Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 9

To the Chief Musician; set for [possibly] soprano voices. A Psalm of David.

¹ I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds!

² I will rejoice in You and be in high spirits; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High!

³ When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before You.

⁴ For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging righteously.

⁵ You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶ The enemy have been cut off and have vanished in everlasting ruins, You have plucked up and overthrown their cities; the very memory of them has perished and vanished.

⁷ But the Lord shall remain and continue forever; He has prepared and established His throne for judgment.^(A)

⁸ And He will judge the world in righteousness (rightness and equity); He will minister justice to the peoples in uprightness.^(B)

⁹ The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation).

¹⁰ And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity].^(C)

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion! Declare among the peoples His doings!

¹² For He Who avenges the blood [of His people shed unjustly] remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted (the poor and the humble).

¹³ Have mercy upon me and be gracious to me, O Lord; consider how I am afflicted by those who hate me, You Who lift me up from the gates of death,

¹⁴ That I may show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your praises! In the gates of the Daughter of Zion I will rejoice in Your salvation and Your saving help.

2 And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.

² Then said I, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length.

³ And behold, the angel who talked with me went forth and another angel went out to meet him,

⁴ And he said to the second angel, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited and dwell as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it.

⁵ For I, says the Lord, will be to her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.

5 Again I lifted up my eyes and behold, I saw a scroll flying or floating in the air!

² And the angel said to me, What do you see? And I answered, I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits or thirty feet and its breadth is ten cubits or fifteen feet.

³ Then he said to me, This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off from henceforth according to it [the curse written on this subject on the scroll], and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off from henceforth according to it.^(A)

⁴ I will bring [the curse] forth, says the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief and into the house of him who swears falsely by My name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house and shall consume it, both its timber and its stones.

¹² Now also we beseech you, brethren, get to know those who labor among you [recognize them for what they are, acknowledge and appreciate and respect them all]—your leaders who are over you in the Lord and those who warn and kindly reprove and exhort you.

¹³ And hold them in very high and most affectionate esteem in [intelligent and sympathetic] appreciation of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

¹⁴ And we earnestly beseech you, brethren, admonish (warn and seriously advise) those who are out of line [the loafers, the disorderly, and the unruly]; encourage the timid and fainthearted, help and give your support to the weak souls, [and] be very patient with everybody [always keeping your temper].^(A)

¹⁵ See that none of you repays another with evil for evil, but always aim to show kindness and seek to do good to one another and to everybody.

¹⁶ Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);

¹⁷ Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

¹⁸ Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].