Bible Browser

Psalm 12

1  Help me, Lord, for no one godly is left; ♦︎
   the faithful have vanished from the whole human race.
2  They all speak falsely with their neighbour; ♦︎
   they flatter with their lips, but speak from a double heart.
3  O that the Lord would cut off all flattering lips ♦︎
   and the tongue that speaks proud boasts!
4  Those who say, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; ♦︎
   our lips we will use; who is lord over us?’
5  ‘Because of the oppression of the needy,
      and the groaning of the poor, ♦︎
   I will rise up now,’ says the Lord,
      ‘and set them in the safety that they long for.’
6  The words of the Lord are pure words, ♦︎
   like silver refined in the furnace
      and purified seven times in the fire.
7  You, O Lord, will watch over us ♦︎
   and guard us from this generation for ever.
8  The wicked strut on every side, ♦︎
   when what is vile is exalted by the whole human race.

Psalm 13

1  How long will you forget me, O Lord; for ever? ♦︎
   How long will you hide your face from me?
2  How long shall I have anguish in my soul
      and grief in my heart, day after day? ♦︎
   How long shall my enemy triumph over me?
3  Look upon me and answer, O Lord my God; ♦︎
   lighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
4  Lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him,’ ♦︎
   and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.
5  But I put my trust in your steadfast love; ♦︎
   my heart will rejoice in your salvation.
6  I will sing to the Lord, ♦︎
   for he has dealt so bountifully with me.

Psalm 14

1  The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ ♦︎
   Corrupt are they, and abominable in their wickedness;
      there is no one that does good.
2  The Lord has looked down from heaven
      upon the children of earth, ♦︎
   to see if there is anyone who is wise
      and seeks after God.
3  But every one has turned back;
      all alike have become corrupt: ♦︎
   there is none that does good; no, not one.
4  Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, ♦︎
   who eat up my people as if they ate bread
      and do not call upon the Lord?
5  There shall they be in great fear; ♦︎
   for God is in the company of the righteous.
6  Though they would confound the counsel of the poor, ♦︎
   yet the Lord shall be their refuge.
7  O that Israel’s salvation would come out of Zion! ♦︎
   When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
      then will Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

The Meaning of Faith

11Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²Indeed, by faith^* our ancestors received approval. ³By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.^*

The Examples of Abel, Enoch, and Noah

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable^* sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith^* he still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and ‘he was not found, because God had taken him.’ For it was attested before he was taken away that ‘he had pleased God.’ ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.