My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of ^mAscents.

Jacob Wrestles with God

22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,¹ and crossed the ford of the ^fJabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And ^ga man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, ^h“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, ⁱ“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,² for ^jyou have striven with God and ^kwith men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, ^l“Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,³ saying, “For ^mI have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed ⁿPenuel, limping because of his hip.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^ralways to pray and not ^slose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who ^tneither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ^u‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And ^vwill not God give justice to ^whis elect, ^xwho cry to him day and night? ^yzWill he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them ^aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^bwill he find faith on earth?”

14 But as for you, ^zcontinue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom¹ you learned it 15 and how ^afrom childhood you have been acquainted with ^bthe sacred writings, ^cwhich are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 ^dAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that ^ethe man of God² may be complete, ^fequipped ^gfor every good work.

Preach the Word

1 ^hI charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ⁱwho is to judge the living and the dead, and by ^jhis appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^kreprove, rebuke, and ^lexhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 ^mFor the time is coming when people will not endure ⁿsound³ teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and ^owill turn away from listening to the truth and ^pwander off into myths. 5 As for you, ^qalways be sober-minded, ^rendure suffering, do the work of ^san evangelist, ^tfulfill your ministry.