Psalm 70 (MT: Psalm 71)

Translation: ESV

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

71 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

    let me never be put to shame!

2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

    incline your ear to me, and save me!

3 Be to me a rock of refuge,

    to which I may continually come;

you have given the command to save me,

    for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,

    my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

    you are he who took me from my mother's womb.

My praise is continually of you.

7 I have been as a portent to many,

    but you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise,

    and with your glory all the day.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

    forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10 For my enemies speak concerning me;

    those who watch for my life consult together

11 and say, “God has forsaken him;

    pursue and seize him,

    for there is none to deliver him.”

12 O God, be not far from me;

    O my God, make haste to help me!

13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

    with scorn and disgrace may they be covered

    who seek my hurt.

14 But I will hope continually

    and will praise you yet more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

    of your deeds of salvation all the day,

    for their number is past my knowledge.

16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;

    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,

    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18 So even to old age and gray hairs,

    O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,

    your power to all those to come.

19 Your righteousness, O God,

    reaches the high heavens.

You who have done great things,

    O God, who is like you?

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20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

    will revive me again;

from the depths of the earth

    you will bring me up again.

21 You will increase my greatness

    and comfort me again.

22 I will also praise you with the harp

    for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

    O Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy,

    when I sing praises to you;

    my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24 And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

for they have been put to shame and disappointed

    who sought to do me hurt.

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2 Timothy 4

Translation: ESV

Preach the Word

4 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

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3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

5 But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Personal Instructions

9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

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Acts 19

Translation: ESV

Paul in Ephesus

19 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

The Sons of Sceva

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11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

A Riot at Ephesus

21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

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Wisdom 3

Translation: DRA

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Date: May 3 2023
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1 But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.

2 In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery:

3 And their going away from us, for utter destruction: but they are in peace.

4 And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality.

5 Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded: because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of himself.

6 As gold in the furnace he hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust he hath received them, and in time there shall be respect had to them.

7 The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds.

8 They shall judge nations, and rule over people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.

9 They that trust in him, shall understand the truth: and they that are faithful in love shall rest in him: for grace and peace is to his elect.

10 But the wicked shall be punished according to their own devices: who have neglected the just, and have revolted from the Lord.

11 For he that rejecteth wisdom, and discipline, is unhappy: and their hope is vain, and their labours without fruit, and their works unprofitable.

12 Their wives are foolish, and their children wicked.

13 Their offspring is cursed: for happy is the barren: and the undefiled, that hath not known bed in sin: she shall have fruit in the visitation of holy souls.

14 And the eunuch, that hath not wrought iniquity with his hands, nor thought wicked things against God: for the precious gift of faith shall be given to him, and a most acceptable lot in the temple of God.

15 For the fruit of good labours is glorious, and the root of wisdom never faileth.

16 But the children of adulterers shall not come to perfection, and the seed of the unlawful bed shall be rooted out.

17 And if they live long, they shall be nothing regarded, and their last old age shall be without honour.

18 And if they die quickly, they shall have no hope, nor speech of comfort in the day of trial.

19 For dreadful are the ends of a wicked race.

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Jeremiah 2

Translation: ESV

Israel Forsakes the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of your youth,

    your love as a bride,

how you followed me in the wilderness,

    in a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the Lord,

    the firstfruits of his harvest.

All who ate of it incurred guilt;

    disaster came upon them,

declares the Lord.”

4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me

    that they went far from me,

and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

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Jeremiah 2

6 They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord

    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

who led us in the wilderness,

    in a land of deserts and pits,

in a land of drought and deep darkness,

    in a land that none passes through,

    where no man dwells?’

7 And I brought you into a plentiful land

    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.

But when you came in, you defiled my land

    and made my heritage an abomination.

8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

    Those who handle the law did not know me;

the shepherds transgressed against me;

    the prophets prophesied by Baal

    and went after things that do not profit.

9 “Therefore I still contend with you,

declares the Lord,

    and with your children's children I will contend.

10 For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,

    or send to Kedar and examine with care;

    see if there has been such a thing.

11 Has a nation changed its gods,

    even though they are no gods?

But my people have changed their glory

    for that which does not profit.

12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this;

    be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,

13 for my people have committed two evils:

they have forsaken me,

    the fountain of living waters,

and hewed out cisterns for themselves,

    broken cisterns that can hold no water.

14 “Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?

    Why then has he become a prey?

15 The lions have roared against him;

    they have roared loudly.

They have made his land a waste;

    his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

16 Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

    have shaved the crown of your head.

17 Have you not brought this upon yourself

    by forsaking the Lord your God,

    when he led you in the way?

18 And now what do you gain by going to Egypt

    to drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what do you gain by going to Assyria

    to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your evil will chastise you,

    and your apostasy will reprove you.

Know and see that it is evil and bitter

    for you to forsake the Lord your God;

    the fear of me is not in you,

declares the Lord God of hosts.

20 “For long ago I broke your yoke

    and burst your bonds;

    but you said, ‘I will not serve.’

Yes, on every high hill

    and under every green tree

    you bowed down like a whore.

21 Yet I planted you a choice vine,

    wholly of pure seed.

How then have you turned degenerate

    and become a wild vine?

22 Though you wash yourself with lye

    and use much soap,

    the stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.

23 How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,

    I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way in the valley;

    know what you have done—

a restless young camel running here and there,

24     a wild donkey used to the wilderness,

in her heat sniffing the wind!

    Who can restrain her lust?

None who seek her need weary themselves;

    in her month they will find her.

25 Keep your feet from going unshod

    and your throat from thirst.

But you said, ‘It is hopeless,

    for I have loved foreigners,

    and after them I will go.’

26 “As a thief is shamed when caught,

    so the house of Israel shall be shamed:

they, their kings, their officials,

    their priests, and their prophets,

27 who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

    and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their back to me,

    and not their face.

But in the time of their trouble they say,

    ‘Arise and save us!’

28 But where are your gods

    that you made for yourself?

Let them arise, if they can save you,

    in your time of trouble;

for as many as your cities

    are your gods, O Judah.

29 “Why do you contend with me?

    You have all transgressed against me,

declares the Lord.

30 In vain have I struck your children;

    they took no correction;

your own sword devoured your prophets

    like a ravening lion.

31 And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

    or a land of thick darkness?

Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,

    we will come no more to you’?

32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

    or a bride her attire?

Yet my people have forgotten me

    days without number.

33 “How well you direct your course

    to seek love!

So that even to wicked women

    you have taught your ways.

34 Also on your skirts is found

    the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;

you did not find them breaking in.

    Yet in spite of all these things

35 you say, ‘I am innocent;

    surely his anger has turned from me.’

Behold, I will bring you to judgment

    for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 How much you go about,

    changing your way!

You shall be put to shame by Egypt

    as you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 From it too you will come away

    with your hands on your head,

for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,

    and you will not prosper by them.

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Psalm 17 (MT: Psalm 18)

Translation: ESV

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

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Date: Septembar 28 203

To the choirmaster.

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A Psalm of David,

the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

    and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me;

    the torrents of destruction assailed me;

5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;

    the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;

    to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

    and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;

    the foundations also of the mountains trembled

    and quaked, because he was angry.

8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,

    and devouring fire from his mouth;

    glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9 He bowed the heavens and came down;

    thick darkness was under his feet.

10 He rode on a cherub and flew;

    he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,

    thick clouds dark with water.

12 Out of the brightness before him

    hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

    and the Most High uttered his voice,

    hailstones and coals of fire.

14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;

    he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.

15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,

    and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your rebuke, O Lord,

    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, he took me;

    he drew me out of many waters.

17 He rescued me from my strong enemy

    and from those who hated me,

    for they were too mighty for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

    but the Lord was my support.

19 He brought me out into a broad place;

    he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;

    according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

    and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all his rules were before me,

    and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23 I was blameless before him,

    and I kept myself from my guilt.

24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

26 with the purified you show yourself pure;

    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

27 For you save a humble people,

    but the haughty eyes you bring down.

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28 For it is you who light my lamp;

    the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

29 For by you I can run against a troop,

    and by my God I can leap over a wall.

30 This God—his way is perfect;

    the word of the Lord proves true;

    he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, but the Lord?

    And who is a rock, except our God?—

32 the God who equipped me with strength

    and made my way blameless.

33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer

    and set me secure on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for war,

    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,

    and your right hand supported me,

    and your gentleness made me great.

36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

    and my feet did not slip.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

    and did not turn back till they were consumed.

38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

    they fell under my feet.

39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

    you made those who rise against me sink under me.

40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

    and those who hated me I destroyed.

41 They cried for help, but there was none to save;

    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;

    I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43 You delivered me from strife with the people;

    you made me the head of the nations;

    people whom I had not known served me.

44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

    foreigners came cringing to me.

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45 Foreigners lost heart

    and came trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

    and exalted be the God of my salvation—

47 the God who gave me vengeance

    and subdued peoples under me,

48 who rescued me from my enemies;

    yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;

    you delivered me from the man of violence.

49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

    and sing to your name.

50 Great salvation he brings to his king,

    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

    to David and his offspring forever.

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Psalm 62 (MT: Psalm 63)

Translation: ESV

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David,

when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

4 So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

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5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6 when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

7 for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

8 My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me.

9 But those who seek to destroy my life

    shall go down into the depths of the earth;

10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

    they shall be a portion for jackals.

11 But the king shall rejoice in God;

    all who swear by him shall exult,

    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

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