Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good
1 Praise the Lord!
Oh mgive thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
or declare all his praise?
3 nBlessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,1
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of oyour chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 Both pwe and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
19 bThey cmade a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a dmetal image.
20 They eexchanged the glory of God1
for the fimage of an ox that eats grass.
21 They gforgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 hTherefore he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
istood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
The Golden Calf
1 fWhen the people saw that Moses gdelayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, hmake us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off ithe rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 jSo all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and kmade a golden1 calf. And they said, l“These are your gods, O Israel, mwho brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, n“Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And othe people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way pthat I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a qstiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore rlet me alone, sthat my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that tI may make a ugreat nation of you.”
11 But vMoses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, wwhy does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 xWhy should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you yswore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord zrelented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
1 pAnd again Jesus spoke to them in qparables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a rwedding sfeast for his son, 3 and sent his servants1 to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 tAgain he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and ukilled them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, vbut those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wwedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and xcast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but yfew are chosen.”
1 Therefore, my brothers,1 whom I love and long for, my ljoy and crown, mstand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to nagree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion,2 help these women, who have olabored3 side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the pbook of life.
4 qRejoice in the Lord ralways; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness4 be known to everyone. The Lord is sat hand; 6 tdo not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication uwith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the vpeace of God, which wsurpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 xWhat you have learned5 and yreceived and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
