Psalm 48; Matthew 17

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Psalm 48

Zion, the City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of kthe Sons of Korah.

lGreat is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in mthe city of our God!

His nholy mountain, obeautiful in elevation,

is pthe joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

qthe city of the great King.

Within her citadels God

has made himself known as a fortress.

For behold, rthe kings assembled;

they came on together.

As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

they were in panic; they took to flight.

sTrembling took hold of them there,

anguish tas of a woman in labor.

By uthe east wind you vshattered

the ships of wTarshish.

As we have heard, so have we seen

in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in mthe city of our God,

which God will xestablish forever. Selah

We have thought on your ysteadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple.

10  As your zname, O God,

so your praise reaches to athe ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11  Let Mount bZion be glad!

Let bthe daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments!

12  Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

13  consider well her cramparts,

go through her citadels,

dthat you may tell the next generation

14  that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will eguide us forever.1


Matthew 17

The Transfiguration

gAnd after six days Jesus took with him hPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was itransfigured before them, and jhis face shone like the sun, and khis clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for lElijah. He was still speaking when, behold, ma bright cloud overshadowed them, and ma voice from the cloud said, nThis is my beloved Son,1 with whom I am well pleased; olisten to him. When pthe disciples heard this, qthey fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and rtouched them, saying, Rise, and shave no fear. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

tAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, uTell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. 10 And the disciples asked him, Then why do the scribes say vthat first Elijah must come? 11 He answered, Elijah does come, and whe will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but xdid to him whatever they pleased. ySo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. 13 zThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has bseizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and cthey could not heal him. 17 And Jesus answered, O faithless and dtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? eHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me. 18 And Jesus frebuked the demon,2 and it3 came out of him, and gthe boy was healed instantly.4 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not cast it out? 20 He said to them, hBecause of your little faith. For itruly, I say to you, jif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, kyou will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and lnothing will be impossible for you.5

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 mAs they were gathering6 in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on nthe third day. And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

24 oWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of pthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, Does your teacher not pay the tax? 25 He said, Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, qWhat do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or rtax? From their sons or from others? 26 And when he said, From others, Jesus said to him, Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.7 Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.