Psalm 72-73

New International Version

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice,^(A) O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
²May he judge your people in righteousness,^(B)
your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴May he defend the afflicted^(C) among the people
    and save the children of the needy;^(D)
    may he crush the oppressor.^(E)
⁵May he endure^[a]^(F) as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.^(G)
⁶May he be like rain^(H) falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷In his days may the righteous flourish^(I)
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b]^(J) to the ends of the earth.^(K)
⁹May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish^(L) and of distant shores^(M)
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba^(N) and Seba
    present him gifts.^(O)
¹¹May all kings bow down^(P) to him
    and all nations serve^(Q) him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³He will take pity^(R) on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴He will rescue^(S) them from oppression and violence,
    for precious^(T) is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba^(U) be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.^(V)
¹⁶May grain^(W) abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops^(X) flourish like Lebanon^(Y)
    and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.^(Z)
¹⁷May his name endure forever;^(AA)
    may it continue as long as the sun.^(AB)

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
and they will call him blessed.^(AC)

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,^(AD)
who alone does marvelous deeds.^(AE)
¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name^(AF) forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.^(AG)
Amen and Amen.^(AH)

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.^(AI)

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.^(AJ)

²But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;^(AK)
I had nearly lost my foothold.^(AL)
³For I envied^(AM) the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.^(AN)

⁴They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.^[e]
⁵They are free^(AO) from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶Therefore pride^(AP) is their necklace;^(AQ)
    they clothe themselves with violence.^(AR)
⁷From their callous hearts^(AS) comes iniquity^[f];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸They scoff, and speak with malice;^(AT)
    with arrogance^(AU) they threaten oppression.^(AV)
⁹Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.^[g]
¹¹They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

¹²This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care,^(AW) they go on amassing wealth.^(AX)

¹³Surely in vain^(AY) I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.^(AZ)
¹⁴All day long I have been afflicted,^(BA)
and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
¹⁶When I tried to understand^(BB) all this,
    it troubled me deeply
¹⁷till I entered the sanctuary^(BC) of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.^(BD)

¹⁸Surely you place them on slippery ground;^(BE)
    you cast them down to ruin.^(BF)
¹⁹How suddenly^(BG) are they destroyed,
    completely swept away^(BH) by terrors!
²⁰They are like a dream^(BI) when one awakes;^(BJ)
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.^(BK)

²¹When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
²²I was senseless^(BL) and ignorant;
I was a brute beast^(BM) before you.

²³Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.^(BN)
²⁴You guide^(BO) me with your counsel,^(BP)
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?^(BQ)
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.^(BR)
²⁶My flesh and my heart^(BS) may fail,^(BT)
    but God is the strength^(BU) of my heart
    and my portion^(BV) forever.

²⁷Those who are far from you will perish;^(BW)
    you destroy all who are unfaithful^(BX) to you.
²⁸But as for me, it is good to be near God.^(BY)
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;^(BZ)
    I will tell of all your deeds.^(CA)

Footnotes

Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)
Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat
Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

Acts 26

New International Version

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”^(A)

So Paul motioned with his hand^(B) and began his defense: ²“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you^(C) today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,^(D) ³and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs^(E) and controversies.^(F) Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴“The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child,^(G) from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵They have known me for a long time^(H) and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect^(I) of our religion, living as a Pharisee.^(J) ⁶And now it is because of my hope^(K) in what God has promised our ancestors^(L) that I am on trial today. ⁷This is the promise our twelve tribes^(M) are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night.^(N) King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me.^(O) ⁸Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?^(P)

⁹“I too was convinced^(Q) that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose^(R) the name of Jesus of Nazareth.^(S) ¹⁰And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people^(T) in prison,^(U) and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.^(V) ¹¹Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,^(W) and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.

¹²“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice^(X) saying to me in Aramaic,^[a]^(Y) ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ¹⁶‘Now get up and stand on your feet.^(Z) I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.^(AA) ¹⁷I will rescue you^(AB) from your own people and from the Gentiles.^(AC) I am sending you to them ¹⁸to open their eyes^(AD) and turn them from darkness to light,^(AE) and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins^(AF) and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’^(AG)

¹⁹“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient^(AH) to the vision from heaven. ²⁰First to those in Damascus,^(AI) then to those in Jerusalem^(AJ) and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles,^(AK) I preached that they should repent^(AL) and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.^(AM) ²¹That is why some Jews seized me^(AN) in the temple courts and tried to kill me.^(AO) ²²But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen^(AP)— ²³that the Messiah would suffer^(AQ) and, as the first to rise from the dead,^(AR) would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”^(AS)

²⁴At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind,^(AT) Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning^(AU) is driving you insane.”

²⁵“I am not insane, most excellent^(AV) Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶The king is familiar with these things,^(AW) and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”^(AX)

²⁹Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”^(AY)

³⁰The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice^(AZ) and those sitting with them. ³¹After they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”^(BA)

³²Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free^(BB) if he had not appealed to Caesar.”^(BC)