The Steadfast Love of the Lord
1 hShout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
iPraise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the jlyre;
make melody to him with jthe harp of kten strings!
3 Sing to him la new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in mfaithfulness.
5 He nloves righteousness and justice;
othe earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 By pthe word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by qthe breath of his mouth all rtheir host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as sa heap;
he tputs the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For uhe spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord vbrings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 wThe counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 xBlessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has ychosen as his heritage!
13 The Lord zlooks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from awhere he sits enthroned he blooks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 cThe king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 dThe war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, ethe eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
fon those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may gdeliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in hfamine.
20 Our soul iwaits for the Lord;
he is our jhelp and kour shield.
21 For our heart is lglad in him,
because we mtrust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Warning Against Neglecting Salvation
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since athe message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and bevery transgression or disobedience received a just cretribution, 3 dhow shall we escape if we eneglect such a great salvation? It was fdeclared at first by the Lord, and it was gattested to us hby those who heard, 4 gwhile God also bore witness iby signs and wonders and various miracles and by jgifts of the Holy Spirit kdistributed according to his will.
The Founder of Salvation
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world lto come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,
m“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,1
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, nwe do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him owho for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, pcrowned with glory and honor qbecause of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might rtaste death sfor everyone.
10 For it twas fitting that he, ufor whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons vto glory, should make the wfounder of their salvation xperfect through suffering. 11 For yhe who sanctifies and zthose who are sanctified aall have one source.2 That is why he is not ashamed to call them bbrothers,3 12 saying,
c“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the dcongregation I will sing your praise.”
13 And again,
e“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise hpartook of the same things, that ithrough death he might jdestroy kthe one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who lthrough fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he mhelps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had nto be made like his brothers in every respect, oso that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest pin the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered qwhen tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.