Old/New Testament
A song with music that David wrote.
He sang this song to the Lord about Benjamin's descendant, Cush.
God always does what is right[a]
7 Lord, my God, I come to you to keep me safe.
Please save me from all those people who want to catch me.
2 If you do not keep me safe,
my enemies will tear me into pieces.
They will attack me like lions do,
and nobody will be able to save me.
3-5 Lord, my God, if I have done a wrong thing,
then let my enemies chase me and catch me.
If I have done a bad thing against a friend,
let my enemies catch me.
If I have helped a friend's enemy to attack him,
let my enemies catch me!
If I am guilty of any of these things,
let my enemies knock me down to the ground.
They should leave me there,
so that I lie as a dead person in the dirt.
Selah.
6 But Lord, now do something!
Wake up and help me!
Show how angry you are against my enemies.
Punish them in the way that you know is right!
7 Bring together the people of all nations,
to stand in front of you.
Rule over them from high above.
8 You, Lord, judge the people of all nations.
Lord, Most High God, say that I am not guilty.
Truly, I am righteous and honest.
9 Stop wicked people from doing evil things.
Keep your own people safe.
You always do what is right,
and you know how we think and feel.
10 The Most High God is like a shield to keep me safe.
He takes care of good, honest people.
11 God is a judge who is fair.
Every day he is angry against wicked people.
12 If they do not change the way that they live,
God will prepare to punish them.
He will make his sword sharp,
and he will put an arrow in his bow.
13 He will prepare his dangerous weapons.
He is ready to shoot his arrows that burn with fire.
14 Look! Wicked people prepare to do evil things!
They want to cause trouble.
Like a pregnant woman,
what starts inside them comes out into the open!
They give birth to lies that deceive people.
15 Wicked people want to hurt people.
They are digging a deep hole for people to fall into.
But they fall into the hole themselves!
16 The ideas that they have to hurt other people
bring trouble on themselves!
They want to be cruel to other people,
but they themselves receive the pain!
17 So I will thank the Lord
because he does what is right.
The Lord is the Most High God,
so I will sing to praise his name!
The music leader must use special music.
This is a song that David wrote.
The sky at night[b]
8 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
The sky above shows how great you are.
2 You have taught children and babies to praise you.
You do that to show your enemies how strong you are.
Anyone who turns against you has to be quiet.
Your cruel enemies can do nothing!
3 You made the skies with your own hands.
When I look up, I see the moon and the stars.
You have put them all in their right place.
4 So why do you even think about men and women?
Why do you take care of humans?
5 You have made their place a little below God himself.[c]
You have given them honour, like kings.
6 You have chosen them to rule everything that you have made.
You have put everything under their authority.
7-8 Yes! Humans rule them all:
Farm animals and wild animals,
birds, fish and all the things that swim in the sea.
9 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
This is a song that David wrote.
The leader must use the music ‘Death of the son.’
A song to thank God[d]
9 All that I am says ‘thank you’ to the Lord.
I will tell people about all the great things that you have done.
2 I will be very happy because of you.
I will sing to praise your name, Most High God.
3 Because my enemies have seen your power,
they turned back and they fell down.
You won against them.
4 You showed that I was right.
You sat on your throne
as a judge who truly decides what is right.
5 Clearly you spoke against the nations.
You destroyed the wicked people,
so that nobody will remember them ever again.
6 Down came the cities of our enemies!
You destroyed them for ever.
People will just forget them.
7 Every day the Lord will rule as king.
He sits on his throne as judge.
8 He is fair when he judges all the people in the world.
He brings justice to all the nations.
9 For people who suffer, the Lord gives them a safe place.
When trouble comes to them, he keeps them safe.
10 Everyone who knows you, Lord, trusts in you.
You will never turn away from anyone who comes to you for help.
11 Give a song to the Lord to praise him!
He rules as king in Zion.
Tell all the nations about the great things that he has done.
12 God punishes murderers,
and he takes care of people who receive pain from others.
When they call to him,
he does not refuse to help them.
13 How my enemies cause me to suffer!
Please be kind to me, Lord.
You are the one who can save me from death.
14 Then I will praise you for everyone to hear!
I will tell the people of Zion that you have saved me,
and I will be very happy!
15 Into the deep hole that they dug,
the nations themselves fell.
The net that they hid to catch me,
caught their own feet!
16 The Lord has shown us who he is.
We know that he brings justice.
Wicked people will catch themselves
in their own traps.
Higgaion.[e] Selah.
17 Justice sends the wicked people away,
into the deep hole of death.
This will happen to all the nations
that do not respect God.
18 Know this: God will not forget the poor for ever.
People who suffer should continue to hope.
19 Lord, stand up!
Do not let people turn against you!
Bring the nations to stand in front of you.
Judge them!
20 Lord, make them afraid!
Make the nations know
that they are only weak and human.
Selah.
Paul visits Corinth
18 After Paul had spoken to the important officers of Athens, he left the city. He went from there to the city of Corinth.[a]
2 In Corinth, he met a man called Aquila. Aquila was a Jew. He had been born in the region of Pontus. At that time, Caesar Claudius had said that all Jews must leave Rome. So Aquila had left Italy and he had just arrived in Corinth with his wife Priscilla. Paul went to visit them. 3 They knew how to make tents which they could sell to people. Paul also made tents, so he stayed with them and he worked with them.
4 Every Jewish day of rest, Paul taught both Jews and Greek people in the Jewish meeting place. He wanted them all to believe the good news about Jesus.
5 Then Silas and Timothy arrived there from the country called Macedonia. After that, the only work that Paul did was to teach people God's message. He told the Jews clearly that Jesus is God's Messiah. 6 The Jews did not agree with Paul and they insulted him. So he shook the dirt off his clothes at them.[b] He said to them, ‘If God punishes you, then you have caused it to happen. It will not be because of me. Now I will go to the Gentiles and I will teach them God's message.’
7 So Paul did not speak in the Jewish meeting place any more.[c] Instead, he went to the house of Titius Justus, which was next to the meeting place. Justus was a Gentile who now worshipped God. 8 A man called Crispus was the leader of the Jewish meeting place there. He, and everyone else who lived in his house, believed in the Lord Jesus. Many other people in Corinth heard Paul's message and they believed in Jesus. When they became believers, someone baptized them.
9 But one night, the Lord appeared to Paul in a vision. He said, ‘Do not be afraid of those people who are against you. Continue to speak my message to the people here. Do not stop speaking to them. 10 I am here with you. Nobody will hurt you. There are many people in this city who will believe in me.’
11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for 18 months and he taught the people God's message about Jesus.
12 Gallio then became the Roman ruler of the region called Achaia.[d] At this time the Jewish leaders in Corinth decided together to speak against Paul. So they took hold of him and they brought him to Gallio. They wanted Gallio to judge Paul.
13 The Jewish leaders said to Gallio, ‘This man is teaching people to worship God in a wrong way. The things that he teaches are against our Jewish law.’
14 Paul was ready to speak, but Gallio spoke first to the Jews. He said, ‘If this man had done a very bad thing, then I would judge him. It would be right for me to listen to you. 15 But you are arguing about words and names and your own Jewish law. So you yourselves must decide what to do about it. I will not be a judge to decide about these things.’ 16 Then Gallio told his soldiers to take the Jewish leaders away. 17 Then the whole crowd of people took hold of a man called Sosthenes. He was the leader of the Jewish meeting place there. The crowd hit him with sticks in front of Gallio. But Gallio did nothing to stop them. He did not think it was important.
Paul travels from Corinth to Antioch
18 Paul remained in Corinth with the believers for many days. Then he left them. Priscilla and Aquila also went with him. They went to the port called Cenchrea. They got on a ship there to sail to Syria. Before they left, someone cut off all the hair on Paul's head. This showed that he had made a promise to God.[e]
19 They all arrived in the city of Ephesus. Paul left Priscilla and Aquila, and he went into the Jewish meeting room. There he talked about God's message with the Jews. 20 Some of them asked Paul to remain in Ephesus with them for a longer time. But he did not agree to stay. 21 Before he left, he said to them, ‘If God wants me to come back, I will return to you.’ Then Paul got in a ship and he sailed from Ephesus to Caesarea. 22 After Paul arrived in Caesarea, he went to Jerusalem. He said, ‘hello’ to the group of believers there. Then he travelled to Antioch in Syria.
23 He stayed in Antioch for some time. Then he left there and he travelled through the regions called Galatia and Phrygia. He spoke to all the believers in these places. He helped them to trust God and to be strong.
These are some of the things that Apollos did
24 A certain Jewish man called Apollos arrived in Ephesus. He had been born in Alexandria, and he could teach people very well.[f] He knew a lot about God's message in the Bible. 25 Someone had taught him the good news about the Lord Jesus. He liked to speak a lot to people about Jesus. The things that he taught were true. But he only knew part of God's message. He only knew the things that John taught about baptism. 26 Apollos went to the Jewish meeting place and he taught the people there. He was not afraid to speak God's message to them. Priscilla and Aquila heard what Apollos was teaching the people. So they said to him, ‘Please come with us to our home.’ Then they explained to Apollos the whole of God's message about Jesus. Then he could understand better.
27 Later, Apollos decided to go to the region called Achaia. The believers in Ephesus agreed that he should do that. They wrote a letter for him to give to the believers in Achaia. They wrote, ‘When Apollos arrives, please accept him.’ God had been very kind to the believers in Achaia, so that they believed in Jesus. When Apollos came to them, he helped them very much. 28 Some of the Jews there spoke against Apollos's message. But he argued strongly against them so that everyone could hear. He explained to them what God had said in the Bible. He showed them clearly that Jesus is God's Messiah.
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