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Psalm 119

The Glories of God’s Law

¹ Happy are those whose way is blameless,
   who walk in the law of the Lord.
² Happy are those who keep his decrees,
   who seek him with their whole heart,
³ who also do no wrong,
   but walk in his ways.
⁴ You have commanded your precepts
   to be kept diligently.
⁵ O that my ways may be steadfast
   in keeping your statutes!
⁶ Then I shall not be put to shame,
   having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart,
   when I learn your righteous ordinances.
⁸ I will observe your statutes;
   do not utterly forsake me.

⁹ How can young people keep their way pure?
   By guarding it according to your word.
¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you;
   do not let me stray from your commandments.
¹¹ I treasure your word in my heart,
   so that I may not sin against you.
¹² Blessed are you, O Lord;
   teach me your statutes.
¹³ With my lips I declare
   all the ordinances of your mouth.
¹⁴ I delight in the way of your decrees
   as much as in all riches.
¹⁵ I will meditate on your precepts,
   and fix my eyes on your ways.
¹⁶ I will delight in your statutes;
   I will not forget your word.

¹⁷ Deal bountifully with your servant,
   so that I may live and observe your word.
¹⁸ Open my eyes, so that I may behold
   wondrous things out of your law.
¹⁹ I live as an alien in the land;
   do not hide your commandments from me.
²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing
   for your ordinances at all times.
²¹ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
   who wander from your commandments;
²² take away from me their scorn and contempt,
   for I have kept your decrees.
²³ Even though princes sit plotting against me,
   your servant will meditate on your statutes.
²⁴ Your decrees are my delight,
   they are my counsellors.

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.’ So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. ¹⁵When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, ‘Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. ¹⁶You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.’

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. ¹⁸She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied. ¹⁹Her mother-in-law said to her, ‘Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.’ So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, ‘The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.’ ²⁰Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!’ Naomi also said to her, ‘The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.’^{* 21}Then Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He even said to me, “Stay close by my servants, until they have finished all my harvest.” ’ ²²Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, ‘It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field.’ ²³So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her mother-in-law.

Qualifications of Bishops

3The saying is sure:^* whoever aspires to the office of bishop^* desires a noble task. ²Now a bishop^* must be above reproach, married only once,^* temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, ³not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. ⁴He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way— ⁵for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? ⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

Qualifications of Deacons

8 Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; ⁹they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons. ¹¹Women^* likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things. ¹²Let deacons be married only once,^* and let them manage their children and their households well; ¹³for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

The Mystery of Our Religion

14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, ¹⁵if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. ¹⁶Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great:
He^* was revealed in flesh,
   vindicated^* in spirit,^*
     seen by angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
   believed in throughout the world,
     taken up in glory.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

18 He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? ¹⁹It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’

The Parable of the Yeast

20 And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with^* three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

The Narrow Door

22 Jesus^* went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ²⁴‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. ²⁵When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” ²⁶Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” ²⁷But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” ²⁸There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. ³⁰Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’