Psalm 112-115

New International Version

Psalm 112^[a]

¹Praise the Lord.^[b]^(A)

Blessed are those^(B) who fear the Lord,^(C)
who find great delight^(D) in his commands.

²Their children^(E) will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³Wealth and riches^(F) are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures^(G) forever.
⁴Even in darkness light dawns^(H) for the upright,
    for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.^(I)
⁵Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,^(J)
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

⁶Surely the righteous will never be shaken;^(K)
    they will be remembered^(L) forever.
⁷They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast,^(M) trusting in the Lord.^(N)
⁸Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;^(O)
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.^(P)
⁹They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,^(Q)
    their righteousness endures^(R) forever;
    their horn^[c] will be lifted^(S) high in honor.

¹⁰The wicked will see^(T) and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth^(U) and waste away;^(V)
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.^(W)

Psalm 113

¹Praise the Lord.^[d]^(X)

Praise the Lord, you his servants;^(Y)
    praise the name of the Lord.
²Let the name of the Lord be praised,^(Z)
    both now and forevermore.^(AA)
³From the rising of the sun^(AB) to the place where it sets,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.

⁴The Lord is exalted^(AC) over all the nations,
    his glory above the heavens.^(AD)
⁵Who is like the Lord our God,^(AE)
    the One who sits enthroned^(AF) on high,^(AG)
⁶who stoops down to look^(AH)
    on the heavens and the earth?

⁷He raises the poor^(AI) from the dust
    and lifts the needy^(AJ) from the ash heap;
⁸he seats them^(AK) with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
⁹He settles the childless^(AL) woman in her home
    as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 114

¹When Israel came out of Egypt,^(AM)
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
²Judah^(AN) became God’s sanctuary,^(AO)
Israel his dominion.

³The sea looked and fled,^(AP)
the Jordan turned back;^(AQ)
⁴the mountains leaped^(AR) like rams,
the hills like lambs.

⁵Why was it, sea, that you fled?^(AS)
Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
⁶Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
you hills, like lambs?

⁷Tremble, earth,^(AT) at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water.^(AU)

Psalm 115^(AV)

¹Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,^(AW)
because of your love and faithfulness.^(AX)

²Why do the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”^(AY)
³Our God is in heaven;^(AZ)
    he does whatever pleases him.^(BA)
⁴But their idols are silver and gold,^(BB)
    made by human hands.^(BC)
⁵They have mouths, but cannot speak,^(BD)
    eyes, but cannot see.
⁶They have ears, but cannot hear,
    noses, but cannot smell.
⁷They have hands, but cannot feel,
    feet, but cannot walk,
    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
⁸Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

⁹All you Israelites, trust^(BE) in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.
¹⁰House of Aaron,^(BF) trust in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.
¹¹You who fear him,^(BG) trust in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.

¹²The Lord remembers^(BH) us and will bless us:^(BI)
    He will bless his people Israel,
    he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³he will bless those who fear^(BJ) the Lord—
    small and great alike.

¹⁴May the Lord cause you to flourish,^(BK)
both you and your children.
¹⁵May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven^(BL) and earth.

¹⁶The highest heavens belong to the Lord,^(BM)
    but the earth he has given^(BN) to mankind.
¹⁷It is not the dead^(BO) who praise the Lord,
    those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸it is we who extol the Lord,^(BP)
    both now and forevermore.^(BQ)

Praise the Lord.^[e]^(BR)

Footnotes

Psalm 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the lines of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 112:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah
Psalm 112:9 Horn here symbolizes dignity.
Psalm 113:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 9
Psalm 115:18 Hebrew Hallelu Yah

1 Corinthians 1

New International Version

1 Paul, called to be an apostle^(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,^(B) and our brother Sosthenes,^(C)

²To the church of God^(D) in Corinth,^(E) to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called^(F) to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name^(G) of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(H)

Thanksgiving

⁴I always thank my God for you^(I) because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵For in him you have been enriched^(J) in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge^(K)— ⁶God thus confirming our testimony^(L) about Christ among you. ⁷Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift^(M) as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.^(N) ⁸He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless^(O) on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.^(P) ⁹God is faithful,^(Q) who has called you^(R) into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.^(S)

A Church Divided Over Leaders

¹⁰I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^[a]^(T) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you,^(U) but that you be perfectly united^(V) in mind and thought. ¹¹My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household^(W) have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹²What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”;^(X) another, “I follow Apollos”;^(Y) another, “I follow Cephas^[b]”;^(Z) still another, “I follow Christ.”

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?^(AA) ¹⁴I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus^(AB) and Gaius,^(AC) ¹⁵so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶(Yes, I also baptized the household^(AD) of Stephanas;^(AE) beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize,^(AF) but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom^(AG) and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness^(AH) to those who are perishing,^(AI) but to us who are being saved^(AJ) it is the power of God.^(AK) ¹⁹For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”^[c]^(AL)

²⁰Where is the wise person?^(AM) Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age?^(AN) Has not God made foolish^(AO) the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world^(AP) through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save^(AQ) those who believe.^(AR) ²²Jews demand signs^(AS) and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified:^(AT) a stumbling block^(AU) to Jews and foolishness^(AV) to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those whom God has called,^(AW) both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God^(AX) and the wisdom of God.^(AY) ²⁵For the foolishness^(AZ) of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness^(BA) of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.^(BB) Not many of you were wise^(BC) by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose^(BD) the foolish^(BE) things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not^(BF)—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no one may boast before him.^(BG) ³⁰It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,^(BH) who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,^(BI) holiness^(BJ) and redemption.^(BK) ³¹Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[d]^(BL)

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 1:10 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verses 11 and 26; and in 2:1; 3:1; 4:6; 6:8; 7:24, 29; 10:1; 11:33; 12:1; 14:6, 20, 26, 39; 15:1, 6, 50, 58; 16:15, 20.
1 Corinthians 1:12 That is, Peter
1 Corinthians 1:19 Isaiah 29:14
1 Corinthians 1:31 Jer. 9:24