Old/New Testament
Why Should I Fear in Days of Evil?
For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both [a](C)low and [b]high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)discernment.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [c]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of evil,
When the iniquity of my [d]supplanters surrounds me,
6 Even those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly, no man can (K)redeem his brother;
He cannot give to God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption price for their soul is costly,
And it ceases forever—
9 That he should (N)live on eternally,
That he should not (O)see [e]corruption.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise men die;
The [f](Q)fool and the senseless alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [g](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places [h]from generation to generation;
They have (U)called their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his honor will not endure;
He is like the animals that [i]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)are pleased [j]with their words. [k]Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed (Y)for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them;
And the (Z)upright shall have dominion over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for Sheol (AA)to consume,
Far away from his habitation.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [l]power of Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the [m]glory of his house increases;
17 For when he dies he will not (AE)take any of it;
His [n]glory will not descend after him.
18 For while he lives he (AF)blesses his soul—
And men will praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 But his soul shall (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will eternally not see (AH)light.
20 (AI)Man in his honor, but who does not understand,
Is (AJ)like the animals that [o]perish.
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of [p]Asaph.
50 (AK)The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,
And called the earth (AL)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (AM)the perfection of beauty,
God (AN)has shone forth.
3 May our God (AO)come and not be silent;
(AP)Fire devours before Him,
And (AQ)a storm whirls around Him.
4 He (AR)calls the heavens above,
And the earth, to render justice to His people:
5 “Gather My (AS)holy ones to Me,
Those who have cut a (AT)covenant with Me by (AU)sacrifice.”
6 And the (AV)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (AW)God Himself is judge. [q]Selah.
7 “(AX)Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify [r]against you;
I am God, (AY)your God.
8 I do (AZ)not reprove you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I shall take no (BA)young bull out of your house
Nor male goats out of your folds.
10 For (BB)every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every (BC)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is [s]Mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the (BD)world is Mine, as well as its fullness.
13 Shall I eat the flesh of [t](BE)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 Offer to God (BF)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And (BG)pay your vows to the Most High;
15 (BH)Call upon Me in the day of distress;
I shall (BI)rescue you, and you will (BJ)glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to recount My statutes
And to take (BK)My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you (BL)hate discipline,
And you (BM)cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you [u](BN)are pleased with him,
And [v]you (BO)associate with adulterers.
19 You [w](BP)let your mouth loose in evil
And you harness your (BQ)tongue for deceit.
20 You sit and (BR)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and (BS)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (BT)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
The Gospel Exalted
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, [a](A)called as an apostle, having been (B)set apart for (C)the gospel of God, 2 which He (D)promised beforehand through His (E)prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born (F)of the seed of David (G)according to the flesh, 4 who was designated as (H)the Son of God in power, according to the [b]Spirit of holiness, [c]by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and (I)apostleship for the (J)obedience of faith among (K)all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, 6 among whom you also are the (L)called of Jesus Christ;
7 to all who are (M)beloved of God in Rome, called as [d](N)saints: (O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, (P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ [e]for you all, because (Q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For (R)God, whom I (S)serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing (T)I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by (U)the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. 11 For (V)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be strengthened; 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged, while among you, by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 (W)I do not want you to be unaware, (X)brothers, that often I (Y)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some (Z)fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 (AA)I am [f]under obligation both to Greeks and to (AB)barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 In this way, for my part, I am eager to (AC)proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not (AD)ashamed of the gospel, for (AE)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the (AF)Jew first and also to (AG)the Greek. 17 For in it (AH)the righteousness of God is revealed [g]from faith to faith; as it is written, “[h](AI)But the righteous will live by faith.”
God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 For (AJ)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who (AK)suppress the truth [i]in unrighteousness, 19 because (AL)that which is known about God is evident [j]within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For (AM)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, (AN)being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became (AO)futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 (AP)Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and (AQ)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore (AR)God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be (AS)dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for [k]a (AT)lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, (AU)who is blessed [l]forever. Amen.
26 For this reason (AV)God gave them over to (AW)dishonorable passions; for their (AX)females exchanged the natural function for that which is [m]unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the (AY)males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, (AZ)males with males committing [n]indecent acts and receiving in [o]their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit [p]to acknowledge God, (BA)God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are (BB)gossips, 30 slanderers, [q](BC)haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, (BD)disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, (BE)unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the righteous requirement of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of (BF)death, they not only do the same, but also (BG)give hearty approval to those who practice them.
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