The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
1 O Lord, God of pvengeance,
O God of vengeance, qshine forth!
2 rRise up, O sjudge of the earth;
repay to the tproud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, uhow long shall the wicked,
how long shall vthe wicked exult?
4 They pour out their warrogant words;
all xthe evildoers boast.
5 They ycrush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill zthe widow and the sojourner,
and murder zthe fatherless;
7 aand they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who eteaches man knowledge—
11 fthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
12 hBlessed is the man whom you idiscipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him jrest from kdays of trouble,
until la pit is dug for the wicked.
14 mFor the Lord will not forsake his npeople;
he will not abandon his nheritage;
15 for ojustice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will pfollow it.
16 qWho rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 rIf the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of ssilence.
18 When I thought, t“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, uheld me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wwicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame2 injustice by xstatute?
21 They yband together against the life of the righteous
and condemn zthe innocent to death.3
22 But the Lord has become my astronghold,
and my God bthe rock of my crefuge.
23 He will bring back on them dtheir iniquity
and ewipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Teach Sound Doctrine
1 But as for you, teach what accords with psound1 doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, psound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 qOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, rnot slanderers sor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, tpure, uworking at home, kind, and vsubmissive to their own husbands, wthat the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge xthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be ya model of good works, and in your teaching zshow integrity, adignity, 8 and bsound speech that cannot be condemned, cso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 dBondservants2 are to be submissive to their own masters ein everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, fbut showing all good faith, gso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
11 For hthe grace of God ihas appeared, bringing salvation jfor all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and kworldly passions, and lto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in mthe present age, 13 nwaiting for our blessed ohope, the pappearing of the glory of our great qGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 rwho gave himself for us to sredeem us from all lawlessness and tto purify for himself ta people for his own possession who are uzealous for good works.
15 Declare these things; exhort and vrebuke with all authority. wLet no one disregard you.
