Psalm 35-36

New International Version

Psalm 35

Of David.

¹Contend,^(A) Lord, with those who contend with me;
    fight^(B) against those who fight against me.
²Take up shield^(C) and armor;
    arise^(D) and come to my aid.^(E)
³Brandish spear^(F) and javelin^[a]^(G)
    against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
    “I am your salvation.^(H)”

⁴May those who seek my life^(I)
    be disgraced^(J) and put to shame;^(K)
may those who plot my ruin
    be turned back^(L) in dismay.
⁵May they be like chaff^(M) before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord^(N) driving them away;
⁶may their path be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

⁷Since they hid their net^(O) for me without cause^(P)
    and without cause dug a pit^(Q) for me,
⁸may ruin overtake them by surprise—^(R)
    may the net they hid entangle them,
    may they fall into the pit,^(S) to their ruin.
⁹Then my soul will rejoice^(T) in the Lord
    and delight in his salvation.^(U)
¹⁰My whole being will exclaim,
    “Who is like you,^(V) Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong^(W) for them,
    the poor and needy^(X) from those who rob them.”

¹¹Ruthless witnesses^(Y) come forward;
    they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹²They repay me evil for good^(Z)
    and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth^(AA)
    and humbled myself with fasting.^(AB)
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
¹⁴    I went about mourning^(AC)
    as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
    as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;^(AD)
    assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
    They slandered^(AE) me without ceasing.
¹⁶Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;^[b]^(AF)
    they gnashed their teeth^(AG) at me.

¹⁷How long,^(AH) Lord, will you look on?
    Rescue me from their ravages,
    my precious life^(AI) from these lions.^(AJ)
¹⁸I will give you thanks in the great assembly;^(AK)
    among the throngs^(AL) I will praise you.^(AM)
¹⁹Do not let those gloat over me
    who are my enemies^(AN) without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason^(AO)
    maliciously wink the eye.^(AP)
²⁰They do not speak peaceably,
    but devise false accusations^(AQ)
    against those who live quietly in the land.
²¹They sneer^(AR) at me and say, “Aha! Aha!^(AS)
    With our own eyes we have seen it.”

²²Lord, you have seen^(AT) this; do not be silent.
    Do not be far^(AU) from me, Lord.
²³Awake,^(AV) and rise^(AW) to my defense!
    Contend^(AX) for me, my God and Lord.
²⁴Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
    do not let them gloat^(AY) over me.
²⁵Do not let them think, “Aha,^(AZ) just what we wanted!”
    or say, “We have swallowed him up.”^(BA)

²⁶May all who gloat^(BB) over my distress^(BC)
    be put to shame^(BD) and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me^(BE)
    be clothed with shame and disgrace.
²⁷May those who delight in my vindication^(BF)
    shout for joy^(BG) and gladness;
may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
    who delights^(BH) in the well-being of his servant.”^(BI)

²⁸My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,^(BJ)
your praises all day long.^(BK)

Psalm 36^[c]

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.

¹I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:^[d]^(BL)
There is no fear^(BM) of God
before their eyes.^(BN)

²In their own eyes they flatter themselves
    too much to detect or hate their sin.^(BO)
³The words of their mouths^(BP) are wicked and deceitful;^(BQ)
    they fail to act wisely^(BR) or do good.^(BS)
⁴Even on their beds they plot evil;^(BT)
    they commit themselves to a sinful course^(BU)
    and do not reject what is wrong.^(BV)

⁵Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
    your faithfulness^(BW) to the skies.^(BX)
⁶Your righteousness^(BY) is like the highest mountains,^(BZ)
    your justice like the great deep.^(CA)
    You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.^(CB)
⁷How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!^(CC)
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.^(CD)
⁸They feast on the abundance of your house;^(CE)
    you give them drink from your river^(CF) of delights.^(CG)
⁹For with you is the fountain of life;^(CH)
    in your light^(CI) we see light.

¹⁰Continue your love^(CJ) to those who know you,^(CK)
    your righteousness to the upright in heart.^(CL)
¹¹May the foot of the proud not come against me,
    nor the hand of the wicked^(CM) drive me away.
¹²See how the evildoers lie fallen—
    thrown down, not able to rise!^(CN)

Footnotes

Psalm 35:3 Or and block the way
Psalm 35:16 Septuagint; Hebrew may mean Like an ungodly circle of mockers,
Psalm 36:1 In Hebrew texts 36:1-12 is numbered 36:2-13.
Psalm 36:1 Or A message from God: The transgression of the wicked / resides in their hearts.

Acts 17:1-15

New International Version

In Thessalonica

17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,^(A) where there was a Jewish synagogue. ²As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue,^(B) and on three Sabbath^(C) days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,^(D) ³explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer^(E) and rise from the dead.^(F) “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,”^(G) he said. ⁴Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,^(H) as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

⁵But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.^(I) They rushed to Jason’s^(J) house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.^[a] ⁶But when they did not find them, they dragged^(K) Jason and some other believers^(L) before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world^(M) have now come here,^(N) ⁷and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”^(O) ⁸When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. ⁹Then they made Jason^(P) and the others post bond and let them go.

In Berea

¹⁰As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas^(Q) away to Berea.^(R) On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.^(S) ¹¹Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,^(T) for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures^(U) every day to see if what Paul said was true.^(V) ¹²As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.^(W)

¹³But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea,^(X) some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. ¹⁴The believers^(Y) immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas^(Z) and Timothy^(AA) stayed at Berea. ¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens^(AB) and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.^(AC)