Old/New Testament
Psalm 7[a]
A musical composition[b] by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning[c] a Benjaminite named Cush.[d]
7 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter.[e]
Deliver me from all who chase me. Rescue me!
2 Otherwise they will rip[f] me[g] to shreds like a lion;
they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me.[h]
3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say,[i]
or am guilty of unjust actions,[j]
4 or have wronged my ally,[k]
or helped his lawless enemy,[l]
5 may an enemy relentlessly chase[m] me[n] and catch me;[o]
may he trample me to death[p]
and leave me lying dishonored in the dust.[q] (Selah)
6 Stand up angrily,[r] Lord.
Rise up with raging fury against my enemies.[s]
Wake up for my sake, and execute the judgment you have decreed for them.[t]
7 The countries are assembled all around you;[u]
take once more your rightful place over them.[v]
8 The Lord judges the nations.[w]
Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent,[x]
because I am blameless,[y] O Exalted One.[z]
9 May the evil deeds of the wicked[aa] come to an end.[ab]
But make the innocent[ac] secure,[ad]
O righteous God,
you who examine[ae] inner thoughts and motives.[af]
10 The Exalted God is my shield,[ag]
the one who delivers the morally upright.[ah]
11 God is a just judge;
he is angry throughout the day.[ai]
12 If a person[aj] does not repent, God will wield his sword.[ak]
He has prepared to shoot his bow.[al]
13 He has prepared deadly weapons to use against him;[am]
he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows.[an]
14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies—
15 he digs a pit[ao]
and then falls into the hole he has made.[ap]
16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans[aq]—
and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head.[ar]
17 I will thank the Lord for[as] his justice;
I will sing praises to the Lord Most High![at]
Psalm 8[au]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[av] a psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,[aw]
how magnificent[ax] is your reputation[ay] throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.[az]
2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,[ba]
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.[bb]
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,[bc]
4 Of what importance is the human race,[bd] that you should notice[be] them?
Of what importance is mankind,[bf] that you should pay attention to them?[bg]
5 You made them[bh] a little less than[bi] the heavenly beings.[bj]
You crowned mankind[bk] with honor and majesty.[bl]
6 you appoint them to rule over your creation;[bm]
you have placed[bn] everything under their authority,[bo]
7 including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,[bp]
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents[bq] of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,[br]
how magnificent[bs] is your reputation[bt] throughout the earth![bu]
Psalm 9[bv]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[bw] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[bx]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[by]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[bz] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[ca]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[cb]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[cc]
You destroyed the wicked;[cd]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[ce]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[cf]
You destroyed their cities;[cg]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[ch]
7 But the Lord[ci] rules[cj] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[ck]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[cl]
9 Consequently[cm] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[cn]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[co]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[cp]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[cq]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[cr] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[cs]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[ct]
he did not overlook[cu] their cry for help[cv]
13 when they prayed:[cw]
“Have mercy on me,[cx] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[cy]
O one who can snatch me away[cz] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[da] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[db]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[dc] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[dd]
15 The nations fell[de] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[df]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[dg] (Higgaion.[dh] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[di]
this is the destiny of[dj] all the nations that ignore[dk] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[dl]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[dm]
19 Rise up, Lord![dn]
Don’t let men be defiant.[do]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[dp]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[dq] (Selah)
Paul at Corinth
18 After this[a] Paul[b] departed from[c] Athens and went to Corinth.[d] 2 There he[e] found[f] a Jew named Aquila,[g] a native of Pontus,[h] who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius[i] had ordered all the Jews to depart from[j] Rome. Paul approached[k] them, 3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them[l] (for they were tentmakers[m] by trade).[n] 4 He addressed[o] both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue[p] every Sabbath, attempting to persuade[q] them.
5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived[r] from Macedonia,[s] Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming[t] the word, testifying[u] to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.[v] 6 When they opposed him[w] and reviled him,[x] he protested by shaking out his clothes[y] and said to them, “Your blood[z] be on your own heads! I am guiltless![aa] From now on I will go to the Gentiles!” 7 Then Paul[ab] left[ac] the synagogue[ad] and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God,[ae] whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the president of the synagogue,[af] believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it[ag] believed and were baptized. 9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision[ah] in the night,[ai] “Do not be afraid,[aj] but speak and do not be silent, 10 because I am with you, and no one will assault[ak] you to harm[al] you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So he stayed there[am] a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.[an]
Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio
12 Now while Gallio[ao] was proconsul[ap] of Achaia,[aq] the Jews attacked Paul together[ar] and brought him before the judgment seat,[as] 13 saying, “This man is persuading[at] people to worship God in a way contrary to[au] the law!” 14 But just as Paul was about to speak,[av] Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy,[aw] I would have been justified in accepting the complaint[ax] of you Jews,[ay] 15 but since it concerns points of disagreement[az] about words and names and your own law, settle[ba] it yourselves. I will not be[bb] a judge of these things!” 16 Then he had them forced away[bc] from the judgment seat.[bd] 17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue,[be] and began to beat[bf] him in front of the judgment seat.[bg] Yet none of these things were of any concern[bh] to Gallio.
Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria
18 Paul, after staying[bi] many more days in Corinth, said farewell to[bj] the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by[bk] Priscilla and Aquila.[bl] He[bm] had his hair cut off[bn] at Cenchrea[bo] because he had made a vow.[bp] 19 When they reached Ephesus,[bq] Paul[br] left Priscilla and Aquila[bs] behind there, but he himself went[bt] into the synagogue[bu] and addressed[bv] the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay longer, he would not consent,[bw] 21 but said farewell to[bx] them and added,[by] “I will come back[bz] to you again if God wills.”[ca] Then[cb] he set sail from Ephesus, 22 and when he arrived[cc] at Caesarea,[cd] he went up and greeted[ce] the church at Jerusalem[cf] and then went down to Antioch.[cg] 23 After he spent[ch] some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia[ci] and Phrygia,[cj] strengthening all the disciples.
Apollos Begins His Ministry
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker,[ck] well-versed[cl] in the scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in[cm] the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm[cn] he spoke and taught accurately the facts[co] about Jesus, although he knew[cp] only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak out fearlessly[cq] in the synagogue,[cr] but when Priscilla and Aquila[cs] heard him, they took him aside[ct] and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 When Apollos[cu] wanted to cross over to Achaia,[cv] the brothers encouraged[cw] him[cx] and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he[cy] assisted greatly those who had believed by grace, 28 for he refuted the Jews vigorously[cz] in public debate,[da] demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ[db] was Jesus.[dc]
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