Psalm 91

English Standard Version

My Refuge and My Fortress

91 He who dwells in ^(A)the shelter of the Most High
will abide in ^(B)the shadow of the Almighty.
²I will say^[a] to the Lord, “My ^(C)refuge and my ^(D)fortress,
my God, in whom I ^(E)trust.”

³For he will deliver you from ^(F)the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴He will ^(G)cover you with his pinions,
    and under his ^(H)wings you will ^(I)find refuge;
    his ^(J)faithfulness is ^(K)a shield and buckler.
⁵^(L)You will not fear ^(M)the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸You will only look with your eyes
    and ^(N)see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹Because you have made the Lord your ^(O)dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my ^(P)refuge^[b]—
¹⁰^(Q)no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
^(R)no plague come near your tent.

¹¹^(S)For he will command his ^(T)angels concerning you
    to ^(U)guard you in all your ways.
¹²On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you ^(V)strike your foot against a stone.
¹³You will tread on ^(W)the lion and the ^(X)adder;
    the young lion and ^(Y)the serpent you will ^(Z)trample underfoot.

¹⁴“Because he ^(AA)holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he ^(AB)knows my name.
¹⁵When he ^(AC)calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and ^(AD)honor him.
¹⁶With ^(AE)long life I will satisfy him
    and ^(AF)show him my salvation.”

Footnotes

Psalm 91:2 Septuagint He will say
Psalm 91:9 Or For you, O Lord, are my refuge! You have made the Most High your dwelling place

Isaiah 41

English Standard Version

Fear Not, for I Am with You

41 ^(A)Listen to me in silence, ^(B)O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.

²^(C)Who stirred up one from the east
    whom victory meets at every ^(D)step?^[a]
^(E)He gives up nations before him,
    so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
    ^(F)like driven stubble with his bow.
³He pursues them and passes on safely,
    by paths his feet have not trod.
⁴^(G)Who has performed and done this,
    calling the generations from the beginning?
^(H)I, the Lord, the first,
    and with the last; I am he.

⁵^(I)The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
    the ends of the earth tremble;
    they have drawn near and come.
⁶Everyone helps his neighbor
    and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
⁷^(J)The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
    and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
    and they strengthen it with nails ^(K)so that it cannot be moved.

⁸But you, Israel, ^(L)my servant,
    Jacob, ^(M)whom I have chosen,
    the offspring of Abraham, ^(N)my friend;
⁹you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
    and called ^(O)from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are ^(P)my servant,
    ^(Q)I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
¹⁰fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with ^(R)my righteous right hand.

¹¹^(S)Behold, all who are incensed against you
    shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
    shall be as nothing and shall perish.
¹²^(T)You shall seek those who contend with you,
    but you shall not find them;
^(U)those who war against you
    shall be as nothing at all.
¹³For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.”

¹⁴Fear not, you ^(V)worm Jacob,
    you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
    your ^(W)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵^(X)Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
    new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh ^(Y)the mountains and crush them,
    and you shall make the hills like chaff;
¹⁶^(Z)you shall winnow them, and ^(AA)the wind shall carry them away,
    and the tempest shall scatter them.
^(AB)And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

¹⁷^(AC)When the poor and needy seek water,
    and there is none,
    and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
¹⁸^(AD)I will open rivers on the bare heights,
    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
^(AE)I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
    and the dry land springs of water.
¹⁹^(AF)I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert ^(AG)the cypress,
    the plane and the pine together,
²⁰that they may see and know,
    may consider and understand together,
that ^(AH)the hand of the Lord has done this,
    the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The Futility of Idols

²¹Set forth your case, says the Lord;
    bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
²²Let them bring them, and ^(AI)tell us
    what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
    that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
    or declare to us the things to come.
²³^(AJ)Tell us what is to come hereafter,
    that we may know that you are gods;
^(AK)do good, or do harm,
    that we may be dismayed and terrified.^[b]
²⁴Behold, ^(AL)you are nothing,
    and your work is less than nothing;
    an abomination is he who chooses you.

²⁵^(AM)I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
    ^(AN)from the rising of the sun, ^(AO)and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
    as the potter treads clay.
²⁶^(AP)Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
    and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
    none who heard your words.
²⁷^(AQ)I was the first to say^[c] to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
    and ^(AR)I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
²⁸^(AS)But when I look, there is no one;
    among these there is no counselor
    who, when I ask, gives an answer.
²⁹^(AT)Behold, they are all a delusion;
    their works are nothing;
    their metal images are empty wind.

Footnotes

Isaiah 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow?
Isaiah 41:23 Or that we may both be dismayed and see
Isaiah 41:27 Or Formerly I said

Acts 21:1-16

English Standard Version

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 And when ^(A)we had parted from them and set sail, we ^(B)came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.^[a] ²And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And ^(C)through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, ^(D)accompanied us until we were outside the city. And ^(E)kneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted ^(F)the brothers^[b] and stayed with them for one day. ⁸On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^(G)Philip ^(H)the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹He had four unmarried daughters, ^(I)who prophesied. ¹⁰While we were staying for many days, a prophet named ^(J)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹And coming to us, he ^(K)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(L)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(M)‘This is how the Jews^[c] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(N)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹²When we heard this, we and the people there ^(O)urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³Then Paul answered, ^(P)“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(Q)I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ^(R)for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, ^(S)we ceased and said, ^(T)“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

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Footnotes

Acts 21:1 Some manuscripts add and Myra
Acts 21:7 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 17
Acts 21:11 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time