Old/New Testament
A psalm of David.
35 Lord, stand up against those who stand up against me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Pick up your shield and your armor.
Rise up and help me.
3 Get your spear and javelin ready to fight
against those who are chasing me.
Say to me, “I will save you.”
4 Let those who are trying to kill me
be brought down in dishonor.
Let those who plan to destroy me
be turned back in terror.
5 Let them be like straw blowing in the wind,
while the angel of the Lord drives them away.
6 Let their path be dark and slippery,
while the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 They set a trap for me without any reason.
Without any reason they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let them be destroyed without warning.
Let the trap they set for me catch them.
Let them fall into the pit and be destroyed.
9 Then I will be full of joy because of what the Lord has done.
I will be glad because he has saved me.
10 My whole being will cry out,
“Who is like you, Lord?
You save poor people from those who are too strong for them.
You save poor and needy people from those who rob them.”
11 Mean people come forward to speak against me.
They ask me things I don’t know anything about.
12 They pay me back with evil, even though I was good to them.
They leave me like someone who has lost a family member.
13 But when they were sick, I put on the clothing of sadness.
I made myself humble by going without food.
My prayers for them weren’t always answered.
14 So I went around crying
as if I were mourning over my friend or relative.
I bowed my head in sadness
as if I were weeping over my mother.
15 But when I tripped and fell, they were all very happy.
Attackers gathered against me when I didn’t even know it.
They kept on telling lies about me.
16 Like ungodly people, they were mean and made fun of me.
They ground their teeth at me in hate.
17 Lord, how much longer will you just look on?
Save me from their deadly attacks.
Save the only life I have.
Save me from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the whole community.
Among all your people I will praise you.
19 Don’t let those who are my enemies without any reason
laugh at me and make fun of me.
Don’t let those who hate me without any reason
wink at me with an evil purpose.
20 They don’t speak words of peace.
They make up false charges
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They make fun of me.
They say, “With our own eyes we have seen what you did.”
22 Lord, you have seen this. Don’t be silent.
Lord, don’t be far away from me.
23 Wake up! Rise up to help me!
My God and Lord, stand up for me.
24 Lord my God, when you hand down your sentence, let it be in my favor.
You always do what is right.
Don’t let my enemies have the joy of seeing me fall.
25 Don’t let them think, “That’s exactly what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let all those who laugh at me because I’m in trouble
be ashamed and bewildered.
Let all who think they are better than I am
put on shame and dishonor as if they were clothes.
27 Let those who are happy when my name is cleared
shout with joy and gladness.
Let them always say, “May the Lord be honored.
He is pleased when everything goes well with the one who serves him.”
28 You always do what is right. My tongue will speak about it
and praise you all day long.
For the director of music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 I have a message from God in my heart.
It is about the evil ways of anyone who sins.
They don’t have any respect for God.
2 They praise themselves so much
that they can’t see their sin or hate it.
3 Their mouths speak words that are evil and false.
They do not act wisely or do what is good.
4 Even as they lie in bed they make evil plans.
They commit themselves to a sinful way of life.
They never say no to what is wrong.
5 Lord, your love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithful love reaches up to the skies.
6 Your holiness is as great as the height of the highest mountains.
You are as honest as the oceans are deep.
Lord, you keep people and animals safe.
7 How priceless your faithful love is!
People find safety in the shadow of your wings.
8 They eat well because there is more than enough in your house.
You let them drink from your river that flows with good things.
9 You have the fountain of life.
We are filled with light because you give us light.
10 Keep on loving those who know you.
Keep on doing right to those whose hearts are honest.
11 Don’t let the feet of those who are proud step on me.
Don’t let the hands of those who are evil drive me away.
12 See how those who do evil have fallen!
They are thrown down and can’t get up.
Paul’s Trial in Front of Festus
25 Three days after Festus arrived, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. 2 There the chief priests and the Jewish leaders came to Festus. They brought their charges against Paul. 3 They tried very hard to get Festus to have Paul taken to Jerusalem. They asked for this as a favor. They were planning to hide and attack Paul along the way. They wanted to kill him. 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea. Soon I’ll be going there myself. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me. If the man has done anything wrong, they can bring charges against him there.”
6 Festus spent eight or ten days in Jerusalem with them. Then he went down to Caesarea. The next day he called the court together. He ordered Paul to be brought to him. 7 When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many strong charges against him. But they couldn’t prove that these charges were true.
8 Then Paul spoke up for himself. He said, “I’ve done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple. I’ve done nothing wrong against Caesar.”
9 But Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor. So he said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem? Are you willing to go on trial there? Are you willing to face these charges in my court?”
10 Paul answered, “I’m already standing in Caesar’s court. This is where I should go on trial. I haven’t done anything wrong to the Jews. You yourself know that very well. 11 If I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I’m willing to die. But the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true. No one has the right to hand me over to them. I make my appeal to Caesar!”
12 Festus talked it over with the members of his court. Then he said, “You have made an appeal to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
Festus Talks With King Agrippa
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea. They came to pay a visit to Festus. 14 They were spending many days there. So Festus talked with the king about Paul’s case. He said, “There’s a man here that Felix left as a prisoner. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the Jewish chief priests and the elders brought charges against the man. They wanted him to be found guilty.
16 “I told them that this is not the way Romans do things. We don’t judge people before they have faced those bringing charges against them. They must have a chance to argue against the charges for themselves. 17 When the Jewish leaders came back with me, I didn’t waste any time. I called the court together the next day. I ordered the man to be brought in. 18 Those bringing charges against him got up to speak. But they didn’t charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they argued with him about their own beliefs. They didn’t agree about a man named Jesus. They said Jesus was dead, but Paul claimed Jesus was alive. 20 I had no idea how to look into such matters. So I asked Paul if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem. There he could be tried on these charges. 21 But Paul made an appeal to have the Emperor decide his case. So I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”
Festus replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
Paul in Front of Agrippa
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived. They were treated like very important people. They entered the courtroom. The most important military officers and the leading men of the city came with them. When Festus gave the command, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said, “King Agrippa, and everyone else here, take a good look at this man! A large number of Jews have come to me about him. They came to me in Jerusalem and also here in Caesarea. They keep shouting that he shouldn’t live any longer. 25 I have found that he hasn’t done anything worthy of death. But he made his appeal to the Emperor. So I decided to send him to Rome. 26 I don’t have anything certain to write about him to His Majesty. So I have brought him here today. Now all of you will be able to hear him. King Agrippa, it will also be very good for you to hear him. As a result of this hearing, I will have something to write. 27 It doesn’t make sense to send a prisoner on to Rome without listing the charges against him.”
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