Psalm 146

English Standard Version

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

146 ^(A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
²I will praise the Lord ^(B)as long as I live;
^(C)I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³^(D)Put not your trust in princes,
^(E)in a son of man, in whom there is ^(F)no salvation.
⁴When ^(G)his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

⁵^(H)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose ^(I)hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶^(J)who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
^(K)who keeps faith forever;
⁷    ^(L)who executes justice for the oppressed,
    ^(M)who gives food to the hungry.

^(N)The Lord sets the prisoners free;
⁸    ^(O)the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
^(P)The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    ^(Q)the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹^(R)The Lord watches over the sojourners;
    ^(S)he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but ^(T)the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰^(U)The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
^(V)Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 59:9-19

English Standard Version

⁹Therefore justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not overtake us;
^(A)we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
¹⁰^(B)We grope for the wall like the blind;
    we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
    ^(C)among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
¹¹We all growl like bears;
    ^(D)we moan and moan like doves;
^(E)we hope for justice, but there is none;
    for salvation, but it is far from us.
¹²For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
    and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
    and we know our iniquities:
¹³transgressing, and denying the Lord,
    and turning back from following our God,
^(F)speaking oppression and revolt,
    conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

Judgment and Redemption

¹⁴^(G)Justice is turned back,
    and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
    and uprightness cannot enter.
¹⁵Truth is lacking,
    and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him^[a]
    that there was no justice.
¹⁶^(H)He saw that there was no man,
    and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
    and his righteousness upheld him.
¹⁷^(I)He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
    and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
    and wrapped himself in ^(J)zeal as a cloak.
¹⁸^(K)According to their deeds, so will he repay,
    wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
    ^(L)to the coastlands he will render repayment.
¹⁹^(M)So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
    and his glory from the rising of the sun;
^(N)for he will come like a rushing stream,^[b]
    which the wind of the Lord drives.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 59:15 Hebrew and it was evil in his eyes
Isaiah 59:19 Hebrew a narrow river

Acts 9:1-20

English Standard Version

The Conversion of Saul

9 But Saul, ^(A)still ^(B)breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to ^(C)the high priest ²and asked him for letters ^(D)to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^(E)the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³^(F)Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ^(G)me?” ⁵And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ^(H)whom you are persecuting. ⁶But ^(I)rise and enter the city, and you will be told ^(J)what you are to do.” ⁷^(K)The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, ^(L)hearing the voice but seeing no one. ⁸Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, ^(M)he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple at Damascus named ^(N)Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, ^(O)“Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man ^(P)of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(Q)lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(R)how much evil he has done to ^(S)your ^(T)saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴And here he has authority from ^(U)the chief priests to bind all who ^(V)call on your name.” ¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(W)he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name ^(X)before the Gentiles and ^(Y)kings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶For ^(Z)I will show him how much ^(AA)he must suffer ^(AB)for the sake of my name.” ¹⁷So ^(AC)Ananias departed and entered the house. And ^(AD)laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and ^(AE)be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and ^(AF)he regained his sight. Then ^(AG)he rose and was baptized; ¹⁹and ^(AH)taking food, he was strengthened.

Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues

For ^(AI)some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. ²⁰And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ^(AJ)“He is the Son of God.”

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