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Psalm 26

Plea for Justice and Declaration of Righteousness

Of David.
¹ Vindicate me, O Lord,
   for I have walked in my integrity,
   and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
² Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
   test my heart and mind.
³ For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
   and I walk in faithfulness to you.^*

⁴ I do not sit with the worthless,
   nor do I consort with hypocrites;
⁵ I hate the company of evildoers,
   and will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I wash my hands in innocence,
   and go around your altar, O Lord,
⁷ singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
   and telling all your wondrous deeds.

⁸ O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
   and the place where your glory abides.
⁹ Do not sweep me away with sinners,
   nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
¹⁰ those in whose hands are evil devices,
   and whose right hands are full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
   redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹² My foot stands on level ground;
   in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.

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.

²⁵ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
   and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them;
   the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like refuse
   in the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
   and his hand is stretched out still.

Final Exhortations, Greetings, and Benediction

12 But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^* to respect those who labour among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; ¹³esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴And we urge you, beloved,^* to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. ¹⁵See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise the words of prophets,^{* 21}but test everything; hold fast to what is good; ²²abstain from every form of evil.

23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound^* and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

25 Beloved,^* pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers and sisters^* with a holy kiss. ²⁷I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them.^*

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.^*

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

29 Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Exhortation to Watch

34 ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’

37 Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. ³⁸And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.