise. ^24 [b](F)This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from ^(G)Mount Sinai giving birth to children ^[c]who are to be ^(H)slaves; ^[d]she is Hagar. ²⁵ Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. ²⁶ But ^(I)the Jerusalem above is free; ^[e]she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written:

²⁸ And you, brothers and sisters, ^(K)like Isaac, are ^(L)children of promise. ²⁹ But as at that time ^(M)the son who was born according to the flesh ^(N)persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, ^(O)so it is even now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say?

³¹ So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman.

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! ^11 (B)It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”

¹² Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were ^[a]offended when they heard this statement?” ¹³ But He answered and said, “^(C)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Leave them alone; ^(D)they are blind guides ^[b]of blind people. And ^(E)if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵ Peter ^[c]said to Him, “^(F)Explain the parable to us.” ^16 [d]Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is ^[e]eliminated? ¹⁸ But ^(G)the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. ^19 (H)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and ^[f]slanderous statements. ²⁰ These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (I)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of ^(J)Tyre and ^(K)Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, ^(L)Son of David; my daughter is severely ^(M)demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[g]at us!” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to ^(N)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(O)began ^[h]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ Yet He answered and said, “It is not ^[i]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ^(P)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed ^[j]at once.

Healing Crowds

^29 (Q)Departing from there, Jesus went along ^(R)the Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there. ³⁰ And ^[k]large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and ^(S)He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs ^[l]restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they ^(T)glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Men Fed

^32 (U)Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “^(V)I feel compassion for the ^[m]people, because they ^[n]have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” ³³ The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” ³⁴ And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵ And He directed the ^[o]people to ^[p]sit down on the ground; ³⁶ and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after ^(W)giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large ^(X)baskets full. ³⁸ And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

³⁹ And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into ^(Y)the boat and came to the region of ^(Z)Magadan.