Old/New Testament
Psalm 18[a]
For the music director, by the Lord’s servant David, who sang[b] to the Lord the words of this song when[c] the Lord rescued him from the power[d] of all his enemies, including Saul.[e]
18 He said:[f]
“I love[g] you, Lord, my source of strength![h]
2 The Lord is my high ridge,[i] my stronghold,[j] my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where[k] I take shelter,[l]
my shield, the horn that saves me,[m] and my refuge.[n]
3 I called[o] to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,[p]
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The waves[q] of death engulfed me,
the currents[r] of chaos[s] overwhelmed me.[t]
5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me,[u]
the snares of death trapped me.[v]
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.[w]
From his heavenly temple[x] he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.[y]
7 The earth heaved and shook.[z]
The roots of the mountains[aa] trembled;[ab]
they heaved because he was angry.
8 Smoke ascended from[ac] his nose;[ad]
fire devoured as it came from his mouth.[ae]
He hurled down fiery coals.[af]
9 He made the sky sink[ag] as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
10 He mounted[ah] a winged angel[ai] and flew;
he glided[aj] on the wings of the wind.[ak]
11 He shrouded himself in darkness,[al]
in thick rain clouds.[am]
12 From the brightness in front of him came
hail and fiery coals.[an]
13 The Lord thundered[ao] in[ap] the sky;
the Most High[aq] shouted.[ar]
14 He shot his[as] arrows and scattered them,[at]
many lightning bolts[au] and routed them.[av]
15 The depths[aw] of the sea[ax] were exposed;
the inner regions[ay] of the world were uncovered
by[az] your battle cry,[ba] Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose.[bb]
16 He reached down[bc] from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water.[bd]
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy,[be]
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted[bf] me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me.[bg]
19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me.[bh]
20 The Lord repaid[bi] me for my godly deeds;[bj]
he rewarded[bk] my blameless behavior.[bl]
21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;[bm]
I have not rebelled against my God.[bn]
22 For I am aware of all his regulations,[bo]
and I do not reject his rules.[bp]
23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.[bq]
24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;[br]
he took notice of my blameless behavior.[bs]
25 You prove to be loyal[bt] to one who is faithful;[bu]
you prove to be trustworthy[bv] to one who is innocent.[bw]
26 You prove to be reliable[bx] to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive[by] to one who is perverse.[bz]
27 For you deliver oppressed[ca] people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.[cb]
28 Indeed,[cc] you light my lamp, Lord.[cd]
My God[ce] illuminates the darkness around me.[cf]
29 Indeed,[cg] with your help[ch] I can charge against[ci] an army;[cj]
by my God’s power[ck] I can jump over a wall.[cl]
30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;[cm]
the Lord’s promise[cn] is reliable.[co]
He is a shield to all who take shelter[cp] in him.
31 Indeed,[cq] who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector[cr] besides our God?[cs]
32 The one true God[ct] gives[cu] me strength;[cv]
he removes[cw] the obstacles in my way.[cx]
33 He gives me the agility of a deer;[cy]
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.[cz]
34 He trains my hands for battle;[da]
my arms can bend even the strongest bow.[db]
35 You give me your protective shield;[dc]
your right hand supports me.[dd]
Your willingness to help[de] enables me to prevail.[df]
36 You widen my path;[dg]
my feet[dh] do not slip.
37 I chase my enemies and catch[di] them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
38 I beat them[dj] to death;[dk]
they fall at my feet.[dl]
39 You give me strength[dm] for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me.[dn]
40 You make my enemies retreat;[do]
I destroy those who hate me.[dp]
41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them;[dq]
they cry out to the Lord,[dr] but he does not answer them.
42 I grind them as fine windblown dust;[ds]
I beat them underfoot[dt] like clay[du] in the streets.
43 You rescue me from a hostile army.[dv]
You make me[dw] a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.[dx]
44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.[dy]
Foreigners are powerless[dz] before me.
45 Foreigners lose their courage;[ea]
they shake with fear[eb] as they leave[ec] their strongholds.[ed]
46 The Lord is alive![ee]
My Protector[ef] is praiseworthy.[eg]
The God who delivers me[eh] is exalted as king.[ei]
47 The one true God[ej] completely vindicates me;[ek]
he makes nations submit to me.[el]
48 He delivers me[em] from my enemies.
You snatch me away[en] from those who attack me;[eo]
you rescue me from violent men.
49 So I will give you thanks before the nations,[ep] O Lord.
I will sing praises to you.[eq]
50 He[er] gives his king magnificent victories;[es]
he is faithful[et] to his chosen ruler,[eu]
to David and his descendants[ev] forever.”[ew]
Psalm 19[ex]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;[ey]
the sky displays his handiwork.[ez]
2 Day after day it speaks out;[fa]
night after night it reveals his greatness.[fb]
3 There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its[fc] voice literally heard.
4 Yet its voice[fd] echoes[fe] throughout the earth;
its[ff] words carry[fg] to the distant horizon.[fh]
In the sky[fi] he has pitched a tent for the sun.[fj]
5 Like a bridegroom it emerges[fk] from its chamber;[fl]
like a strong man it enjoys[fm] running its course.[fn]
6 It emerges from the distant horizon,[fo]
and goes from one end of the sky to the other;[fp]
nothing can escape[fq] its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life.[fr]
The rules set down by the Lord[fs] are reliable[ft]
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.[fu]
8 The Lord’s precepts are fair[fv]
and make one joyful.[fw]
The Lord’s commands[fx] are pure[fy]
and give insight for life.[fz]
9 The commands to fear the Lord are right[ga]
and endure forever.[gb]
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just.[gc]
10 They are of greater value[gd] than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight[ge] than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there;[gf]
those who obey them receive a rich reward.[gg]
12 Who can know all his errors?[gh]
Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of.[gi]
13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins;[gj]
do not allow such sins to control me.[gk]
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant[gl] rebellion.
14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight,[gm]
O Lord, my sheltering rock[gn] and my redeemer.[go]
17 From Miletus[a] he sent a message[b] to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him.[c]
18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived[d] the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot[e] in the province of Asia,[f] 19 serving the Lord with all humility[g] and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots[h] of the Jews. 20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming[i] to you anything that would be helpful,[j] and from teaching you publicly[k] and from house to house, 21 testifying[l] to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.[m] 22 And now,[n] compelled[o] by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem[p] without knowing what will happen to me there,[q] 23 except[r] that the Holy Spirit warns[s] me in town after town[t] that[u] imprisonment[v] and persecutions[w] are waiting for me. 24 But I do not consider my life[x] worth anything[y] to myself, so that[z] I may finish my task[aa] and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news[ab] of God’s grace.
25 “And now[ac] I know that none[ad] of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom[ae] will see me[af] again. 26 Therefore I declare[ag] to you today that I am innocent[ah] of the blood of you all.[ai] 27 For I did not hold back from[aj] announcing[ak] to you the whole purpose[al] of God. 28 Watch out for[am] yourselves and for all the flock of which[an] the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,[ao] to shepherd the church of God[ap] that he obtained[aq] with the blood of his own Son.[ar] 29 I know that after I am gone[as] fierce wolves[at] will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Even from among your own group[au] men[av] will arise, teaching perversions of the truth[aw] to draw the disciples away after them. 31 Therefore be alert,[ax] remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning[ay] each one of you with tears. 32 And now I entrust[az] you to God and to the message[ba] of his grace. This message[bb] is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have desired[bc] no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine[bd] provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35 By all these things,[be] I have shown you that by working in this way we must help[bf] the weak,[bg] and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”[bh]
36 When[bi] he had said these things, he knelt down[bj] with them all and prayed. 37 They all began to weep loudly,[bk] and hugged[bl] Paul and kissed him,[bm] 38 especially saddened[bn] by what[bo] he had said, that they were not going to see him[bp] again. Then they accompanied[bq] him to the ship.
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