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Psalm 10

1  Why stand so far off, O Lord? ♦︎
   Why hide yourself in time of trouble?
2  The wicked in their pride persecute the poor; ♦︎
   let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
3  The wicked boast of their heart’s desire; ♦︎
   the covetous curse and revile the Lord.
4  The wicked in their arrogance say, ‘God will not avenge it’; ♦︎
   in all their scheming God counts for nothing.
5  They are stubborn in all their ways,
      for your judgements are far above out of their sight; ♦︎
   they scoff at all their adversaries.
6  They say in their heart, ‘I shall not be shaken; ♦︎
   no harm shall ever happen to me.’
7  Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit and fraud; ♦︎
   under their tongue lie mischief and wrong.
8  They lurk in the outskirts
      and in dark alleys they murder the innocent; ♦︎
   their eyes are ever watching for the helpless.
9  They lie in wait, like a lion in his den;
      they lie in wait to seize the poor; ♦︎
   they seize the poor when they get them into their net.
10  The innocent are broken and humbled before them; ♦︎
   the helpless fall before their power.
11  They say in their heart, ‘God has forgotten; ♦︎
   he hides his face away; he will never see it.’
12  Arise, O Lord God, and lift up your hand; ♦︎
   forget not the poor.
13  Why should the wicked be scornful of God? ♦︎
   Why should they say in their hearts, ‘You will not avenge it’?
14  Surely, you behold trouble and misery; ♦︎
   you see it and take it into your own hand.
15  The helpless commit themselves to you, ♦︎
   for you are the helper of the orphan.
16  Break the power of the wicked and malicious; ♦︎
   search out their wickedness until you find none.
17  The Lord shall reign for ever and ever; ♦︎
   the nations shall perish from his land.
18  Lord, you will hear the desire of the poor; ♦︎
   you will incline your ear to the fullness of their heart,
19  To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, ♦︎
   so that people are no longer driven in terror from the land.

Psalm 11

1  In the Lord have I taken refuge; ♦︎
   how then can you say to me,
      ‘Flee like a bird to the hills,
2  ‘For see how the wicked bend the bow
      and fit their arrows to the string, ♦︎
   to shoot from the shadows at the true of heart.
3  ‘When the foundations are destroyed, ♦︎
   what can the righteous do?’
4  The Lord is in his holy temple; ♦︎
   the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
5  His eyes behold, ♦︎
   his eyelids try every mortal being.
6  The Lord tries the righteous as well as the wicked, ♦︎
   but those who delight in violence his soul abhors.
7  Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire
      and burning sulphur; ♦︎
   scorching wind shall be their portion to drink.
8  For the Lord is righteous;
      he loves righteous deeds, ♦︎
   and those who are upright shall behold his face.

Absalom Avenges the Violation of His Sister

23 After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. ²⁴Absalom came to the king, and said, ‘Your servant has sheepshearers; will the king and his servants please go with your servant?’ ²⁵But the king said to Absalom, ‘No, my son, let us not all go, or else we will be burdensome to you.’ He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing. ²⁶Then Absalom said, ‘If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.’ The king said to him, ‘Why should he go with you?’ ²⁷But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. Absalom made a feast like a king’s feast.^{* 28}Then Absalom commanded his servants, ‘Watch when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, “Strike Amnon”, then kill him. Do not be afraid; have I not myself commanded you? Be courageous and valiant.’ ²⁹So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons rose, and each mounted his mule and fled.

30 While they were on the way, the report came to David that Absalom had killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them was left. ³¹The king rose, tore his garments, and lay on the ground; and all his servants who were standing by tore their garments. ³²But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, ‘Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king’s sons; Amnon alone is dead. This has been determined by Absalom from the day Amnon^* raped his sister Tamar. ³³Now therefore, do not let my lord the king take it to heart, as if all the king’s sons were dead; for Amnon alone is dead.’

34 But Absalom fled. When the young man who kept watch looked up, he saw many people coming from the Horonaim road^* by the side of the mountain. ³⁵Jonadab said to the king, ‘See, the king’s sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come about.’ ³⁶As soon as he had finished speaking, the king’s sons arrived, and raised their voices and wept; and the king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.

37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son day after day. ³⁸Absalom, having fled to Geshur, stayed there for three years. ³⁹And the heart of^* the king went out, yearning for Absalom; for he was now consoled over the death of Amnon.

Temptations to Sin

42 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me,^* it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. ⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell,^* to the unquenchable fire.^{* 45}And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.^{*,* 47}And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,^{* 48}where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire.^{* 50}Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?^* Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’