Old/New Testament
Psalm 10[a]
Prayer for Help against Oppressors
1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you remain hidden in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked hunts down the poor;
let him be ensnared by the schemes he has devised.
3 The wicked boasts of his wicked desires;
he upholds the greedy and renounces the Lord.
4 Filled with arrogance, he does not seek God,
but thinks, “God does not exist.”[b]
5 The wicked always seems to prosper;
your judgments are far from his mind,
and he scoffs at all those who oppose him.
6 He says in his heart,[c] “I will not be swayed;
I will never experience misfortune.”
7 His mouth is filled with curses, deceit, and threats;[d]
his tongue breeds evil and malice.
8 He lies in wait near the villages,
and from ambush he slays the innocent;
his eyes are on the watch for the helpless.
9 He lies in wait like a lurking lion,
ready to strike the helpless;
he snares his victims,
seizing them in his net.
10 He crouches and lies low,
and the poor are overwhelmed by his might.
11 He thinks in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see what is happening.”
12 Arise, O Lord! Lift up your hand, O God!
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why should the wicked reject God
and say in his heart,
“He will not call me to account”?
14 But you note our troubles and our grief
so that you may resolve our difficulties.
The helpless entrusts himself to you;
you are the recourse of the fatherless.
15 Break the arms of the sinner and the evildoer;
seek out the wicked
until no more endure.[e]
16 [f]The Lord is King forever and ever;
the heathen will disappear from his land.
17 You listen, O Lord, to the longings of the poor;
you strengthen their courage and heed their prayers.
18 You ensure justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that no one on earth may fill them with terror.
Psalm 11[g]
Unshakable Confidence in God
1 For the director.[h] Of David.
[i]In the Lord I take refuge.
How can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to your mountains!
2 For behold, the wicked are bending their bows
as they fit their arrows to the string
so that from the shadows
they can shoot at those who are upright.[j]
3 If the foundations[k] are destroyed,
what can be done by those who are righteous?”
4 [l]The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord, whose throne is in heaven.
His eyes are fixed on the world;
his gaze examines everyone.
5 The Lord tests the upright and the wicked;
he detests the lover of violence.
6 Upon the wicked he will rain down
fiery coals and brimstone;[m]
a scorching wind will be their allotted portion.
7 For the Lord is just
and he loves righteous deeds;
the upright will behold his face.[n]
Psalm 12[o]
Prayer against the Arrogance of Sinners
1 For the director.[p] “Upon the eighth.” A psalm of David.
2 Help, O Lord, for there are no godly left;
the faithful have vanished from the human race.
3 Neighbors utter lies to each other;
they speak with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.[q]
4 May the Lord destroy all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue,
5 those who say, “We will prevail by our tongues;
with our lips as our ally,
who can lord it over us?”
6 “The poor have been oppressed,
and those who are needy groan.
Therefore, I will rise up now,” says the Lord;
“I will grant them the safety
for which they long.”
7 And the promises of the Lord are certain;
they are like silver refined in a furnace
and purified seven times.[r]
8 [s]You, O Lord, will watch over us
and preserve us from this generation forever.
9 For the wicked prowl on every side,
and what is vile is exalted by mankind.
Chapter 19
Paul in Ephesus.[a] 1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No. We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 He asked, “Then how were you baptized?” They answered, “With the baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve of them in all.
8 He then entered the synagogue, and during the next three months he spoke out fearlessly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some remained stubborn in their disbelief and began to malign the Way publicly. So he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and began to hold daily discussions in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, with the result that all the residents of the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
11 New Encounter of the Church with Magic.[b] So extraordinary were the wonders God worked through Paul 12 that when handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, they were cured of their diseases and the evil spirits came out of them.
13 Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists used the name of the Lord Jesus over those possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish leading priest named Sceva were among those who were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit sprang at them, overpowered them, and prevailed over them so violently that they fled out of the house battered and naked.
17 When this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck, and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in ever increasing honor. 18 Moreover, many of those who had become believers came forward and openly confessed their deeds, 19 while a great number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly. When the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver pieces.[c] 20 In such ways did the word of the Lord spread ever more widely and successfully.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.