Psalm 33

English Standard Version

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

33 ^(A)Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    ^(B)Praise befits the upright.
²Give thanks to the Lord with the ^(C)lyre;
    make melody to him with ^(D)the harp of ^(E)ten strings!
³Sing to him ^(F)a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in ^(G)faithfulness.
⁵He ^(H)loves righteousness and justice;
^(I)the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶By ^(J)the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by ^(K)the breath of his mouth all ^(L)their host.
⁷He gathers the waters of the sea as ^(M)a heap;
he ^(N)puts the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
⁹For ^(O)he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The Lord ^(P)brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹^(Q)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
¹²^(R)Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has ^(S)chosen as his heritage!

¹³The Lord ^(T)looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
¹⁴from ^(U)where he sits enthroned he ^(V)looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶^(W)The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷^(X)The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸Behold, ^(Y)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
^(Z)on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹that he may ^(AA)deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in ^(AB)famine.

²⁰Our soul ^(AC)waits for the Lord;
    he is our ^(AD)help and ^(AE)our shield.
²¹For our heart is ^(AF)glad in him,
    because we ^(AG)trust in his holy name.
²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.

1 Peter 2:9-12

English Standard Version

⁹But you are ^(A)a chosen race, ^(B)a royal ^(C)priesthood, ^(D)a holy nation, ^(E)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(F)out of darkness into ^(G)his marvelous light. ¹⁰^(H)Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you ^(I)as sojourners and exiles ^(J)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^(K)which wage war against your soul. ¹²^(L)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(M)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^(N)the day of visitation.

Read full chapter

Revelation 4-5

English Standard Version

The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me ^(A)like a trumpet, said, ^(B)“Come up here, and ^(C)I will show you what must take place after this.” ²At once ^(D)I was in the Spirit, and behold, ^(E)a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ³And he who sat there had the appearance of ^(F)jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was ^(G)a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴Around the throne were ^(H)twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, ^(I)clothed in white garments, with ^(J)golden crowns on their heads. ⁵From the throne came ^(K)flashes of lightning, and rumblings^[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning ^(L)seven torches of fire, ^(M)which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶and before the throne there was ^(N)as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are ^(O)four living creatures, ^(P)full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷^(Q)the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸And the four living creatures, ^(R)each of them with six wings, are ^(S)full of eyes all around and within, and ^(T)day and night they never cease to say,

^(U)“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
^(V)who was and is and is to come!”

⁹And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, ^(W)who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders ^(X)fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast ^(Y)their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹^(Z)“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for ^(AA)you created all things,
and ^(AB)by your will they existed and were created.”

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne ^(AC)a scroll written within and on the back, ^(AD)sealed with seven seals. ²And ^(AE)I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, ^(AF)the Lion ^(AG)of the tribe of Judah, ^(AH)the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw ^(AI)a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with ^(AJ)seven eyes, which are ^(AK)the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders ^(AL)fell down before the Lamb, ^(AM)each holding a harp, and ^(AN)golden bowls full of incense, ^(AO)which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang ^(AP)a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
for ^(AQ)you were slain, and by your blood ^(AR)you ransomed people for God
    from ^(AS)every tribe and language and people and nation,
¹⁰and you have made them ^(AT)a kingdom and priests to our God,
    and they shall reign on the earth.”

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering ^(AU)myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice,

^(AV)“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³And I heard ^(AW)every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

¹⁴And the four living creatures ^(AX)said, “Amen!” and the elders ^(AY)fell down and worshiped.