Psalm 72-74
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, O God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]Let the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [i]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [k]may the (J)righteous flourish,
And (K)abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]Let (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring presents;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer [o]gifts.
11 [p]And let all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [q]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [r]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will [s](Y)rescue their [t]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let [u]them pray for him continually;
Let [v]them bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [w]increase [x](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And let men (AF)bless themselves by him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (AM)good to Israel,
To those who are (AN)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (AO)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [y]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (AP)envious of the [z]arrogant
As I saw the (AQ)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [aa]body is fat.
5 They are (AR)not [ab]in trouble as other [ac]men,
Nor are they (AS)plagued [ad]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (AT)their necklace;
The (AU)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [ae]bulges from (AV)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [af]run riot.
8 They (AW)mock and [ag]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (AX)speak from on high.
9 They have (AY)set their mouth [ah]against the heavens,
And their tongue [ai]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [aj]his people return to this place,
And waters of (AZ)abundance are [ak]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(BA)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [al]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (BB)these are the wicked;
And always (BC)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (BD)in vain I have [am]kept my heart pure
And (BE)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (BF)all day long
And [an](BG)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (BH)generation of Your children.
16 When I (BI)pondered to understand this,
It was [ao]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [ap](BJ)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (BK)end.
18 Surely You set them in (BL)slippery places;
You cast them down to [aq](BM)destruction.
19 How they are [ar](BN)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (BO)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (BP)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (BQ)aroused, You will (BR)despise their [as]form.
21 When my (BS)heart was embittered
And I was (BT)pierced [at]within,
22 Then I was (BU)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [au]a (BV)beast [av]before You.
23 Nevertheless (BW)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (BX)guide me,
And afterward (BY)receive me [aw]to glory.
25 (BZ)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [ax]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (CA)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [ay]strength of my heart and my (CB)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (CC)those who are far from You will (CD)perish;
You have [az]destroyed all those who [ba](CE)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (CF)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [bb]God my (CG)refuge,
That I may (CH)tell of all Your works.
An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.
A [bc]Maskil of Asaph.
74 O God, why have You (CI)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (CJ)smoke against the (CK)sheep of Your [bd]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have (CL)purchased of old,
Which You have (CM)redeemed to be the (CN)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (CO)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 [be]Turn Your footsteps toward the (CP)perpetual ruins;
The enemy (CQ)has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (CR)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (CS)own [bf]standards (CT)for signs.
5 It seems as if one had lifted up
His [bg](CU)axe in a [bh]forest of trees.
6 And now [bi]all its (CV)carved work
They smash with hatchet and [bj]hammers.
7 They have [bk](CW)burned Your sanctuary [bl]to the ground;
They have (CX)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (CY)said in their heart, “Let us [bm]completely [bn]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (CZ)signs;
There is (DA)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there any among us who knows (DB)how long.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary (DC)revile,
And the enemy (DD)spurn Your name forever?
11 Why (DE)do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
From within Your bosom, (DF)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (DG)my king from of old,
Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.
13 [bo]You (DH)divided the sea by Your strength;
[bp]You (DI)broke the heads of the (DJ)sea monsters [bq]in the waters.
14 [br]You crushed the heads of [bs](DK)Leviathan;
[bt]You gave him as food for the [bu]creatures (DL)of the wilderness.
15 [bv]You (DM)broke open springs and torrents;
[bw]You (DN)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[bx]You have (DO)prepared the [by]light and the sun.
17 [bz]You have (DP)established all the boundaries of the earth;
[ca]You have [cb]made (DQ)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, [cc]O Lord, that the enemy has (DR)reviled,
And a (DS)foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of Your (DT)turtledove to the wild beast;
(DU)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the (DV)covenant;
For the (DW)dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the (DX)oppressed return dishonored;
Let the (DY)afflicted and needy praise Your name.
22 Arise, O God, and (DZ)plead Your own cause;
Remember [cd]how the (EA)foolish man reproaches You all day long.
23 Do not forget the voice of Your (EB)adversaries,
The (EC)uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:2 Or He will judge
- Psalm 72:2 Many of the pronouns in this Psalm may be rendered He since the typical reference is to the Messiah
- Psalm 72:2 Or Your humble
- Psalm 72:3 Or The mountains will bring
- Psalm 72:3 Or prosperity
- Psalm 72:4 Or He will vindicate
- Psalm 72:4 Or humble
- Psalm 72:5 Or They will fear
- Psalm 72:5 Lit before the moon
- Psalm 72:6 Or He will come down
- Psalm 72:7 Or the righteous will flourish
- Psalm 72:9 Or The nomads...will bow
- Psalm 72:10 Or The kings...will bring
- Psalm 72:10 Or coastlands
- Psalm 72:10 Or tribute
- Psalm 72:11 Or All kings will bow down
- Psalm 72:12 Or humble
- Psalm 72:13 Lit souls
- Psalm 72:14 Lit redeem
- Psalm 72:14 Lit soul
- Psalm 72:15 Lit him
- Psalm 72:15 Lit him
- Psalm 72:17 Or sprout forth
- Psalm 72:17 Lit before the sun
- Psalm 73:2 Lit were caused to slip
- Psalm 73:3 Or boasters
- Psalm 73:4 Or belly
- Psalm 73:5 Lit in the trouble of men
- Psalm 73:5 Or mortals
- Psalm 73:5 Lit with
- Psalm 73:7 Lit goes forth
- Psalm 73:7 Lit overflow
- Psalm 73:8 Or they speak in wickedness; From on high they speak of oppression
- Psalm 73:9 Or in
- Psalm 73:9 Lit walks
- Psalm 73:10 Or His
- Psalm 73:10 Lit drained out
- Psalm 73:11 Lit in
- Psalm 73:13 Or cleansed my heart
- Psalm 73:14 Lit my chastening
- Psalm 73:16 Lit labor, trouble
- Psalm 73:17 Lit sanctuaries
- Psalm 73:18 Lit ruins
- Psalm 73:19 Lit become a desolation
- Psalm 73:20 Or image
- Psalm 73:21 Lit in my kidneys
- Psalm 73:22 Or an animal
- Psalm 73:22 Lit with You
- Psalm 73:24 Or with honor
- Psalm 73:25 Or with
- Psalm 73:26 Lit rock
- Psalm 73:27 Or silenced
- Psalm 73:27 Lit go to a whoring from
- Psalm 73:28 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Psalm 74:1 Possibly, Contemplative, or Didactic, or Skillful Psalm
- Psalm 74:1 Or pasturing
- Psalm 74:3 Lit Lift up
- Psalm 74:4 Lit signs
- Psalm 74:5 Lit axes
- Psalm 74:5 Lit thicket
- Psalm 74:6 Lit altogether
- Psalm 74:6 Or axes
- Psalm 74:7 Lit set on fire
- Psalm 74:7 Or To the ground they...
- Psalm 74:8 Lit altogether
- Psalm 74:8 Or oppress
- Psalm 74:13 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:13 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:13 Lit on
- Psalm 74:14 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:14 Or sea monster
- Psalm 74:14 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:14 Lit people
- Psalm 74:15 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:15 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:16 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:16 Or luminary
- Psalm 74:17 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:17 Or You Yourself
- Psalm 74:17 Or formed
- Psalm 74:18 Or that the enemy has reviled the Lord
- Psalm 74:22 Lit Your reproach from the foolish man
1 Thessalonians 2
New American Standard Bible 1995
Paul’s Ministry
2 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our [a](A)coming to you (B)was not in vain, 2 but after we had already suffered and been (C)mistreated in (D)Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God (E)to speak to you the (F)gospel of God amid much [b](G)opposition. 3 For our (H)exhortation does not come from (I)error or (J)impurity or [c]by way of (K)deceit; 4 (L)but just as we have been approved by God to be (M)entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, (N)not as pleasing men, but God who [d](O)examines our hearts. 5 For we never came [e]with flattering speech, as you know, nor with (P)a pretext for greed—(Q)God is witness— 6 nor did we (R)seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as (S)apostles of Christ [f]we might have [g]asserted our authority. 7 But we [h]proved to be [i](T)gentle [j]among you, (U)as a nursing mother [k]tenderly cares for her own children. 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to (V)impart to you not only the (W)gospel of God but also our own [l]lives, because you had become [m]very dear to us.
9 For you recall, brethren, our (X)labor and hardship, how (Y)working night and day so as not to be a (Z)burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the (AA)gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is (AB)God, (AC)how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we [n]behaved toward you [o]believers; 11 just as you know how we were (AD)exhorting and encouraging and [p](AE)imploring each one of you as (AF)a father would his own children, 12 so that you would (AG)walk in a manner worthy of the God who (AH)calls you into His own kingdom and (AI)glory.
13 For this reason we also constantly (AJ)thank God that when you received the (AK)word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it (AL)not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, (AM)which also performs its work in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became (AN)imitators of (AO)the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are (AP)in Judea, for (AQ)you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, (AR)even as they did from the Jews, 15 (AS)who both killed the Lord Jesus and (AT)the prophets, and [q]drove us out. [r]They are not pleasing to God, [s]but hostile to all men, 16 (AU)hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles (AV)so that they may be saved; with the result that they always (AW)fill up the measure of their sins. But (AX)wrath has come upon them [t]to the utmost.
17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a [u]short while—(AY)in [v]person, not in [w]spirit—were all the more eager with great desire (AZ)to see your face. 18 [x]For (BA)we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, [y](BB)more than once—and yet (BC)Satan (BD)hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or (BE)joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His [z](BF)coming? 20 For you are (BG)our glory and joy.
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 2:1 Lit entrance
- 1 Thessalonians 2:2 Or struggle, conflict
- 1 Thessalonians 2:3 Lit in deceit
- 1 Thessalonians 2:4 Or approves
- 1 Thessalonians 2:5 Lit in a word of flattery
- 1 Thessalonians 2:6 Lit being able to
- 1 Thessalonians 2:6 Or be burdensome
- 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Or became gentle
- 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Three early mss read babes
- 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Lit in the midst of you
- 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Or cherishes
- 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Or souls
- 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Lit beloved
- 1 Thessalonians 2:10 Lit became
- 1 Thessalonians 2:10 Or who believe
- 1 Thessalonians 2:11 Or testifying to
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15 Or persecuted us
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15 Lit and
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15 Lit and
- 1 Thessalonians 2:16 Or forever or altogether; lit to the end
- 1 Thessalonians 2:17 Lit occasion of an hour
- 1 Thessalonians 2:17 Lit face
- 1 Thessalonians 2:17 Lit heart
- 1 Thessalonians 2:18 Or Because
- 1 Thessalonians 2:18 Lit both once and twice
- 1 Thessalonians 2:19 Or presence
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
