Psalm 26

New King James Version

A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption

A Psalm of David.

26 Vindicate ^(A)me, O Lord,
For I have ^(B)walked in my integrity.
^(C)I have also trusted in the Lord;
I shall not slip.
²^(D)Examine me, O Lord, and ^[a]prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
³For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And ^(E)I have walked in Your truth.
⁴I have not ^(F)sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
⁵I have ^(G)hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.

⁶I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
⁸Lord, ^(H)I have loved the habitation of Your house,
And the place ^[b]where Your glory dwells.

⁹^(I)Do^[c] not gather my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
¹⁰In whose hands is a sinister scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(J)bribes.

¹¹But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
¹²^(K)My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 26:2 test me
Psalm 26:8 Lit. of the tabernacle of Your glory
Psalm 26:9 Do not take away

Matthew 19:1-15

New King James Version

Marriage and Divorce^(A)

19 Now it came to pass, ^(B)when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ²^(C)And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

³The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who ^[a]made them at the beginning ^(D)‘made them male and female,’ ⁵and said, ^(E)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(F)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷They said to Him, ^(G)“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

⁸He said to them, “Moses, because of the ^(H)hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your ^(I)wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹^(J)And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for ^[b]sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰His disciples said to Him, ^(K)“If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

Jesus Teaches on Celibacy

¹¹But He said to them, ^(L)“All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹²For there are ^[c]eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and ^(M)there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(N)

¹³^(O)Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ^(P)of such is the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.