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Psalm 120

1  When I was in trouble I called to the Lord; ♦︎
   I called to the Lord and he answered me.
2  Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips ♦︎
   and from a deceitful tongue.
3  What shall be given to you? ♦︎
   What more shall be done to you, deceitful tongue?
4  The sharp arrows of a warrior, ♦︎
   tempered in burning coals!
5  Woe is me, that I must lodge in Meshech ♦︎
   and dwell among the tents of Kedar.
6  My soul has dwelt too long ♦︎
   with enemies of peace.
7  I am for making peace, ♦︎
   but when I speak of it, they make ready for war.

Psalm 121

1  I lift up my eyes to the hills; ♦︎
   from where is my help to come?
2  My help comes from the Lord, ♦︎
   the maker of heaven and earth.
3  He will not suffer your foot to stumble; ♦︎
   he who watches over you will not sleep.
4  Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel ♦︎
   shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5  The Lord himself watches over you; ♦︎
   the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
6  So that the sun shall not strike you by day, ♦︎
   neither the moon by night.
7  The Lord shall keep you from all evil; ♦︎
   it is he who shall keep your soul.
8  The Lord shall keep watch over your going out
      and your coming in, ♦︎
   from this time forth for evermore.

Psalm 122

1  I was glad when they said to me, ♦︎
   ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’
2  And now our feet are standing ♦︎
   within your gates, O Jerusalem;
3  Jerusalem, built as a city ♦︎
   that is at unity in itself.
4  Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, ♦︎
   as is decreed for Israel,
      to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5  For there are set the thrones of judgement, ♦︎
   the thrones of the house of David.
6  O pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ♦︎
   ‘May they prosper who love you.
7  ‘Peace be within your walls ♦︎
   and tranquillity within your palaces.’
8  For my kindred and companions’ sake, ♦︎
   I will pray that peace be with you.
9  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, ♦︎
   I will seek to do you good.

Psalm 123

1  To you I lift up my eyes, ♦︎
   to you that are enthroned in the heavens.
2  As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, ♦︎
   or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
3  So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, ♦︎
   until he have mercy upon us.
4  Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, ♦︎
   for we have had more than enough of contempt.
5  Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of the arrogant, ♦︎
   and of the contempt of the proud.

17Better is a dry morsel with quiet
   than a house full of feasting with strife.
² A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,
   and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
³ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
   but the Lord tests the heart.
⁴ An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
   and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
⁵ Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;
   those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
   and the glory of children is their parents.
⁷ Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
   still less is false speech to a ruler.^*
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;
   wherever they turn they prosper.
⁹ One who forgives an affront fosters friendship,
   but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.
¹⁰ A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning person
   than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹ Evil people seek only rebellion,
   but a cruel messenger will be sent against them.
¹² Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs
   than to confront a fool immersed in folly.
¹³ Evil will not depart from the house
   of one who returns evil for good.
¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water;
   so stop before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵ One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous
   are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶ Why should fools have a price in hand
   to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?
¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,
   and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.
³⁰ No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel,
   can avail against the Lord.
³¹ The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
   but the victory belongs to the Lord.

22A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
   and favour is better than silver or gold.
² The rich and the poor have this in common:
   the Lord is the maker of them all.
³ The clever see danger and hide;
   but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
⁴ The reward for humility and fear of the Lord
   is riches and honour and life.
⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
   the cautious will keep far from them.
⁶ Train children in the right way,
   and when old, they will not stray.

False Asceticism

4Now the Spirit expressly says that in later^* times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, ²through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. ³They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.

A Good Minister of Jesus Christ

6 If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters,^* you will be a good servant^* of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. ⁷Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, ⁸for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. ⁹The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. ¹⁰For to this end we toil and struggle,^* because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe.

11 These are the things you must insist on and teach. ¹²Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture,^* to exhorting, to teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.^{* 15}Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.