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ESV — Daily Office Lectionary: Day 669
 
669
First Psalm
Ps. 1,2,3

Second Psalm
Ps. 4,7

Old Testament
Num. 32:1-6,16-27

New Testament
Rom. 8:26-30

Gospel
Matt. 23:1-12

Psalms

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Blessed is the man1

who awalks not in bthe counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in cthe way of sinners,

nor dsits in ethe seat of fscoffers;

but his gdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,

and on his hlaw he meditates day and night.

He is like ia tree

planted by jstreams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its kleaf does not wither.

lIn all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like mchaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked nwill not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in othe congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord pknows qthe way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Footnotes

[1] 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
[2] 1:2 Or instruction

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

rWhy do sthe nations rage1

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his tAnointed, saying,

“Let us uburst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

He who vsits in the heavens wlaughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

Then he will speak to them in his xwrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

“As for me, I have yset my King

on zZion, my aholy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, b“You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and cthe ends of the earth your possession.

You shall dbreak2 them with ea rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like fa potter's vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 gServe the Lord with hfear,

and irejoice with htrembling.

12 jKiss kthe Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his lwrath is quickly kindled.

mBlessed are all who take refuge in him.

Footnotes

[1] 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
[2] 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, nwhen he fled from Absalom his son.

O Lord, ohow many are my foes!

Many are prising against me;

many are saying of my soul,

qthere is no salvation for him in God. Selah1

But you, O Lord, are ra shield sabout me,

my glory, and tthe lifter of my head.

I ucried aloud to the Lord,

and he vanswered me from his wholy hill. Selah

I xlay down and slept;

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

I ywill not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have zset themselves against me all around.

aArise, O Lord!

Save me, O my God!

For you bstrike all my enemies on the cheek;

you cbreak the teeth of the wicked.

dSalvation belongs to the Lord;

your blessing be on your people! Selah

Footnotes

[1] 3:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word Selah, used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction

Answer Me When I Call

To the echoirmaster: with estringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Answer me when I call, O God of my frighteousness!

You have ggiven me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

O men,1 how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after hlies? Selah

But know that the Lord has iset apart jthe godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

kBe angry,2 and do not sin;

lponder in your own hearts mon your beds, and be silent. Selah

Offer nright sacrifices,

and put your otrust in the Lord.

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

pLift up qthe light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

You have put rmore joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both slie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me tdwell in safety.

Footnotes

[1] 4:2 Or O men of rank
[2] 4:4 Or Be agitated

In You Do I Take Refuge

A lShiggaion1 of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you do I mtake refuge;

nsave me from all my pursuers and deliver me,

lest like oa lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces, with pnone to deliver.

O Lord my God, qif I have done this,

if there is rwrong in my hands,

if I have repaid smy friend2 with evil

or tplundered my enemy without cause,

let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him utrample my life to the ground

and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

vArise, O Lord, in your anger;

wlift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

xawake for me; you have appointed a judgment.

Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;

over it return on high.

The Lord yjudges the peoples;

zjudge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

and according to the integrity that is in me.

Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

and may you establish the righteous—

you who atest bthe minds and hearts,3

O righteous God!

10 My shield is cwith God,

who saves dthe upright in heart.

11 God is ea righteous judge,

and a God who feels findignation every day.

12 If a man4 does not repent, God5 will gwhet his sword;

he has hbent and ireadied his bow;

13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his jarrows kfiery shafts.

14 Behold, the wicked man lconceives evil

and is lpregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

15 He makes ma pit, digging it out,

and falls into the hole that he has made.

16 His nmischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will osing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Footnotes

[1] 7:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[2] 7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me
[3] 7:9 Hebrew the hearts and kidneys
[4] 7:12 Hebrew he
[5] 7:12 Hebrew he

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

32 Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of vJazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, w“Ataroth, xDibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, yNebo, and Beon, the land zthat the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”

But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?

16 Then they came near to him and said, j“We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but kwe will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 lWe will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, mbecause our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” 20 So nMoses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, 21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has odriven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and pthis land shall be your possession before the Lord. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and qbe sure your sin will find you out. 24 rBuild cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 sOur little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27 tbut your servants will pass over, every man who is uarmed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.”

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For bwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, but cthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And dhe who searches hearts knows what is ethe mind of the Spirit, because1 the Spirit fintercedes for the saints gaccording to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together hfor good,2 for ithose who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he jforeknew he also kpredestined lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be mthe firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also njustified, and those whom he justified he also oglorified.

Footnotes

[1] 8:27 Or that
[2] 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus tsaid to the crowds and to his disciples, u“The scribes and the Pharisees vsit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, wbut not the works they do. xFor they preach, but do not practice. yThey tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,1 and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. tThey do all their deeds zto be seen by others. For they make atheir phylacteries broad and btheir fringes long, and they clove the place of honor at feasts and dthe best seats in the synagogues and dgreetings in ethe marketplaces and being called frabbi2 by others. gBut you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are hall brothers.3 iAnd call no man your father on earth, for jyou have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, kthe Christ. 11 lThe greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 mWhoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Footnotes

[1] 23:4 Some manuscripts omit hard to bear
[2] 23:7 Rabbi means my teacher, or my master; also verse 8
[3] 23:8 Or brothers and sisters