Old/New Testament
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all peoples;
Listen carefully, all 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 and consent to a proverb;
On the lyre I will unfold my riddle.
5
Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side],
6
Even those who trust in and rely on their wealth
And boast of the abundance of their riches?
7
None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
8
For the ransom of his soul is too costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9
So that he should live on eternally,
That he should never see the pit (grave) and undergo decay.
10
For he sees that even wise men die;
The fool and the stupid alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.(A)
11
Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever,
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have named their lands after their own names [ignoring God].
12
But man, with all his [self] honor and pomp, will not endure;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13
This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident,
And of those after them who approve [and are influenced by] their words. Selah.
14
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);
Death will be their shepherd;
And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form and beauty shall [a]be for Sheol to consume,
So that they have no dwelling [on earth].
15
But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah.
16
Be not afraid when [an ungodly] man becomes rich,
When the wealth and glory of his house are increased;
17
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.
18
Though while he lives he counts himself happy and prosperous—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
19
He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never again see the light.
20
A man [who is held] in honor,
Yet who lacks [spiritual] understanding and a teachable heart, is like the beasts that perish.
God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
A Psalm of [b]Asaph
50 The mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,
And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting [from east to west].
2
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God has shone forth.
3
May our God come and not keep silent;
Fire devours before Him,
And around Him a mighty tempest rages.
4
He summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
5
“Gather My godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6
And the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is judge. Selah.
7
“Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
8
“I do not reprove you for your sacrifices;
Your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9
“I will accept no young bull from your house
Nor male goat from your folds.
10
“For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11
“I know every bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is [c]Mine.
12
“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
For the world and all it contains are Mine.(B)
13
“Shall I eat the flesh of bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14
“Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving
And pay your vows to the Most High;
15
Call on Me in the day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.”
16
But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite My statutes
Or to take My covenant on your lips?
17
“For you hate instruction and discipline
And cast My words behind you [discarding them].
18
“When you see a thief, you are pleased with him and condone his behavior,
And you associate with adulterers.
19
“You give your mouth to evil
And your tongue frames deceit.
20
“You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21
“These things you have done and I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you.
Now I will reprimand and denounce you and state the case in order before your eyes.
22
“Now consider this, you who forget God,
Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to rescue [you].
23
“He who offers a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way rightly [who follows the way that I show him],
I shall show the salvation of God.”
The Gospel Exalted
1 Paul, a [a]bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative), set apart for [preaching] the [b]gospel of God [the good news of salvation], 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures— 3 [the good news] regarding His Son, who, as to the flesh [His human nature], was born a descendant of David [to fulfill the covenant promises], 4 and [as to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated to be the Son of God with power [in a triumphant and miraculous way] by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 It is through Him that we have received grace and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the Gentiles, 6 and you also are among those who are called of Jesus Christ to belong to Him;
7 [I am writing] to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called to be saints (God’s people) and set apart for a sanctified life, [that is, set apart for God and His purpose]: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith [your trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] is being proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how continuously I mention you 10 in my prayers; always pleading that somehow, by God’s will, I may now at last come to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift, to strengthen and establish you; 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged and comforted by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, [c]brothers and sisters, that many times I have planned to come to you, (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some fruit [of my labors] among you, even as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I have a duty to perform and a debt to pay both to Greeks and to barbarians [the cultured and the uncultured], both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am ready and eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”(A)
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For [God does not overlook sin and] the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who in their wickedness suppress and stifle the truth, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them [in their inner consciousness], for God made it evident to them. 20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.(B) 21 For even though [d]they knew God [as the Creator], they did not [e]honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. On the contrary, they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God for [f]an image [worthless idols] in the shape of mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their own hearts to [sexual] impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin], 25 because [by choice] they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.(C)
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading and vile passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural [a function contrary to nature], 27 and in the same way also the men turned away from the natural function of the woman and were consumed with their desire toward one another, men with men committing shameful acts and in return receiving in their own bodies the inevitable and appropriate penalty for their wrongdoing.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive, 29 until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors], 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors [of new forms] of evil, disobedient and disrespectful to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful [without pity]. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree and His judgment, that those who do such things deserve death, yet they not only do them, but they even [enthusiastically] approve and tolerate others who practice them.
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