Bible Browser

¹⁸ Do not remember the former things,
   or consider the things of old.
¹⁹ I am about to do a new thing;
   now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
   and rivers in the desert.
²⁰ The wild animals will honour me,
   the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
   rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
²¹   the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

²² Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
   but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
²³ You have not brought me your sheep for burnt-offerings,
   or honoured me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
   or wearied you with frankincense.
²⁴ You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
   or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
   you have wearied me with your iniquities.

²⁵ I, I am He
   who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
   and I will not remember your sins.

Psalm 41

Assurance of God’s Help and a Plea for Healing

To the leader. A Psalm of David.
¹ Happy are those who consider the poor;^*
   the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
² The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
   they are called happy in the land.
   You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
³ The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.^*

⁴ As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me;
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.’
⁵ My enemies wonder in malice
   when I will die, and my name perish.
⁶ And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
   while their hearts gather mischief;
   when they go out, they tell it abroad.
⁷ All who hate me whisper together about me;
   they imagine the worst for me.

⁸ They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
   that I will not rise again from where I lie.
⁹ Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
   who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
¹⁰ But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
   and raise me up, that I may repay them.

¹¹ By this I know that you are pleased with me;
   because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
¹² But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
   and set me in your presence for ever.

¹³ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.

¹⁶I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on to Judea. ¹⁷Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards,^* ready to say ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’ at the same time? ¹⁸As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been ‘Yes and No.’ ¹⁹For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not ‘Yes and No’; but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ ²⁰For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen’, to the glory of God. ²¹But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, ²²by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

2When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ²So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. ³Then some people^* came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. ⁴And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. ⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ ⁶Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ ⁸At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? ¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ ¹²And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’