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19  Be not far from me, O Lord; ♦︎
   you are my strength; hasten to help me.
20  Deliver my soul from the sword, ♦︎
   my poor life from the power of the dog.
21  Save me from the lion’s mouth,
      from the horns of wild oxen. ♦︎
   You have answered me!
22  I will tell of your name to my people; ♦︎
   in the midst of the congregation will I praise you.
23  Praise the Lord, you that fear him; ♦︎
   O seed of Jacob, glorify him;
      stand in awe of him, O seed of Israel.
24  For he has not despised nor abhorred the suffering of the poor;
      neither has he hidden his face from them; ♦︎
   but when they cried to him he heard them.
25  From you comes my praise in the great congregation; ♦︎
   I will perform my vows
      in the presence of those that fear you.
26  The poor shall eat and be satisfied; ♦︎
   those who seek the Lord shall praise him;
      their hearts shall live for ever.
27  All the ends of the earth
      shall remember and turn to the Lord, ♦︎
   and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
28  For the kingdom is the Lord’s ♦︎
   and he rules over the nations.

Israel’s Futile Idolatry

57The righteous perish,
   and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
   while no one understands.
For the righteous are taken away from calamity,
²   and they enter into peace;
those who walk uprightly
   will rest on their couches.
³ But as for you, come here,
   you children of a sorceress,
   you offspring of an adulterer and a whore.^*
4 Whom are you mocking?
   Against whom do you open your mouth wide
   and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
   the offspring of deceit—
⁵ you that burn with lust among the oaks,
   under every green tree;
you that slaughter your children in the valleys,
   under the clefts of the rocks?
⁶ Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;
   they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink-offering,
   you have brought a grain-offering.
   Shall I be appeased for these things?
⁷ Upon a high and lofty mountain
   you have set your bed,
   and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
⁸ Behind the door and the doorpost
   you have set up your symbol;
for, in deserting me,^* you have uncovered your bed,
   you have gone up to it,
   you have made it wide;
and you have made a bargain for yourself with them,
   you have loved their bed,
   you have gazed on their nakedness.^*
9 You journeyed to Molech^* with oil,
   and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away,
   and sent down even to Sheol.
¹⁰ You grew weary from your many wanderings,
   but you did not say, ‘It is useless.’
You found your desire rekindled,
   and so you did not weaken.

¹¹ Whom did you dread and fear
   so that you lied,
and did not remember me
   or give me a thought?
Have I not kept silent and closed my eyes,^*
   and so you do not fear me?
¹² I will concede your righteousness and your works,
   but they will not help you.
¹³ When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
   The wind will carry them off,
   a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me shall possess the land
   and inherit my holy mountain.

The Promise to Abraham

15 Brothers and sisters,^* I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will^* has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. ¹⁶Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring;^* it does not say, ‘And to offsprings’,^* as of many; but it says, ‘And to your offspring’,^* that is, to one person, who is Christ. ¹⁷My point is this: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

The Purpose of the Law

19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring^* would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator. ²⁰Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

21 Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. ²²But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ^* might be given to those who believe.