But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
‘May the LORD bless you and keep you;
may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”
A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.
Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.
Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
. . .
A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate.
But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.
How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
no evil will befall you, no plague will approach your tent.
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts.
And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
. . .
I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts.
The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of Hosts.
The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, says the LORD of Hosts. And in this place I will provide peace, declares the LORD of Hosts.”
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
. . .
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
. . .
A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand.
. . .
Now it was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing.
These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts.
And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
“Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.
. . .
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.
Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him,
rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.
Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.
Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.
In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children,
to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.
. . .
These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him:
What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?
Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.
. . .
Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.
But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink to the depths.
Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters, who let the ox and donkey range freely.