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Psalm 31

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

 ² Turn your ear to me,
       come quickly to my rescue;
       be my rock of refuge,
       a strong fortress to save me.

 ³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
       for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

 ⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,
       for you are my refuge.

 ⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
       redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

 ⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
       I trust in the LORD.

 ⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
       for you saw my affliction
       and knew the anguish of my soul.

 ⁸ You have not handed me over to the enemy
       but have set my feet in a spacious place.

 ⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
       my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
       my soul and my body with grief.

 ¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
       and my years by groaning;
       my strength fails because of my affliction, ^[a]
       and my bones grow weak.

 ¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
       I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
       I am a dread to my friends—
       those who see me on the street flee from me.

 ¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
       I have become like broken pottery.

 ¹³ For I hear the slander of many;
       there is terror on every side;
       they conspire against me
       and plot to take my life.

 ¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
       I say, "You are my God."

 ¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
       deliver me from my enemies
       and from those who pursue me.

 ¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
       save me in your unfailing love.

 ¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
       for I have cried out to you;
       but let the wicked be put to shame
       and lie silent in the grave. ^[b]

 ¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
       for with pride and contempt
       they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

 ¹⁹ How great is your goodness,
       which you have stored up for those who fear you,
       which you bestow in the sight of men
       on those who take refuge in you.

 ²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
       from the intrigues of men;
       in your dwelling you keep them safe
       from accusing tongues.

 ²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
       for he showed his wonderful love to me
       when I was in a besieged city.

 ²² In my alarm I said,
       "I am cut off from your sight!"
       Yet you heard my cry for mercy
       when I called to you for help.

 ²³ Love the LORD, all his saints!
       The LORD preserves the faithful,
       but the proud he pays back in full.

 ²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
       all you who hope in the LORD.

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil. ^[c]

 ² Blessed is the man
       whose sin the LORD does not count against him
       and in whose spirit is no deceit.

 ³ When I kept silent,
       my bones wasted away
       through my groaning all day long.

 ⁴ For day and night
       your hand was heavy upon me;
       my strength was sapped
       as in the heat of summer.
       Selah

 ⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
       and did not cover up my iniquity.
       I said, "I will confess
       my transgressions to the LORD "—
       and you forgave
       the guilt of my sin.
       Selah

 ⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
       while you may be found;
       surely when the mighty waters rise,
       they will not reach him.

 ⁷ You are my hiding place;
       you will protect me from trouble
       and surround me with songs of deliverance.
       Selah

 ⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
       I will counsel you and watch over you.

 ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the mule,
       which have no understanding
       but must be controlled by bit and bridle
       or they will not come to you.

 ¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked,
       but the LORD's unfailing love
       surrounds the man who trusts in him.

 ¹¹ Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
       sing, all you who are upright in heart!

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 ¹⁶But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

 ¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him." ¹⁸So he took him to the commander.
      The centurion said, "Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you."

 ¹⁹The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, "What is it you want to tell me?"

 ²⁰He said: "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. ²¹Don't give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request."

 ²²The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me."

Paul Transferred to Caesarea

 ²⁵He wrote a letter as follows: ²⁶Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings. ²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. ²⁸I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. ²⁹I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. ³⁰When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

 ³¹So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. ³²The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. ³³When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. ³⁴The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers get here." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.