Give the King Your Justice
zOf Solomon.
1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 aMay he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you1 bwhile the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, cthroughout all generations!
6 May he be dlike rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may ethe righteous flourish,
and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 fMay he have dominion gfrom sea to sea,
and hfrom the River2 to the iends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies jlick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kkings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 lFor he mdelivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has nno helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and osaves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and pprecious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may qgold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
rlike the grass of the field!
17 May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
sMay people be blessed in him,
all nations call him blessed!
18 tBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does uwondrous things.
19 vBlessed be his glorious name forever;
may wthe whole earth be filled with his glory!
xAmen and Amen!
20 The yprayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.
A Plea to Return to the Lord
1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have kstumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows1 of our lips.
3 lAssyria shall not save us;
mwe will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
nIn you the orphan finds mercy.”
4 oI will pheal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
qhe shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my2 rshadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.3
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.
9 sWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.
A Living Sacrifice
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,1 by the mercies of God, to lpresent your bodies as a mliving sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 2 nDo not be conformed to this world,3 but be otransformed by the prenewal of your mind, that by testing you may qdiscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.4
Gifts of Grace
3 For by rthe grace given to me I say to everyone among you snot to tthink of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each uaccording to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 vFor as in one body we have many members,5 and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so wwe, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having xgifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: yif prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,6 with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with zcheerfulness.
Marks of the True Christian
9 Let love be agenuine. bAbhor what is evil; chold fast to what is good. 10 dLove one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing ehonor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be ffervent in spirit,7 serve the Lord. 12 gRejoice in hope, hbe patient in tribulation, ibe constant in prayer. 13 jContribute to the needs of the saints and kseek to show hospitality.
14 lBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 mRejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 nLive in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.8 Never be wise in your own sight. 17 oRepay no one evil for evil, but pgive thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, qlive peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, rnever avenge yourselves, but leave it9 to the wrath of God, for it is written, s“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, t“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
