Psalm 109

New International Version

Psalm 109

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹My God, whom I praise,^(A)
    do not remain silent,^(B)
²for people who are wicked and deceitful^(C)
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.^(D)
³With words of hatred^(E) they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.^(F)
⁴In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.^(G)
⁵They repay me evil for good,^(H)
    and hatred for my friendship.

⁶Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser^(I) stand at his right hand.
⁷When he is tried, let him be found guilty,^(J)
    and may his prayers condemn^(K) him.
⁸May his days be few;^(L)
    may another take his place^(M) of leadership.
⁹May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.^(N)
¹⁰May his children be wandering beggars;^(O)
    may they be driven^[a] from their ruined homes.
¹¹May a creditor^(P) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder^(Q) the fruits of his labor.^(R)
¹²May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity^(S) on his fatherless children.
¹³May his descendants be cut off,^(T)
    their names blotted out^(U) from the next generation.
¹⁴May the iniquity of his fathers^(V) be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
¹⁵May their sins always remain before^(W) the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name^(X) from the earth.

¹⁶For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy^(Y) and the brokenhearted.^(Z)
¹⁷He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.^(AA)
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
¹⁸He wore cursing^(AB) as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,^(AC)
    into his bones like oil.
¹⁹May it be like a cloak wrapped^(AD) about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.
²⁰May this be the Lord’s payment^(AE) to my accusers,
    to those who speak evil^(AF) of me.

²¹But you, Sovereign Lord,
    help me for your name’s sake;^(AG)
    out of the goodness of your love,^(AH) deliver me.^(AI)
²²For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
²³I fade away like an evening shadow;^(AJ)
    I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴My knees give^(AK) way from fasting;^(AL)
    my body is thin and gaunt.^(AM)
²⁵I am an object of scorn^(AN) to my accusers;
    when they see me, they shake their heads.^(AO)

²⁶Help me,^(AP) Lord my God;
    save me according to your unfailing love.
²⁷Let them know^(AQ) that it is your hand,
    that you, Lord, have done it.
²⁸While they curse,^(AR) may you bless;
    may those who attack me be put to shame,
    but may your servant rejoice.^(AS)
²⁹May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
    and wrapped in shame^(AT) as in a cloak.

³⁰With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
in the great throng^(AU) of worshipers I will praise him.
³¹For he stands at the right hand^(AV) of the needy,
to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

Footnotes

Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought

2 Kings 2:1-15

New International Version

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

2 When the Lord was about to take^(A) Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,^(B) Elijah and Elisha^(C) were on their way from Gilgal.^(D) ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here;^(E) the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”^(F) So they went down to Bethel.

³The company^(G) of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

⁴Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.^(H)”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵The company^(I) of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

⁶Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here;^(J) the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”^(K)

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”^(L) So the two of them walked on.

⁷Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸Elijah took his cloak,^(M) rolled it up and struck^(N) the water with it. The water divided^(O) to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry^(P) ground.

⁹When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double^(Q) portion of your spirit,”^(R) Elisha replied.

¹⁰“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

¹¹As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire^(S) and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven^(T) in a whirlwind.^(U) ¹²Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots^(V) and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore^(W) it in two.

¹³Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴He took the cloak^(X) that had fallen from Elijah and struck^(Y) the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

¹⁵The company^(Z) of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit^(AA) of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

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James 5:13-18

New International Version

The Prayer of Faith

¹³Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.^(A) Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.^(B) ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders^(C) of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil^(D) in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer offered in faith^(E) will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore confess your sins^(F) to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.^(G) The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.^(H)

¹⁷Elijah was a human being, even as we are.^(I) He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.^(J) ¹⁸Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.^(K)

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Luke 9:37-50

New International Version

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy^(A)

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹“You unbelieving and perverse generation,”^(B) Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴“Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”^(C) ⁴⁵But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it,^(D) and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.^(E) ⁴⁷Jesus, knowing their thoughts,^(F) took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.^(G) For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”^(H)