Psalm 29-30

Contemporary English Version

(A psalm by David.)

The Voice of the Lord in a Storm

¹^(A) All you angels^[a] in heaven,
honor the glory and power
    of the Lord!
²Honor the wonderful name
    of the Lord,
and worship the Lord
    most holy and glorious.^[b]

³The voice of the Lord
    echoes over the oceans.
The glorious Lord God
thunders above the roar
    of the raging sea,
⁴and his voice is mighty
    and marvelous.
⁵The voice of the Lord
    destroys the cedar trees;
the Lord shatters cedars
    on Mount Lebanon.
⁶God makes Mount Lebanon
    skip like a calf
and Mount Hermon
    jump like a wild ox.

⁷The voice of the Lord
makes lightning flash
⁸ and the desert tremble.
And because of the Lord,
the desert near Kadesh
shivers and shakes.

⁹The voice of the Lord
makes deer give birth
before their time.^[c]
Forests are stripped of leaves,
and the temple is filled
with shouts of praise.

¹⁰The Lord rules on his throne,
king of the flood^[d] forever.
¹¹Pray that our Lord
will make us strong
and give us peace.

(A psalm by David for the dedication of the temple.)

A Prayer of Thanks

¹I will praise you, Lord!
    You saved me from the grave
and kept my enemies
    from celebrating my death.
²I prayed to you, Lord God,
    and you healed me,
³saving me from death
    and the grave.

⁴Your faithful people, Lord,
will praise you with songs
    and honor your holy name.
⁵Your anger lasts a little while,
but your kindness lasts
    for a lifetime.
At night we may cry,
but when morning comes
    we will celebrate.

⁶I felt secure and thought,
    “I'll never be shaken!”
⁷You, Lord, were my friend,
and you made me strong
    as a mighty mountain.
But when you hid your face,
    I was crushed.

⁸I prayed to you, Lord,
    and in my prayer I said,
⁹“What good will it do you
    if I am in the grave?
Once I have turned to dust,
    how can I praise you
or tell how loyal you are?
¹⁰    Have pity, Lord! Help!”

¹¹You have turned my sorrow
    into joyful dancing.
No longer am I sad
    and wearing sackcloth.^[e]
¹²I thank you from my heart,
    and I will never stop
singing your praises,
    my Lord and my God.

Footnotes

29.1 angels: Or “supernatural beings” or “gods.”
29.2 most … glorious: Or “in his holy place” or “and wear your glorious clothes.”
29.9 makes … time: Or “twists the oak trees around.”
29.10 king of the flood: In ancient times the people of Israel believed that a mighty ocean surrounded all of creation, and that God could release the water to flood the earth.
30.11 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.

Acts 23:1-15

Contemporary English Version

23 Paul looked straight at the council members and said, “My friends, to this day I have served God with a clear conscience!”

²Then Ananias the high priest ordered the men standing beside Paul to hit him on the mouth. ³^(A) Paul turned to the high priest and said, “You whitewashed wall!^[a] God will hit you. You sit there to judge me by the Law of Moses. But at the same time you order men to break the Law by hitting me.”

⁴The men standing beside Paul asked, “Don't you know you are insulting God's high priest?”

⁵^(B) Paul replied, “Oh! I didn't know he was the high priest. The Scriptures do tell us not to speak evil about a leader of our people.”

⁶^(C) When Paul saw that some of the council members were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted, “My friends, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. I am on trial simply because I believe that the dead will be raised to life.”

⁷As soon as Paul said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got into a big argument, and the council members started taking sides. ⁸^(D) The Sadducees do not believe in angels or spirits or that the dead will rise to life. But the Pharisees believe in all of these, ⁹and so there was a lot of shouting. Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees. Finally, they became angry and said, “We don't find anything wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel really did speak to him.”

¹⁰The argument became fierce, and the commander was afraid that Paul would be pulled apart. So he ordered the soldiers to go in and rescue Paul. Then they took him back into the fortress.

¹¹That night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, “Don't worry! Just as you have told others about me in Jerusalem, you must also tell about me in Rome.”

A Plot To Kill Paul

^12-13The next morning more than 40 Jewish men got together and vowed that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. ¹⁴Then some of them went to the chief priests and the nation's leaders and said, “We have promised God that we would not eat a thing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵You and everyone in the council must go to the commander and pretend that you want to find out more about the charges against Paul. Ask for him to be brought before your court. Meanwhile, we will be waiting to kill him before he gets there.”

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