Bible Browser

³³ He turns rivers into a desert,
   springs of water into thirsty ground,
³⁴ a fruitful land into a salty waste,
   because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water,
   a parched land into springs of water.
³⁶ And there he lets the hungry live,
   and they establish a town to live in;
³⁷ they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
   and get a fruitful yield.
³⁸ By his blessing they multiply greatly,
   and he does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low
   through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ he pours contempt on princes
   and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
⁴¹ but he raises up the needy out of distress,
   and makes their families like flocks.
⁴² The upright see it and are glad;
   and all wickedness stops its mouth.
⁴³ Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
   and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 108

Praise and Prayer for Victory

A Song. A Psalm of David.
¹ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;^*
   I will sing and make melody.
   Awake, my soul!^*
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
   I will awake the dawn.
³ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
   and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
⁴ For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
   and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
   and let your glory be over all the earth.
⁶ Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
   so that those whom you love may be rescued.

⁷ God has promised in his sanctuary:^*
   ‘With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
   and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
⁸ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
   Ephraim is my helmet;
   Judah is my sceptre.
⁹ Moab is my wash-basin;
   on Edom I hurl my shoe;
   over Philistia I shout in triumph.’

¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
   Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹ Have you not rejected us, O God?
   You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
¹² O grant us help against the foe,
   for human help is worthless.
¹³ With God we shall do valiantly;
   it is he who will tread down our foes.

The Worship God Demands

66Thus says the Lord:
Heaven is my throne
   and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
   and what is my resting-place?
² All these things my hand has made,
   and so all these things are mine, ^*

says the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look,
   to the humble and contrite in spirit,
   who trembles at my word.

³ Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being;
   whoever sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever presents a grain-offering, like one who offers swine’s blood;^*
   whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
These have chosen their own ways,
   and in their abominations they take delight;
⁴ I also will choose to mock^* them,
   and bring upon them what they fear;
because, when I called, no one answered,
   when I spoke, they did not listen;
but they did what was evil in my sight,
   and chose what did not please me.

The Lord Vindicates Zion

⁵ Hear the word of the Lord,
   you who tremble at his word:
Your own people who hate you
   and reject you for my name’s sake
have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified,
   so that we may see your joy’;
   but it is they who shall be put to shame.

⁶ Listen, an uproar from the city!
   A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
   dealing retribution to his enemies!

⁶Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, so that^* we can take nothing out of it; ⁸but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

The Good Fight of Faith

11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made^* the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.

17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, ¹⁹thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Personal Instructions and Benediction

20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; ²¹by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith.

Grace be with you.^*

The Question about David’s Son

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Messiah^* is the son of David? ³⁶David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
   until I put your enemies under your feet.’ ”
³⁷David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?’ And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

Jesus Denounces the Scribes

38 As he taught, he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, ³⁹and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! ⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’

The Widow’s Offering

41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. ⁴³Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. ⁴⁴For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’