Old/New Testament
Psalm 33[a]
33 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp.
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument.
3 Sing to him a new song.[b]
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him.[c]
4 For the Lord’s decrees[d] are just,[e]
and everything he does is fair.[f]
5 He promotes[g] equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.[h]
6 By the Lord’s decree[i] the heavens were made,
and by the breath[j] of his mouth all the starry hosts.
7 He piles up the water of the sea;[k]
he puts the oceans[l] in storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear[m] the Lord.
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it[n] came into existence.
He issued the decree,[o] and it stood firm.
10 The Lord frustrates[p] the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans[q] of the peoples.
11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages.[r]
12 How blessed[s] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.[t]
13 The Lord watches[u] from heaven;
he sees all people.[v]
14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15 He is the one who forms every human heart,[w]
and takes note of all their actions.
16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;[x]
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,[y]
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness[z]
19 by saving their lives from death[aa]
and sustaining them during times of famine.[ab]
20 We[ac] wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer[ad] and shield.[ae]
21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,[af]
for[ag] we wait for you.
Psalm 34[ah]
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[ai]
34 I will praise[aj] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.[ak]
2 I will boast[al] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.[am]
3 Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise[an] his name together.
4 I sought the Lord’s help[ao] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.[ap]
6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him[aq] from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s[ar] loyal followers[as] and delivers them.[at]
8 Taste[au] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed[av] is the one[aw] who takes shelter in him.[ax]
9 Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,[ay]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.[az]
12 Do you want to really live?[ba]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?[bb]
13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words[bc]
or use deceptive speech.[bd]
14 Turn away from evil and do what is right.[be]
Strive for peace and promote it.[bf]
15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.[bg]
16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.[bh]
17 The godly[bi] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.[bj]
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers[bk] those who are discouraged.[bl]
19 The godly[bm] face many dangers,[bn]
but the Lord saves[bo] them[bp] from each one of them.
20 He protects[bq] all his bones;[br]
not one of them is broken.[bs]
21 Evil people self-destruct;[bt]
those who hate the godly are punished.[bu]
22 The Lord rescues his servants;[bv]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.[bw]
The Accusations Against Paul
24 After five days the high priest Ananias[a] came down with some elders and an attorney[b] named[c] Tertullus, and they[d] brought formal charges[e] against Paul to the governor. 2 When Paul[f] had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him,[g] saying, “We have experienced a lengthy time[h] of peace through your rule,[i] and reforms[j] are being made in this nation[k] through your foresight.[l] 3 Most excellent Felix,[m] we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way[n] with all gratitude.[o] 4 But so that I may not delay[p] you any further, I beg[q] you to hear us briefly[r] with your customary graciousness.[s] 5 For we have found[t] this man to be a troublemaker,[u] one who stirs up riots[v] among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader[w] of the sect of the Nazarenes.[x] 6 He[y] even tried to desecrate[z] the temple, so we arrested[aa] him.[ab] 7 8 When you examine[ac] him yourself, you will be able to learn from him[ad] about all these things we are accusing him of doing.”[ae] 9 The Jews also joined in the verbal attack,[af] claiming[ag] that these things were true.
Paul’s Defense Before Felix
10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know[ah] that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense.[ai] 11 As you can verify[aj] for yourself, not more than twelve days ago[ak] I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 They did not find me arguing[al] with anyone or stirring up a crowd[am] in the temple courts[an] or in the synagogues[ao] or throughout the city,[ap] 13 nor can they prove[aq] to you the things[ar] they are accusing me of doing.[as] 14 But I confess this to you, that I worship[at] the God of our ancestors[au] according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law[av] and that is written in the prophets. 15 I have[aw] a hope in God (a hope[ax] that[ay] these men[az] themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.[ba] 16 This is the reason[bb] I do my best to always[bc] have a clear[bd] conscience toward God and toward people.[be] 17 After several years[bf] I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor[bg] and to present offerings,[bh] 18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified,[bi] without a crowd or a disturbance.[bj] 19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia[bk] who should be here before you and bring charges,[bl] if they have anything against me. 20 Or these men here[bm] should tell what crime[bn] they found me guilty of[bo] when I stood before the council,[bp] 21 other than[bq] this one thing[br] I shouted out while I stood before[bs] them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’”[bt]
22 Then Felix,[bu] who understood the facts[bv] concerning the Way[bw] more accurately,[bx] adjourned their hearing,[by] saying, “When Lysias the commanding officer comes down, I will decide your case.”[bz] 23 He ordered the centurion[ca] to guard Paul,[cb] but to let him have some freedom,[cc] and not to prevent any of his friends[cd] from meeting his needs.[ce]
Paul Speaks Repeatedly to Felix
24 Some days later, when Felix[cf] arrived with his wife Drusilla,[cg] who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak[ch] about faith in Christ Jesus.[ci] 25 While Paul[cj] was discussing[ck] righteousness, self-control,[cl] and the coming judgment, Felix[cm] became[cn] frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity,[co] I will send for you.” 26 At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money,[cp] and for this reason he sent for Paul[cq] as often as possible[cr] and talked[cs] with him. 27 After two years[ct] had passed, Porcius Festus[cu] succeeded Felix,[cv] and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.[cw]
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