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Psalm 33

 ¹ Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
       it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

 ² Praise the LORD with the harp;
       make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

 ³ Sing to him a new song;
       play skillfully, and shout for joy.

 ⁴ For the word of the LORD is right and true;
       he is faithful in all he does.

 ⁵ The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
       the earth is full of his unfailing love.

 ⁶ By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
       their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

 ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars ^[a] ;
       he puts the deep into storehouses.

 ⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD;
       let all the people of the world revere him.

 ⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
       he commanded, and it stood firm.

 ¹⁰ The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
       he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

 ¹¹ But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
       the purposes of his heart through all generations.

 ¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
       the people he chose for his inheritance.

 ¹³ From heaven the LORD looks down
       and sees all mankind;

 ¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
       all who live on earth-

 ¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
       who considers everything they do.

 ¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
       no warrior escapes by his great strength.

 ¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
       despite all its great strength it cannot save.

 ¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
       on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

 ¹⁹ to deliver them from death
       and keep them alive in famine.

 ²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;
       he is our help and our shield.

 ²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
       for we trust in his holy name.

 ²² May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
       even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 34

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.

 ² My soul will boast in the LORD;
       let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

 ³ Glorify the LORD with me;
       let us exalt his name together.

 ⁴ I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
       he delivered me from all my fears.

 ⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
       their faces are never covered with shame.

 ⁶ This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
       he saved him out of all his troubles.

 ⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
       and he delivers them.

 ⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
       blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

 ⁹ Fear the LORD, you his saints,
       for those who fear him lack nothing.

 ¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
       but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

 ¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
       I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

 ¹² Whoever of you loves life
       and desires to see many good days,

 ¹³ keep your tongue from evil
       and your lips from speaking lies.

 ¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
       seek peace and pursue it.

 ¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
       and his ears are attentive to their cry;

 ¹⁶ the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
       to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

 ¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
       he delivers them from all their troubles.

 ¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
       and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

 ¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles,
       but the LORD delivers him from them all;

 ²⁰ he protects all his bones,
       not one of them will be broken.

 ²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
       the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

 ²² The LORD redeems his servants;
       no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

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Acts 24

The Trial Before Felix

 ⁵"We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect ⁶and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. ⁸By^[a] examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him."

 ⁹The Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

 ¹⁰When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: "I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. ¹¹You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹²My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. ¹⁴However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, ¹⁵and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

 ¹⁷"After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. ¹⁸I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. ¹⁹But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me. ²⁰Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin— ²¹unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: 'It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.' "

 ²²Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case." ²³He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

 ²⁴Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you." ²⁶At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

 ²⁷When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.