Psalm 26-28
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 26
Prayer for Vindication
Of David.
1 Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Test me, Lord, and try me;
examine my heart and mind.(B)
3 For your faithful love guides me,[a]
and I live by your truth.(C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless
or associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate a crowd of evildoers,
and I do not sit with the wicked.(D)
6 I wash my hands in innocence(E)
and go around your altar, Lord,(F)
7 raising my voice in thanksgiving(G)
and telling about your wondrous works.(H)
8 Lord, I love the house where you dwell,
the place where your glory resides.(I)
9 Do not destroy me along with sinners,
or my life along with men of bloodshed(J)
10 in whose hands are evil schemes
and whose right hands are filled with bribes.(K)
11 But I live with integrity;
redeem me and be gracious to me.(L)
12 My foot stands on level ground;(M)
I will bless the Lord in the assemblies.(N)
Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?(O)
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
whom should I dread?(P)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,(Q)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.(R)
3 Though an army deploys against me,
my heart will not be afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will still be confident.(S)
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(T)
gazing on the beauty of the Lord(U)
and seeking him in his temple.(V)
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter
in the day of adversity;
he will hide me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.(W)
6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;(X)
I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy.(Y)
I will sing and make music to the Lord.(Z)
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.(AA)
8 My heart says this about you:
“Seek[b] his face.”
Lord, I will seek your face.(AB)
9 Do not hide your face from me;(AC)
do not turn your servant away in anger.(AD)
You have been my helper;(AE)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.(AF)
11 Because of my adversaries,
show me your way, Lord,
and lead me on a level path.(AG)
12 Do not give me over to the will of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing violence.(AH)
13 I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.(AI)
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.(AJ)
Wait for the Lord.(AK)
Psalm 28
My Strength
Of David.
1 Lord, I call to you;
my rock, do not be deaf to me.(AL)
If you remain silent to me,
I will be like those going down to the Pit.(AM)
2 Listen to the sound of my pleading
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.(AN)
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.(AO)
4 Repay them according to what they have done—
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands;
give them back what they deserve.(AP)
5 Because they do not consider
what the Lord has done
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and not rebuild them.(AQ)
6 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has heard the sound of my pleading.(AR)
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.(AS)
Therefore my heart celebrates,
and I give thanks to him with my song.(AT)
Acts 22
Christian Standard Bible
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” 2 When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic,[a] they became even quieter.(A) 3 He(B) continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel(C) according to the strictness of our ancestral law. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.(D) 4 I persecuted this Way(E) to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail,(F) 5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.(G)
Paul’s Testimony
6 “As(H) I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light,[b] but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.(I)
10 “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’
“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’
11 “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light,[c] I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus.(J) 12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,(K) 13 came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed(L) you to know his will, to see(M) the Righteous One,(N) and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.(O) 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,(P) calling on his name.’(Q)
17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance(R) 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.(S) 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval[d] and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’(T)
21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”(U)
Paul’s Roman Protection
22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” (V)
23 As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,(W) 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. 25 As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” (X)
26 When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes,” he said.
28 The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.
29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.(Y)
Paul before the Sanhedrin
30 The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him[e] and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene.(Z) He brought Paul down and placed him before them.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
