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³³ He turns rivers into a desert,
   springs of water into thirsty ground,
³⁴ a fruitful land into a salty waste,
   because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water,
   a parched land into springs of water.
³⁶ And there he lets the hungry live,
   and they establish a town to live in;
³⁷ they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
   and get a fruitful yield.
³⁸ By his blessing they multiply greatly,
   and he does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low
   through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ he pours contempt on princes
   and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
⁴¹ but he raises up the needy out of distress,
   and makes their families like flocks.
⁴² The upright see it and are glad;
   and all wickedness stops its mouth.
⁴³ Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
   and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 108

Praise and Prayer for Victory

A Song. A Psalm of David.
¹ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;^*
   I will sing and make melody.
   Awake, my soul!^*
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
   I will awake the dawn.
³ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
   and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
⁴ For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
   and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
   and let your glory be over all the earth.
⁶ Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
   so that those whom you love may be rescued.

⁷ God has promised in his sanctuary:^*
   ‘With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
   and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
⁸ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
   Ephraim is my helmet;
   Judah is my sceptre.
⁹ Moab is my wash-basin;
   on Edom I hurl my shoe;
   over Philistia I shout in triumph.’

¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
   Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹ Have you not rejected us, O God?
   You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
¹² O grant us help against the foe,
   for human help is worthless.
¹³ With God we shall do valiantly;
   it is he who will tread down our foes.

Psalm 33

The Greatness and Goodness of God

¹ Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
   Praise befits the upright.
² Praise the Lord with the lyre;
   make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
³ Sing to him a new song;
   play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
   and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
   he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
   let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
   he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
   he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
   the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹² Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all humankind.
¹⁴ From where he sits enthroned he watches
   all the inhabitants of the earth—
¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all,
   and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶ A king is not saved by his great army;
   a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
   and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸ Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹ to deliver their soul from death,
   and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield.
²¹ Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.

God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Ingratitude

11When Israel was a child, I loved him,
   and out of Egypt I called my son.
² The more I^* called them,
   the more they went from me;^*
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
   and offering incense to idols.

³ Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
   I took them up in my^* arms;
   but they did not know that I healed them.
⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness,
   with bands of love.
I was to them like those
   who lift infants to their cheeks.^*
   I bent down to them and fed them.

⁵ They shall return to the land of Egypt,
   and Assyria shall be their king,
   because they have refused to return to me.
⁶ The sword rages in their cities,
   it consumes their oracle-priests,
   and devours because of their schemes.
⁷ My people are bent on turning away from me.
   To the Most High they call,
   but he does not raise them up at all.^*

⁸ How can I give you up, Ephraim?
   How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
   How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
   my compassion grows warm and tender.
⁹ I will not execute my fierce anger;
   I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and no mortal,
   the Holy One in your midst,
   and I will not come in wrath.^*

Paul Sent to the Gentiles

17 ‘After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸and saw Jesus^* saying to me, “Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.” ¹⁹And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. ²⁰And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.” ²¹Then he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” ’

Paul and the Roman Tribune

22 Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.’ ²³And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, ²⁴the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. ²⁵But when they had tied him up with thongs,^* Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, ‘Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?’ ²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, ‘What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen.’ ²⁷The tribune came and asked Paul,^* ‘Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ ²⁸The tribune answered, ‘It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.’ Paul said, ‘But I was born a citizen.’ ²⁹Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

Love for Enemies

27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.^* Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Judging Others

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’