113  I hate those who are double-minded, •
   but your law do I love.
114  You are my hiding place and my shield •
   and my hope is in your word.
115  Away from me, you wicked! •
   I will keep the commandments of my God.
116  Sustain me according to your promise, that I may live, •
   and let me not be disappointed in my hope.
117  Hold me up and I shall be saved, •
   and my delight shall be ever in your statutes.
118  You set at nought those who depart from your statutes, •
   for their deceiving is in vain.
119  You consider all the wicked as dross; •
   therefore I love your testimonies.
120  My flesh trembles for fear of you •
   and I am afraid of your judgements.
121  I have done what is just and right; •
   O give me not over to my oppressors.
122  Stand surety for your servant’s good; •
   let not the proud oppress me.
123  My eyes fail with watching for your salvation •
   and for your righteous promise.
124  O deal with your servant according to your faithful love •
   and teach me your statutes.
125  I am your servant; O grant me understanding, •
   that I may know your testimonies.
126  It is time for you to act, O Lord, •
   for they frustrate your law.
127  Therefore I love your commandments •
   above gold, even much fine gold.
128  Therefore I direct my steps by all your precepts, •
   and all false ways I utterly abhor.

Judgement in the Valley of Jehoshaphat

⁹ Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare war,^*
   stir up the warriors.
Let all the soldiers draw near,
   let them come up.
¹⁰ Beat your ploughshares into swords,
   and your pruning-hooks into spears;
   let the weakling say, ‘I am a warrior.’

¹¹ Come quickly,^*
   all you nations all around,
   gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.
¹² Let the nations rouse themselves,
   and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge
   all the neighbouring nations.

¹³ Put in the sickle,
   for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
   for the wine press is full.
The vats overflow,
   for their wickedness is great.

¹⁴ Multitudes, multitudes,
   in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
   in the valley of decision.
¹⁵ The sun and the moon are darkened,
   and the stars withdraw their shining.

¹⁶ The Lord roars from Zion,
   and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
   and the heavens and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people,
   a stronghold for the people of Israel.

The Glorious Future of Judah

¹⁷ So you shall know that I, the Lord your God,
   dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
   and strangers shall never again pass through it.

Warning against Partiality

2My brothers and sisters,^* do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?^{* 2}For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’,^{* 4}have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.^* Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? ⁷Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

8 You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹¹For the one who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’, also said, ‘You shall not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement.