Psalm 18[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love you, Lord, my strength.(B)

The Lord is my rock,(C) my fortress(D) and my deliverer;(E)
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,(F)
    my shield[b](G) and the horn[c] of my salvation,(H) my stronghold.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(I)
    and I have been saved from my enemies.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 18:1 In Hebrew texts 18:1-50 is numbered 18:2-51.
  2. Psalm 18:2 Or sovereign
  3. Psalm 18:2 Horn here symbolizes strength.

18 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

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20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;(A)
    according to the cleanness of my hands(B) he has rewarded me.(C)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;(D)
    I am not guilty of turning(E) from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;(F)
    I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless(G) before him
    and have kept myself from sin.
24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,(H)
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful(I) you show yourself faithful,(J)
    to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure(K) you show yourself pure,
    but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.(L)
27 You save the humble(M)
    but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.(N)
28 You, Lord, keep my lamp(O) burning;
    my God turns my darkness into light.(P)
29 With your help(Q) I can advance against a troop[a];
    with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect:(R)
    The Lord’s word is flawless;(S)
    he shields(T) all who take refuge(U) in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?(V)
    And who is the Rock(W) except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength(X)
    and keeps my way secure.(Y)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 18:29 Or can run through a barricade

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

28 For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?

32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

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14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(A) you scoffers(B)
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(C)
    with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(D)
    it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(E) our refuge
    and falsehood[a] our hiding place.(F)

16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(G) a tested stone,(H)
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(I)
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.(J)
17 I will make justice(K) the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line;(L)
hail(M) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
    and water will overflow(N) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
    your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(O)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(P)
    you will be beaten down(Q) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(R)
    morning after morning,(S) by day and by night,
    it will sweep through.”

The understanding of this message
    will bring sheer terror.(T)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
    the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(U)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(V)
    he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(W)
to do his work,(X) his strange work,
    and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(Y)
    or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
    of the destruction decreed(Z) against the whole land.(AA)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods

14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.

21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

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Jesus Anointed at Bethany(A)(B)

While Jesus was in Bethany(C) in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a](D) but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.(E) 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 26:11 See Deut. 15:11.

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,

There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.

But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.

13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

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