Psalm 134

New International Version

Psalm 134

A song of ascents.

¹Praise the Lord, all you servants^(A) of the Lord
who minister^(B) by night^(C) in the house of the Lord.
²Lift up your hands^(D) in the sanctuary^(E)
and praise the Lord.^(F)

³May the Lord bless you from Zion,^(G)
he who is the Maker of heaven^(H) and earth.

1 Samuel 1:21-2:11

New International Version

Hannah Dedicates Samuel

²¹When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual^(A) sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,^(B) ²²Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present^(C) him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”^[a]

²³“Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good^(D) his^[b] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned^(E) him.

²⁴After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,^[c]^(F) an ephah^[d] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. ²⁵When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷I prayed^(G) for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life^(H) he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Then Hannah prayed and said:^(I)

“My heart rejoices^(J) in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn^[e]^(K) is lifted high.
My mouth boasts^(L) over my enemies,^(M)
for I delight in your deliverance.

²“There is no one holy^(N) like^(O) the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock^(P) like our God.

³“Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,^(Q)
for the Lord is a God who knows,^(R)
and by him deeds^(S) are weighed.^(T)

⁴“The bows of the warriors are broken,^(U)
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.^(V)
⁵Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry^(W) are hungry no more.
She who was barren^(X) has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶“The Lord brings death and makes alive;^(Y)
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.^(Z)
⁷The Lord sends poverty and wealth;^(AA)
    he humbles and he exalts.^(AB)
⁸He raises^(AC) the poor^(AD) from the dust^(AE)
    and lifts the needy^(AF) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.^(AG)

“For the foundations^(AH) of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
⁹He will guard the feet^(AI) of his faithful servants,^(AJ)
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.^(AK)

“It is not by strength^(AL) that one prevails;
¹⁰ those who oppose the Lord will be broken.^(AM)
The Most High will thunder^(AN) from heaven;
the Lord will judge^(AO) the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength^(AP) to his king
and exalt the horn^(AQ) of his anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,^(AR) but the boy ministered^(AS) before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Footnotes

1 Samuel 1:22 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite—all the days of his life.”
1 Samuel 1:23 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your
1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls
1 Samuel 1:24 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
1 Samuel 2:1 Horn here symbolizes strength; also in verse 10.

Acts 1:15-26

New International Version

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶and said, “Brothers and sisters,^[a]^(A) the Scripture had to be fulfilled^(B) in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas,^(C) who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷He was one of our number^(D) and shared in our ministry.”^(E)

¹⁸(With the payment^(F) he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field;^(G) there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language^(H) Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’^[b]^(I)

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’^[c]^(J)

²¹Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²²beginning from John’s baptism^(K) to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness^(L) with us of his resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed,^(M) “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.^(N) Show us^(O) which of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.^(P)

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Footnotes

Acts 1:16 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 6:3; 11:29; 12:17; 16:40; 18:18, 27; 21:7, 17; 28:14, 15.
Acts 1:20 Psalm 69:25
Acts 1:20 Psalm 109:8

Luke 20:19-26

New International Version

¹⁹The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him^(A) immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.^(B)

Paying Taxes to Caesar^(C)

²⁰Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said,^(D) so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.^(E) ²¹So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.^(F) ²²Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³He saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴“Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,^(G) and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

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