Psalm 84

English Standard Version

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)The Gittith.^[a] A Psalm of ^(B)the Sons of Korah.

84 How ^(C)lovely is your ^(D)dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
²My soul ^(E)longs, yes, ^(F)faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to ^(G)the living God.

³Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    ^(H)my King and my God.
⁴^(I)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(J)singing your praise! Selah

⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    ^(K)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[b]
⁶As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    ^(L)the early rain also covers it with ^(M)pools.
⁷They go ^(N)from strength to strength;
    each one ^(O)appears before God in Zion.

⁸O ^(P)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹^(Q)Behold our ^(R)shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

¹⁰For a day ^(S)in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be ^(T)a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the Lord God is ^(U)a sun and ^(V)shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
^(W)No good thing does he withhold
    from those who ^(X)walk uprightly.
¹²O Lord of hosts,
    ^(Y)blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Footnotes

Psalm 84:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 84:5 Hebrew lacks to Zion

Isaiah 46

English Standard Version

The Idols of Babylon and the One True God

46 ^(A)Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
    their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
    as burdens on weary beasts.
²They stoop; they bow down together;
    they cannot save the burden,
    but ^(B)themselves go into captivity.

³“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
    all the remnant of the house of Israel,
^(C)who have been borne by me from before your birth,
    carried from the womb;
⁴^(D)even to your old age I am he,
    and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
    I will carry and will save.

⁵^(E)“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
    and compare me, that we may be alike?
⁶^(F)Those who lavish gold from the purse,
    and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
    ^(G)then they fall down and worship!
⁷^(H)They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
    they set it in its place, and it stands there;
    ^(I)it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
    or save him from his trouble.

⁸“Remember this and stand firm,
    recall it to mind, ^(J)you transgressors,
⁹    remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
¹⁰^(K)declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ^(L)‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
¹¹^(M)calling a bird of prey from the east,
    the man of my counsel from a far country.
^(N)I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
    I have purposed, and I will do it.

¹²“Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
    you who are far from righteousness:
¹³^(O)I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
    and my salvation will not delay;
^(P)I will put salvation in Zion,
    for Israel my glory.”

Acts 25:13-27

English Standard Version

Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice

¹³Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. ¹⁴And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, ^(A)“There is a man left prisoner by Felix, ¹⁵and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case ^(B)against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ¹⁶^(C)I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone ^(D)before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. ¹⁷^(E)So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on ^(F)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. ¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. ¹⁹Rather they ^(G)had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about ^(H)a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I ^(I)asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. ²¹But ^(J)when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of ^(K)the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” ²²Then ^(L)Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”

²³So on the next day ^(M)Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom ^(N)the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, ^(O)shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵But I found that ^(P)he had done nothing deserving death. And ^(Q)as he himself appealed to ^(R)the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. ²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. ²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”