Bible Browser

Psalm 145

1  I will exalt you, O God my King, ♦︎
   and bless your name for ever and ever.
2  Every day will I bless you ♦︎
   and praise your name for ever and ever.
3  Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; ♦︎
   his greatness is beyond all searching out.
4  One generation shall praise your works to another ♦︎
   and declare your mighty acts.
5  They shall speak of the majesty of your glory, ♦︎
   and I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
6  They shall speak of the might of your marvellous acts, ♦︎
   and I will also tell of your greatness.
7  They shall pour forth the story of your abundant kindness ♦︎
   and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8  The Lord is gracious and merciful, ♦︎
   long-suffering and of great goodness.
9  The Lord is loving to everyone ♦︎
   and his mercy is over all his creatures.
10  All your works praise you, O Lord, ♦︎
   and your faithful servants bless you.
11  They tell of the glory of your kingdom ♦︎
   and speak of your mighty power,
12  To make known to all peoples your mighty acts ♦︎
   and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; ♦︎
   your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14  The Lord is sure in all his words ♦︎
   and faithful in all his deeds.
15  The Lord upholds all those who fall ♦︎
   and lifts up all those who are bowed down.
16  The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, ♦︎
   and you give them their food in due season.
17  You open wide your hand ♦︎
   and fill all things living with plenty.
18  The Lord is righteous in all his ways ♦︎
   and loving in all his works.
19  The Lord is near to those who call upon him, ♦︎
   to all who call upon him faithfully.
20  He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; ♦︎
   he hears their cry and saves them.
21  The Lord watches over those who love him, ♦︎
   but all the wicked shall he destroy.
22  My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, ♦︎
   and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

The Future Glory of the Survivors in Zion

2 On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. ³Whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, ⁴once the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgement and by a spirit of burning. ⁵Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed, over all the glory there will be a canopy. ⁶It will serve as a pavilion, a shade by day from the heat, and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

The Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard

5Let me sing for my beloved
   my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
   on a very fertile hill.
² He dug it and cleared it of stones,
   and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watch-tower in the midst of it,
   and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
   but it yielded wild grapes.

³ And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
   and people of Judah,
judge between me
   and my vineyard.
⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard
   that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
   why did it yield wild grapes?

⁵ And now I will tell you
   what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
   and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
   and it shall be trampled down.
⁶ I will make it a waste;
   it shall not be pruned or hoed,
   and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
   that they rain no rain upon it.

⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
   is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
   are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
   but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
   but heard a cry!

Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee

12 Now when Jesus^* heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
¹⁵ ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
   on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness
   have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
   light has dawned.’
¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’^*

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.