Old/New Testament
The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
94 O Lord, God of (A)vengeance,
O God of vengeance, (B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, O (D)judge of the earth;
repay to the (E)proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, (F)how long shall the wicked,
how long shall (G)the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their (H)arrogant words;
all (I)the evildoers boast.
5 They (J)crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill (K)the widow and the sojourner,
and murder (L)the fatherless;
7 (M)and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 (N)Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 (O)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who (P)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who (Q)teaches man knowledge—
11 (R)the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are (S)but a breath.[a]
12 (T)Blessed is the man whom you (U)discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him (V)rest from (W)days of trouble,
until (X)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 (Y)For the Lord will not forsake his (Z)people;
he will not abandon his (AA)heritage;
15 for (AB)justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will (AC)follow it.
16 (AD)Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 (AE)If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of (AF)silence.
18 When I thought, (AG)“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, (AH)held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can (AI)wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame[b] injustice by (AJ)statute?
21 They (AK)band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn (AL)the innocent to death.[c]
22 But the Lord has become my (AM)stronghold,
and my God (AN)the rock of my (AO)refuge.
23 He will bring back on them (AP)their iniquity
and (AQ)wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Let Us Sing Songs of Praise
95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us (AR)make a joyful noise to (AS)the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us (AT)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us (AU)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is (AV)a great God,
and a great King (AW)above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for (AX)he made it,
and his hands formed (AY)the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us (AZ)kneel before the Lord, our (BA)Maker!
7 For he is our (BB)God,
and we are the people of his (BC)pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
(BD)Today, if you (BE)hear his voice,
8 (BF)do not harden your hearts, as at (BG)Meribah,
as on the day at (BH)Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the (BI)test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my (BJ)work.
10 (BK)For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known (BL)my ways.”
11 Therefore I (BM)swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter (BN)my rest.”
Worship in the Splendor of Holiness
96 (BO)Oh sing to the Lord (BP)a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
(BQ)tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For (BR)great is the Lord, and (BS)greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above (BT)all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord (BU)made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
(BV)strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O (BW)families of the peoples,
(BX)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord (BY)the glory due his name;
bring (BZ)an offering, and (CA)come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in (CB)the splendor of holiness;[d]
(CC)tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, (CD)“The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will (CE)judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let (CF)the heavens be glad, and let (CG)the earth rejoice;
let (CH)the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let (CI)the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all (CJ)the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes (CK)to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 (A)I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,[a] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with (B)all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, (C)because of the grace given me by God 16 to be (D)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles (E)in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that (F)the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have (G)reason to be proud of (H)my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except (I)what Christ has accomplished through me (J)to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 (K)by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that (L)from Jerusalem and all the way around (M)to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, (N)lest I build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it is written,
(O)“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
Paul's Plan to Visit Rome
22 This is the reason why (P)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and (Q)since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go (R)to Spain, and (S)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, (T)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For (U)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed (V)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,[b] I will leave (W)for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing[c] of Christ.
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by (X)the love of the Spirit, (Y)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 (Z)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that (AA)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and (AB)be refreshed in your company. 33 May (AC)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.