Old/New Testament
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 22[bi]
For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”;[bj] a psalm of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?[bk]
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.[bl]
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.[bm]
3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.[bn]
4 In you our ancestors[bo] trusted;
they trusted in you[bp] and you rescued them.
5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.[bq]
6 But I[br] am a worm,[bs] not a man;[bt]
people insult me and despise me.[bu]
7 All who see me taunt[bv] me;
they mock me[bw] and shake their heads.[bx]
8 They say,[by]
“Commit yourself[bz] to the Lord!
Let the Lord[ca] rescue him!
Let the Lord[cb] deliver him, for he delights in him.”[cc]
9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out[cd] from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth;[ce]
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.[cf]
11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.[cg]
12 Many bulls[ch] surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan[ci] hem me in.
13 They[cj] open their mouths to devour me[ck]
like a roaring lion that rips its prey.[cl]
14 My strength drains away like water;[cm]
all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[cn] is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth[co] is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.[cp]
You[cq] set me in the dust of death.[cr]
16 Yes,[cs] wild dogs surround me—
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.[ct]
17 I can count[cu] all my bones;
my enemies[cv] are gloating over me in triumph.[cw]
18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice[cx] for my garments.
19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength.[cy] Hurry and help me![cz]
20 Deliver me[da] from the sword.
Save[db] my life[dc] from the claws[dd] of the wild dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,[de]
and from the horns of the wild oxen.[df]
You have answered me.[dg]
22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.[dh]
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[di] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[dj]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[dk] of the oppressed.[dl]
He did not ignore him;[dm]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[dn]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[do] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[dp]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[dq]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[dr] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[ds]
Let all the nations[dt] worship you.[du]
28 For the Lord is king[dv]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[dw] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[dx]
all those who are descending into the grave[dy] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[dz]
30 A whole generation[ea] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[eb]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[ec]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[ed]
Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem
21 After[a] we[b] tore ourselves away[c] from them, we put out to sea,[d] and sailing a straight course,[e] we came to Cos,[f] on the next day to Rhodes,[g] and from there to Patara.[h] 2 We found[i] a ship crossing over to Phoenicia,[j] went aboard,[k] and put out to sea.[l] 3 After we sighted Cyprus[m] and left it behind on our port side,[n] we sailed on to Syria and put in[o] at Tyre,[p] because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 4 After we located[q] the disciples, we stayed there[r] seven days. They repeatedly told[s] Paul through the Spirit[t] not to set foot[u] in Jerusalem. 5 When[v] our time was over,[w] we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied[x] us outside of the city. After[y] kneeling down on the beach and praying,[z] 6 we said farewell[aa] to one another. Then[ab] we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes.[ac] 7 We continued the voyage from Tyre[ad] and arrived at Ptolemais,[ae] and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we left[af] and came to Caesarea,[ag] and entered[ah] the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven,[ai] and stayed with him. 9 (He had four unmarried[aj] daughters who prophesied.)[ak]
10 While we remained there for a number of days,[al] a prophet named Agabus[am] came down from Judea. 11 He came[an] to us, took[ao] Paul’s belt,[ap] tied[aq] his own hands and feet with it,[ar] and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over[as] to the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, both we and the local people[at] begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking[au] my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up,[av] but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 Because he could not be persuaded,[aw] we said no more except,[ax] “The Lord’s will be done.”[ay]
15 After these days we got ready[az] and started up[ba] to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea[bb] came along with us too, and brought us to the house[bc] of Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple from the earliest times,[bd] with whom we were to stay. 17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.[be]
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