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Don’t turn away from me
    in my time of distress.
Bend down to listen,
    and answer me quickly when I call to you.

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Do not hide your face(A) from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear(B) to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

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17 Don’t hide from your servant;
    answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!

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17 Do not hide your face(A) from your servant;
    answer me quickly,(B) for I am in trouble.(C)

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Do not turn your back on me.
    Do not reject your servant in anger.
    You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
    O God of my salvation!

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Do not hide your face(A) from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;(B)
    you have been my helper.(C)
Do not reject me or forsake(D) me,
    God my Savior.(E)

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29 But if you turn away from them, they panic.
    When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn again to dust.

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29 When you hide your face,(A)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.(B)

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17 I will wait for the Lord,
    who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
    I will put my hope in him.

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17 I will wait(A) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(B) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(C)

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Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,
    for my depression deepens.
Don’t turn away from me,
    or I will die.

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Answer me quickly,(A) Lord;
    my spirit fails.(B)
Do not hide your face(C) from me
    or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

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Now hear my prayer;
    listen to my cry.
For my life is full of troubles,
    and death[a] draws near.
I am as good as dead,
    like a strong man with no strength left.
They have left me among the dead,
    and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
I am forgotten,
    cut off from your care.
You have thrown me into the lowest pit,
    into the darkest depths.
Your anger weighs me down;
    with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude

You have driven my friends away
    by making me repulsive to them.
I am in a trap with no way of escape.
    My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
    I lift my hands to you for mercy.
10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?
    Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude

11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?
    Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?[b]
12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?
    Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?
13 O Lord, I cry out to you.
    I will keep on pleading day by day.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me?
    Why do you turn your face from me?

15 I have been sick and close to death since my youth.
    I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.
    Your terrors have paralyzed me.
17 They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.
    They have engulfed me completely.
18 You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
    Darkness is my closest friend.

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Footnotes

  1. 88:3 Hebrew Sheol.
  2. 88:11 Hebrew in Abaddon?

May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

I am overwhelmed with troubles(A)
    and my life draws near to death.(B)
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(C)
    I am like one without strength.(D)
I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off(E) from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.(F)
Your wrath(G) lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[a](H)
You have taken from me my closest friends(I)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(J) and cannot escape;(K)
    my eyes(L) are dim with grief.

I call(M) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(N) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(O)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness(P) in Destruction[b]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help,(Q) Lord;
    in the morning(R) my prayer comes before you.(S)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(T) me
    and hide your face(U) from me?

15 From my youth(V) I have suffered(W) and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors(X) and am in despair.(Y)
16 Your wrath(Z) has swept over me;
    your terrors(AA) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AB)
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AC) and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
  2. Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon

Save me and rescue me,
    for you do what is right.
Turn your ear to listen to me,
    and set me free.

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In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
    turn your ear(A) to me and save me.

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Psalm 70

For the choir director: A psalm of David, asking God to remember him.

Please, God, rescue me!
    Come quickly, Lord, and help me.

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Psalm 70[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

Hasten, O God, to save me;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 70:1 In Hebrew texts 70:1-5 is numbered 70:2-6.

13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

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13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful;(A) he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear.(B) But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
  2. 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
  3. 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.

But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison

The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. 10 They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

11 Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders[a] had planned to do to me!”

12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. 13 He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

15 “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 17 He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

18 At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

The Death of Herod Agrippa

20 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant, 21 and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. 22 The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

23 Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

24 Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned,[b] taking John Mark with them.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:11 Or the Jewish people.
  2. 12:25 Or mission, they returned to Jerusalem. Other manuscripts read mission, they returned from Jerusalem; still others read mission, they returned from Jerusalem to Antioch.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.(A)

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains,(B) and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel(C) of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.(D)

Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.(E) 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself,(F) and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Peter came to himself(G) and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me(H) from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark,(I) where many people had gathered and were praying.(J) 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.(K) 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed(L) she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”(M)

16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand(N) for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James(O) and the other brothers and sisters(P) about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.(Q)

Herod’s Death

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea(R) and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon;(S) they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.(T)

21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel(U) of the Lord struck him down,(V) and he was eaten by worms and died.

24 But the word of God(W) continued to spread and flourish.(X)

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

25 When Barnabas(Y) and Saul had finished their mission,(Z) they returned from[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.(AA)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 12:25 Some manuscripts to

When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.

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When you pass through the waters,(A)
    I will be with you;(B)
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,(C)
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.(D)

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13 Please, Lord, rescue me!
    Come quickly, Lord, and help me.

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13 Be pleased to save me, Lord;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.(A)

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