Night Watch Devotion

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
³ But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
⁴ Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
⁷ You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
¹ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.
² God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
³ They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
⁴ Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
⁵ There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
⁶ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
¹ Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
² Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers,
³ who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,
⁴ shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?”
⁶ They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
⁷ But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly.
⁸ They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads.
⁹ Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done.
¹⁰ Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
¹ Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.
² O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.
³ When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.
⁴ Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
⁵ By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;
⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;
⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,
⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
⁹ You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
¹ Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
² sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
⁴ All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
⁵ Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,
⁷ who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
⁸ Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹ who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰ For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹ You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
¹² you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,
¹⁴ that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
¹⁷ I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
²⁰ Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! (ESV)

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’
¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (ESV)

¹ Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.”
² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
³ In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,
⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,
⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
⁶ The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.”
⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
¹⁰ And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
¹³ Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
¹⁴ Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
¹⁵ Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
¹⁷ Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.
¹⁹ And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
²⁰ Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
²² Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
²³ Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
²⁴ If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. (ESV)

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
²³ One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
²⁵ And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:
²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
²⁷ And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
²⁸ So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (ESV)

¹ The LORD said to Moses,
² “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,
⁴ to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,
⁵ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.
⁶ And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:
⁷ the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent,
⁸ the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense,
⁹ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand,
¹⁰ and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests,
¹¹ and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”
¹² And the LORD said to Moses,
¹³ “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.
¹⁴ You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
¹⁵ Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.
¹⁶ Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
¹⁷ It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
¹⁸ And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

¹ When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
² So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
³ So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
⁴ And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
⁶ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
⁷ And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”
⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
¹¹ But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.
¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
¹⁴ And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
¹⁵ Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.
¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”
¹⁸ But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.”
¹⁹ And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
²⁰ He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
²¹ And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?”
²² And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
²³ For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
²⁵ And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies),
²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.
²⁷ And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’”
²⁸ And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell.
²⁹ And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”
³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
³¹ So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.
³² But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”
³³ But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
³⁴ But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”
³⁵ Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

¹ The LORD said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’
² I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
³ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
⁴ When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.
⁵ For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’”
⁶ Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. (ESV)

³⁰ The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
³² And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
³⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.
³⁶ Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
³⁷ But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.
⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.
⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied.
⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.
⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
⁴⁷ And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,
⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,
⁵⁰ for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,
⁵² for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore.
⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him
⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.
⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. (ESV)

Of David.
¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
³ Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
⁴ Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
⁶ Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! (ESV)

¹ Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
² For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
³ On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
⁴ The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.
⁵ Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
⁶ Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
⁷ If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?
⁸ And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?
⁹ So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.
¹⁰ There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning,
¹¹ but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.
¹² So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
¹³ Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.
¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.
¹⁵ What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
¹⁶ Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?
¹⁷ For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.
¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
¹⁹ Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
²⁰ Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
²¹ In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”
²² Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
²³ If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?
²⁴ But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all,
²⁵ the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
²⁶ What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
²⁷ If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret.
²⁸ But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.
³⁰ If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.
³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,
³² and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
³³ For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,
³⁴ the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.
³⁵ If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
³⁶ Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?
³⁷ If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.
³⁸ If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.
³⁹ So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
⁴⁰ But all things should be done decently and in order.

¹ Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
²⁷ For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
²⁸ When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
²⁹ Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
³⁰ Why are we in danger every hour?
³¹ I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!
³² What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
³⁴ Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
³⁶ You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
³⁹ For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.
⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
⁴² So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
⁴⁵ Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
⁴⁶ But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.
⁴⁷ The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
⁵¹ Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵ “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

¹ Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.
² On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
³ And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
⁴ If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
⁵ I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia,
⁶ and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go.
⁷ For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.
⁸ But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost,
⁹ for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
¹⁰ When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.
¹¹ So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.
¹² Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
¹³ Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love.
¹⁵ Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints—
¹⁶ be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.
¹⁷ I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence,
¹⁸ for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.
¹⁹ The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
²⁰ All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
²¹ I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
²² If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!
²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
²⁴ My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
⁵ For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
⁸ For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
⁹ Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
¹⁰ He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
¹¹ You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
¹² For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
¹³ For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand—
¹⁴ just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.
¹⁵ Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace.
¹⁶ I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea.
¹⁷ Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?
¹⁸ As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.
¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes.
²⁰ For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
²¹ And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
²² and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
²³ But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth.
²⁴ Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. (ESV)