Old/New Testament
116 I love the Lord for hearing me,
for listening to my prayers.
2 Yes, he paid attention to me,
so I will always call to him whenever I need help.
3 Death’s ropes were around me.
The grave was closing in on me.
I was worried and afraid.
4 Then I called on the Lord’s name.
I said, “Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is good and merciful;
our God is so kind.
6 The Lord takes care of helpless people.
I was without help, and he saved me.
7 My soul, relax!
The Lord is caring for you.
8 Lord, you saved my soul from death.
You stopped my tears.
You kept me from falling.
9 I will continue to serve the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I continued believing even when I said,
“I am completely ruined!”
11 Yes, even when I was upset and said,
“There is no one I can trust!”
12 What can I give the Lord
for all that he has done for me?
13 He saved me,
so I will give him a drink offering,
and I will call on the Lord’s name.
14 I will give the Lord what I promised.
I will go in front of all his people now.
15 Very dear to the Lord are the lives of his followers.
He cares when they face death.
16 Lord, I am your servant!
Yes, I am your slave, as my mother was.
You set me free from the chains of death.
17 I will give you a thank offering.
I will call on the Lord’s name.
18 I will stand before the gathering of his people
and give the Lord what I promised.
19 I will do this in Jerusalem,
in the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
Praise the Lord!
117 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people.
2 He loves us very much!
The Lord will be faithful to us forever!
Praise the Lord!
118 Praise the Lord because he is good!
His faithful love will last forever!
2 Israel, say it:
“His faithful love will last forever!”
3 Aaron’s family,[a] say it:
“His faithful love will last forever!”
4 You people worshiping the Lord, say it:
“His faithful love will last forever!”
5 I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord for help.
The Lord answered and made me free.
6 The Lord is with me, so I will not be afraid.
No one on earth can do anything to harm me.
7 The Lord is my helper.
I will see my enemies defeated.
8 It is better to trust in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to trust in the Lord
than to trust in great leaders.
10 Many enemies surrounded me,
but with the Lord’s power I defeated them.
11 They surrounded me again and again,
but I defeated them with the Lord’s power.
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
but they were quickly destroyed like a fast-burning bush.
I defeated them with the Lord’s power.
13 My enemy attacked me and almost destroyed me,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my reason for singing.[b]
He saved me!
15 You can hear the victory celebration in the homes of those who live right.
The Lord has shown his great power again!
16 The Lord’s arm is raised in victory.
The Lord has shown his great power again.
17 I will live and not die,
and I will tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord punished me,
but he did not let me die.
19 Gates of goodness, open for me,
and I will come in and worship the Lord.
20 Those are the Lord’s gates,
and only good people can go through them.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering my prayer.
I thank you for saving me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord made this happen,
and we think it is wonderful!
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be happy today!
25 The people say, “Praise the Lord!
The Lord saved us![c]
26 Welcome to the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
The priests answer, “We welcome you to the Lord’s house!
27 The Lord is God, and he accepts us.
Tie up the lamb for the sacrifice and carry it to the horns of the altar.”
28 Lord, you are my God, and I thank you.
My God, I praise you!
29 Praise the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love will last forever.
About Marriage
7 Now I will discuss the things you wrote me about. You asked if it is better for a man not to have any sexual relations at all. 2 But sexual sin is a danger, so each man should enjoy his own wife, and each woman should enjoy her own husband. 3 The husband should give his wife what she deserves as his wife. And the wife should give her husband what he deserves as her husband. 4 The wife does not have power over her own body. Her husband has the power over her body. And the husband does not have power over his own body. His wife has the power over his body. 5 Don’t refuse to give your bodies to each other. But you might both agree to stay away from sex for a while so that you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not be able to tempt you in your weakness. 6 I say this only to give you permission to be separated for a time. It is not a rule. 7 I wish everyone could be like me. But God has given each person a different ability. He makes some able to live one way, others to live a different way.
8 Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for you to stay single like me. 9 But if you cannot control your body, then you should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.
10 Now, I have a command for those who are married. Actually, it is not from me; it is what the Lord commanded. A wife should not leave her husband. 11 But if a wife does leave, she should remain single or get back together with her husband. And a husband should not divorce his wife.
12 The advice I have for the others is from me. The Lord did not give us any teaching about this. If you have a wife who is not a believer, you should not divorce her if she will continue to live with you. 13 And if you have a husband who is not a believer, you should not divorce him if he will continue to live with you. 14 The husband who is not a believer is set apart for God through his believing wife. And the wife who is not a believer is set apart for God through her believing husband. If this were not true, your children would be unfit for God’s use. But now they are set apart for him.
15 But if the husband or wife who is not a believer decides to leave, let them leave. When this happens, the brother or sister in Christ is free. God chose you to have a life of peace. 16 Wives, maybe you will save your husband; and husbands, maybe you will save your wife. You don’t know now what will happen later.
Live as God Called You
17 But each one of you should continue to live the way the Lord God has given you to live—the way you were when God chose you. I tell people in all the churches to follow this rule. 18 If a man was already circumcised when he was chosen, he should not change his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was chosen, he should not be circumcised. 19 It is not important if anyone is circumcised or not. What is important is obeying God’s commands.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International