Psalm 74; John 8

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
Psalm 74

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil1 of rAsaph.

O God, why do you scast us off forever?

Why does your anger tsmoke against uthe sheep of your pasture?

vRemember your congregation, which you have wpurchased of old,

which you have xredeemed to be ythe tribe of your heritage!

Remember Mount Zion, zwhere you have dwelt.

Direct your steps to athe perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

Your foes have broared in the midst of your meeting place;

cthey set up their down signs for esigns.

They were like those who swing faxes

in a forest of trees.2

And all its gcarved wood

they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

They hset your sanctuary on fire;

they iprofaned jthe dwelling place of your name,

bringing it down to the ground.

They ksaid to themselves, We will utterly subdue them;

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

We do not see our lsigns;

mthere is no longer any prophet,

and there is none among us who knows how long.

10  How long, O God, nis the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11  Why odo you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the fold of your garment3 and destroy them!

12  Yet pGod my King is from of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13  You qdivided the sea by your might;

you rbroke the heads of sthe sea monsters4 on the waters.

14  You crushed the heads of tLeviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15  You usplit open springs and brooks;

you vdried up ever-flowing streams.

16  Yours is the day, yours also the night;

you have established wthe heavenly lights and the sun.

17  You have xfixed all the boundaries of the earth;

you have made ysummer and winter.

18  zRemember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and aa foolish people reviles your name.

19  Do not deliver the soul of your bdove to the wild beasts;

cdo not forget the life of your poor forever.

20  Have regard for dthe covenant,

for ethe dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21  Let not fthe downtrodden gturn back in shame;

let hthe poor and needy praise your name.

22  Arise, O God, idefend your cause;

jremember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

23  Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

kthe uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!


John 8

but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. bEarly in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and che sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now din the Law, Moses commanded us eto stone such women. So what do you say? This they said fto test him, gthat they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, hLet him who is without sin among you ibe the first to throw a stone at her. And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? 11 She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, jNeither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ksin no more.]]

I Am the Light of the World

12 lAgain Jesus spoke to them, saying, mI am the light of the world. Whoever nfollows me will not owalk in darkness, but will have the light of life. 13 So the Pharisees said to him, pYou are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true. 14 Jesus answered, Even if I do bear witness about myself, qmy testimony is true, for I know rwhere I came from and swhere I am going, but tyou do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 uYou judge according to the flesh; vI judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, wmy judgment is true, for xit is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father1 who sent me. 17 yIn your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and zthe Father who sent me bears witness about me. 19 They said to him therefore, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, aYou know neither me nor my Father. bIf you knew me, you would know my Father also. 20 These words he spoke in cthe treasury, as he taught in the temple; but dno one arrested him, because ehis hour had not yet come.

21 So he said to them again, fI am going away, and gyou will seek me, and hyou will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. 22 So the Jews said, iWill he kill himself, since he says, Where I am going, you cannot come? 23 He said to them, jYou are from below; I am from above. kYou are of this world; lI am not of this world. 24 I told you that you mwould die in your sins, for nunless you believe that oI am he you will die in your sins. 25 So they said to him, pWho are you? Jesus said to them, Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but qhe who sent me is true, and I declare rto the world swhat I have heard from him. 27 They did not understand that the had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, When you have ulifted up the Son of Man, vthen you will know that wI am he, and that xI do nothing on my own authority, but yspeak just as the Father taught me. 29 And zhe who sent me is with me. zHe has not left me alone, for aI always do the things that are pleasing to him. 30 As he was saying these things, bmany believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, cIf you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will dknow the truth, and the truth ewill set you free. 33 They answered him, fWe are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, You will become free?

34 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, geveryone who practices sin is a slave2 to sin. 35 hThe slave does not remain in the house forever; ithe son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet jyou seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 kI speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard lfrom your father.

You Are of Your Father the Devil

39 They answered him, mAbraham is our father. Jesus said to them, nIf you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now oyou seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth pthat I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did. They said to him, qWe were not born of sexual immorality. We have rone Fathereven God. 42 Jesus said to them, sIf God were your Father, you would love me, for tI came from God and uI am here. vI came not of my own accord, but whe sent me. 43 xWhy do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ybear to hear my word. 44 zYou are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. aHe was a murderer from the beginning, and bdoes not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. cWhen he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. eThe reason why you do not hear them is that fyou are not of God.

Before Abraham Was, I Am

48 The Jews answered him, Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ghave a demon? 49 Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but hI honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet iI do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, jI say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ksee death. 52 The Jews said to him, Now we know that you have a demon! lAbraham died, as did the prophets, yet myou say, If anyone keeps my word, he will never ntaste death. 53 oAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be? 54 Jesus answered, pIf I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. qIt is my Father who glorifies me, rof whom you say, He is our God.3 55 But syou have not known him. tI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ua liar vlike you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 wYour father Abraham xrejoiced ythat he would see my day. zHe saw it and was glad. 57 So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?4 58 Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, aI am. 59 So bthey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.