Psalm 120-122

Contemporary English Version

(A song for worship.)

A Prayer for the Lord's Help

¹When I am in trouble, I pray,
²“Come and save me, Lord,
from deceitful liars!”

³What punishment is fitting
for you deceitful liars?
⁴Your reward should be
sharp and flaming arrows!

⁵But I must live as a foreigner
among the people of Meshech
    and in the tents of Kedar.^[a]
⁶I have spent too much time
living among people
    who hate peace.
⁷I am in favor of peace,
but when I speak of it,
    all they want is war.

(A song for worship.)

The Lord Will Protect His People

¹I look to the hills!
Where will I find help?
²It will come from the Lord,
who created heaven and earth.

³The Lord is your protector,
and he won't go to sleep
or let you stumble.
⁴The protector of Israel
doesn't doze
or ever get drowsy.

⁵The Lord is your protector,
there at your right side
to shade you from the sun.
⁶You won't be harmed
by the sun during the day
or by the moon^[b] at night.

⁷The Lord will protect you
and keep you safe
from all dangers.
⁸The Lord will protect you
now and always
wherever you go.

(A song by David for worship.)

A Song of Praise

¹It made me glad when they said,
“Let's go to the house
of the Lord!”
²Jerusalem, we are standing
inside your gates.

³Jerusalem, what a strong
    and beautiful city you are!
⁴Every tribe of the Lord
obeys him and comes to you
    to praise his name.
⁵David's royal throne is here
    where justice rules.

⁶Jerusalem, we pray
    that you will have peace,
and that all will go well
    for those who love you.
⁷May there be peace
inside your city walls
    and in your palaces.
⁸Because of my friends
and my relatives,
    I will pray for peace.
⁹And because of the house
of the Lord our God,
    I will work for your good.

Footnotes

120.5 Meshech … Kedar: Meshech was a country near the Black Sea, and Kedar was a tribe of the Syrian desert.
121.6 harmed … sun … moon: In ancient times people saw the harmful effects of the rays of the sun, and they thought that certain illnesses (especially mental disorders) were also caused by the rays of the moon.

1 Corinthians 9

Contemporary English Version

The Rights of an Apostle

9 I am free. I am an apostle. I have seen the Lord Jesus and have led you to have faith in him. ²Others may think that I am not an apostle, but you are proof that I am an apostle to you.

³When people question me, I tell them ⁴that Barnabas and I have the right to our food and drink. ⁵We each have the right to marry one of the Lord's followers and to take her along with us, just as the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter^[a] do. ⁶Are we the only ones who have to support ourselves by working at another job? ⁷Do soldiers pay their own salaries? Don't people who raise grapes eat some of what they grow? Don't shepherds get milk from their own goats?

^8-9^(A) I am not saying this on my own authority. The Law of Moses tells us not to muzzle an ox when it is grinding grain. But was God concerned only about an ox? ¹⁰No, he wasn't! He was talking about us. This was written in the Scriptures so that all who plow and all who grind the grain will look forward to sharing in the harvest.

¹¹^(B) When we told the message to you, it was like planting spiritual seed. So we have the right to accept material things as our harvest from you. ¹²If others have the right to do this, we have an even greater right. But we haven't used this right of ours. We are willing to put up with anything to keep from causing trouble for the message about Christ.

¹³^(C) Don't you know that people who work in the temple make their living from what is brought to the temple? Don't you know that a person who serves at the altar is given part of what is offered? ¹⁴^(D) In the same way, the Lord wants everyone who preaches the good news to make a living from preaching this message.

¹⁵But I have never used these privileges of mine, and I am not writing this because I want to start now. I would rather die than have someone rob me of the right to take pride in this. ¹⁶I don't have any reason to brag about preaching the good news. Preaching is something God told me to do, and if I don't do it, I am doomed. ¹⁷If I preach because I want to, I will be paid. But even if I don't want to, it is still something God has sent me to do. ¹⁸What pay am I given? It is the chance to preach the good news free of charge and not to use the privileges that are mine because I am a preacher.

¹⁹I am not anyone's slave. But I have become a slave to everyone, so I can win as many people as possible. ²⁰When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the Law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the Law to win them. ²¹And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them. Of course, I never really forget about the law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the law of Christ. ²²When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can. ²³I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings.

A Race and a Fight

²⁴^(E) You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! ²⁵^(F) Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. ²⁶I don't run without a goal. And I don't box by beating my fists in the air. ²⁷I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others.