Old/New Testament
Psalm 13[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long,(A) Lord? Will you forget me(B) forever?
How long will you hide your face(C) from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts(D)
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?(E)
3 Look on me(F) and answer,(G) Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes,(H) or I will sleep in death,(I)
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,(J)”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.(K)
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;(L)
my heart rejoices in your salvation.(M)
6 I will sing(N) the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 14(O)
For the director of music. Of David.
1 The fool[b] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”(P)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven(Q)
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(R)
any who seek God.(S)
3 All have turned away,(T) all have become corrupt;(U)
there is no one who does good,(V)
not even one.(W)
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?(X)
They devour my people(Y) as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord.(Z)
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.(AA)
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!(AB)
When the Lord restores(AC) his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Psalm 15
A psalm of David.
2 The one whose walk is blameless,(AG)
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth(AH) from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,(AI)
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
but honors(AJ) those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath(AK) even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;(AL)
who does not accept a bribe(AM) against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.(AN)
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided[a] to go to Jerusalem,(A) passing through Macedonia(B) and Achaia.(C) “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”(D) 22 He sent two of his helpers,(E) Timothy(F) and Erastus,(G) to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia(H) a little longer.
The Riot in Ephesus
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.(I) 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.(J) 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus(K) and in practically the whole province of Asia.(L) He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.(M) 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”(N) 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius(O) and Aristarchus,(P) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,(Q) and all of them rushed into the theater together. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples(R) would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another.(S) Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned(T) for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”(U)
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians,(V) doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples(W) nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen(X) have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.(Y) They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
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