Old/New Testament
Psalm 10[a]
10 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?[b]
2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;[c]
the oppressed are trapped[d] by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.[e]
3 Yes,[f] the wicked man[g] boasts because he gets what he wants;[h]
the one who robs others[i] curses[j] and[k] rejects the Lord.[l]
4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,
“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”[m]
5 He is secure at all times.[n]
He has no regard for your commands;[o]
he disdains all his enemies.[p]
6 He says to himself,[q]
“I will never[r] be shaken,
because I experience no calamity.”[s]
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;[t]
his tongue injures and destroys.[u]
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;[v]
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.[w]
9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.[x]
He lies in ambush, waiting to catch[y] the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed[z] by pulling in his net.[aa]
10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets.[ab]
11 He says to himself,[ac]
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.”[ad]
12 Rise up, Lord![ae]
O God, strike him down.[af]
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man reject God?[ag]
He says to himself,[ah] “You[ai] will not hold me accountable.”[aj]
14 You have taken notice,[ak]
for[al] you always see[am] one who inflicts pain and suffering.[an]
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;[ao]
you deliver[ap] the fatherless.[aq]
15 Break the arm[ar] of the wicked and evil man.
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,[as]
which he thought you would not discover.[at]
16 The Lord rules forever![au]
The nations are driven out of his land.[av]
17 Lord, you have heard[aw] the request[ax] of the oppressed;
you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.[ay]
18 You defend[az] the fatherless and oppressed,[ba]
so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.[bb]
Psalm 11[bc]
For the music director, by David.
11 In the Lord I have taken shelter.[bd]
How can you say to me,[be]
“Flee to a mountain like a bird.[bf]
2 For look, the wicked[bg] prepare[bh] their bows,[bi]
they put their arrows on the strings,
to shoot in the darkness[bj] at the morally upright.[bk]
3 When the foundations[bl] are destroyed,
what can the godly[bm] accomplish?”[bn]
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;[bo]
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.[bp]
His eyes[bq] watch;[br]
his eyes[bs] examine[bt] all people.[bu]
5 The Lord approves of[bv] the godly,[bw]
but he[bx] hates[by] the wicked and those who love to do violence.[bz]
6 May he rain down[ca] burning coals[cb] and brimstone[cc] on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve.[cd]
7 Certainly[ce] the Lord is just;[cf]
he rewards godly deeds.[cg]
The upright will experience his favor.[ch]
Psalm 12[ci]
For the music director, according to the sheminith style;[cj] a psalm of David.
12 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly[ck] have disappeared;[cl]
people of integrity[cm] have vanished.[cn]
2 People lie to one another;[co]
they flatter and deceive.[cp]
3 May the Lord cut off[cq] all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts![cr]
4 They say,[cs] “We speak persuasively;[ct]
we know how to flatter and boast.[cu]
Who is our master?”[cv]
5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,[cw]
because of the painful cries[cx] of the needy,
I will spring into action,”[cy] says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”[cz]
6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.[da]
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.[db]
7 You, Lord, will protect them;[dc]
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,[dd]
8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,[de]
when people promote evil.[df]
Disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus
19 While[a] Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the inland[b] regions[c] and came to Ephesus. He[d] found some disciples there[e] 2 and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”[f] They replied,[g] “No, we have not even[h] heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul[i] said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied.[j] 4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him,[k] that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, 6 and when Paul placed[l] his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came[m] upon them, and they began to speak[n] in tongues and to prophesy.[o] 7 (Now there were about twelve men in all.)[p]
Paul Continues to Minister at Ephesus
8 So Paul[q] entered[r] the synagogue[s] and spoke out fearlessly[t] for three months, addressing[u] and convincing[v] them about the kingdom of God.[w] 9 But when[x] some were stubborn[y] and refused to believe, reviling[z] the Way[aa] before the congregation, he left[ab] them and took the disciples with him,[ac] addressing[ad] them every day[ae] in the lecture hall[af] of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia,[ag] both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.[ah]
The Seven Sons of Sceva
11 God was performing extraordinary[ai] miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body[aj] were brought[ak] to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.[al] 13 But some itinerant[am] Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name[an] of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by[ao] evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn[ap] you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 (Now seven sons of a man named[aq] Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.)[ar] 15 But the evil spirit replied to them,[as] “I know about Jesus[at] and I am acquainted with[au] Paul, but who are you?”[av] 16 Then the man who was possessed by[aw] the evil spirit jumped on[ax] them and beat them all into submission.[ay] He prevailed[az] against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over[ba] them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.[bb] 18 Many of those who had believed came forward,[bc] confessing and making their deeds known.[bd] 19 Large numbers[be] of those who had practiced magic[bf] collected their books[bg] and burned them up in the presence of everyone.[bh] When[bi] the value of the books was added up, it was found to total 50,000 silver coins.[bj] 20 In this way the word of the Lord[bk] continued to grow in power[bl] and to prevail.[bm]
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