1Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy sanctuary;*a
give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.
2Give praise for his mighty deeds,b
praise him for his great majesty.
3Give praise with blasts upon the horn,c
praise him with harp and lyre.
4Give praise with tambourines and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.d
5Give praise with crashing cymbals,
praise him with sounding cymbals.
6Let everything that has breath
give praise to the LORD!e
Hallelujah!
16Thus says the LORD,
who opens a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,d
17Who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out, quenched like a wick.e
18Remember not* the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
19See, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the wilderness I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
20Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and ostriches,
For I put water in the wilderness
and rivers in the wasteland
for my chosen people to drink,
21The people whom I formed for myself,
that they might recount my praise.
22Yet you did not call upon me, Jacob,*
for you grew weary of me, Israel.
23You did not bring me sheep for your burnt offerings,
nor honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not exact from you the service of offerings,
nor weary you for frankincense.f
24You did not buy me sweet cane,*
nor did you fill me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Instead, you burdened me with your sins,
wearied me with your crimes.
25It is I, I, who wipe out,
for my own sake, your offenses;
your sins I remember no more.
26Would you have me remember, have us come to trial?
Speak up, prove your innocence!
27Your first father* sinned;
your spokesmen rebelled against me
28Till I repudiated the holy princes,
put Jacob under the ban,
exposed Israel to scorn.
Doers of the Word. 19Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear,* slow to speak, slow to wrath,j 20for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.k 21Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.l
22Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.m 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25But the one who peers into the perfect law* of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.n
26* If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue* but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.o 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows* in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.p
Exhortation to Be Vigilant. 34“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprisea 35like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. 36Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”b
Ministry in Jerusalem. 37During the day, Jesus was teaching in the temple area, but at night he would leave and stay at the place called the Mount of Olives.c 38And all the people would get up early each morning to listen to him in the temple area.