Psalm 1-3

New King James Version

BOOK ONE

Psalms 1–41

The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly

1 Blessed ^(A)is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ^[a]ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
^(B)Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
²But ^(C)his delight is in the law of the Lord,
^(D)And in His law he ^[b]meditates day and night.
³He shall be like a tree
^(E)Planted by the ^[c]rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall ^(F)prosper.

⁴The ungodly are not so,
But are ^(G)like the chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

⁶For ^(H)the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom^(I)

2 Why ^(J)do the ^[d]nations ^[e]rage,
And the people plot a ^[f]vain thing?
²The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the ^(K)rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His ^(L)Anointed,^[g] saying,
³“Let ^(M)us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”

⁴He who sits in the heavens ^(N)shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
⁵Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
⁶“Yet I have ^[h]set My King
^[i]On My holy hill of Zion.”

⁷“I will declare the ^[j]decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
^(O)‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
⁸Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
⁹^(P)You shall ^[k]break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

¹⁰Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
¹¹Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
¹²^[l]Kiss the Son, lest ^[m]He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When ^(Q)His wrath is kindled but a little.
^(R)Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

The Lord Helps His Troubled People

A Psalm of David ^(S)when he fled from Absalom his son.

3 Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
²Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah

³But You, O Lord, are ^(T)a shield ^[n]for me,
My glory and ^(U)the One who lifts up my head.
⁴I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And ^(V)He heard me from His ^(W)holy hill. Selah

⁵^(X)I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶^(Y)I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷Arise, O Lord;
Save me, O my God!
^(Z)For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
⁸^(AA)Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

Footnotes

Psalm 1:1 wicked
Psalm 1:2 ponders by talking to himself
Psalm 1:3 channels
Psalm 2:1 Gentiles
Psalm 2:1 throng tumultuously
Psalm 2:1 worthless or empty
Psalm 2:2 Christ, Commissioned One, Heb. Messiah
Psalm 2:6 Lit. installed
Psalm 2:6 Lit. Upon Zion, the hill of My holiness
Psalm 2:7 Or decree of the Lord: He said to Me
Psalm 2:9 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. rule (cf. Rev. 2:27)
Psalm 2:12 LXX, Vg. Embrace discipline; Tg. Receive instruction
Psalm 2:12 LXX the Lord
Psalm 3:3 Lit. around

Acts 17:1-15

New King James Version

Preaching Christ at Thessalonica

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ²Then Paul, as his custom was, ^(B)went in to them, and for three Sabbaths ^(C)reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³explaining and demonstrating ^(D)that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” ⁴^(E)And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and ^(F)Silas.

Assault on Jason’s House

⁵But the Jews ^[a]who were not persuaded, ^[b]becoming ^(G)envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of ^(H)Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ^(I)“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. ⁷Jason has ^[c]harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, ^(J)saying there is another king—Jesus.” ⁸And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. ⁹So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Ministering at Berea

¹⁰Then ^(K)the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹These were more ^[d]fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and ^(L)searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹²Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. ¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. ¹⁴^(M)Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there. ¹⁵So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and ^(N)receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.