Old/New Testament
God Is My Helper
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David. [b]When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”
54 O God, save me by (A)Your name,
And render justice to me by (B)Your might.
2 (C)O God, hear my prayer;
(D)Give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have (E)risen against me
And (F)ruthless men have (G)sought my [c]life;
They have (H)not set God before them. [d]Selah.
4 Behold, (I)God is my helper;
The Lord is among those who (J)sustain my soul.
5 He will (K)return the evil to my foes;
(L)Destroy them (M)in Your truth.
6 (N)With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You;
I will give (O)thanks to Your name, O Yahweh, for it is good.
7 For [e]He has (P)delivered me from all [f]distress,
And my eye has (Q)looked in triumph upon my enemies.
He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [g]Maskil of David.
55 (R)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (S)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (T)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (U)complaint and [h](V)am surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (W)pressure of the wicked;
For they (X)shake wickedness down upon me
And in anger they (Y)bear a grudge against me.
4 My (Z)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (AA)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (AB)trembling come upon me,
And [i](AC)horror has covered me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [j](AD)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (AE)lodge in the wilderness. [k]Selah.
8 I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (AF)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [l]Confuse, O Lord, (AG)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (AH)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.
11 (AI)Destruction is in her midst;
(AJ)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [m]streets.
12 For it is (AK)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (AL)has magnified himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [n]my equal,
My (AM)close companion and my [o](AN)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet counsel together
(AO)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [p]death come (AP)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (AQ)go down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AR)call upon God,
And Yahweh will save me.
17 (AS)Evening and (AT)morning and at (AU)noon, I will bring my complaint and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AV)redeem my soul in peace [q]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AW)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AX)hear and [r]answer them—
Even the one (AY)who [s]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
Because they [t]do not change,
And (AZ)do not fear God.
20 [u]My companion has put forth his hands against (BA)those who were at peace with him;
He has [v](BB)violated his covenant.
21 His [w]speech was (BC)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (BD)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (BE)swords.
22 (BF)Cast [x]your burden upon Yahweh and He will sustain you;
(BG)He will never allow the righteous to [y](BH)be shaken.
23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the [z](BI)pit of corruption;
(BJ)Men of bloodshed and deceit will (BK)not live out half their days.
But I will (BL)trust in You.
In God I Trust, I Shall Not Be Afraid
For the choir director. According to [aa]Jonath Elem Rehokim. A [ab]Mikhtam of David. [ac]When the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has [ad](BM)trampled upon me;
All day long, an attacker (BN)oppresses me.
2 My foes have [ae](BO)trampled upon me all day long,
For many (BP)attack me proudly.
3 [af]When I am (BQ)afraid,
[ag]I will (BR)trust in You.
4 (BS)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(BT)What can mere [ah]man do to me?
5 All day long they [ai](BU)distort my words;
All their [aj](BV)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [ak](BW)attack, they lurk,
They (BX)watch my heels,
As they have (BY)hoped to take my [al]life.
7 On account of their wickedness, (BZ)will they have an escape?
In anger, (CA)bring down the peoples, O God!
8 You (CB)have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my (CC)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (CD)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (CE)turn back (CF)in the day when I call;
This I know, [am]that (CG)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In Yahweh, whose word I praise,
11 In God I [an]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your (CH)vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will [ao]fulfill thank offerings to You.
13 [ap]For You have (CI)delivered my soul from death,
Indeed (CJ)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (CK)walk before God
In the (CL)light of the [aq]living.
There Is None Righteous
3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that (A)they were entrusted with the (B)oracles of God. 3 What then? If (C)some [a]did not believe, does their [b]unbelief abolish the faithfulness of God? 4 (D)May it never be! Rather, let God be true and every man (E)a liar, as it is written,
5 But if our unrighteousness [d](G)demonstrates the righteousness of God, (H)what shall we say? Is the God who inflicts wrath unrighteous? ((I)I am speaking in human terms.) 6 (J)May it never be! For otherwise, how will (K)God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie (L)the truth of God abounded to His glory, (M)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “(N)Let us do evil that good may come”? [e]Their condemnation is just.
9 What then? (O)Are we [f]better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both (P)Jews and (Q)Greeks are (R)all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“(S)There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “(T)Their throat is an open tomb,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“(U)The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “(V)Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “(W)Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “(X)There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the (Y)Law says, it speaks to (Z)those who are in the Law, so that every mouth may be shut and (AA)all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because (AB)by the works [g]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for [h](AC)through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God through Faith
21 But now apart [i]from the Law (AD)the righteousness of God has been manifested, being (AE)witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the (AF)righteousness of God through (AG)faith (AH)in Jesus Christ for (AI)all those [j]who believe; for (AJ)there is no distinction; 23 for all [k](AK)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift (AL)by His grace through (AM)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as (AN)a [l]propitiation [m](AO)in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, [n]because in the (AP)forbearance of God He (AQ)passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who [o]has faith in Jesus.
27 Where then is (AR)boasting? It is excluded. By (AS)what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 [p]For (AT)we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works [q]of the Law. 29 Or (AU)is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed (AV)God, (AW)who will justify the [r]circumcised [s]by faith and the [t]uncircumcised through that faith, (AX)is one.
31 Do we then abolish [u]the Law through faith? (AY)May it never be! On the contrary, we (AZ)establish the Law.
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