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Psalm 34

1  I will bless the Lord at all times; ♦︎
   his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2  My soul shall glory in the Lord; ♦︎
   let the humble hear and be glad.
3  O magnify the Lord with me; ♦︎
   let us exalt his name together.
4  I sought the Lord and he answered me ♦︎
   and delivered me from all my fears.
5  Look upon him and be radiant ♦︎
   and your faces shall not be ashamed.
6  This poor soul cried, and the Lord heard me ♦︎
   and saved me from all my troubles.
7  The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him ♦︎
   and delivers them.
8  O taste and see that the Lord is gracious; ♦︎
   blessed is the one who trusts in him.
9  Fear the Lord, all you his holy ones, ♦︎
   for those who fear him lack nothing.
10  Lions may lack and suffer hunger, ♦︎
   but those who seek the Lord
      lack nothing that is good.
11  Come, my children, and listen to me; ♦︎
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12  Who is there who delights in life ♦︎
   and longs for days to enjoy good things?
13  Keep your tongue from evil ♦︎
   and your lips from lying words.
14  Turn from evil and do good; ♦︎
   seek peace and pursue it.
15  The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous ♦︎
   and his ears are open to their cry.
16  The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, ♦︎
   to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17  The righteous cry and the Lord hears them ♦︎
   and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18  The Lord is near to the brokenhearted ♦︎
   and will save those who are crushed in spirit.
19  Many are the troubles of the righteous; ♦︎
   from them all will the Lord deliver them.
20  He keeps all their bones, ♦︎
   so that not one of them is broken.
21  But evil shall slay the wicked ♦︎
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22  The Lord ransoms the life of his servants ♦︎
   and will condemn none who seek refuge in him.

Social Injustice Denounced

⁸ Ah, you who join house to house,
   who add field to field,
until there is room for no one but you,
   and you are left to live alone
   in the midst of the land!
⁹ The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
   large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
¹⁰ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
   and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.^*

¹¹ Ah, you who rise early in the morning
   in pursuit of strong drink,
who linger in the evening
   to be inflamed by wine,
¹² whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,
   tambourine and flute and wine,
but who do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
   or see the work of his hands!
¹³ Therefore my people go into exile without knowledge;
their nobles are dying of hunger,
   and their multitude is parched with thirst.

¹⁴ Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
   and opened its mouth beyond measure;
the nobility of Jerusalem^* and her multitude go down,
   her throng and all who exult in her.
¹⁵ People are bowed down, everyone is brought low,
   and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
¹⁶ But the Lord of hosts is exalted by justice,
   and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness.
¹⁷ Then the lambs shall graze as in their pasture,
   fatlings and kids^* shall feed among the ruins.

¹⁸ Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood,
   who drag sin along as with cart-ropes,
¹⁹ who say, ‘Let him make haste,
   let him speed his work
   that we may see it;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfilment,
   that we may know it!’
²⁰ Ah, you who call evil good
   and good evil,
who put darkness for light
   and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
   and sweet for bitter!
²¹ Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes,
   and shrewd in your own sight!
²² Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine
   and valiant at mixing drink,
²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
   and deprive the innocent of their rights!

Foreign Invasion Predicted

²⁴ Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
   and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will become rotten,
   and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of hosts,
   and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Jesus Ministers to Crowds of People

23 Jesus^* went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news^* of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. ²⁴So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. ²⁵And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Beatitudes

5When Jesus^* saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^* on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.