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Psalm 36

1  Sin whispers to the wicked, in the depths of their heart; ♦︎
   there is no fear of God before their eyes.
2  They flatter themselves in their own eyes ♦︎
   that their abominable sin will not be found out.
3  The words of their mouth are unrighteous and full of deceit; ♦︎
   they have ceased to act wisely and to do good.
4  They think out mischief upon their beds
      and have set themselves in no good way; ♦︎
   nor do they abhor that which is evil.
5  Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens ♦︎
   and your faithfulness to the clouds.
6  Your righteousness stands like the strong mountains,
      your justice like the great deep; ♦︎
   you, Lord, shall save both man and beast.
7  How precious is your loving mercy, O God! ♦︎
   All mortal flesh shall take refuge
      under the shadow of your wings.
8  They shall be satisfied with the abundance of your house; ♦︎
   they shall drink from the river of your delights.
9  For with you is the well of life ♦︎
   and in your light shall we see light.
10  O continue your loving-kindness to those who know you ♦︎
   and your righteousness to those who are true of heart.
11  Let not the foot of pride come against me, ♦︎
   nor the hand of the ungodly thrust me away.
12  There are they fallen, all who work wickedness. ♦︎
   They are cast down and shall not be able to stand.

2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³He journeyed on by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴to the place where he had made an altar at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. ⁵Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, ⁶so that the land could not support both of them living together; for their possessions were so great that they could not live together, ⁷and there was strife between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herders and my herders; for we are kindred. ⁹Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.’ ¹⁰Lot looked about him, and saw that the plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. ¹¹So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastwards; thus they separated from each other. ¹²Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. ¹³Now the people of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northwards and southwards and eastwards and westwards; ¹⁵for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring^* for ever. ¹⁶I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. ¹⁷Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.’ ¹⁸So Abram moved his tent, and came and settled by the oaks^* of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord.

¹⁸There is, on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual ¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect); there is, on the other hand, the introduction of a better hope, through which we approach God.

20 This was confirmed with an oath; for others who became priests took their office without an oath, ²¹but this one became a priest with an oath, because of the one who said to him,
‘The Lord has sworn
   and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest for ever” ’—
²²accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.

23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; ²⁴but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. ²⁵Consequently he is able for all time to save^* those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷Unlike the other^* high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.