Psalm 55
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 55
Complaint about a Friend’s Treachery
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God;
do not hide yourself from my supplication.(A)
2 Attend to me and answer me;
I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught(B) 3 by the noise of the enemy,
because of the clamor of the wicked.
For they bring[a] trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.(C)
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.(D)
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.(E)
6 And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;(F)
7 truly, I would flee far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
from the raging wind and tempest.”(G)
9 Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.(H)
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.(I)
12 It is not enemies who taunt me—
I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me—
I could hide from them.(J)
13 But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend,(K)
14 with whom I kept pleasant company;
we walked in the house of God with the throng.(L)
15 Let death come upon them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,
for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.(M)
16 But I call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.(N)
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he will hear my voice.(O)
18 He will redeem me unharmed
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.(P)
19 God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah
will hear and will humble them,
because they do not change
and do not fear God.(Q)
20 My companion laid hands on a friend
and violated a covenant with me[b](R)
21 with speech smoother than butter
but with a heart set on war,
with words that were softer than oil
but in fact were drawn swords.(S)
22 Cast your burden[c] on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.(T)
23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.(U)
Acts 15:22-35
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers and sisters of gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds,[a](A) 25 we have decided unanimously to choose men and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.(B) 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled[b] and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”(C)
30 So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation. 32 Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers and sisters. 33 After they had been there for some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers and sisters to those who had sent them.[c](D) 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and there, with many others, they taught and proclaimed the word of the Lord.
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Mark 6:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
6 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!(A) 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary[a] and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense[b] at him.(B) 4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown and among their own kin and in their own house.”(C) 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.(D) 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.
The Mission of the Twelve
Then he went about among the villages teaching.(E) 7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.(F) 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.(G) 13 They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.(H)
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Psalm 138
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 138
Thanksgiving and Praise
Of David.
1 I give you thanks, O Lord,[a] with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;(A)
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.[b](B)
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength of soul.[c](C)
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.(D)
5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he perceives from far away.(E)
Psalm 138
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 138
Thanksgiving and Praise
Of David.
1 I give you thanks, O Lord,[a] with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;(A)
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.[b](B)
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength of soul.[c](C)
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.(D)
5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he perceives from far away.(E)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.