Old/New Testament
Psalm 94[a]
A Prayer for Deliverance from the Wicked
I
1 Lord, avenging God,
avenging God, shine forth!(A)
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give the proud what they deserve!(B)
II
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked glory?(C)
4 How long will they mouth haughty speeches,
go on boasting, all these evildoers?(D)
5 They crush your people, Lord,
torment your very own.
6 They kill the widow and alien;
the orphan they murder.(E)
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”(F)
III
8 Understand, you stupid people!
You fools, when will you be wise?(G)
9 Does the one who shaped the ear not hear?
The one who formed the eye not see?(H)
10 Does the one who guides nations not rebuke?
The one who teaches man not have knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the plans of man;
they are like a fleeting breath.(I)
IV
12 Blessed the one whom you guide, Lord,(J)
whom you teach by your instruction,
13 To give rest from evil days,
while a pit is being dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people,
nor abandon his inheritance.(K)
15 Judgment shall again be just,
and all the upright of heart will follow it.
V
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord were not my help,
I would long have been silent in the grave.(L)
18 When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.(M)
19 When cares increase within me,
your comfort gives me joy.
VI
20 Can unjust judges be your allies,
those who create burdens by decree,
21 Those who conspire against the just
and condemn the innocent to death?
22 No, the Lord is my secure height,
my God, my rock of refuge,
23 (N)Who will turn back their evil upon them(O)
and destroy them for their wickedness.
Surely the Lord our God will destroy them!
Psalm 95[b]
A Call to Praise and Obedience
I
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.(P)
2 Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great king over all gods,(Q)
4 Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.
5 The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.(R)
II
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.(S)
III
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:(T)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the desert.[c]
9 There your ancestors tested me;
they tried me though they had seen my works.(U)
10 Forty years I loathed that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
they do not know my ways.”(V)
11 Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”[d]
Psalm 96[e]
God of the Universe
I
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;(W)
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.(X)
II
4 [f]For great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
to be feared above all gods.(Y)
5 For the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(Z)
6 Splendor and power go before him;
power and grandeur are in his holy place.
III
7 Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and might;
8 give to the Lord the glory due his name!(AA)
Bring gifts and enter his courts;
9 bow down to the Lord, splendid in holiness.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
10 (AB)declare among the nations: The Lord is king.
The world will surely stand fast, never to be shaken.
He rules the peoples with fairness.
IV
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;(AC)
12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
13 before the Lord who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,(AD)
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with faithfulness.
VII. Conclusion
Apostle to the Gentiles. 14 [a]I myself am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness,[b] filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another. 15 But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you, because of the grace given me by God(A) 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in performing the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the holy Spirit.(B) 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,(C) 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit [of God], so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum[c] I have finished preaching the gospel of Christ. 20 Thus I aspire[d] to proclaim the gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another’s foundation,(D) 21 but as it is written:(E)
“Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.”[e]
Paul’s Plans; Need for Prayers. 22 That is why I have so often been prevented from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any opportunity in these regions and since I have desired to come to you for many years,(F) 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and to be sent on my way there by you, after I have enjoyed being with you for a time.(G) 25 [f]Now, however, I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the holy ones.(H) 26 For Macedonia and Achaia[g] have decided to make some contribution for the poor among the holy ones in Jerusalem;(I) 27 they decided to do it, and in fact they are indebted to them, for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to serve them in material blessings.(J) 28 So when I have completed this and safely handed over this contribution to them, I shall set out by way of you to Spain; 29 and I know that in coming to you I shall come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.
30 I urge you, [brothers,] by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf,(K) 31 that I may be delivered from the disobedient in Judea, and that my ministry for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the holy ones, 32 so that I may come to you with joy by the will of God and be refreshed together with you. 33 The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.(L)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.