Psalm 68

English Standard Version

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

68 ^(A)God shall arise, his enemies shall be ^(B)scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
²As ^(C)smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    ^(D)as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
³But ^(E)the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!

⁴Sing to God, ^(F)sing praises to his name;
    ^(G)lift up a song to him who ^(H)rides through ^(I)the deserts;
his name is ^(J)the Lord;
    exult before him!
⁵^(K)Father of the fatherless and ^(L)protector of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
⁶God ^(M)settles the solitary in a home;
    he ^(N)leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
    but ^(O)the rebellious dwell in ^(P)a parched land.

⁷O God, when you ^(Q)went out before your people,
    ^(R)when you marched through ^(S)the wilderness, Selah
⁸^(T)the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God,^[a] the God of Israel.
⁹^(U)Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
    you restored your inheritance as it languished;
¹⁰your flock^[b] found a dwelling in it;
    in your goodness, O God, you ^(V)provided for the needy.

¹¹The Lord gives ^(W)the word;
    ^(X)the women who announce the news are a great host:
¹²    ^(Y)“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home ^(Z)divide the spoil—
¹³    though you men lie among ^(AA)the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
    its pinions with shimmering gold.
¹⁴When the Almighty scatters kings there,
    let snow fall on ^(AB)Zalmon.

¹⁵O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
    O many-peaked^[c] mountain, mountain of Bashan!
¹⁶Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
    at the mount that God ^(AC)desired for his abode,
    yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
¹⁷^(AD)The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
    thousands upon thousands;
    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
¹⁸^(AE)You ascended on high,
    ^(AF)leading a host of captives in your train
    and ^(AG)receiving gifts among men,
even among ^(AH)the rebellious, ^(AI)that the Lord God may dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily ^(AJ)bears us up;
    God is our salvation. Selah
²⁰Our God is a God of salvation,
    ^(AK)and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
²¹^(AL)But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
²²The Lord said,
    “I will bring them back ^(AM)from Bashan,
^(AN)I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
²³that you may ^(AO)strike your feet in their blood,
    that ^(AP)the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

²⁴Your procession is^[d] seen, O God,
    the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
²⁵^(AQ)the singers in front, ^(AR)the musicians last,
    between them ^(AS)virgins playing tambourines:
²⁶^(AT)“Bless God in the great congregation,
    the Lord, O you^[e] who are of ^(AU)Israel's fountain!”
²⁷There is ^(AV)Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
    the princes of Judah in their throng,
    the princes of ^(AW)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸^(AX)Summon your power, O God,^[f]
    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
²⁹Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings shall ^(AY)bear gifts to you.
³⁰Rebuke ^(AZ)the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
    the herd of ^(BA)bulls with the calves of the peoples.
^(BB)Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
    scatter the peoples who delight in war.^[g]
³¹Nobles shall come from ^(BC)Egypt;
    ^(BD)Cush shall hasten to ^(BE)stretch out her hands to God.

³²^(BF)O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
    sing praises to the Lord, Selah
³³to him ^(BG)who rides in ^(BH)the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    behold, he ^(BI)sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
³⁴^(BJ)Ascribe power to God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    and whose ^(BK)power is in ^(BL)the skies.
³⁵^(BM)Awesome is God from his^[h] ^(BN)sanctuary;
    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives ^(BO)power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!

Footnotes

Psalm 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God
Psalm 68:10 Or your congregation
Psalm 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16
Psalm 68:24 Or has been
Psalm 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here
Psalm 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power
Psalm 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Psalm 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your

Psalm 72

English Standard Version

Give the King Your Justice

Of ^(A)Solomon.

72 Give the king your ^(B)justice, O God,
    and your righteousness to the royal son!
²May he ^(C)judge your people with righteousness,
    and your poor with justice!
³Let the mountains bear ^(D)prosperity for the people,
    and the hills, in righteousness!
⁴May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the children of the needy,
    and crush the oppressor!

⁵May they fear you^[a] while ^(E)the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, ^(F)throughout all generations!
⁶May he be like ^(G)rain that falls on ^(H)the mown grass,
    like ^(I)showers that water the earth!
⁷In his days may ^(J)the righteous flourish,
    and ^(K)peace abound, till the moon be no more!

⁸May he have dominion from ^(L)sea to sea,
    and from ^(M)the River^[b] to the ^(N)ends of the earth!
⁹May desert tribes ^(O)bow down before him,
    and his enemies ^(P)lick the dust!
¹⁰May the kings of ^(Q)Tarshish and of ^(R)the coastlands
    render him ^(S)tribute;
may the kings of ^(T)Sheba and ^(U)Seba
    bring gifts!
¹¹May all kings ^(V)fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!

¹²For he delivers ^(W)the needy when he calls,
    the poor and him who has no helper.
¹³He has pity on the weak and the needy,
    and saves the lives of the needy.
¹⁴From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
    and ^(X)precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live;
    may ^(Y)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made ^(Z)for him continually,
    and blessings invoked for him all the day!
¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the land;
    on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
    may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people ^(AA)blossom in the cities
    like the ^(AB)grass of the field!
¹⁷^(AC)May his name endure forever,
    his fame continue as long as the sun!
^(AD)May people be blessed in him,
    ^(AE)all nations call him blessed!

¹⁸^(AF)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does ^(AG)wondrous things.
¹⁹Blessed be his ^(AH)glorious name forever;
may ^(AI)the whole earth be filled with his glory!
^(AJ)Amen and Amen!

²⁰^(AK)The prayers of ^(AL)David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Footnotes

Psalm 72:5 Septuagint He shall endure
Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates

Psalm 86

English Standard Version

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

^(A)A Prayer of David.

86 ^(B)Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am ^(C)poor and needy.
²Preserve my life, for I am ^(D)godly;
    save your servant, who ^(E)trusts in you—you are my God.
³^(F)Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
⁴Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for ^(G)to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
⁵For you, O Lord, are good and ^(H)forgiving,
    ^(I)abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
⁶^(J)Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
⁷In ^(K)the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    ^(L)for you answer me.

⁸There is ^(M)none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    ^(N)nor are there any works like yours.
⁹^(O)All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
¹⁰For ^(P)you are great and ^(Q)do wondrous things;
    ^(R)you alone are God.
¹¹^(S)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may ^(T)walk in your truth;
    ^(U)unite my heart to fear your name.
¹²I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
¹³^(V)For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have ^(W)delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴O God, insolent men have ^(X)risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
¹⁵But you, O Lord, are a God ^(Y)merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
¹⁶^(Z)Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to ^(AA)your servant,
    and save ^(AB)the son of your maidservant.
¹⁷^(AC)Show me a sign of your ^(AD)favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Acts 17

English Standard Version

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ²And Paul went in, ^(B)as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them ^(C)from the Scriptures, ³^(D)explaining and proving that it was necessary for ^(E)the Christ to suffer and ^(F)to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” ⁴And ^(G)some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did ^(H)a great many of the devout ^(I)Greeks and not a few of the leading women. ⁵^(J)But the Jews^[a] ^(K)were jealous, and taking ^(L)some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. ⁶And when they could not find them, ^(M)they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, ⁷and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against ^(N)the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is ^(O)another king, Jesus.” ⁸And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. ⁹And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Paul and Silas in Berea

¹⁰^(P)The brothers^[b] immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they ^(Q)went into the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, ^(R)examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. ¹²^(S)Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek ^(T)women of high standing as well as men. ¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, ^(U)agitating and stirring up the crowds. ¹⁴Then the brothers ^(V)immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and ^(W)Timothy remained there. ¹⁵^(X)Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as ^(Y)Athens, and after receiving a command ^(Z)for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was ^(AA)provoked within him as he saw that the city was ^(AB)full of idols. ¹⁷So ^(AC)he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ^(AD)“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because ^(AE)he was preaching ^(AF)Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹And they took him and brought him to ^(AG)the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this ^(AH)new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰For you bring some ^(AI)strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” ²¹Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

²²So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ^(AJ)‘To the unknown god.’ ^(AK)What therefore you worship ^(AL)as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴^(AM)The God who made the world and everything in it, being ^(AN)Lord of heaven and earth, ^(AO)does not live in temples made by man,^[c] ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, ^(AP)as though he needed anything, since he himself ^(AQ)gives to all mankind ^(AR)life and breath and everything. ²⁶And ^(AS)he made from one man every nation of mankind to live ^(AT)on all the face of the earth, ^(AU)having determined allotted periods and ^(AV)the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷^(AW)that they should seek God, ^(AX)and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. ^(AY)Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸for

^(AZ)“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;^[d]

as even some of ^(BA)your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’^[e]

²⁹^(BB)Being then God's offspring, ^(BC)we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ³⁰^(BD)The times of ignorance ^(BE)God overlooked, but ^(BF)now he ^(BG)commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹because he has fixed ^(BH)a day on which ^(BI)he will judge the world ^(BJ)in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^(BK)of this he has given assurance to all ^(BL)by raising him from the dead.”

³²Now when they heard of ^(BM)the resurrection of the dead, ^(BN)some mocked. But others said, ^(BO)“We will hear you again about this.” ³³So Paul went out from their midst. ³⁴But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius ^(BP)the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Footnotes

Acts 17:5 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 13
Acts 17:10 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 14
Acts 17:24 Greek made by hands
Acts 17:28 Probably from Epimenides of Crete
Acts 17:28 From Aratus's poem “Phainomena”

Acts 18:1-18

English Standard Version

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul^[a] left Athens and went to Corinth. ²And he found a Jew named ^(A)Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^(B)Priscilla, because ^(C)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, ³and ^(D)because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. ⁴And ^(E)he reasoned in the synagogue ^(F)every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

⁵^(G)When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ^(H)was occupied with the word, ^(I)testifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^(J)Jesus. ⁶And when they opposed and reviled him, ^(K)he shook out his garments and said to them, ^(L)“Your blood be on your own heads! ^(M)I am innocent. ^(N)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^(O)Justus, ^(P)a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸^(Q)Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^(R)with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. ⁹And the Lord said to Paul ^(S)one night in ^(T)a vision, ^(U)“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, ¹⁰^(V)for I am with you, and ^(W)no one will attack you to harm you, for ^(X)I have many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹²But when Gallio was ^(Y)proconsul of Achaia, ^(Z)the Jews^[b] made a united attack on Paul and ^(AA)brought him before the tribunal, ¹³saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^(AB)the law.” ¹⁴But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^(AC)crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. ¹⁵But ^(AD)since it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^(AE)your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” ¹⁶And he drove them from the tribunal. ¹⁷And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of ^(AF)the brothers^[c] and set sail for Syria, and with him ^(AG)Priscilla and Aquila. At ^(AH)Cenchreae ^(AI)he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.

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Footnotes

Acts 18:1 Greek he
Acts 18:12 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 14 (twice), 28
Acts 18:18 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 27