Psalm 37:18–40; Hebrews 4:14–5:10; John 12:23–33

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Psalm 37:18–40

18  The Lord aknows the days of the blameless,

and their bheritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

in cthe days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like dthe glory of the pastures;

they vanishlike esmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous fis generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord1 shall ginherit the land,

but those cursed by him hshall be cut off.

23  The isteps of a man are jestablished by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

24  kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord lupholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children mbegging for bread.

26  He is ever nlending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  oTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you pdwell forever.

28  For the Lord qloves justice;

he will not forsake his rsaints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be scut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and pdwell upon it forever.

30  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  tThe law of his God is in his heart;

his usteps do not slip.

32  The wicked vwatches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not wabandon him to his power

or let him xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.

34  yWait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on zwhen the wicked are cut off.

35  aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like ba green laurel tree.2

36  But he passed away,3 and behold, che was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

37  Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of dpeace.

38  But etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked fshall be cut off.

39  gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in hthe time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and idelivers them;

jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they ktake refuge in him.


Hebrews 4:14–5:10

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have da great high priest ewho has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, flet us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest gwho is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been dtempted as we are, hyet without sin. 16 iLet us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

For every high priest chosen from among men jis appointed to act on behalf of men kin relation to God, lto offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. mHe can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself nis beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins ojust as he does for those of the people. And pno one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, qjust as Aaron was.

So also Christ rdid not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

sYou are my Son,

today I have begotten you;

as he says also in another place,

tYou are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.

In the days of his flesh, uJesus1 offered up prayers and supplications, vwith loud cries and tears, to him wwho was able to save him from death, and xhe was heard because of his reverence. Although yhe was a son, zhe learned obedience through what he suffered. And abeing made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest bafter the order of Melchizedek.


John 12:23–33

23 And Jesus answered them, iThe hour has come jfor the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, kunless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 lWhoever loves his life loses it, and mwhoever nhates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must ofollow me; and pwhere I am, there will my servant be also. qIf anyone serves me, rthe Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

27 sNow is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, tsave me from uthis hour? But vfor this purpose I have come to uthis hour. 28 Father, glorify your name. Then wa voice came from heaven: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, xAn angel has spoken to him. 30 Jesus answered, yThis voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 zNow is the judgment of this world; now will athe ruler of this world bbe cast out. 32 And I, cwhen I am lifted up from the earth, dwill draw eall people to myself. 33 He said this fto show by what kind of death he was going to die.