16 Now I introduce and commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae,

² That you may receive her in the Lord [with a Christian welcome], as saints (God’s people) ought to receive one another. And help her in whatever matter she may require assistance from you, for she has been a helper of many including myself [shielding us from suffering].

³ Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

⁴ Who risked their lives [endangering their very necks] for my life. To them not only I but also all the churches among the Gentiles give thanks.

⁵ [Remember me] also to the church [that meets] in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was a firstfruit (first convert) to Christ in Asia.

⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked so hard among you.

⁷ Remember me to Andronicus and Junias, my tribal kinsmen and once my fellow prisoners. They are men held in high esteem among the apostles, who also were in Christ before I was.

⁸ Remember me to Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

⁹ Salute Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear Stachys.

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, that one tried and approved in Christ (the Messiah). Remember me to those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Greet my tribal kinsman Herodion, and those in the Lord who belong to the household of Narcissus.

¹² Salute those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet my dear Persis, who has worked so hard in the Lord.

¹³ Remember me to Rufus, eminent in the Lord, also to his mother [who has been] a mother to me as well.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brethren who are with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy (consecrated) kiss. All the churches of Christ (the Messiah) wish to be remembered to you.

¹⁷ I appeal to you, brethren, to be on your guard concerning those who create dissensions and difficulties and cause divisions, in opposition to the doctrine (the teaching) which you have been taught. [I warn you to turn aside from them, to] avoid them.

¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites and base desires, and by ingratiating and flattering speech, they beguile the hearts of the unsuspecting and simpleminded [people].

¹⁹ For while your loyalty and obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you well versed and wise as to what is good and innocent and guileless as to what is evil.

²⁰ And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with you.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow worker, wishes to be remembered to you, as do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my tribal kinsmen.

²² I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church here, greets you. So do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus.

²⁴ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with you all. Amen (so be it).

²⁵ Now to Him Who is able to strengthen you in the faith which is in accordance with my Gospel and the preaching of (concerning) Jesus Christ (the Messiah), according to the revelation (the unveiling) of the mystery of the plan of redemption which was kept in silence and secret for long ages,

²⁶ But is now disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, [to win them] to obedience to the faith,

²⁷ To [the] only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One)! Amen (so be it).

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Psalm 102

A Prayer of the afflicted; when he is overwhelmed and faint and pours out his complaint to God.

¹ Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You.

² Hide not Your face from me in the day when I am in distress! Incline Your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.

³ For my days consume away like smoke, and my bones burn like a firebrand or like a hearth.

⁴ My heart is smitten like grass and withered, so that [in absorption] I forget to eat my food.

⁵ By reason of my loud groaning [from suffering and trouble] my flesh cleaves to my bones.

⁶ I am like a melancholy pelican or vulture of the wilderness; I am like a [desolate] owl of the waste places.

⁷ I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning], like a bereaved sparrow alone on the housetop.

⁸ My adversaries taunt and reproach me all the day; and they who are angry with me use my name as a curse.

⁹ For I have eaten the ashes [in which I sat] as if they were bread and have mingled my drink with weeping

¹⁰ Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, for You have taken me up and cast me away.

¹¹ My days are like an evening shadow that stretches out and declines [with the sun]; and I am withered like grass.

¹² But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever; and the fame of Your name endures to all generations.

¹³ You will arise and have mercy and loving-kindness for Zion, for it is time to have pity and compassion for her; yes, the set time has come [the moment designated].^(A)

¹⁴ For Your servants take [melancholy] pleasure in the stones [of her ruins] and show pity for her dust.

¹⁵ So the nations shall fear and worshipfully revere the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory.^(B)

¹⁶ When the Lord builds up Zion, He will appear in His glory;

¹⁷ He will regard the plea of the destitute and will not despise their prayer.

¹⁸ Let this be recorded for the generation yet unborn, that a people yet to be created shall praise the Lord.

¹⁹ For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary, from heaven did the Lord behold the earth,

²⁰ To hear the sighing and groaning of the prisoner, to loose those who are appointed to death,

²¹ So that men may declare the name of the Lord in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem

²² When peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to worship and serve the Lord.

²³ He has afflicted and weakened my strength, humbling and bringing me low [with sorrow] in the way; He has shortened my days [aging me prematurely].

²⁴ I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days, You Whose years continue throughout all generations.

²⁵ At the beginning You existed and laid the foundations of the earth; the heavens are the work of Your hands.

²⁶ They shall perish, but You shall remain and endure; yes, all of them shall wear out and become old like a garment. Like clothing You shall change them, and they shall be changed and pass away.

²⁷ But You remain the same, and Your years shall have no end.^(C)

²⁸ The children of Your servants shall dwell safely and continue, and their descendants shall be established before You.

Psalm 103

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

² Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits—

³ Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,

⁴ Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

⁵ Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]!^(D)

⁶ The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

⁷ He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.^(E)

⁹ He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

¹⁰ He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

¹⁴ For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

¹⁶ For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

¹⁷ But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children’s children—^(F)

¹⁸ To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

¹⁹ The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

²¹ Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

²² Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!