The Lord Is in His Holy Temple
To the choirmaster. Of David.
1 In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3 if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?1
4 lThe Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul mhates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 nLet him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their ocup.
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
The Faithful Have Vanished
To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.2 A Psalm of David.
1 Save, O Lord, for rthe godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
sthe tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 tThe words of the Lord are pure words,
ulike silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us3 from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
More Proverbs of Solomon
1 uThese also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the vdross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;
5 take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and whis throne will be established in righteousness.
6 xDo not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
or stand in the place of the great,
7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.
yWhat your eyes have seen
8 do not hastily bring into court,1
for2 what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 zArgue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not reveal another’s secret,
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.
11 aA word fitly spoken
is blike apples of gold in a setting of silver.
12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise creprover to a listening ear.
13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and da soft tongue will break a bone.
16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
17 eLet your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,
lest he have his fill of you and hate you.
18 A man who bears false witness against his neighbor
is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.
20 fWhoever gsings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda.
21 hIf your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
23 The north wind brings forth rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
24 iIt is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is jgood news from a far country.
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey,
knor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.3
28 A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.
A Life Pleasing to God
1 Finally, then, brothers,1 awe ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that bas you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what cinstructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For dthis is the will of God, your esanctification:2 that you abstain from fsexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body3 in gholiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of hlust ilike the Gentiles who jdo not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an kavenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who lgives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning brotherly love myou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been ntaught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live oquietly, and to pmind your own affairs, and to qwork with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and rbe dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are sasleep, that you may not grieve as others do who thave no uhope. 14 For vsince we believe wthat Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,4 that xwe who are alive, who are left until the ycoming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For zthe Lord himself will descend afrom heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the btrumpet of God. And cthe dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them din the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 eTherefore encourage one another with these words.
