Bible Browser

Psalm 105

1  O give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; ♦︎
   make known his deeds among the peoples.
2  Sing to him, sing praises, ♦︎
   and tell of all his marvellous works.
3  Rejoice in the praise of his holy name; ♦︎
   let the hearts of them rejoice who seek the Lord.
4  Seek the Lord and his strength; ♦︎
   seek his face continually.
5  Remember the marvels he has done, ♦︎
   his wonders and the judgements of his mouth,
6  O seed of Abraham his servant, ♦︎
   O children of Jacob his chosen.
7  He is the Lord our God; ♦︎
   his judgements are in all the earth.
8  He has always been mindful of his covenant, ♦︎
   the promise that he made for a thousand generations:
9  The covenant he made with Abraham, ♦︎
   the oath that he swore to Isaac,
10  Which he established as a statute for Jacob, ♦︎
   an everlasting covenant for Israel,
11  Saying, ‘To you will I give the land of Canaan ♦︎
   to be the portion of your inheritance.’
12  When they were but few in number, ♦︎
   of little account, and sojourners in the land,
13  Wandering from nation to nation, ♦︎
   from one kingdom to another people,
14  He suffered no one to do them wrong ♦︎
   and rebuked even kings for their sake,
15  Saying, ‘Touch not my anointed ♦︎
   and do my prophets no harm.’
16  Then he called down famine over the land ♦︎
   and broke every staff of bread.
17  But he had sent a man before them, ♦︎
   Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18  They shackled his feet with fetters; ♦︎
   his neck was ringed with iron.
19  Until all he foretold came to pass, ♦︎
   the word of the Lord tested him.
20  The king sent and released him; ♦︎
   the ruler of peoples set him free.
21  He appointed him lord of his household ♦︎
   and ruler of all he possessed,
22  To instruct his princes as he willed ♦︎
   and to teach his counsellors wisdom.
23  Then Israel came into Egypt; ♦︎
   Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24  And the Lord made his people exceedingly fruitful; ♦︎
   he made them too many for their adversaries,
25  Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people ♦︎
   and dealt craftily with his servants.
26  Then sent he Moses his servant ♦︎
   and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27  He showed his signs through their word ♦︎
   and his wonders in the land of Ham.
28  He sent darkness and it grew dark; ♦︎
   yet they did not heed his words.
29  He turned their waters into blood ♦︎
   and slew all their fish.
30  Their land swarmed with frogs, ♦︎
   even in their kings’ chambers.
31  He spoke the word, and there came clouds of flies, ♦︎
   swarms of gnats within all their borders.
32  He gave them hailstones for rain ♦︎
   and flames of lightning in their land.
33  He blasted their vines and their fig trees ♦︎
   and shattered trees across their country.
34  He spoke the word, and the grasshoppers came ♦︎
   and young locusts without number;
35  They ate every plant in their land ♦︎
   and devoured the fruit of their soil.
36  He smote all the firstborn in their land, ♦︎
   the first fruits of all their strength.
37  Then he brought them out with silver and gold; ♦︎
   there was not one among their tribes that stumbled.
38  Egypt was glad at their departing, ♦︎
   for a dread of them had fallen upon them.
39  He spread out a cloud for a covering ♦︎
   and a fire to light up the night.
40  They asked and he brought them quails; ♦︎
   he satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41  He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out ♦︎
   and ran in the dry places like a river.
42  For he remembered his holy word ♦︎
   and Abraham, his servant.
43  So he brought forth his people with joy, ♦︎
   his chosen ones with singing.
44  He gave them the lands of the nations ♦︎
   and they took possession of the fruit of their toil,
45  That they might keep his statutes ♦︎
   and faithfully observe his laws.
      Alleluia.

Dedication of the City Wall

27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with rejoicing, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. ²⁸The companies of the singers gathered together from the circuit around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; ²⁹also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on to the wall, and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate; ³²and after them went Hoshaiah and half the officials of Judah, ³³and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, ³⁵and some of the young priests with trumpets: Zechariah son of Jonathan son of Shemaiah son of Mattaniah son of Micaiah son of Zaccur son of Asaph; ³⁶and his kindred, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and the scribe Ezra went in front of them. ³⁷At the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went straight up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

38 The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left,^* and I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, ³⁹and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. ⁴⁰So both companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; ⁴¹and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; ⁴²and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. ⁴³They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

Temple Responsibilities

44 On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites from the fields belonging to the towns; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. ⁴⁵They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. ⁴⁶For in the days of David and Asaph long ago there was a leader of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the descendants of Aaron.

THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO THE

Corinthians

Salutation

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Thanksgiving after Affliction

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, ⁴who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. ⁶If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. ⁷Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.

8 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,^* of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. ⁹Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. ¹⁰He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, ¹¹as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our^* behalf for the blessing granted to us through the prayers of many.

The Postponement of Paul’s Visit

12 Indeed, this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with frankness^* and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God—and all the more towards you. ¹³For we write to you nothing other than what you can read and also understand; I hope you will understand until the end— ¹⁴as you have already understood us in part—that on the day of the Lord Jesus we are your boast even as you are our boast.