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Psalms 55
Cast Your Cares on the Lord
1Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! 2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and I moan, 3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me. 6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest; 7 yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah 8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it; 11 ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend. 14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in the throng. 15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16 But I call to God,
and the LORD will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice. 18 He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me. 19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.
20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant. 21 His speech was smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
Jeremiah 10
The Sovereignty of God
1 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them, 3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity.
A tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move. 5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
6 There is none like you, O LORD;
you are great, and your name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you. 8 They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood! 9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
they are all the work of skilled men. 10 But the LORD is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
12 It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 13 When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 14 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them. 15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish. 16 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the LORD of hosts is his name.
The Coming Captivity of Judah
17 Gather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege! 18 For thus says the LORD:
“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
and I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it.”
19 Woe is me because of my hurt!
My wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
and they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
and to set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds are stupid
and do not inquire of the LORD;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered.
22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
a great commotion out of the north country
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
23 I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. 24 Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
Job 13
Job Reproves his Friends
1 “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
my ear has heard and understood it. 2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you. 3 But I would speak to the Almighty,
and I desire to argue my case with God. 4 As for you, you whitewash with lies;
worthless physicians are you all. 5 Oh that you would keep silent,
and it would be your wisdom! 6 Hear now my argument
and listen to the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will you speak falsely for God
and speak deceitfully for him? 8 Will you show partiality toward him?
Will you plead the case for God? 9 Will it be well with you when he searches you out?
Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man? 10 He will surely rebuke you
if in secret you show partiality. 11 Will not his majesty terrify you,
and the dread of him fall upon you? 12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.
13 “Let me have silence, and I will speak,
and let come on me what may. 14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
and put my life in my hand? 15 Though he slay me, I will hope in him;
yet I will argue my ways to his face. 16 This will be my salvation,
that the godless shall not come before him. 17 Keep listening to my words,
and let my declaration be in your ears. 18 Behold, I have prepared my case;
I know that I shall be in the right. 19 Who is there who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die. 20 Only grant me two things,
then I will not hide myself from your face: 21 withdraw your hand far from me,
and let not dread of you terrify me. 22 Then call, and I will answer;
or let me speak, and you reply to me. 23 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin. 24 Why do you hide your face
and count me as your enemy? 25 Will you frighten a driven leaf
and pursue dry chaff? 26 For you write bitter things against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. 27 You put my feet in the stocks
and watch all my paths;
you set a limit for the soles of my feet. 28 Man wastes away like a rotten thing,
like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Acts 6
The Choosing of the Seven
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.The Arrest of Stephen
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
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