Old/New Testament
Psalm 13[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
13 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me?[b]
How long will you pay no attention to me?[c]
2 How long must I worry,[d]
and suffer in broad daylight?[e]
How long will my enemy gloat over me?[f]
3 Look at me![g] Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me,[h] or else I will die.[i]
4 Then[j] my enemy will say, “I have defeated him.”
Then[k] my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I[l] trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance.[m]
6 I will sing praises[n] to the Lord
when he vindicates me.[o]
Psalm 14[p]
For the music director, by David.
14 Fools say to themselves,[q] “There is no God.”[r]
They sin and commit evil deeds;[s]
none of them does what is right.[t]
2 The Lord looks down from heaven[u] at the human race,[v]
to see if there is anyone who is wise[w] and seeks God.[x]
3 Everyone rejects God;[y]
they are all morally corrupt.[z]
None of them does what is right,[aa]
not even one.
4 All those who behave wickedly[ab] do not understand—[ac]
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
5 They are absolutely terrified,[ad]
for God defends the godly.[ae]
6 You want to humiliate the oppressed,[af]
even though[ag] the Lord is their[ah] shelter.
7 I wish the deliverance[ai] of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the well-being of his people,[aj]
may Jacob rejoice,[ak]
may Israel be happy![al]
Psalm 15[am]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[an]
Who may live on your holy hill?[ao]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[ap]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[aq]
3 He[ar] does not slander,[as]
or do harm to others,[at]
or insult his neighbor.[au]
4 He despises a reprobate,[av]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[aw]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[ax]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[ay]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[az]
The one who lives like this[ba] will never be shaken.
A Riot in Ephesus
21 Now after all these things had taken place,[a] Paul resolved[b] to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia[c] and Achaia.[d] He said,[e] “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”[f] 22 So after sending[g] two of his assistants,[h] Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia,[i] he himself stayed on for a while in the province of Asia.[j]
23 At[k] that time[l] a great disturbance[m] took place concerning the Way.[n] 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines[o] of Artemis,[p] brought a great deal[q] of business[r] to the craftsmen. 25 He gathered[s] these[t] together, along with the workmen in similar trades,[u] and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity[v] comes from this business. 26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded[w] and turned away[x] a large crowd,[y] not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia,[z] by saying[aa] that gods made by hands are not gods at all.[ab] 27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute,[ac] but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis[ad] will be regarded as nothing,[ae] and she whom all the province of Asia[af] and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.”[ag]
28 When[ah] they heard[ai] this they became enraged[aj] and began to shout,[ak] “Great is Artemis[al] of the Ephesians!” 29 The[am] city was filled with the uproar,[an] and the crowd[ao] rushed to the theater[ap] together,[aq] dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 30 But when Paul wanted to enter the public assembly,[ar] the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the provincial authorities[as] who were his friends sent[at] a message[au] to him, urging him not to venture[av] into the theater. 32 So then some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had met together.[aw] 33 Some of the crowd concluded[ax] it was about[ay] Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front.[az] Alexander, gesturing[ba] with his hand, was wanting to make a defense[bb] before the public assembly.[bc] 34 But when they recognized[bd] that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison,[be] “Great is Artemis[bf] of the Ephesians!” for about two hours.[bg] 35 After the city secretary[bh] quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person[bi] is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper[bj] of the temple of the great Artemis[bk] and of her image that fell from heaven?[bl] 36 So because these facts[bm] are indisputable,[bn] you must keep quiet[bo] and not do anything reckless.[bp] 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers[bq] nor blasphemers of our goddess.[br] 38 If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint[bs] against someone, the courts are open[bt] and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another there.[bu] 39 But if you want anything in addition,[bv] it will have to be settled[bw] in a legal assembly.[bx] 40 For[by] we are in danger of being charged with rioting[bz] today, since there is no cause we can give to explain[ca] this disorderly gathering.”[cb] 41 After[cc] he had said[cd] this,[ce] he dismissed the assembly.[cf]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.