Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
How Precious Your Thoughts!
Psalm 139
1 For the music director: a psalm of David.
Adonai, You searched me and know me.
2 Whenever I sit down or stand up, You know it.
You discern my thinking from afar.
3 You observe my journeying and my resting
and You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, Adonai, You know all about it.
5 You hemmed me in behind and before,
and laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
13 For You have created my conscience.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made!
Wonderful are Your works—
and my soul knows that very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was unformed,
and in Your book were written the days that were formed—
when not one of them had come to be.
17 How precious are Your thoughts, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand!
When I awake, I am still with You.
6 Now when Joshua had sent the people away, Bnei-Yisrael went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 Then the people worshipped Adonai all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Adonai that He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Adonai, died at the age of 110 years, 9 and they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
10 But when all that generation were gathered to their fathers, there arose another generation after them that did not experience Adonai or the work that He had done for Israel. 11 Then Bnei-Yisrael did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, and worshipped the Baalim. 12 They abandoned Adonai, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples around them, and bowed down to them. So they provoked the anger of Adonai. 13 So they forsook Adonai and worshipped Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of Adonai burned against Israel, and He gave them over to the hands of plunderers who plundered them, and He sold them over into the hand of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand up before their enemies. 15 Whenever they went out, the hand of Adonai was against them for evil, as Adonai had spoken and as Adonai had sworn to them. So they were severely distressed.
Tearing Down Strongholds
10 Now I, Paul, appeal myself to you by the meekness and gentleness of Messiah—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when far away. 2 I beg of you that when I am present I won’t need to be bold with the courage I consider showing against some who judge us as walking in the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful through God for the tearing down of strongholds.[a] We are tearing down false arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that exalts itself[b] against the knowledge of God. We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah— 6 ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
7 Look at what is before your eyes.[c] If anyone is confident in himself that he belongs to Messiah, let him reconsider that just as he belongs to Messiah, so also do we. 8 For even if I boast a little more about our authority—which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down—I will not be put to shame. 9 Not that I would try to terrify you by my letters— 10 for they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his presence in person is weak and his speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word through letters when we are absent, we also are in action when we are present.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.