3 “I have trodden the winepress alone;
       from the nations no one was with me.
       I trampled them in my anger
       and trod them down in my wrath;
       their blood spattered my garments,
       and I stained all my clothing.

 4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
       and the year of my redemption has come.

 5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
       I was appalled that no one gave support;
       so my own arm worked salvation for me,
       and my own wrath sustained me.

 6 I trampled the nations in my anger;
       in my wrath I made them drunk
       and poured their blood on the ground.”

Praise and Prayer

 7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD,
       the deeds for which he is to be praised,
       according to all the LORD has done for us—
       yes, the many good things he has done
       for the house of Israel,
       according to his compassion and many kindnesses. 8 He said, “Surely they are my people,
       sons who will not be false to me”;
       and so he became their Savior.

 9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
       and the angel of his presence saved them.
       In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
       he lifted them up and carried them
       all the days of old.

 10 Yet they rebelled
       and grieved his Holy Spirit.
       So he turned and became their enemy
       and he himself fought against them.

 11 Then his people recalled the days of old,
       the days of Moses and his people—
       where is he who brought them through the sea,
       with the shepherd of his flock?
       Where is he who set
       his Holy Spirit among them,

 12 who sent his glorious arm of power
       to be at Moses’ right hand,
       who divided the waters before them,
       to gain for himself everlasting renown,

 13 who led them through the depths?
       Like a horse in open country,
       they did not stumble;

 14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
       they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD.
       This is how you guided your people
       to make for yourself a glorious name.

 15 Look down from heaven and see
       from your lofty throne, holy and glorious.
       Where are your zeal and your might?
       Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.

 16 But you are our Father,
       though Abraham does not know us
       or Israel acknowledge us;
       you, O LORD, are our Father,
       our Redeemer from of old is your name.

 17 Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways
       and harden our hearts so we do not revere you?
       Return for the sake of your servants,
       the tribes that are your inheritance.

 18 For a little while your people possessed your holy place,
       but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.

 19 We are yours from of old;
       but you have not ruled over them,
       they have not been called by your name.

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 7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

 9 The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.

 10 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain.”

 14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”

 16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. 

 20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”

 23 Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’ ”

 24 The LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them.”

 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

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 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

 19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

 23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

 29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

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3 Surely it is you who love the people;
       all the holy ones are in your hand.
       At your feet they all bow down,
       and from you receive instruction,

 4 the law that Moses gave us,
       the possession of the assembly of Jacob.

 5 He was king over Jeshurun 
       when the leaders of the people assembled,
       along with the tribes of Israel.

 6 “Let Reuben live and not die,
       nor his men be few.”

 7 And this he said about Judah:
       “Hear, O LORD, the cry of Judah;
       bring him to his people.
       With his own hands he defends his cause.
       Oh, be his help against his foes!”

 8 About Levi he said:
       “Your Thummim and Urim belong
       to the man you favored.
       You tested him at Massah;
       you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.

 9 He said of his father and mother,
       ‘I have no regard for them.’
       He did not recognize his brothers
       or acknowledge his own children,
       but he watched over your word
       and guarded your covenant.

 10 He teaches your precepts to Jacob
       and your law to Israel.
       He offers incense before you
       and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

 11 Bless all his skills, O LORD,
       and be pleased with the work of his hands.
       Smite the loins of those who rise up against him;
       strike his foes till they rise no more.”

 12 About Benjamin he said:
       “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,
       for he shields him all day long,
       and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”

 13 About Joseph he said:
       “May the LORD bless his land
       with the precious dew from heaven above
       and with the deep waters that lie below;

 14 with the best the sun brings forth
       and the finest the moon can yield;

 15 with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains
       and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;

 16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
       and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush.
       Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
       on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

 17 In majesty he is like a firstborn bull;
       his horns are the horns of a wild ox.
       With them he will gore the nations,
       even those at the ends of the earth.
       Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim;
       such are the thousands of Manasseh.”

 18 About Zebulun he said:
       “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
       and you, Issachar, in your tents.

 19 They will summon peoples to the mountain
       and there offer sacrifices of righteousness;
       they will feast on the abundance of the seas,
       on the treasures hidden in the sand.”

 20 About Gad he said:
       “Blessed is he who enlarges Gad’s domain!
       Gad lives there like a lion,
       tearing at arm or head.

 21 He chose the best land for himself;
       the leader’s portion was kept for him.
       When the heads of the people assembled,
       he carried out the LORD’s righteous will,
       and his judgments concerning Israel.”

 22 About Dan he said:
       “Dan is a lion’s cub,
       springing out of Bashan.”

 23 About Naphtali he said:
       “Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD
       and is full of his blessing;
       he will inherit southward to the lake.”

 24 About Asher he said:
       “Most blessed of sons is Asher;
       let him be favored by his brothers,
       and let him bathe his feet in oil.

 25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze,
       and your strength will equal your days.

 26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
       who rides on the heavens to help you
       and on the clouds in his majesty.

 27 The eternal God is your refuge,
       and underneath are the everlasting arms.
       He will drive out your enemy before you,
       saying, ‘Destroy him!’

 28 So Israel will live in safety alone;
       Jacob’s spring is secure
       in a land of grain and new wine,
       where the heavens drop dew.

 29 Blessed are you, O Israel!
       Who is like you,
       a people saved by the LORD ?
       He is your shield and helper
       and your glorious sword.
       Your enemies will cower before you,
       and you will trample down their high places. ”

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 3 I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
       Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

 4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
       and all his ways are just.
       A faithful God who does no wrong,
       upright and just is he.

 5 They have acted corruptly toward him;
       to their shame they are no longer his children,
       but a warped and crooked generation.

 6 Is this the way you repay the LORD,
       O foolish and unwise people?
       Is he not your Father, your Creator, 
       who made you and formed you?

 7 Remember the days of old;
       consider the generations long past.
       Ask your father and he will tell you,
       your elders, and they will explain to you.

 8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
       when he divided all mankind,
       he set up boundaries for the peoples
       according to the number of the sons of Israel.

 9 For the LORD’s portion is his people,
       Jacob his allotted inheritance.

 10 In a desert land he found him,
       in a barren and howling waste.
       He shielded him and cared for him;
       he guarded him as the apple of his eye,

 11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
       and hovers over its young,
       that spreads its wings to catch them
       and carries them on its pinions.

 12 The LORD alone led him;
       no foreign god was with him.

 13 He made him ride on the heights of the land
       and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
       He nourished him with honey from the rock,
       and with oil from the flinty crag,

 14 with curds and milk from herd and flock
       and with fattened lambs and goats,
       with choice rams of Bashan
       and the finest kernels of wheat.
       You drank the foaming blood of the grape.

 15 Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
       filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.
       He abandoned the God who made him
       and rejected the Rock his Savior.

 16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods
       and angered him with their detestable idols.

 17 They sacrificed to demons, which are not God—
       gods they had not known,
       gods that recently appeared,
       gods your fathers did not fear.

 18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
       you forgot the God who gave you birth.

 19 The LORD saw this and rejected them
       because he was angered by his sons and daughters.

 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said,
       “and see what their end will be;
       for they are a perverse generation,
       children who are unfaithful.

 21 They made me jealous by what is no god
       and angered me with their worthless idols.
       I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
       I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.

 22 For a fire has been kindled by my wrath,
       one that burns to the realm of death below.
       It will devour the earth and its harvests
       and set afire the foundations of the mountains.

 23 “I will heap calamities upon them
       and spend my arrows against them.

 24 I will send wasting famine against them,
       consuming pestilence and deadly plague;
       I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,
       the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.

 25 In the street the sword will make them childless;
       in their homes terror will reign.
       Young men and young women will perish,
       infants and gray-haired men.

 26 I said I would scatter them
       and blot out their memory from mankind,

 27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
       lest the adversary misunderstand
       and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;
       the LORD has not done all this.’ ”

 28 They are a nation without sense,
       there is no discernment in them.

 29 If only they were wise and would understand this
       and discern what their end will be!

 30 How could one man chase a thousand,
       or two put ten thousand to flight,
       unless their Rock had sold them,
       unless the LORD had given them up?

 31 For their rock is not like our Rock,
       as even our enemies concede.

 32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
       and from the fields of Gomorrah.
       Their grapes are filled with poison,
       and their clusters with bitterness.

 33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
       the deadly poison of cobras.

 34 “Have I not kept this in reserve
       and sealed it in my vaults?

 35 It is mine to avenge; I will repay.
       In due time their foot will slip;
       their day of disaster is near
       and their doom rushes upon them.”

 36 The LORD will judge his people
       and have compassion on his servants
       when he sees their strength is gone
       and no one is left, slave or free.

 37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,
       the rock they took refuge in,

 38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
       and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
       Let them rise up to help you!
       Let them give you shelter!

 39 “See now that I myself am He!
       There is no god besides me.
       I put to death and I bring to life,
       I have wounded and I will heal,
       and no one can deliver out of my hand.

 40 I lift my hand to heaven and declare:
       As surely as I live forever,

 41 when I sharpen my flashing sword
       and my hand grasps it in judgment,
       I will take vengeance on my adversaries
       and repay those who hate me.

 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
       while my sword devours flesh:
       the blood of the slain and the captives,
       the heads of the enemy leaders.”

 43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people, 
       for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
       he will take vengeance on his enemies
       and make atonement for his land and people.

 44 Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

 48 On that same day the LORD told Moses, 49 “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. 50 There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. 51 This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

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 3 God came from Teman,
       the Holy One from Mount Paran.
       Selah  
       His glory covered the heavens
       and his praise filled the earth.

 4 His splendor was like the sunrise;
       rays flashed from his hand,
       where his power was hidden.

 5 Plague went before him;
       pestilence followed his steps.

 6 He stood, and shook the earth;
       he looked, and made the nations tremble.
       The ancient mountains crumbled
       and the age-old hills collapsed.
       His ways are eternal.

 7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
       the dwellings of Midian in anguish.

 8 Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD ?
       Was your wrath against the streams?
       Did you rage against the sea
       when you rode with your horses
       and your victorious chariots?

 9 You uncovered your bow,
       you called for many arrows.
       Selah
       You split the earth with rivers;

 10 the mountains saw you and writhed.
       Torrents of water swept by;
       the deep roared
       and lifted its waves on high.

 11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
       at the glint of your flying arrows,
       at the lightning of your flashing spear.

 12 In wrath you strode through the earth
       and in anger you threshed the nations.

 13 You came out to deliver your people,
       to save your anointed one.
       You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
       you stripped him from head to foot.
       Selah

 14 With his own spear you pierced his head
       when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
       gloating as though about to devour
       the wretched who were in hiding.

 15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
       churning the great waters.

 16 I heard and my heart pounded,
       my lips quivered at the sound;
       decay crept into my bones,
       and my legs trembled.
       Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
       to come on the nation invading us.

 17 Though the fig tree does not bud
       and there are no grapes on the vines,
       though the olive crop fails
       and the fields produce no food,
       though there are no sheep in the pen
       and no cattle in the stalls,

 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
       I will be joyful in God my Savior.

 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
       he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
       he enables me to go on the heights.
       For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

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 5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

 11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

 13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

 17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

 23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

 24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

 29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

 31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

 32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

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 11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

 15The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
 16″This is the covenant I will make with them
      after that time, says the Lord.
   I will put my laws in their hearts,
      and I will write them on their minds.” 17Then he adds:
   ”Their sins and lawless acts
      I will remember no more.” 18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

 35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while,
   ”He who is coming will come and will not delay.
    38But my righteous one will live by faith.
   And if he shrinks back,
      I will not be pleased with him.” 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

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 8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

 12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

Faith and Deeds

 14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
      Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

 25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

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 3 For my days vanish like smoke;
       my bones burn like glowing embers.

 4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
       I forget to eat my food.

 5 Because of my loud groaning
       I am reduced to skin and bones.

 6 I am like a desert owl,
       like an owl among the ruins.

 7 I lie awake; I have become
       like a bird alone on a roof.

 8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
       those who rail against me use my name as a curse.

 9 For I eat ashes as my food
       and mingle my drink with tears

 10 because of your great wrath,
       for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.

 11 My days are like the evening shadow;
       I wither away like grass.

 12 But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;
       your renown endures through all generations.

 13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
       for it is time to show favor to her;
       the appointed time has come.

 14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
       her very dust moves them to pity.

 15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
       all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

 16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion
       and appear in his glory.

 17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
       he will not despise their plea.

 18 Let this be written for a future generation,
       that a people not yet created may praise the LORD :

 19 “The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,
       from heaven he viewed the earth,

 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
       and release those condemned to death.”

 21 So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion
       and his praise in Jerusalem

 22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
       assemble to worship the LORD.

 23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;
       he cut short my days.

 24 So I said:
       “Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days;
       your years go on through all generations.

 25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
       and the heavens are the work of your hands.

 26 They will perish, but you remain;
       they will all wear out like a garment.
       Like clothing you will change them
       and they will be discarded.

 27 But you remain the same,
       and your years will never end.

 28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
       their descendants will be established before you.”

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