Old/New Testament
Psalm 35[a]
By David.
35 O Lord, fight[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
2 Grab your small shield and large shield,[c]
and rise up to help me.
3 Use your spear and lance[d] against[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:[f] “I am your deliverer.”
4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.[g]
5 May they be[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord[i] attacks them.[j]
6 May their path be[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.[l]
8 Let destruction take them by surprise.[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.[n]
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.[o]
10 With all my strength I will say,[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”[s]
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[t]
and falsely accuse me.[u]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[v]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[w]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[x]
and refrained from eating food.[y]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[z]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[aa]
I bowed down[ab] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[ac]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[ad]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[ae]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[af]
and tried to bite me.[ag]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[ah] me[ai] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[aj] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[ak]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[al]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[am] gloat[an] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[ao]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[ap]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[aq]
21 They are ready to devour me;[ar]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[as]
22 But you take notice,[at] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[au] and vindicate me.[av]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[aw]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ax] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[ay] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[az]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ba]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[bb]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[bc] “May the Lord be praised,[bd] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[be]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[bf]
and praise you all day long.[bg]
Psalm 36[bh]
For the music director, an oracle, written by the Lord’s servant David.[bi]
36 An evil man is rebellious to the core.[bj]
He does not fear God,[bk]
2 for he is too proud
to recognize and give up his sin.[bl]
3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;
he does not care about doing what is wise and right.[bm]
4 While he lies in bed he plans ways to sin.
He is committed to a sinful lifestyle;[bn]
he does not reject what is evil.[bo]
5 O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky,[bp]
your faithfulness to the clouds.[bq]
6 Your justice is like the highest mountains,[br]
your fairness like the deepest sea;
you, Lord, preserve[bs] mankind and the animal kingdom.[bt]
7 How precious[bu] is your loyal love, O God!
The human race finds shelter under your wings.[bv]
8 They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.[bw]
10 Extend[bx] your loyal love to your faithful followers,[by]
and vindicate[bz] the morally upright.[ca]
11 Do not let arrogant men overtake me,
or let evil men make me homeless.[cb]
12 I can see the evildoers! They have fallen.[cc]
They have been knocked down and are unable to get up.[cd]
Paul Appeals to Caesar
25 Now[a] three days after Festus[b] arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.[c] 2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men[d] of the Jews brought formal charges[e] against Paul to him. 3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul,[f] they urged Festus[g] to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush[h] to kill him along the way. 4 Then Festus[i] replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea,[j] and he himself intended to go there[k] shortly. 5 “So,” he said, “let your leaders[l] go down there[m] with me, and if this man has done anything wrong,[n] they may bring charges[o] against him.”
6 After Festus[p] had stayed[q] not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea,[r] and the next day he sat[s] on the judgment seat[t] and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him,[u] bringing many serious[v] charges that they were not able to prove.[w] 8 Paul said in his defense,[x] “I have committed no offense[y] against the Jewish law[z] or against the temple or against Caesar.”[aa] 9 But Festus,[ab] wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried[ac] before me there on these charges?”[ad] 10 Paul replied,[ae] “I am standing before Caesar’s[af] judgment seat,[ag] where I should be tried.[ah] I have done nothing wrong[ai] to the Jews, as you also know very well.[aj] 11 If then I am in the wrong[ak] and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying,[al] but if not one of their charges against me is true,[am] no one can hand me over to them.[an] I appeal to Caesar!”[ao] 12 Then, after conferring with his council,[ap] Festus[aq] replied, “You have appealed to Caesar;[ar] to Caesar[as] you will go!”[at]
Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice
13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa[au] and Bernice arrived at Caesarea[av] to pay their respects[aw] to Festus.[ax] 14 While[ay] they were staying there many days, Festus[az] explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion,[ba] saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed[bb] me about him,[bc] asking for a sentence of condemnation[bd] against him. 16 I answered them[be] that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone[bf] before the accused had met his accusers face-to-face[bg] and had been given[bh] an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.[bi] 17 So after they came back here with me,[bj] I did not postpone the case,[bk] but the next day I sat[bl] on the judgment seat[bm] and ordered the man to be brought. 18 When his accusers stood up, they did not charge[bn] him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected.[bo] 19 Rather they had several points of disagreement[bp] with him about their own religion[bq] and about a man named Jesus[br] who was dead, whom Paul claimed[bs] to be alive. 20 Because I was at a loss[bt] how I could investigate these matters,[bu] I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried[bv] there on these charges.[bw] 21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor,[bx] I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.”[by] 22 Agrippa[bz] said to Festus,[ca] “I would also like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he replied,[cb] “you will hear him.”
Paul Before King Agrippa and Bernice
23 So the next day Agrippa[cc] and Bernice came with great pomp[cd] and entered the audience hall,[ce] along with the senior military officers[cf] and the prominent men of the city. When Festus[cg] gave the order,[ch] Paul was brought in. 24 Then Festus[ci] said, “King Agrippa,[cj] and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace[ck] petitioned[cl] me both in Jerusalem and here,[cm] shouting loudly[cn] that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death,[co] and when he appealed[cp] to His Majesty the Emperor,[cq] I decided to send him.[cr] 26 But I have nothing definite[cs] to write to my lord[ct] about him.[cu] Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa,[cv] so that after this preliminary hearing[cw] I may have something to write. 27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating[cx] the charges against him.”
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