Old/New Testament
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the choir director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (A)takes refuge in You;
And in the (B)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (C)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (D)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (E)send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who [d](F)tramples upon me. [e]Selah.
God will send forth His (G)lovingkindness and His [f]truth.
4 My soul is among (H)lions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose (I)teeth are spears and arrows
And their (J)tongue a sharp sword.
5 (K)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have [g]prepared a (L)net for my steps;
My soul is (M)bowed down;
They (N)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (O)fallen into the midst of it. Selah.
7 (P)My (Q)heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (R)my glory!
Awake, (S)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (T)I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [h]nations.
10 For Your (U)lovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your [i]truth to the clouds.
11 (V)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to [j]Al-tashheth. A [k]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [l]speak righteousness, O [m]gods?
Do you (W)judge [n]uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you (X)work unrighteousness;
On earth you (Y)weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged (Z)from the womb;
These who speak lies (AA)go astray from [o]birth.
4 They have venom like the (AB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (AC)does not hear the voice of [p](AD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, (AE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them (AF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [q](AG)aims his arrows, let them be as [r]headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which [s]melts away as it goes along,
Like the (AH)miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your (AI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (AJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [t]green and the burning alike.
10 The (AK)righteous will rejoice when he (AL)sees the vengeance;
He will (AM)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And men will say, “Surely there is a [u](AN)reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who (AO)judges [v]on earth!”
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.
For the choir director; set to [w]Al-tashheth. A [x]Mikhtam of David, [y]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 (AP)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[z](AQ)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from (AR)those who do iniquity
And save me from (AS)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (AT)have [aa]set an ambush for my [ab]life;
[ac]Fierce men [ad](AU)launch an attack against me,
(AV)Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord,
4 [ae](AW)For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
(AX)Arouse Yourself to [af]help me, and see!
5 You, (AY)O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to [ag](AZ)punish all the nations;
(BA)Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. [ah]Selah.
6 They (BB)return at evening, they howl like a (BC)dog,
And go around the city.
7 Behold, they (BD)belch forth with their mouth;
(BE)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(BF)Who hears?”
8 But You, O Lord, (BG)laugh at them;
You (BH)scoff at all the nations.
9 Because of [ai]his (BI)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (BJ)stronghold.
10 [aj]My God (BK)in His lovingkindness will meet me;
God will let me (BL)look triumphantly upon [ak]my foes.
11 Do not slay them, (BM)or my people will forget;
[al](BN)Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, (BO)our shield.
12 [am]On account of the (BP)sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be (BQ)caught in their pride,
And on account of (BR)curses and [an]lies which they utter.
13 [ao](BS)Destroy them in wrath, [ap]destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may (BT)know that God [aq]rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 They (BU)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
15 They (BV)wander about [ar]for food
And [as]growl if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I shall (BW)sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall (BX)joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the (BY)morning,
For You have been my (BZ)stronghold
And a (CA)refuge in the day of my distress.
17 (CB)O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (CC)stronghold, the [at]God who shows me lovingkindness.
Justification by Faith Evidenced in Old Testament
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, [a]our forefather (A)according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified [b]by works, he has something to boast about, but (B)not [c]before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “(C)Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who (D)works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but (E)believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “(F)Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered.
8 “(G)Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not (H)take into account.”
9 Is this blessing then on [d](I)the circumcised, or on [e]the uncircumcised also? For (J)we say, “(K)Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it credited? While he was [f]circumcised, or [g]uncircumcised? Not while [h]circumcised, but while [i]uncircumcised; 11 and he (L)received the sign of circumcision, (M)a seal of the righteousness of the faith which [j]he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be (N)the father of (O)all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which [k]he had while uncircumcised.
13 For (P)the promise to Abraham or to his [l]descendants (Q)that he would be heir of the world was not [m]through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For (R)if those who are [n]of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for (S)the Law brings about wrath, but (T)where there is no law, there also is no violation.
16 For this reason it is [o]by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with (U)grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to (V)all the [p]descendants, not only to [q]those who are of the Law, but also to [r](W)those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is (X)the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, “(Y)A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, (Z)who gives life to the dead and [s](AA)calls into being (AB)that which does not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become (AC)a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “(AD)So shall your [t]descendants be.” 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now (AE)as good as dead since (AF)he was about a hundred years old, and (AG)the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, (AH)giving glory to God, 21 and (AI)being fully assured that (AJ)what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore (AK)it was also credited to him as righteousness. 23 Now (AL)not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those (AM)who believe in Him who (AN)raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was (AO)delivered over because of our transgressions, and was (AP)raised because of our justification.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.