Month: February 2020

Psalms

Psalms 144

Of David.

1 Praise be to theLordmy Rock,

who trains my hands for war,

my fingers for battle.

2 He is my loving God and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield, in whom I take refuge,

who subdues peoplesunder me.

3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,

mere mortals that you think of them?

4 They are like a breath;

their days are like a fleeting shadow.

5 Part your heavens,Lord, and come down;

touch the mountains, so that they smoke.

6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;

shoot your arrows and rout them.

7 Reach down your hand from on high;

deliver me and rescue me

from the mighty waters,

from the hands of foreigners

8 whose mouths are full of lies,

whose right hands are deceitful.

9 I will sing a new song to you, my God;

on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

10 to the One who gives victory to kings,

who delivers his servant David.

From the deadly sword

11 deliver me;

rescue me from the hands of foreigners

whose mouths are full of lies,

whose right hands are deceitful.

12 Then our sons in their youth

will be like well-nurtured plants,

and our daughters will be like pillars

carved to adorn a palace.

13 Our barns will be filled

with every kind of provision.

Our sheep will increase by thousands,

by tens of thousands in our fields;

14 our oxen will draw heavy loads.

There will be no breaching of walls,

no going into captivity,

no cry of distress in our streets.

15 Blessed is the people of whom this is true;

blessed is the people whose God is theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PSA/144-5bb6f95b7d4ae847236648842d88a77a.mp3?version_id=111—

Psalms

Psalms 145

A psalm of praise. Of David.

1 I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is theLordand most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts.

5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 TheLordis gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

9 TheLordis good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All your works praise you,Lord;

your faithful people extol you.

11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,

12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations.

TheLordis trustworthy in all he promises

and faithful in all he does.

14 TheLordupholds all who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 TheLordis righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all he does.

18 TheLordis near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

20 TheLordwatches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of theLord.

Let every creature praise his holy name

for ever and ever.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PSA/145-7ffba56571483d473844fd3d51553542.mp3?version_id=111—

Psalms

Psalms 146

1 Praise theLord.

Praise theLord, my soul.

2 I will praise theLordall my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,

in human beings, who cannot save.

4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;

on that very day their plans come to nothing.

5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in theLordtheir God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,

the sea, and everything in them—

he remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed

and gives food to the hungry.

TheLordsets prisoners free,

8 theLordgives sight to the blind,

theLordlifts up those who are bowed down,

theLordloves the righteous.

9 TheLordwatches over the foreigner

and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 TheLordreigns forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PSA/146-355efb6a1934d5f085bf3d3c5de7a836.mp3?version_id=111—

Psalms

Psalms 147

1 Praise theLord.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 TheLordbuilds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars

and calls them each by name.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit.

6 TheLordsustains the humble

but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to theLordwith grateful praise;

make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;

he supplies the earth with rain

and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle

and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

11 theLorddelights in those who fear him,

who put their hope in his unfailing love.

12 Extol theLord, Jerusalem;

praise your God, Zion.

13 He strengthens the bars of your gates

and blesses your people within you.

14 He grants peace to your borders

and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

15 He sends his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

16 He spreads the snow like wool

and scatters the frost like ashes.

17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.

Who can withstand his icy blast?

18 He sends his word and melts them;

he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,

his laws and decrees to Israel.

20 He has done this for no other nation;

they do not know his laws.

Praise theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PSA/147-ad80023532340f9e1f4311979ad08be7.mp3?version_id=111—

Psalms

Psalms 148

1 Praise theLord.

Praise theLordfrom the heavens;

praise him in the heights above.

2 Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

3 Praise him, sun and moon;

praise him, all you shining stars.

4 Praise him, you highest heavens

and you waters above the skies.

5 Let them praise the name of theLord,

for at his command they were created,

6 and he established them for ever and ever—

he issued a decree that will never pass away.

7 Praise theLordfrom the earth,

you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,

stormy winds that do his bidding,

9 you mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars,

10 wild animals and all cattle,

small creatures and flying birds,

11 kings of the earth and all nations,

you princes and all rulers on earth,

12 young men and women,

old men and children.

13 Let them praise the name of theLord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,

the praise of all his faithful servants,

of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PSA/148-6ccf365b6639d6cf2ed576f4687ce738.mp3?version_id=111—

Psalms

Psalms 149

1 Praise theLord.

Sing to theLorda new song,

his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;

let the people of Zion be glad in their King.

3 Let them praise his name with dancing

and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

4 For theLordtakes delight in his people;

he crowns the humble with victory.

5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor

and sing for joy on their beds.

6 May the praise of God be in their mouths

and a double-edged sword in their hands,

7 to inflict vengeance on the nations

and punishment on the peoples,

8 to bind their kings with fetters,

their nobles with shackles of iron,

9 to carry out the sentence written against them—

this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PSA/149-046df2014361d0faf4f1bd5fd9e1508c.mp3?version_id=111—

Psalms

Psalms 150

1 Praise theLord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,

praise him with the strings and pipe,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise theLord.

Praise theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PSA/150-4aae13e1e0668c92e8ffa67d89459229.mp3?version_id=111—

Proverbs

Israel understood that the Creator had placed an order in his world that could be discovered. The book of Proverbs captures these lessons in compact, memorable sayings passed down from the wisest among their elders. Many of them are from Solomon, a king renowned for his wisdom (see

1 Kings 4:29-34

). These proverbs are especially designed to help younger people avoid common pitfalls and find the path to prosperity, health and security.

After a short section of teaching, wisdom itself, personified as a woman, calls out to the simple and invites them to grow in knowledge. This section ends by presenting two banquets, one hosted by Wisdom and one by Folly, illustrating the essential choice to be made in life. A collection of 375 proverbs of Solomon follows, reflecting the numerical value of his name in Hebrew. (Hebrew letters were also used as numbers, so words had a value equal to the sum of their letters.) After some “sayings of the wise,” next is a collection of Solomon’s wisdom compiled by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Here the count is 130, equaling the value of Hezekiah’s name. The book closes with sayings from Agur and Lemuel, ending with a poem whose 22 parts begin with consecutive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The character qualities praised throughout the book are seen in a description of the ideal wife.

This rich book of short, pithy wisdom presents a consistent theme:

the fear of theLordis the beginning of knowledge.

Proverbs

Proverbs 1

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;

for understanding words of insight;

3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,

doing what is right and just and fair;

4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,

knowledge and discretion to the young—

5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance—

6 for understanding proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise.

7 The fear of theLordis the beginning of knowledge,

but foolsdespise wisdom and instruction.

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

9 They are a garland to grace your head

and a chain to adorn your neck.

10 My son, if sinful men entice you,

do not give in to them.

11 If they say, “Come along with us;

let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,

let’s ambush some harmless soul;

12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

13 we will get all sorts of valuable things

and fill our houses with plunder;

14 cast lots with us;

we will all share the loot”—

15 my son, do not go along with them,

do not set foot on their paths;

16 for their feet rush into evil,

they are swift to shed blood.

17 How useless to spread a net

where every bird can see it!

18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;

they ambush only themselves!

19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,

she raises her voice in the public square;

21 on top of the wallshe cries out,

at the city gate she makes her speech:

22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?

How long will mockers delight in mockery

and fools hate knowledge?

23 Repent at my rebuke!

Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,

I will make known to you my teachings.

24 But since you refuse to listen when I call

and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

25 since you disregard all my advice

and do not accept my rebuke,

26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;

I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,

when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;

they will look for me but will not find me,

29 since they hated knowledge

and did not choose to fear theLord.

30 Since they would not accept my advice

and spurned my rebuke,

31 they will eat the fruit of their ways

and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety

and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PRO/1-b49b6bfb6346a834159f2356468fecdf.mp3?version_id=111—

Proverbs

Proverbs 2

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

1 My son, if you accept my words

and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding—

3 indeed, if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of theLord

and find the knowledge of God.

6 For theLordgives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds success in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just

and fair—every good path.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

11 Discretion will protect you,

and understanding will guard you.

12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,

from men whose words are perverse,

13 who have left the straight paths

to walk in dark ways,

14 who delight in doing wrong

and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,

15 whose paths are crooked

and who are devious in their ways.

16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,

from the wayward woman with her seductive words,

17 who has left the partner of her youth

and ignored the covenant she made before God.

18 Surely her house leads down to death

and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

19 None who go to her return

or attain the paths of life.

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright will live in the land,

and the blameless will remain in it;

22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,

and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/PRO/2-d699c2f4472f45ebed2c7c1e365ec34a.mp3?version_id=111—