Psalms 75; 2 Corinthians 10; 2 Corinthians 11; Psalms 76; Psalms 77

1 We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.

2 You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity.

3 When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.

4 To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.

5 Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak so defiantly.’ ”

6 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves.

7 It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.

8 In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.

9 As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,

10 who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

1 By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!

2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

7 You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.

8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.

10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”

11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.

14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.

15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,

16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory.

17 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

1 I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me!

2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.

3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

5 I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.”

6 I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.

7 Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge?

8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you.

9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine.

11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.

13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting.

17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool.

18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.

19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!

20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face.

21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I.

23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.

24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,

26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.

27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me.

33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

1 God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great.

2 His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.

3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.

4 You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game.

5 The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands.

6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still.

7 It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry?

8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—

9 when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.

10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

11 Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared.

12 He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.

1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.

2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.

3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

4 You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;

6 I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

7 “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?

8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?

9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

12 I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?

14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed.

17 The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth.

18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

19 Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.