Psalm 81^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] Of Asaph.

The Sabbath

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths.^(A) This will be a sign^(B) between me and you for the generations to come,^(C) so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.^(D)

¹⁴ “‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death;^(E) those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. ¹⁵ For six days work^(F) is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,^(G) holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. ¹⁶ The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath,^(H) celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. ¹⁷ It will be a sign^(I) between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.^(J)’”^(K)

¹⁸ When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai,^(L) he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone^(M) inscribed by the finger of God.^(N)

Paul’s Trial Before Festus

25 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus^(A) went up from Caesarea^(B) to Jerusalem, ² where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.^{(C) 3} They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.^{(D) 4} Festus answered, “Paul is being held^(E) at Caesarea,^(F) and I myself am going there soon. ⁵ Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

⁶ After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court^(G) and ordered that Paul be brought before him.^{(H) 7} When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him,^(I) but they could not prove them.^(J)

⁸ Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple^(K) or against Caesar.”

⁹ Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor,^(L) said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”^(M)

¹⁰ Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews,^(N) as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”^(O)

¹² After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”