The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday September 17, 2022 (NIV)

Isaiah 25:1-28:13

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;(A)
I will exalt you and praise your name,(B)
for in perfect faithfulness(C)
you have done wonderful things,(D)
things planned(E) long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,(F)
the fortified(G) town a ruin,(H)
the foreigners’ stronghold(I) a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.(J)
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(K)
cities of ruthless(L) nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge(M) for the poor,(N)
a refuge for the needy(O) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(P)
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(Q)
is like a storm driving against a wall
and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(R) the uproar of foreigners;(S)
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless(T) is stilled.

On this mountain(U) the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast(V) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.(W)
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud(X) that enfolds all peoples,(Y)
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death(Z) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears(AA)
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace(AB)
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.(AC)

In that day(AD) they will say,

“Surely this is our God;(AE)
we trusted(AF) in him, and he saved(AG) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice(AH) and be glad in his salvation.”(AI)

10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(AJ)
but Moab(AK) will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down(AL) their pride(AM)
despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(AN)
and lay them low;(AO)
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.

A Song of Praise

26 In that day(AP) this song will be sung(AQ) in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;(AR)
God makes salvation
its walls(AS) and ramparts.(AT)
Open the gates(AU)
that the righteous(AV) nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace(AW)
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust(AX) in you.
Trust(AY) in the Lord forever,(AZ)
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(BA) eternal.
He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(BB)
and casts it down to the dust.(BC)
Feet trample(BD) it down—
the feet of the oppressed,(BE)
the footsteps of the poor.(BF)

The path of the righteous is level;(BG)
you, the Upright One,(BH) make the way of the righteous smooth.(BI)
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[b](BJ)
we wait(BK) for you;
your name(BL) and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
My soul yearns for you in the night;(BM)
in the morning my spirit longs(BN) for you.
When your judgments(BO) come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.(BP)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(BQ)
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(BR)
and do not regard(BS) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(BT)
but they do not see(BU) it.
Let them see your zeal(BV) for your people and be put to shame;(BW)
let the fire(BX) reserved for your enemies consume them.

12 Lord, you establish peace(BY) for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done(BZ) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(CA) besides you have ruled over us,
but your name(CB) alone do we honor.(CC)
14 They are now dead,(CD) they live no more;
their spirits(CE) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(CF)
you wiped out all memory of them.(CG)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.(CH)
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders(CI) of the land.

16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(CJ)
when you disciplined(CK) them,
they could barely whisper(CL) a prayer.[c]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(CM)
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birth(CN) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(CO) to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.(CP)

19 But your dead(CQ) will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(CR)
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(CS) is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.(CT)

20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors(CU) behind you;
hide(CV) yourselves for a little while
until his wrath(CW) has passed by.(CX)
21 See, the Lord is coming(CY) out of his dwelling(CZ)
to punish(DA) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(DB) shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Deliverance of Israel

27 In that day,(DC)

the Lord will punish with his sword(DD)
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(DE) the gliding serpent,(DF)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(DG) of the sea.

In that day(DH)

“Sing(DI) about a fruitful vineyard:(DJ)
I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water(DK) it continually.
I guard(DL) it day and night
so that no one may harm(DM) it.
I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
I would march against them in battle;
I would set them all on fire.(DN)
Or else let them come to me for refuge;(DO)
let them make peace(DP) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”

In days to come Jacob will take root,(DQ)
Israel will bud and blossom(DR)
and fill all the world with fruit.(DS)

Has the Lord struck her
as he struck(DT) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
as those were killed who killed her?
By warfare[d] and exile(DU) you contend with her—
with his fierce blast he drives her out,
as on a day the east wind(DV) blows.
By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(DW) for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(DX)
When he makes all the altar stones(DY)
to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[e](DZ) or incense altars(EA)
will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(EB)
an abandoned settlement, forsaken(EC) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(ED)
there they lie down;(EE)
they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(EF)
and women come and make fires(EG) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(EH)
so their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator(EI) shows them no favor.(EJ)

12 In that day the Lord will thresh(EK) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,(EL) and you, Israel, will be gathered(EM) up one by one. 13 And in that day(EN) a great trumpet(EO) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled(EP) in Egypt(EQ) will come and worship(ER) the Lord on the holy mountain(ES) in Jerusalem.

Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah

28 Woe(ET) to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(EU) drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley(EV)
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!(EW)
See, the Lord has one who is powerful(EX) and strong.
Like a hailstorm(EY) and a destructive wind,(EZ)
like a driving rain and a flooding(FA) downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(FB) drunkards,
will be trampled(FC) underfoot.
That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,(FD)
will be like figs(FE) ripe before harvest—
as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
they swallow them.

In that day(FF) the Lord Almighty
will be a glorious(FG) crown,(FH)
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant(FI) of his people.
He will be a spirit of justice(FJ)
to the one who sits in judgment,(FK)
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle(FL) at the gate.

And these also stagger(FM) from wine(FN)
and reel(FO) from beer:
Priests(FP) and prophets(FQ) stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,(FR)
they stumble when rendering decisions.
All the tables are covered with vomit(FS)
and there is not a spot without filth.

“Who is it he is trying to teach?(FT)
To whom is he explaining his message?(FU)
To children weaned(FV) from their milk,(FW)
to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that[f];
a little here, a little there.(FX)

11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(FY)
God will speak to this people,(FZ)
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(GA)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there(GB)
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured(GC) and snared and captured.(GD)

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
  3. Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  4. Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  6. Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13

Cross references:

  1. Isaiah 25:1 : S Isa 7:13
  2. Isaiah 25:1 : S Ps 145:2; S Isa 12:1, 4
  3. Isaiah 25:1 : Isa 11:5
  4. Isaiah 25:1 : Ps 40:5; 98:1; Joel 2:21, 26
  5. Isaiah 25:1 : Nu 23:19; S Isa 14:24; 37:26; 46:11; Eph 1:11
  6. Isaiah 25:2 : Isa 17:1; 26:5; 37:26
  7. Isaiah 25:2 : S Isa 17:3
  8. Isaiah 25:2 : S Dt 13:16
  9. Isaiah 25:2 : S Isa 13:22
  10. Isaiah 25:2 : S Job 12:14
  11. Isaiah 25:3 : S Ex 6:2; S Ps 22:23; S Isa 11:14
  12. Isaiah 25:3 : S Isa 13:11
  13. Isaiah 25:4 : S 2Sa 22:3; S Ps 118:8; S Isa 4:6; 17:10; 27:5; 33:16; Joel 3:16
  14. Isaiah 25:4 : S Isa 3:14
  15. Isaiah 25:4 : S Isa 14:30; 29:19
  16. Isaiah 25:4 : S Ps 55:8
  17. Isaiah 25:4 : Isa 29:5; 49:25
  18. Isaiah 25:5 : Jer 51:55
  19. Isaiah 25:5 : S Ps 18:44
  20. Isaiah 25:5 : S Isa 13:11
  21. Isaiah 25:6 : S Isa 2:2
  22. Isaiah 25:6 : S Ge 29:22; 1Ki 1:25; Isa 1:19; 55:1-2; 66:11; Joel 3:18; Mt 8:11; 22:4; Rev 19:9
  23. Isaiah 25:6 : S Ps 36:8; S Pr 9:2
  24. Isaiah 25:7 : 2Co 3:15-16; Eph 4:18
  25. Isaiah 25:7 : S Job 4:9
  26. Isaiah 25:8 : Isa 26:19; Hos 13:14; 1Co 15:54-55*
  27. Isaiah 25:8 : Isa 15:3; 30:19; 35:10; 51:11; 65:19; Jer 31:16; Rev 7:17; 21:4
  28. Isaiah 25:8 : S Ge 30:23; S Ps 119:39; Mt 5:11; 1Pe 4:14; Rev 7:14
  29. Isaiah 25:8 : S Isa 7:7
  30. Isaiah 25:9 : S Isa 2:11; S 10:20
  31. Isaiah 25:9 : Isa 40:9
  32. Isaiah 25:9 : S Ps 22:5; S Isa 12:2
  33. Isaiah 25:9 : Ps 145:19; Isa 19:20; 33:22; 35:4; 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 49:25-26; 60:16; 63:8; Jer 14:8
  34. Isaiah 25:9 : S Dt 32:43; S Ps 9:2; Isa 9:3; 35:2, 10; 41:16; 51:3; 61:7, 10; 66:14
  35. Isaiah 25:9 : S Ps 13:5; S Isa 12:2
  36. Isaiah 25:10 : S Isa 2:2
  37. Isaiah 25:10 : S Ge 19:37; S Nu 21:29; S Dt 23:6; S Isa 11:14; Am 2:1-3
  38. Isaiah 25:11 : Isa 5:25; 14:26; 16:14
  39. Isaiah 25:11 : S Lev 26:19; S Job 40:12
  40. Isaiah 25:12 : S Isa 2:15
  41. Isaiah 25:12 : S Job 40:11; S Isa 15:1; S Jer 51:44
  42. Isaiah 26:1 : S Isa 10:20
  43. Isaiah 26:1 : Isa 30:29
  44. Isaiah 26:1 : S Isa 14:32
  45. Isaiah 26:1 : Isa 32:18; 60:18; Zec 2:5; 9:8
  46. Isaiah 26:1 : S Ps 48:13
  47. Isaiah 26:2 : S Ps 24:7
  48. Isaiah 26:2 : Ps 24:3-4; 85:13; S Isa 1:26; S 4:3; 9:7; 50:8; 53:11; 54:14; 58:8; 62:2
  49. Isaiah 26:3 : S Job 22:21; S Isa 9:6, 7; Php 4:7
  50. Isaiah 26:3 : S 1Ch 5:20; S Ps 22:5; S 28:7; S Isa 12:2
  51. Isaiah 26:4 : S Isa 12:2; 50:10
  52. Isaiah 26:4 : S Ps 62:8
  53. Isaiah 26:4 : S Ge 49:24
  54. Isaiah 26:5 : S Isa 25:12; Eze 26:11
  55. Isaiah 26:5 : S Isa 25:2
  56. Isaiah 26:6 : S Isa 5:5
  57. Isaiah 26:6 : Isa 49:26
  58. Isaiah 26:6 : S Isa 3:15; S 14:30
  59. Isaiah 26:7 : S Ps 26:12
  60. Isaiah 26:7 : S Ps 25:8
  61. Isaiah 26:7 : S Ex 14:19; Isa 40:4; 42:16
  62. Isaiah 26:8 : S Dt 18:18; Ps 1:2; Isa 56:1; 64:5
  63. Isaiah 26:8 : S Ps 37:9; S 130:5
  64. Isaiah 26:8 : S Ps 145:2; S Isa 12:4
  65. Isaiah 26:9 : S Ps 119:55
  66. Isaiah 26:9 : Ps 42:1-3; 63:1; 78:34; Isa 55:6
  67. Isaiah 26:9 : S 1Ch 16:14
  68. Isaiah 26:9 : Mt 6:33
  69. Isaiah 26:10 : Mt 5:45
  70. Isaiah 26:10 : Isa 32:6; 59:7, 13
  71. Isaiah 26:10 : S 1Sa 12:24; Isa 22:12-13; Jer 2:19; Hos 11:7; Jn 5:37-38; Ro 2:4
  72. Isaiah 26:11 : S Ps 10:12
  73. Isaiah 26:11 : Isa 18:3; 44:9, 18
  74. Isaiah 26:11 : S Isa 9:7; Joel 2:18; Zec 1:14
  75. Isaiah 26:11 : Mic 7:16
  76. Isaiah 26:11 : S Isa 1:31; Heb 10:27
  77. Isaiah 26:12 : S Ps 119:165; S Isa 9:6
  78. Isaiah 26:12 : S Ps 68:28
  79. Isaiah 26:13 : Isa 2:8; 10:5, 11
  80. Isaiah 26:13 : S Isa 12:4
  81. Isaiah 26:13 : Isa 42:8; 63:7
  82. Isaiah 26:14 : S Dt 4:28
  83. Isaiah 26:14 : S Job 26:5
  84. Isaiah 26:14 : S Ps 9:5; S Isa 10:3
  85. Isaiah 26:14 : S Ps 9:6
  86. Isaiah 26:15 : S Job 12:23; S Isa 14:2
  87. Isaiah 26:15 : Isa 33:17
  88. Isaiah 26:16 : S Jdg 6:2; S Isa 5:30
  89. Isaiah 26:16 : S Ps 39:11
  90. Isaiah 26:16 : Isa 29:4
  91. Isaiah 26:17 : S Isa 21:3; S Jn 16:21; Rev 12:2
  92. Isaiah 26:18 : Isa 33:11; 59:4
  93. Isaiah 26:18 : S Ge 49:10; Ps 17:14
  94. Isaiah 26:18 : Isa 42:6; 49:6; 51:4; Jer 12:16
  95. Isaiah 26:19 : S Isa 25:8; Eph 5:14
  96. Isaiah 26:19 : Ps 22:29
  97. Isaiah 26:19 : S Ge 27:28; S Isa 18:4
  98. Isaiah 26:19 : Isa 66:24; Eze 37:1-14; Da 12:2
  99. Isaiah 26:20 : Ex 12:23
  100. Isaiah 26:20 : Ps 91:1, 4
  101. Isaiah 26:20 : S Isa 10:25; S 30:27
  102. Isaiah 26:20 : S Job 14:13
  103. Isaiah 26:21 : Isa 29:6; Jude 1:14
  104. Isaiah 26:21 : S Isa 18:4
  105. Isaiah 26:21 : S Isa 13:9, 11; 30:12-14
  106. Isaiah 26:21 : S Job 16:18; Lk 11:50-51
  107. Isaiah 27:1 : ver 13; S Isa 2:11; 28:5
  108. Isaiah 27:1 : S Ge 3:24; S Dt 32:41; Isa 31:8; 34:6; 65:12; 66:16; Eze 21:3; Na 3:15
  109. Isaiah 27:1 : S Job 3:8
  110. Isaiah 27:1 : Job 26:13
  111. Isaiah 27:1 : S Ps 68:30; S 74:13; Rev 12:9
  112. Isaiah 27:2 : Isa 24:21
  113. Isaiah 27:2 : S Isa 5:1
  114. Isaiah 27:2 : Jer 2:21
  115. Isaiah 27:3 : Isa 58:11
  116. Isaiah 27:3 : S Ps 91:4; S Isa 5:2
  117. Isaiah 27:3 : S Jn 6:39
  118. Isaiah 27:4 : S ver 11; S Isa 10:17; Mt 3:12; Heb 6:8
  119. Isaiah 27:5 : S Isa 25:4
  120. Isaiah 27:5 : S Job 22:21; S Ps 119:165; Ro 5:1; 2Co 5:20
  121. Isaiah 27:6 : S 2Ki 19:30; Isa 11:10
  122. Isaiah 27:6 : S Ge 40:10
  123. Isaiah 27:6 : S Ps 72:16; Isa 11:1; 37:31; Eze 17:23; 36:8; Hos 14:8
  124. Isaiah 27:7 : Isa 10:26; S 11:4; 37:36-38
  125. Isaiah 27:8 : Isa 49:14; 50:1; 54:7
  126. Isaiah 27:8 : S Ge 41:6
  127. Isaiah 27:9 : S Ps 78:38
  128. Isaiah 27:9 : Ro 11:27*
  129. Isaiah 27:9 : S Ex 23:24
  130. Isaiah 27:9 : S Ex 34:13
  131. Isaiah 27:9 : S Lev 26:30; S 2Ch 14:5
  132. Isaiah 27:10 : S Ge 1:2; S Dt 13:16; Isa 5:6; 32:14; Jer 10:22; 26:6; La 1:4; 5:18
  133. Isaiah 27:10 : S Isa 5:5
  134. Isaiah 27:10 : S Isa 5:17
  135. Isaiah 27:10 : Isa 17:2
  136. Isaiah 27:11 : S Isa 10:33
  137. Isaiah 27:11 : S ver 4; Isa 33:12
  138. Isaiah 27:11 : S Dt 32:28; S Isa 1:3
  139. Isaiah 27:11 : Dt 32:18; Isa 41:8; 43:1, 7, 15; 44:1-2, 21, 24
  140. Isaiah 27:11 : S Isa 9:17; Jer 11:16
  141. Isaiah 27:12 : S Isa 21:10; Mt 3:12
  142. Isaiah 27:12 : S Ge 15:18
  143. Isaiah 27:12 : S Dt 30:4; S Isa 1:9; S 11:12; S 17:6
  144. Isaiah 27:13 : S ver 1
  145. Isaiah 27:13 : S Lev 25:9; S Jdg 3:27; S Mt 24:31
  146. Isaiah 27:13 : S Ps 106:47
  147. Isaiah 27:13 : S Isa 10:19; 19:21, 25
  148. Isaiah 27:13 : S Ge 27:29; S Ps 22:29; S 86:9
  149. Isaiah 27:13 : S Isa 2:2
  150. Isaiah 28:1 : Isa 10:5; 29:1; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1
  151. Isaiah 28:1 : ver 3; Isa 7:2; 9:9
  152. Isaiah 28:1 : ver 4
  153. Isaiah 28:1 : S Lev 10:9; Isa 5:11; Hos 7:5; Am 6:6
  154. Isaiah 28:2 : Isa 40:10
  155. Isaiah 28:2 : S Jos 10:11
  156. Isaiah 28:2 : Isa 29:6
  157. Isaiah 28:2 : S Isa 8:7; S Da 9:26
  158. Isaiah 28:3 : S ver 1
  159. Isaiah 28:3 : S Job 40:12; S Isa 5:5
  160. Isaiah 28:4 : ver 1
  161. Isaiah 28:4 : S SS 2:13; Hos 9:10; Na 3:12
  162. Isaiah 28:5 : S Isa 10:20; S 27:1; 29:18; 30:23
  163. Isaiah 28:5 : S Isa 24:16, 23
  164. Isaiah 28:5 : Isa 62:3; Jer 13:18; Eze 16:12; 21:26; Zec 9:16
  165. Isaiah 28:5 : S Isa 1:9
  166. Isaiah 28:6 : S 2Sa 14:20; Isa 11:2-4; 32:1, 16; 33:5
  167. Isaiah 28:6 : Isa 4:4; Jn 5:30
  168. Isaiah 28:6 : Jdg 9:44-45; S 2Ch 32:8
  169. Isaiah 28:7 : S Isa 3:12
  170. Isaiah 28:7 : S Lev 10:9; S Isa 22:13; S Eph 5:18
  171. Isaiah 28:7 : S Ps 107:27
  172. Isaiah 28:7 : Isa 24:2
  173. Isaiah 28:7 : S Isa 9:15
  174. Isaiah 28:7 : S Isa 1:1; 29:11
  175. Isaiah 28:8 : Jer 48:26
  176. Isaiah 28:9 : ver 26; Ps 32:8; Isa 2:3; 30:20; 48:17; 50:4; 54:13; Jer 31:34; 32:33
  177. Isaiah 28:9 : Isa 52:7; 53:1
  178. Isaiah 28:9 : Ps 131:2
  179. Isaiah 28:9 : Heb 5:12-13; 1Pe 2:2
  180. Isaiah 28:10 : ver 13
  181. Isaiah 28:11 : S Ge 11:7; Isa 33:19; Jer 5:15
  182. Isaiah 28:11 : Eze 3:5; 1Co 14:21*
  183. Isaiah 28:12 : S Ex 14:14; S Jos 1:13; S Job 11:18; S Isa 11:10; Mt 11:28-29
  184. Isaiah 28:13 : ver 10
  185. Isaiah 28:13 : Mt 21:44
  186. Isaiah 28:13 : S Isa 8:15
New International Version (NIV)

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Galatians 3:10-22

10 For all who rely on the works of the law(A) are under a curse,(B) as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[a](C) 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God,(D) because “the righteous will live by faith.”[b](E) 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[c](F) 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law(G) by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[d](H) 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,(I) so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.(J)

The Law and the Promise

15 Brothers and sisters,(K) let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.(L) Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[e](M) meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years(N) later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise;(O) but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions(P) until the Seed(Q) to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels(R) and entrusted to a mediator.(S) 20 A mediator,(T) however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not!(U) For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.(V) 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin,(W) so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Footnotes:

  1. Galatians 3:10 Deut. 27:26
  2. Galatians 3:11 Hab. 2:4
  3. Galatians 3:12 Lev. 18:5
  4. Galatians 3:13 Deut. 21:23
  5. Galatians 3:16 Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 61

Psalm 61[a]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.

Hear my cry, O God;(A)
listen to my prayer.(B)

From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;(C)
lead me to the rock(D) that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,(E)
a strong tower against the foe.(F)

I long to dwell(G) in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.[b](H)
For you, God, have heard my vows;(I)
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.(J)

Increase the days of the king’s life,(K)
his years for many generations.(L)
May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;(M)
appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.(N)

Then I will ever sing in praise of your name(O)
and fulfill my vows day after day.(P)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 61:1 In Hebrew texts 61:1-8 is numbered 61:2-9.
  2. Psalm 61:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Proverbs 23:17-18

Saying 15

17 Do not let your heart envy(A) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(B)

New International Version (NIV)

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