Psalm 9[a][b]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;(A)
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.(B)
I will be glad and rejoice(C) in you;
    I will sing the praises(D) of your name,(E) O Most High.

My enemies turn back;
    they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right(F) and my cause,(G)
    sitting enthroned(H) as the righteous judge.(I)
You have rebuked the nations(J) and destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name(K) for ever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
    you have uprooted their cities;(L)
    even the memory of them(M) has perished.

The Lord reigns forever;(N)
    he has established his throne(O) for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness(P)
    and judges the peoples with equity.(Q)
The Lord is a refuge(R) for the oppressed,(S)
    a stronghold in times of trouble.(T)
10 Those who know your name(U) trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken(V) those who seek you.(W)

11 Sing the praises(X) of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;(Y)
    proclaim among the nations(Z) what he has done.(AA)
12 For he who avenges blood(AB) remembers;
    he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.(AC)

13 Lord, see how my enemies(AD) persecute me!
    Have mercy(AE) and lift me up from the gates of death,(AF)
14 that I may declare your praises(AG)
    in the gates of Daughter Zion,(AH)
    and there rejoice in your salvation.(AI)

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;(AJ)
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.(AK)
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c](AL)
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,(AM)
    all the nations that forget God.(AN)
18 But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope(AO) of the afflicted(AP) will never perish.

19 Arise,(AQ) Lord, do not let mortals triumph;(AR)
    let the nations be judged(AS) in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror,(AT) Lord;
    let the nations know they are only mortal.(AU)

Psalm 10[d]

Why, Lord, do you stand far off?(AV)
    Why do you hide yourself(AW) in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,(AX)
    who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts(AY) about the cravings of his heart;
    he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.(AZ)
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God.(BA)
His ways are always prosperous;
    your laws are rejected by[e] him;
    he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
    He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”(BB)

His mouth is full(BC) of lies and threats;(BD)
    trouble and evil are under his tongue.(BE)
He lies in wait(BF) near the villages;
    from ambush he murders the innocent.(BG)
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
    like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;(BH)
    he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.(BI)
10 His victims are crushed,(BJ) they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;(BK)
    he covers his face and never sees.”(BL)

12 Arise,(BM) Lord! Lift up your hand,(BN) O God.
    Do not forget the helpless.(BO)
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?(BP)
    Why does he say to himself,
    “He won’t call me to account”?(BQ)
14 But you, God, see the trouble(BR) of the afflicted;
    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;(BS)
    you are the helper(BT) of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;(BU)
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;(BV)
    the nations(BW) will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;(BX)
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,(BY)
18 defending the fatherless(BZ) and the oppressed,(CA)
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
  2. Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.
  3. Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.
  4. Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
  5. Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from

Judging Others(A)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.(B) For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.(C)

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock(D)

“Ask and it will be given to you;(E) seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;(F) and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts(G) to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,(H) for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.(I)

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate.(J) For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

True and False Prophets

15 “Watch out for false prophets.(K) They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.(L) 16 By their fruit you will recognize them.(M) Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?(N) 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.(O) 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.(P) 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’(Q) will enter the kingdom of heaven,(R) but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.(S) 22 Many will say to me on that day,(T) ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’(U) 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’(V)

The Wise and Foolish Builders(W)

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice(X) is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things,(Y) the crowds were amazed at his teaching,(Z) 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy(AA)

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy[a](AB) came and knelt before him(AC) and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone.(AD) But go, show yourself to the priest(AE) and offer the gift Moses commanded,(AF) as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion(AG)

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed,(AH) suffering terribly.”

Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.(AI) For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.(AJ) 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,(AK) and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.(AL) 12 But the subjects of the kingdom(AM) will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”(AN)

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”(AO) And his servant was healed at that moment.

Jesus Heals Many(AP)

14 When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.(AQ) 17 This was to fulfill(AR) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases.”[b](AS)

The Cost of Following Jesus(AT)

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.(AU) 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man(AV) has no place to lay his head.”

21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me,(AW) and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm(AX)(AY)

23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 He replied, “You of little faith,(AZ) why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.(BA)

27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men(BB)

28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,[c] two demon-possessed(BC) men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 “What do you want with us,(BD) Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”(BE)

30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.(BF)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 8:2 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Matthew 8:17 Isaiah 53:4 (see Septuagint)
  3. Matthew 8:28 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; other manuscripts Gerasenes

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