Old/New Testament
Psalm 113[a]
Praise of God’s Care for the Poor
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.(A)
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
both now and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting(B)
let the name of the Lord be praised.
II
4 High above all nations is the Lord;
above the heavens his glory.(C)
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
enthroned on high,
6 (D)looking down on heaven and earth?
7 He raises the needy from the dust,
lifts the poor from the ash heap,(E)
8 Seats them with princes,
the princes of the people,
9 Gives the childless wife a home,
the joyful mother of children.(F)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 114[b]
The Lord’s Wonders at the Exodus
1 When Israel came forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from an alien people,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel, God’s domain.(G)
3 [c]The sea saw and fled;
the Jordan turned back.(H)
4 The mountains skipped like rams;
the hills, like lambs.(I)
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?
Jordan, that you turned back?
6 Mountains, that you skipped like rams?
You hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, earth, before the Lord,(J)
before the God of Jacob,
8 [d]Who turned the rock into pools of water,
flint into a flowing spring.(K)
Psalm 115[e]
The Greatness of the True God
I
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy and faithfulness.(L)
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”[f](M)
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever he wills.(N)
II
4 Their idols are silver and gold,(O)
the work of human hands.(P)
5 They have mouths but do not speak,
eyes but do not see.
6 They have ears but do not hear,
noses but do not smell.
7 They have hands but do not feel,
feet but do not walk;
they produce no sound from their throats.
8 Their makers will be like them,
and anyone who trusts in them.
III
9 [g]The house of Israel trusts in the Lord,(Q)
who is their help and shield.(R)
10 The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord,
who is their help and shield.
11 Those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord,
who is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us,
will bless the house of Israel,
will bless the house of Aaron,
13 Will bless those who fear the Lord,
small and great alike.
14 May the Lord increase your number,
yours and your descendants.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.
16 [h]The heavens belong to the Lord,
but he has given the earth to the children of Adam.(S)
17 [i]The dead do not praise the Lord,
not all those go down into silence.(T)
18 It is we who bless the Lord,
both now and forever.
Hallelujah!
Chapter 6
Lawsuits Before Unbelievers.[a] 1 How can any one of you with a case against another dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to the holy ones? 2 [b]Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?(A) 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Then why not everyday matters? 4 If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters, do you seat as judges people of no standing in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough to be able to settle a case between brothers? 6 But rather brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers?
7 Now indeed [then] it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?(B) 8 Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. 9 [c]Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes[d] nor sodomites(C) 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.(D)
Sexual Immorality.[e] 12 “Everything is lawful for me,”[f] but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful for me,” but I will not let myself be dominated by anything.(E) 13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will do away with both the one and the other. The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; 14 God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.(F)
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute?[g] Of course not!(G) 16 [Or] do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For “the two,” it says, “will become one flesh.”(H) 17 But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.(I) 18 Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body.[h] 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple[i] of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?(J) 20 For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.(K)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.