When I realized that my foot was slipping, your kindness, O Lord, raised me up. | I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. |
Do not swerve either to the right or to the left; keep your foot far from evil. | Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. |
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He will not permit your foot to stumble; he who guards you will not fall asleep. | He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. |
And yet he is aware of everywhere I go; if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold. My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established; I have followed his way and never turned aside. | But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. |
But what I tell you is this: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since it is God’s throne, or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. | But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. |
You will again show us compassion and wash away our guilt; you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. | Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! |
Guide my steps in accord with your word and never let evil triumph over me. | Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil. |
You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can be done to make it salty once again? It is no longer good for anything, and thus it is cast out and trampled underfoot. | You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. |
This, in fact, is what you have been called to do, because Christ himself suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his footsteps. | For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. |
If you refrain from traveling on the Sabbath and from engaging in your own interests on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a day of joy and regard the Lord’s holy day as honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way, serving your own interests, or attending to your own affairs; then you will find true happiness in the Lord, and I will enable you to ride upon the heights of the earth. I will nourish you with the heritage of your father Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. | Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken! |
If you are angry, do not sin. Do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not give the devil an opening. | And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. |
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your gracious Spirit lead me along a level path. | Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. |