Acts 25:13-26:1

New King James Version

Paul Before Agrippa

¹³And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. ¹⁴When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: ^(A)“There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, ¹⁵^(B)about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him. ¹⁶^(C)To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man ^[a]to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’ ¹⁷Therefore when they had come together, ^(D)without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. ¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I ^[b]supposed, ¹⁹^(E)but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. ²⁰And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. ²¹But when Paul ^(F)appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”

²²Then ^(G)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.”

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

²³So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great ^[c]pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command ^(H)Paul was brought in. ²⁴And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom ^(I)the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was ^(J)not fit to live any longer. ²⁵But when I found that ^(K)he had committed nothing deserving of death, ^(L)and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. ²⁶I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write. ²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”

Paul’s Early Life

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”

So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself:

Footnotes

Acts 25:16 NU omits to destruction, although it is implied
Acts 25:18 suspected
Acts 25:23 pageantry

Psalm 11-16

New King James Version

Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

11 In ^(A)the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
²For look! ^(B)The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot ^[a]secretly at the upright in heart.
³^(C)If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?

⁴The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s ^(D)throne is in heaven;
^(E)His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
⁵The Lord ^(F)tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
⁶Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
^(G)Shall be ^[b]the portion of their cup.

⁷For the Lord is righteous,
He ^(H)loves righteousness;
^[c]His countenance beholds the upright.

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. ^(I)On ^[d]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

12 Help,^[e] Lord, for the godly man ^(J)ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
²^(K)They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and ^[f]a double heart they speak.

³May the Lord ^[g]cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks ^[h]proud things,
⁴Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

⁵“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

⁶The words of the Lord are ^(L)pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
⁷You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

⁸The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Trust in the Salvation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
^(M)How long will You hide Your face from me?
²How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
^(N)Enlighten my eyes,
^(O)Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
⁴Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

⁵But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Folly of the Godless, and God’s Final Triumph^(P)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

14 The ^(Q)fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.

²^(R)The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
³^(S)They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.

⁴Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And ^(T)do not call on the Lord?
⁵There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
⁶You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the Lord is his ^(U)refuge.

⁷^(V)Oh,^[i] that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
^(W)When the Lord brings back ^[j]the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord

A Psalm of David.

15 Lord, ^(X)who may ^[k]abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

²He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the ^(Y)truth in his heart;
³He who ^(Z)does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
^(AA)Nor does he ^[l]take up a reproach against his friend;
⁴^(AB)In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who ^(AC)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things ^(AD)shall never be moved.

The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory

A ^(AE)Michtam of David.

16 Preserve^[m] me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

²O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
^(AF)My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
³As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in ^(AG)whom is all my delight.”

⁴Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of ^(AH)blood I will not offer,
^(AI)Nor take up their names on my lips.

⁵O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You ^[n]maintain my lot.
⁶The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

⁷I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My ^[o]heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
⁸^(AJ)I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will ^[p]rest in hope.
¹⁰^(AK)For You will not leave my soul in ^[q]Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to ^[r]see corruption.
¹¹You will show me the ^(AL)path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.