1 Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares,
The man who was raised on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob
And the sweet psalmist of Israel, declares,
2 “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said it;
The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over mankind righteously,
Who rules in the fear of God,
4 Is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the fresh grass springs out of the earth
From sunshine after rain.’
5 Is my house not indeed so with God?
For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Properly ordered in all things, and secured;
For will He not indeed make
All my salvation and all my delight grow?
6 But the worthless, every one of them, are like scattered thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 Instead, the man who touches them
Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they will be completely burned with fire in their place.”
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; he was called Adino the Eznite because of eight hundred who were killed by him at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn. 10 He rose up and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and it clung to the sword, and the Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder the dead.
11 Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee, a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into an army where there was a plot of land full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it, and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David at harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men forced their way into the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and carried it and brought it to David. Yet he would not drink it, but poured it out as an offering to the Lord; 17 and he said, “Far be it from me, Lord, that I would do this! Should I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name as well as the three. 19 He was the most honored among the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the reputation of the three.
20 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done great deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. 23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain the reputation of the three. And David appointed him over his bodyguard.
24 Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; and there was Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 and Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.
1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, recognize that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
10 For all who are of works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the Law, to do them.” 11 Now, that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “the righteous one will live by faith.” 12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “The person who performs them will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
15 Brothers and sisters, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
19 Why the Law then? It was added on account of the violations, having been ordered through angels at the hand of a mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; but God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Far from it! For if a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has confined everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. 26 For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
1 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“Wail, ‘Woe for the day!’
3 For the day is near,
Indeed, the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword will come upon Egypt,
And there will be trembling in Cush;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They will take away her wealth,
And her foundations will be torn down.
5 Cush, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”
6 ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares the Lord God.
7 “They will be desolate
In the midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
8 And they will know that I am the Lord,
When I set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.
9 On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten carefree Cush; and trembling will come on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”
10 ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“I will also make the hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
The most ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land;
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12 Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry
And sell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate
And all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”
13 ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“I will also destroy the idols
And make the images cease from Memphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in Zoan
And execute judgments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also eliminate the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set a fire in Egypt;
Sin will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached
And Memphis will have distresses daily.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And the women will go into captivity.
18 In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark
When I break there the yoke bars of Egypt.
Then the pride of her power will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 So I will execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man. 25 So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
38 But He, being compassionate, forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them;
And often He restrained His anger
And did not stir up all His wrath.
39 So He remembered that they were only flesh,
A wind that passes and does not return.
40 How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Again and again they tempted God,
And pained the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power,
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He performed His signs in Egypt
And His marvels in the field of Zoan,
44 And turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, so that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies among them that devoured them,
And frogs that destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the grasshopper
And the product of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also turned their cattle over to the hailstones,
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He sent His burning anger upon them,
Fury and indignation and trouble,
A band of destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not spare their souls from death,
But turned their lives over to the plague,
51 And struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first and best of their vigor in the tents of Ham.
52 But He led His own people out like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 He led them safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 So He brought them to His holy land,
To this hill country which His right hand had gained.
55 He also drove out the nations from them
And apportioned them as an inheritance by measurement,
And had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers;
They turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they provoked Him with their high places
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59 When God heard them, He was filled with wrath
And He utterly rejected Israel;
60 So that He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent which He had pitched among people,
61 And He gave up His strength to captivity
And His glory into the hand of the enemy.
62 He also turned His people over to the sword,
And was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 Fire devoured His young men,
And His virgins had no wedding songs.
64 His priests fell by the sword,
And His widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep,
Like a warrior overcome by wine.
66 He drove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting disgrace.
67 He also rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which He loved.
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 He also chose His servant David
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From the care of the ewes with nursing lambs He brought him
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.