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Psalm 140

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.
¹ Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
   protect me from those who are violent,
² who plan evil things in their minds
   and stir up wars continually.
³ They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
   and under their lips is the venom of vipers.
          Selah

⁴ Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
   protect me from the violent
   who have planned my downfall.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
   and with cords they have spread a net;^*
   along the road they have set snares for me.
          Selah

⁶ I say to the Lord, ‘You are my God;
   give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.’
⁷ O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
   you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
   do not further their evil plot.^*
          Selah

⁹ Those who surround me lift up their heads;^*
   let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them!
   Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
   let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

¹² I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,
   and executes justice for the poor.
¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
   the upright shall live in your presence.

Worship of Baal of Peor

25While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab. ²These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³Thus Israel yoked itself to the Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel. ⁴The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.’ ⁵And Moses said to the judges of Israel, ‘Each of you shall kill any of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.’

6 Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁷When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, ⁸he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. ⁹Nevertheless, those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

10 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹¹‘Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by manifesting such zeal among them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did not consume the Israelites. ¹²Therefore say, “I hereby grant him my covenant of peace. ¹³It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the Israelites.” ’

14 The name of the slain Israelite man, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, head of an ancestral house belonging to the Simeonites. ¹⁵The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the head of a clan, an ancestral house in Midian.

16 The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷‘Harass the Midianites, and defeat them; ¹⁸for they have harassed you by the trickery with which they deceived you in the affair of Peor, and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister; she was killed on the day of the plague that resulted from Peor.’

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. ⁶⁰But his mother said, ‘No; he is to be called John.’ ⁶¹They said to her, ‘None of your relatives has this name.’ ⁶²Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. ⁶³He asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And all of them were amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵Fear came over all their neighbours, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard them pondered them and said, ‘What then will this child become?’ For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
⁶⁸ ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.
⁶⁹ He has raised up a mighty saviour^* for us
   in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰ as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹   that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
⁷² Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
   and has remembered his holy covenant,
⁷³ the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
   to grant us ⁷⁴that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness
   before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people
   by the forgiveness of their sins.
⁷⁸ By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon^* us,
⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

Psalm 143

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

A Psalm of David.
¹ Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
   answer me in your righteousness.
² Do not enter into judgement with your servant,
   for no one living is righteous before you.

³ For the enemy has pursued me,
   crushing my life to the ground,
   making me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit faints within me;
   my heart within me is appalled.

⁵ I remember the days of old,
   I think about all your deeds,
   I meditate on the works of your hands.
⁶ I stretch out my hands to you;
   my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
          Selah

⁷ Answer me quickly, O Lord;
   my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
   or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
⁸ Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
   for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
   for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹ Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;
   I have fled to you for refuge.^*
10 Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
   on a level path.

¹¹ For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.
   In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
¹² In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
   and destroy all my adversaries,
   for I am your servant.

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found

28‘Surely there is a mine for silver,
   and a place for gold to be refined.
² Iron is taken out of the earth,
   and copper is smelted from ore.
³ Miners put^* an end to darkness,
   and search out to the farthest bound
   the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
⁴ They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
   they are forgotten by travellers,
   they sway suspended, remote from people.
⁵ As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
   but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
⁶ Its stones are the place of sapphires,^*
   and its dust contains gold.

⁷ ‘That path no bird of prey knows,
   and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
⁸ The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
   the lion has not passed over it.

⁹ ‘They put their hand to the flinty rock,
   and overturn mountains by the roots.
¹⁰ They cut out channels in the rocks,
   and their eyes see every precious thing.
¹¹ The sources of the rivers they probe;^*
   hidden things they bring to light.

¹² ‘But where shall wisdom be found?
   And where is the place of understanding?
¹³ Mortals do not know the way to it,^*
   and it is not found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The deep says, “It is not in me”,
   and the sea says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵ It cannot be bought for gold,
   and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
   in precious onyx or sapphire.^*
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
   nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
   the price of wisdom is above pearls.
¹⁹ The chrysolite of Ethiopia^* cannot compare with it,
   nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ ‘Where then does wisdom come from?
   And where is the place of understanding?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
   and concealed from the birds of the air.
²² Abaddon and Death say,
   “We have heard a rumour of it with our ears.”

²³ ‘God understands the way to it,
   and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he looks to the ends of the earth,
   and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he gave to the wind its weight,
   and apportioned out the waters by measure;
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain,
   and a way for the thunderbolt;
²⁷ then he saw it and declared it;
   he established it, and searched it out.
²⁸ And he said to humankind,
“Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
   and to depart from evil is understanding.” ’