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Psalm 26

Of David.

 ² Test me, O LORD, and try me,
       examine my heart and my mind;

 ³ for your love is ever before me,
       and I walk continually in your truth.

 ⁴ I do not sit with deceitful men,
       nor do I consort with hypocrites;

 ⁵ I abhor the assembly of evildoers
       and refuse to sit with the wicked.

 ⁶ I wash my hands in innocence,
       and go about your altar, O LORD,

 ⁷ proclaiming aloud your praise
       and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

 ⁸ I love the house where you live, O LORD,
       the place where your glory dwells.

 ⁹ Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
       my life with bloodthirsty men,

 ¹⁰ in whose hands are wicked schemes,
       whose right hands are full of bribes.

 ¹¹ But I lead a blameless life;
       redeem me and be merciful to me.

 ¹² My feet stand on level ground;
       in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

Psalm 27

Of David.

 ² When evil men advance against me
       to devour my flesh, ^[a]
       when my enemies and my foes attack me,
       they will stumble and fall.

 ³ Though an army besiege me,
       my heart will not fear;
       though war break out against me,
       even then will I be confident.

 ⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
       this is what I seek:
       that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
       all the days of my life,
       to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
       and to seek him in his temple.

 ⁵ For in the day of trouble
       he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
       he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
       and set me high upon a rock.

 ⁶ Then my head will be exalted
       above the enemies who surround me;
       at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
       I will sing and make music to the LORD.

 ⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
       be merciful to me and answer me.

 ⁸ My heart says of you, "Seek his ^[b] face!"
       Your face, LORD, I will seek.

 ⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
       do not turn your servant away in anger;
       you have been my helper.
       Do not reject me or forsake me,
       O God my Savior.

 ¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
       the LORD will receive me.

 ¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD;
       lead me in a straight path
       because of my oppressors.

 ¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
       for false witnesses rise up against me,
       breathing out violence.

 ¹³ I am still confident of this:
       I will see the goodness of the LORD
       in the land of the living.

 ¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
       be strong and take heart
       and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 28

Of David.

 ² Hear my cry for mercy
       as I call to you for help,
       as I lift up my hands
       toward your Most Holy Place.

 ³ Do not drag me away with the wicked,
       with those who do evil,
       who speak cordially with their neighbors
       but harbor malice in their hearts.

 ⁴ Repay them for their deeds
       and for their evil work;
       repay them for what their hands have done
       and bring back upon them what they deserve.

 ⁵ Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD
       and what his hands have done,
       he will tear them down
       and never build them up again.

 ⁶ Praise be to the LORD,
       for he has heard my cry for mercy.

 ⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield;
       my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
       My heart leaps for joy
       and I will give thanks to him in song.

 ⁸ The LORD is the strength of his people,
       a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

 ⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance;
       be their shepherd and carry them forever.

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Acts 22

 ¹"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." ²When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

   Then Paul said: ³"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

 ⁶"About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'

 ⁸" 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.

   " 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. ⁹My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

 ¹⁰"'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked.
      "'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' ¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

 ¹²"A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him.

 ¹⁴"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'

 ¹⁷"When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸and saw the Lord speaking. 'Quick!' he said to me. 'Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'

 ¹⁹" 'Lord,' I replied, 'these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. ²⁰And when the blood of your martyr^[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'

 ²¹"Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' "

Paul the Roman Citizen

 ²³As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and questioned in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?"

 ²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "This man is a Roman citizen."

 ²⁷The commander went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?"
      "Yes, I am," he answered.

 ²⁸Then the commander said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship."
      "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied.

 ²⁹Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

Before the Sanhedrin