Old/New Testament
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, O God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]Let the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [i]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [k]may the (J)righteous flourish,
And (K)abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]Let (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring presents;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer [o]gifts.
11 [p]And let all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [q]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [r]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will [s](Y)rescue their [t]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let [u]them pray for him continually;
Let [v]them bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [w]increase [x](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And let men (AF)bless themselves by him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (AM)good to Israel,
To those who are (AN)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (AO)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [y]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (AP)envious of the [z]arrogant
As I saw the (AQ)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [aa]body is fat.
5 They are (AR)not [ab]in trouble as other [ac]men,
Nor are they (AS)plagued [ad]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (AT)their necklace;
The (AU)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [ae]bulges from (AV)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [af]run riot.
8 They (AW)mock and [ag]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (AX)speak from on high.
9 They have (AY)set their mouth [ah]against the heavens,
And their tongue [ai]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [aj]his people return to this place,
And waters of (AZ)abundance are [ak]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(BA)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [al]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (BB)these are the wicked;
And always (BC)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (BD)in vain I have [am]kept my heart pure
And (BE)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (BF)all day long
And [an](BG)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (BH)generation of Your children.
16 When I (BI)pondered to understand this,
It was [ao]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [ap](BJ)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (BK)end.
18 Surely You set them in (BL)slippery places;
You cast them down to [aq](BM)destruction.
19 How they are [ar](BN)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (BO)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (BP)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (BQ)aroused, You will (BR)despise their [as]form.
21 When my (BS)heart was embittered
And I was (BT)pierced [at]within,
22 Then I was (BU)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [au]a (BV)beast [av]before You.
23 Nevertheless (BW)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (BX)guide me,
And afterward (BY)receive me [aw]to glory.
25 (BZ)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [ax]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (CA)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [ay]strength of my heart and my (CB)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (CC)those who are far from You will (CD)perish;
You have [az]destroyed all those who [ba](CE)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (CF)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [bb]God my (CG)refuge,
That I may (CH)tell of all Your works.
Solicitude for Israel
9 (A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For (B)I could [a]wish that I myself were (C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen (D)according to the flesh, 4 who are (E)Israelites, to whom belongs (F)the adoption as sons, and (G)the glory and (H)the covenants and (I)the giving of the Law and (J)the temple service and (K)the promises, 5 whose are (L)the fathers, and (M)from whom is [b]the Christ according to the flesh, (N)who is over all, (O)God (P)blessed [c]forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though (Q)the word of God has failed. (R)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children (S)because they are Abraham’s [d]descendants, but: “[e](T)through Isaac your [f]descendants will be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are (U)children of God, but the (V)children of the promise are regarded as [g]descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “(W)At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 (X)And not only this, but there was (Y)Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that (Z)God’s purpose according to His choice would [h]stand, not [i]because of works but [j]because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “(AA)The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “(AB)Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 (AC)What shall we say then? (AD)There is no injustice with God, is there? (AE)May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “(AF)I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.