What the Bible Says About Selah Grace Meaning

Scripture

¹ O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
² Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.”
³ But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
⁴ I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill.
⁵ I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶ I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
⁷ Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people!

Psalms 3:1-8

Psalms 4:1-8: ¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?
³ But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
⁴ Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
⁷ You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalms 9:1-20: ¹ I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
³ When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
⁴ For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
⁵ You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
⁶ The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.
⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
⁸ And he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.
⁹ The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!
¹² For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
¹³ Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
¹⁵ The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
¹⁷ The wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
¹⁹ Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men!

Psalms 24:1-10: ¹ The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
² for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
³ Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
⁵ He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. (Psalms 24:6, ESV)
⁷ Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!

Psalms 32:1-11: ¹ Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah.
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
⁷ You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
⁹ Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.
¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psalms 46:1-11: ¹ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
⁶ The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalms 62:1-12: ¹ For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
² He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
³ How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴ They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah.
⁵ For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
⁹ Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
¹⁰ Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
¹¹ Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.
¹² and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.

Psalms 66:1-20: ¹ Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
² Sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
⁴ All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
⁵ Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
⁷ who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves.
⁸ Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹ who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰ For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹ You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
¹² You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,
¹⁴ Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats.
¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
¹⁷ I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ but truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
²⁰ Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

Psalms 67:1-7: ¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
² that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
³ Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
⁴ Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
⁵ Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
⁶ The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.
⁷ God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Psalms 68:1-35: ¹ God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!
² As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!
³ But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy.
⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him!
⁵ Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
⁶ God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
⁷ O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
⁹ Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;
¹⁰ Your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
¹¹ The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:
¹² “The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!”
¹³ though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
¹⁴ When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon.
¹⁵ O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
¹⁶ Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountains,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
¹⁷ The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
¹⁸ You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.
²⁰ Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
²¹ But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
²² The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
²³ that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
²⁴ Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
²⁵ The singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines.
²⁶ Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!
²⁷ There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
²⁸ Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
³⁰ Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
³¹ Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
³² O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah
³³ to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
³⁴ Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
³⁵ Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Psalms 75:1-10: ¹ We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
² “At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.”
³ When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
⁴ I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
⁵ do not lift up your horn on high or speak with haughty neck.
⁶ For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
⁷ but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
⁸ For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
⁹ But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
¹⁰ “All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.”

Psalms 77:1-20: ¹ I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.
² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
³ When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah.
⁴ You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵ I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
⁶ I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
⁷ “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?”
⁸ Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”
¹⁰ Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
¹² I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
¹³ Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵ You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. (ESV)
¹⁶ When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸ Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰ You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalms 81:1-16: ¹ Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
² Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
³ Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
⁴ For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.
⁵ He made it a decree in Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
⁶ “I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
⁷ In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
⁸ Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
⁹ There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
¹⁰ I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
¹¹ “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
¹² So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
¹³ Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
¹⁴ I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
¹⁵ Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
¹⁶ But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Psalms 82:1-8: ¹ God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
² “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah”
³ Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
⁵ They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
⁶ I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷ Nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.
⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!

Psalms 83:1-18: ¹ O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
² For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
³ They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
⁴ They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵ For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
⁶ the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
⁷ Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
⁸ Asshur also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.
⁹ Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
¹⁰ who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² who said, “Let us take possession of the pastures of God.”
¹³ O my God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind.
¹⁴ As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵ so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O Lord.
¹⁷ Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸ that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalms 84:1-12: ¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
² My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
³ Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise!
⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
⁶ As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
⁸ O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹ Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!
¹⁰ For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
¹² O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Psalms 85:1-13: ¹ Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
² You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
³ You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
⁴ Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
⁵ Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
⁶ Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
⁸ Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
¹³ Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.

Psalms 87:1-7: ¹ On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
² The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
³ Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God.
⁴ Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
“This one was born there,” they say.
⁵ And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.
⁶ The Lord records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.”
⁷ As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in you.”

Psalms 88:1-18: ¹ O Lord, God of my salvation;
I cry out day and night before you.
² Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!
³ For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
⁴ I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength,
⁵ like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
⁶ You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
⁸ You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
⁹ my eye grows dim through sorrow.
¹⁰ Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you?
¹¹ Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹² Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
¹³ But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴ O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷ They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.
¹⁸ You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

Psalms 89:1-52: ¹ I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
² For I have said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
³ You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant:
⁴ ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
and build your throne for all generations.’”
⁵ Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
⁶ For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
⁷ a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him.
⁸ O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
⁹ You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
¹⁰ You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
¹¹ The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
¹² The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
¹³ You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
¹⁶ In your name they exult all day long
and in your righteousness they are exalted.
¹⁷ For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.
¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁹ Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: “I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
²⁰ I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,
²¹ so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.
²² The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him.
²³ I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
²⁴ My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
²⁵ I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.
²⁶ He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
²⁷ And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁸ My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
²⁹ I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
³⁰ If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,
³¹ if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
³² then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
³³ but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.
³⁴ I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
³⁵ Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
³⁶ His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
³⁷ Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.”
³⁸ But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed.
³⁹ You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.
⁴⁰ You have breached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
⁴¹ All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³ You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
⁴⁴ You have made his splendor to cease and cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵ You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
⁴⁶ How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
⁴⁸ What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?
⁴⁹ Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
⁵⁰ Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
⁵¹ with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
⁵² Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.

Psalms 140:1-13: ¹ Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
² who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
³ They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the venom of asps.
⁴ Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
beside the way they have set snares for me.
⁶ I say to the Lord, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷ O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah.
⁹ As for the head of those who surround me,
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily.
¹² I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Habakkuk 3:1-19: ¹ A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:
² O Lord, I have heard the report of you,
and your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy.
³ God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran.
⁴ His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
⁵ Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed at his heels.
⁶ He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.
⁷ I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
⁸ Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
or your indignation against the sea
when you rode on your horses,
on your chariot of salvation?
⁹ You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. Selah.
¹⁰ The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
the deep gave forth its voice;
it lifted its hands on high.
¹¹ The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.
¹² You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger.
¹³ You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.
¹⁴ You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
¹⁵ You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.
¹⁶ I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.
¹⁷ Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹ God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

Romans 3:21-31: ²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
²⁷ Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.
²⁸ For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
³⁰ since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
³¹ Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Romans 5:1-21: ¹ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:1-23: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin.
⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
¹⁵ What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
¹⁸ and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
²¹ But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 11:1-36: ¹ I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
⁴ But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
⁵ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
⁷ What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,
⁸ as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”
¹⁰ Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
¹⁰ Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
¹¹ So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.
¹² Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
¹¹ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry.
¹¹ in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.
²⁸ As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
¹⁶ If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
¹¹ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,
¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
²⁰ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.
²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
²² Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
¹¹ And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
²⁴ For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
²⁵ Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
²⁶ And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
²⁷ “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
²⁸ As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
³⁰ For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
³¹ so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.
³² For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:1-31: ¹ Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—
⁶ even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—
⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
¹² What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
¹⁵ so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.
¹⁶ (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
¹⁸ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
²⁹ so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
³⁰ And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 12:1-10: I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.
And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.
⁴ was caught up into paradise and heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.
⁵ On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.
⁶ Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.
⁷ So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
¹⁰ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Ephesians 1:1-23: ¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
⁵ he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
¹¹ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 2:1-22: ¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—
¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 3:1-21: ¹ For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
² assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
³ how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
⁴ When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ.
⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
¹¹ This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
¹² in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 4:1-32: I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism
⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
⁸ Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
⁹ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?)
¹⁰ He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.
¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
¹⁷ Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
¹⁹ They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
²⁰ But that is not the way you learned Christ! – Ephesians 4:20 (ESV)
²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,
²² to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
²⁶ Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
²⁷ and give no opportunity to the devil.
²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
³² Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 6:1-24: ¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
² “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),
³ “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
⁵ Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
⁶ not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
⁷ rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
⁸ knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
⁹ Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
²¹ So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything.
²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.
²³ Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Titus 2:11-15: ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
¹⁵ Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Titus 3:1-7: ¹ Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
² to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Hebrews 4:14-16: ¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 13:9-25: ⁹ Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.
¹¹ For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.
¹² So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
¹³ Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
¹⁴ For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
¹⁵ Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
¹⁶ Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
¹⁷ Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
¹⁸ Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
¹⁹ Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
²⁰ Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
²¹ equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
²² I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
²³ You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon.
²⁴ Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings.
²⁵ Grace be with all of you.

1 Peter 1:1-25: ¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
¹¹ inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
¹² It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
²⁴ for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,
²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

1 Peter 4:10-11: ¹⁰ As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
¹¹ whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

2 Peter 3:17-18: ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.
¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Revelation 1:1-20: ¹ The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
² who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.
⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
⁷ Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
⁹ I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.
¹¹ saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.
¹⁴ The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
¹⁵ his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
¹⁸ and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
¹⁹ Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
²⁰ As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.