Bible Browser

Psalm 69

1  Save me, O God, ♦︎
   for the waters have come up, even to my neck.
2  I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold; ♦︎
   I have come into deep waters and the flood sweeps over me.
3  I have grown weary with crying; my throat is raw; ♦︎
   my eyes have failed from looking so long for my God.
4  Those who hate me without any cause ♦︎
   are more than the hairs of my head;
5  Those who would destroy me are mighty; ♦︎
   my enemies accuse me falsely:
      must I now give back what I never stole?
6  O God, you know my foolishness, ♦︎
   and my faults are not hidden from you.
7  Let not those who hope in you
      be put to shame through me, Lord God of hosts; ♦︎
   let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me,
      O God of Israel.
8  For your sake have I suffered reproach; ♦︎
   shame has covered my face.
9  I have become a stranger to my kindred, ♦︎
   an alien to my mother’s children.
10  Zeal for your house has eaten me up; ♦︎
   the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
11  I humbled myself with fasting, ♦︎
   but that was turned to my reproach.
12  I put on sackcloth also ♦︎
   and became a byword among them.
13  Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, ♦︎
   and the drunkards make songs about me.
14  But as for me, I make my prayer to you, O Lord; ♦︎
   at an acceptable time, O God.
15  Answer me, O God, in the abundance of your mercy ♦︎
   and with your sure salvation.
16  Draw me out of the mire, that I sink not; ♦︎
   let me be rescued from those who hate me
      and out of the deep waters.
17  Let not the water flood drown me,
      neither the deep swallow me up; ♦︎
   let not the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
18  Answer me, Lord, for your loving-kindness is good; ♦︎
   turn to me in the multitude of your mercies.
19  Hide not your face from your servant; ♦︎
   be swift to answer me, for I am in trouble.
20  Draw near to my soul and redeem me; ♦︎
   deliver me because of my enemies.
21  You know my reproach, my shame and my dishonour; ♦︎
   my adversaries are all in your sight.
22  Reproach has broken my heart; I am full of heaviness. ♦︎
   I looked for some to have pity, but there was no one,
      neither found I any to comfort me.
23  They gave me gall to eat, ♦︎
   and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
24  Let the table before them be a trap ♦︎
   and their sacred feasts a snare.
25  Let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, ♦︎
   and give them continual trembling in their loins.
26  Pour out your indignation upon them, ♦︎
   and let the heat of your anger overtake them.
27  Let their camp be desolate, ♦︎
   and let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
28  For they persecute the one whom you have stricken, ♦︎
   and increase the sorrows of him whom you have pierced.
29  Lay to their charge guilt upon guilt, ♦︎
   and let them not receive your vindication.
30  Let them be wiped out of the book of the living ♦︎
   and not be written among the righteous.
31  As for me, I am poor and in misery; ♦︎
   your saving help, O God, will lift me up.
32  I will praise the name of God with a song; ♦︎
   I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
33  This will please the Lord more than an offering of oxen, ♦︎
   more than bulls with horns and hooves.
34  The humble shall see and be glad; ♦︎
   you who seek God, your heart shall live.
35  For the Lord listens to the needy, ♦︎
   and his own who are imprisoned he does not despise.
36  Let the heavens and the earth praise him, ♦︎
   the seas and all that moves in them;
37  For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; ♦︎
   they shall live there and have it in possession.
38  The children of his servants shall inherit it, ♦︎
   and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

24 But Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her; then he built the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt-offerings and sacrifices of well-being on the altar that he built for the Lord, offering incense^* before the Lord. So he completed the house.

Solomon’s Commercial Activity

26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea,^* in the land of Edom. ²⁷Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸They went to Ophir, and imported from there four hundred and twenty talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

10When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to^* the name of the Lord), she came to test him with hard questions. ²She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ³Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. ⁴When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt-offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

6 So she said to the king, ‘The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, ⁷but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far surpass the report that I had heard. ⁸Happy are your wives!^* Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear your wisdom! ⁹Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness.’ ¹⁰Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again did spices come in such quantity as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood and precious stones. ¹²From the almug wood the king made supports for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

13 Meanwhile, King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba every desire that she expressed, as well as what he gave her out of Solomon’s royal bounty. Then she returned to her own land, with her servants.

Jesus before Pilate

15As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ²Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ ³Then the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’ ⁵But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Hands Jesus over to Be Crucified

6 Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. ⁷Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. ⁸So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. ⁹Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ ¹⁰For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.