Put Not Your Trust in Princes
1 nPraise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord oas long as I live;
pI will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 qPut not your trust in princes,
rin a son of man, in whom there is sno salvation.
4 When this breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 uBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose vhope is in the Lord his God,
6 wwho made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
xwho keeps faith forever;
7 ywho executes justice for the oppressed,
zwho gives food to the hungry.
aThe Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 bthe Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
cThe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
dthe Lord loves the righteous.
9 eThe Lord watches over the sojourners;
fhe upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but gthe way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 hThe Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
nPraise the Lord!
He Heals the Brokenhearted
1 iPraise the Lord!
For jit is good to sing praises to our God;
for kit is pleasant,1 and la song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord mbuilds up Jerusalem;
he ngathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals othe brokenhearted
and pbinds up their wounds.
4 He qdetermines the number of the stars;
he rgives to all of them their names.
5 sGreat is our Lord, and tabundant in power;
uhis understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord vlifts up the humble;2
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 wSing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on xthe lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares yrain for the earth;
he makes zgrass grow on the hills.
9 He agives to the beasts their food,
and to bthe young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in cthe strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord dtakes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who ehope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens fthe bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He gmakes peace in your borders;
he hfills you with the ifinest of the wheat.
15 He jsends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives ksnow like wool;
he scatters lfrost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of mice like crumbs;
who can stand before his ncold?
18 He osends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his pstatutes and rules3 to Israel.
20 He qhas not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.4
rPraise the Lord!
The Word Became Flesh
1 aIn the beginning was bthe Word, and cthe Word was with God, and dthe Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 fIn him was life,1 and gthe life was the light of men. 5 hThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man isent from God, whose name was jJohn. 7 He came as a kwitness, to bear witness about the light, lthat all might believe through him. 8 mHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 nThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet othe world did not know him. 11 He came to phis own,2 and qhis own people3 rdid not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, swho believed in his name, the gave the right uto become vchildren of God, 13 who wwere born, xnot of blood ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And zthe Word abecame flesh and bdwelt among us, cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son4 from the Father, full of dgrace and etruth. 15 (fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from hhis fullness we have all received, igrace upon grace.5 17 For jthe law was given through Moses; kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 lNo one has ever seen God; mthe only God,6 who is at the Father’s side,7 nhe has made him known.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the otestimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, p“Who are you?” 20 qHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? rAre you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you sthe Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am tthe voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight8 the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, u“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, v“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even whe who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
