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Psalm 62

1  On God alone my soul in stillness waits; ♦︎
   from him comes my salvation.
2  He alone is my rock and my salvation, ♦︎
   my stronghold, so that I shall never be shaken.
3  How long will all of you assail me to destroy me, ♦︎
   as you would a tottering wall or a leaning fence?
4  They plot only to thrust me down from my place of honour;
      lies are their chief delight; ♦︎
   they bless with their mouth, but in their heart they curse.
5  Wait on God alone in stillness, O my soul; ♦︎
   for in him is my hope.
6  He alone is my rock and my salvation, ♦︎
   my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.
7  In God is my strength and my glory; ♦︎
   God is my strong rock; in him is my refuge.
8  Put your trust in him always, my people; ♦︎
   pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.
9  The peoples are but a breath,
      the whole human race a deceit; ♦︎
   on the scales they are altogether lighter than air.
10  Put no trust in oppression; in robbery take no empty pride; ♦︎
   though wealth increase, set not your heart upon it.
11  God spoke once, and twice have I heard the same, ♦︎
   that power belongs to God.
12  Steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord, ♦︎
   for you repay everyone according to their deeds.

Alliance with Egypt Is Futile

31Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help
   and who rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
   and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
   or consult the Lord!
² Yet he too is wise and brings disaster;
   he does not call back his words,
but will rise against the house of the evildoers,
   and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
³ The Egyptians are human, and not God;
   their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
   the helper will stumble, and the one helped will fall,
   and they will all perish together.

⁴ For thus the Lord said to me,
As a lion or a young lion growls over its prey,
   and—when a band of shepherds is called out against it—
is not terrified by their shouting
   or daunted at their noise,
so the Lord of hosts will come down
   to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.
⁵ Like birds hovering overhead, so the Lord of hosts
   will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it,
   he will spare and rescue it.

6 Turn back to him whom you^* have deeply betrayed, O people of Israel. ⁷For on that day all of you shall throw away your idols of silver and idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
⁸ ‘Then the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of mortals;
   and a sword, not of humans, shall devour him;
he shall flee from the sword,
   and his young men shall be put to forced labour.
⁹ His rock shall pass away in terror,
   and his officers desert the standard in panic,’
says the Lord, whose fire is in Zion,
   and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

The Tradition of the Elders

15Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ²‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.’ ³He answered them, ‘And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God said,^* “Honour your father and your mother,” and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” ⁵But you say that whoever tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God”,^* then that person need not honour the father.^{* 6}So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word^* of God. ⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:
⁸ “This people honours me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me;
⁹ in vain do they worship me,
   teaching human precepts as doctrines.” ’

Things That Defile

10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, ‘Listen and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.’ ¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees took offence when they heard what you said?’ ¹³He answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.^* And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.’ ¹⁵But Peter said to him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’ ¹⁶Then he said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.’