Old/New Testament
Wealth and the Fate of the Wicked
For the music director. Of the sons of Korah. A psalm.[a]
49 Hear this, all you peoples;
give ear, all you inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will speak wisdom,
and the meditation of my heart will be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will propound[b] my riddle on a lyre.
5 Why should I fear in times of calamity,[c]
when iniquity surrounds me at my heels,
6 those who trust their wealth
and boast about the abundance of their riches?
7 Surely a man cannot redeem a brother.
He cannot give to God his ransom
8 (since[d] the redemption price for their life is costly
and it always fails),
9 so that he may stay alive forever
and not see the pit.
10 For he sees that the wise die,
together with the fool and brute they perish,
and leave their wealth to the next generation.
11 Within them they think their houses are forever,
their dwelling places from generation to generation.
They name[e] their lands by their own names.
12 But man cannot continue in his pomp.
He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the journey[f] of those who have foolish confidence,
and those after them who accept their sayings. Selah
14 Like sheep they are destined to Sheol;
death will shepherd them.
But the upright will rule over them in the morning,
and their forms will be for Sheol to consume,
far from his lofty abode.
15 Surely God will ransom my life
from the power[g] of Sheol,
because he will receive me. Selah
16 Do not fear when a man becomes rich,
when the wealth[h] of his house increases,
17 because when he dies he will not take away any of it.
His wealth will not follow down after him.
18 Though he congratulated his soul while he was living
—and people will praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 it[i] will go to the generation of his fathers.
Never will they see light.
20 Humankind in its pomp, but does not understand,
is like the beasts that perish.
An Oracle Concerning Sacrifices
A psalm of Asaph.[j]
50 The Supreme God, God, Yahweh, has spoken
and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun
to its setting.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and he is not silent.
Before him fire devours,
and around him it is very tempestuous.
4 He summons the heavens above
and the earth that he might judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my loyal ones,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens declare his righteousness,
because God himself is judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 It is not concerning a lack of your sacrifices that I rebuke you,
and your burnt offerings are before me continually.
9 I will not take from your house a bull
or from your stalls a he-goat,
10 because every animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,
and every moving creature in the field is mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
because the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a thank offering
and pay your vows to the Most High.
15 And call me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to recite my statutes
and mention my covenant with your mouth,[k]
17 while you yourself hate discipline,
and cast my words behind you?
18 When you see a thief, then you are pleased with him,
and your association is with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and you harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;
You imagined that I was just like you.
I will rebuke you and present an argument before your eyes.
22 Now consider this, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there will be none to deliver.
23 He who sacrifices a thank offering honors me,
and he who orders his way;
I will show him the salvation of God.”
Greeting
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was born a descendant[a] of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared Son of God in power according to the Holy Spirit[b] by the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles[c] on behalf of his name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Wants to Visit Rome
8 First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed in the whole world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you, 10 always asking in my prayers if somehow now at last I may succeed to come to you in the will of God. 11 For I desire to see you, in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, in order to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be encouraged together with you through our mutual faith[d], both yours and mine. 13 Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that often I intended to come to you, and was prevented until now, in order that I might have some fruit among you also, just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.[e] 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 Thus I am eager[f] to proclaim the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
The Gospel’s Power for Salvation
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith, just as it is written, “But the one who is righteous by faith will live.”[g]
God’s Wrath Revealed Against Sinful Humanity
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all impiety and unrighteousness of people, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what can be known about God is evident among[h] them, for God made it clear to them. 20 For from the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, both his eternal power and deity, are discerned clearly, being understood in the things created, so that they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to immorality, that their bodies would be dishonored among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen.
God Hands Sinful Humanity over to Depravity
26 Because of this, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their females exchanged the natural relations for those contrary to nature, 27 and likewise also the males, abandoning the natural relations with the female, were inflamed in their desire toward one another, males with males committing the shameless deed, and receiving in themselves the penalty that was necessary for their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to recognize God[i], God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things that are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greediness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malevolence. They are gossipers, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, contrivers of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, faithless, unfeeling, unmerciful, 32 who, although they[j] know the requirements of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do they do the same things, but also they approve of those who do them.
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