Old/New Testament
A Hymn About the Lord’s Power
97 The Lord is king. Let the earth rejoice;
faraway lands should be glad.
2 Thick, dark clouds surround him.
His kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
3 A fire goes before him
and burns up his enemies all around.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
when the people see it, they tremble.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens tell about his goodness,
and all the people see his glory.
7 Those who worship idols should be ashamed;
they brag about their gods.
All the gods should worship the Lord.
8 When Jerusalem hears this, she is glad,
and the towns of Judah rejoice.
They are happy because of your judgments, Lord.
9 You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
you are supreme over all gods.
10 People who love the Lord hate evil.
The Lord watches over those who follow him
and frees them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light shines on those who do right;
joy belongs to those who are honest.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who do right.
Praise his holy name.
The Lord of Power and Justice
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,
because he has done miracles.
By his right hand and holy arm
he has won the victory.
2 The Lord has made known his power to save;
he has shown the other nations his victory for his people.
3 He has remembered his love
and his loyalty to the people of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
God’s power to save.
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
burst into songs and make music.
5 Make music to the Lord with harps,
with harps and the sound of singing.
6 Blow the trumpets and the sheep’s horns;
shout for joy to the Lord the King.
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout;
let the world and everyone in it sing.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains sing together for joy.
9 Let them sing before the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the world.
He will judge the world fairly;
he will judge the peoples with fairness.
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord is king.
Let the peoples shake with fear.
He sits between the gold creatures with wings.
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in Jerusalem is great;
he is supreme over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your name;
it is great, holy and to be feared.
4 The King is powerful and loves justice.
Lord, you made things fair;
you have done what is fair and right
for the people of Jacob.
5 Praise the Lord our God,
and worship at the Temple, his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among his worshipers.
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They kept the rules and laws he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you punished them for their wrongs.
9 Praise the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
Greetings to the Christians
16 I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a helper[a] in the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to accept her in the Lord in the way God’s people should. Help her with anything she needs, because she has helped me and many other people also.
3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, who work together with me in Christ Jesus 4 and who risked their own lives to save my life. I am thankful to them, and all the non-Jewish churches are thankful as well. 5 Also, greet for me the church that meets at their house.
Greetings to my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first person in Asia to follow Christ. 6 Greetings to Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greetings to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives, who were in prison with me. They are very important apostles. They were believers in Christ before I was. 8 Greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greetings to Urbanus, a worker together with me for Christ. And greetings to my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greetings to Apelles, who was tested and proved that he truly loves Christ. Greetings to all those who are in the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greetings to Herodion, my fellow citizen. Greetings to all those in the family of Narcissus who belong to the Lord. 12 Greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, women who work very hard for the Lord. Greetings to my dear friend Persis, who also has worked very hard for the Lord. 13 Greetings to Rufus, who is a special person in the Lord, and to his mother, who has been like a mother to me also. 14 Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all God’s people with them. 16 Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of Christ’s churches send greetings to you.
17 Brothers and sisters, I ask you to look out for those who cause people to be against each other and who upset other people’s faith. They are against the true teaching you learned, so stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving our Lord Christ but are only doing what pleases themselves. They use fancy talk and fine words to fool the minds of those who do not know about evil. 19 All the believers have heard that you obey, so I am very happy because of you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
20 The God who brings peace will soon defeat Satan and give you power over him.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy, a worker together with me, sends greetings, as well as Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.
22 I am Tertius, and I am writing this letter from Paul. I send greetings to you in the Lord.
23 Gaius is letting me and the whole church here use his home. He also sends greetings to you, as do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus. [24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.][b]
25 Glory to God who can make you strong in faith by the Good News that I tell people and by the message about Jesus Christ. The message about Christ is the secret that was hidden for long ages past but is now made known. 26 It has been made clear through the writings of the prophets. And by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations that they might believe and obey.
27 To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.