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Psalm 104

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul. ♦︎
   O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
2  You are clothed with majesty and honour, ♦︎
   wrapped in light as in a garment.
3  You spread out the heavens like a curtain ♦︎
   and lay the beams of your dwelling place in the waters above.
4  You make the clouds your chariot ♦︎
   and ride on the wings of the wind.
5  You make the winds your messengers ♦︎
   and flames of fire your servants.
6  You laid the foundations of the earth, ♦︎
   that it never should move at any time.
7  You covered it with the deep like a garment; ♦︎
   the waters stood high above the hills.
8  At your rebuke they fled; ♦︎
   at the voice of your thunder they hastened away.
9  They rose up to the hills and flowed down to the valleys beneath, ♦︎
   to the place which you had appointed for them.
10  You have set them their bounds that they should not pass, ♦︎
   nor turn again to cover the earth.
11  You send the springs into the brooks, ♦︎
   which run among the hills.
12  They give drink to every beast of the field, ♦︎
   and the wild asses quench their thirst.
13  Beside them the birds of the air make their nests ♦︎
   and sing among the branches.
14  You water the hills from your dwelling on high; ♦︎
   the earth is filled with the fruit of your works.
15  You make grass to grow for the cattle ♦︎
   and plants to meet our needs,
16  Bringing forth food from the earth ♦︎
   and wine to gladden our hearts,
17  Oil to give us a cheerful countenance ♦︎
   and bread to strengthen our hearts.
18  The trees of the Lord are full of sap, ♦︎
   the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,
19  In which the birds build their nests, ♦︎
   while the fir trees are a dwelling for the stork.
20  The mountains are a refuge for the wild goats ♦︎
   and the stony cliffs for the conies.
21  You appointed the moon to mark the seasons, ♦︎
   and the sun knows the time for its setting.
22  You make darkness that it may be night, ♦︎
   in which all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
23  The lions roar for their prey ♦︎
   and seek their food from God.
24  The sun rises and they are gone ♦︎
   to lay themselves down in their dens.
25  People go forth to their work ♦︎
   and to their labour until the evening.
26  O Lord, how manifold are your works! ♦︎
   In wisdom you have made them all;
      the earth is full of your creatures.
27  There is the sea, spread far and wide, ♦︎
   and there move creatures beyond number, both small and great.
28  There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan ♦︎
   which you have made to play in the deep.
29  All of these look to you ♦︎
   to give them their food in due season.
30  When you give it them, they gather it; ♦︎
   you open your hand and they are filled with good.
31  When you hide your face they are troubled; ♦︎
   when you take away their breath,
      they die and return again to the dust.
32  When you send forth your spirit, they are created, ♦︎
   and you renew the face of the earth.
33  May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; ♦︎
   may the Lord rejoice in his works;
34  He looks on the earth and it trembles; ♦︎
   he touches the mountains and they smoke.
35  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; ♦︎
   I will make music to my God while I have my being.
36  So shall my song please him ♦︎
   while I rejoice in the Lord.
37  Let sinners be consumed out of the earth
      and the wicked be no more. ♦︎
   Bless the Lord, O my soul.
      Alleluia.

The Righteousness of God’s Judgement

65I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
   to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am’,
   to a nation that did not call on my name.
² I held out my hands all day long
   to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
   following their own devices;
³ a people who provoke me
   to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
   and offering incense on bricks;
⁴ who sit inside tombs,
   and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
   with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
⁵ who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
   do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.’
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
   a fire that burns all day long.
⁶ See, it is written before me:
   I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
⁷   their^* iniquities and their^* ancestors’ iniquities together,

says the Lord;
because they offered incense on the mountains
   and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
   full payment for their actions.
⁸ Thus says the Lord:
As the wine is found in the cluster,
   and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
   for there is a blessing in it’,
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
   and not destroy them all.
⁹ I will bring forth descendants^* from Jacob,
   and from Judah inheritors^* of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
   and my servants shall settle there.
¹⁰ Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
   and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
   for my people who have sought me.
¹¹ But you who forsake the Lord,
   who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
   and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
¹² I will destine you to the sword,
   and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter;
because, when I called, you did not answer,
   when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my sight,
   and chose what I did not delight in.

The Question about Paying Taxes

13 Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. ¹⁴And they came and said to him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? ¹⁵Should we pay them, or should we not?’ But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, ‘Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.’ ¹⁶And they brought one. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ ¹⁷Jesus said to them, ‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were utterly amazed at him.

The Question about the Resurrection

18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, ¹⁹‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man^* shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. ²⁰There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children; ²¹and the second married her and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; ²²none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. ²³In the resurrection^* whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her.’

24 Jesus said to them, ‘Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? ²⁷He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.’