“Listen, my people, and I will speak;
    I will testify(A) against you, Israel:
    I am God, your God.(B)
I bring no charges(C) against you concerning your sacrifices
    or concerning your burnt offerings,(D) which are ever before me.
I have no need of a bull(E) from your stall
    or of goats(F) from your pens,(G)
10 for every animal of the forest(H) is mine,
    and the cattle on a thousand hills.(I)
11 I know every bird(J) in the mountains,
    and the insects in the fields(K) are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
    for the world(L) is mine, and all that is in it.(M)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?

14 “Sacrifice thank offerings(N) to God,
    fulfill your vows(O) to the Most High,(P)
15 and call(Q) on me in the day of trouble;(R)
    I will deliver(S) you, and you will honor(T) me.”

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40 Let us examine our ways and test them,(A)
    and let us return to the Lord.(B)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
    to God in heaven,(C) and say:
42 “We have sinned and rebelled(D)
    and you have not forgiven.(E)

43 “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued(F) us;
    you have slain without pity.(G)
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud(H)
    so that no prayer(I) can get through.(J)
45 You have made us scum(K) and refuse
    among the nations.

46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths
    wide(L) against us.(M)
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,(N)
    ruin and destruction.(O)
48 Streams of tears(P) flow from my eyes(Q)
    because my people are destroyed.(R)

49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
    without relief,(S)
50 until the Lord looks down
    from heaven and sees.(T)
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
    because of all the women of my city.

52 Those who were my enemies without cause
    hunted me like a bird.(U)
53 They tried to end my life in a pit(V)
    and threw stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,(W)
    and I thought I was about to perish.(X)

55 I called on your name, Lord,
    from the depths(Y) of the pit.(Z)
56 You heard my plea:(AA) “Do not close your ears
    to my cry for relief.”
57 You came near(AB) when I called you,
    and you said, “Do not fear.”(AC)

58 You, Lord, took up my case;(AD)
    you redeemed my life.(AE)

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Paul Ashore on Malta

28 Once safely on shore, we(A) found out that the island(B) was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand,(C) they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.”(D) But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.(E) The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.(F)

There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer,(G) placed his hands on him(H) and healed him.(I) When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honored us(J) in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

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