Old/New Testament

Book One

Psalm 1^[a]

¹ Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

² But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.^(A)

³ And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].^(B)

⁴ Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor ^[b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

⁶ For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

Psalm 2

¹ Why do the nations assemble with commotion [uproar and confusion of voices], and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme?

² The kings of the earth take their places; the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ). They say,^(C)

³ Let us break Their bands [of restraint] asunder and cast Their cords [of control] from us.

⁴ He Who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision [and in supreme contempt He mocks them].

⁵ He speaks to them in His deep anger and troubles (terrifies and confounds) them in His displeasure and fury, saying,

⁶ Yet have I anointed (installed and placed) My King [firmly] on My holy hill of Zion.

⁷ I will declare the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son; this day [I declare] I have begotten You.^(D)

⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.

⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like potters’ ware.^(E)

¹⁰ Now therefore, O you kings, act wisely; be instructed and warned, O you rulers of the earth.

¹¹ Serve the Lord with reverent awe and worshipful fear; rejoice and be in high spirits with trembling [lest you displease Him].

¹² Kiss the Son [pay homage to Him in purity], lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for soon shall His wrath be kindled. O blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in Him!

Psalm 3

A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son.

¹ Lord, how they are increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.

² Many are saying of me, There is no help for him in God. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

³ But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

⁴ With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁵ I lay down and slept; I wakened again, for the Lord sustains me.

⁶ I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

⁷ Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord; May Your blessing be upon Your people. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

17 Now after [Paul and Silas] had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

² And Paul entered, as he usually did, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned and argued with them from the Scriptures,

³ Explaining [them] and [quoting passages] setting forth and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, Whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ (the Messiah).

⁴ And some of them [accordingly] were induced to believe and associated themselves with Paul and Silas, as did a great number of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

⁵ But the unbelieving Jews were aroused to jealousy, and, getting hold of some wicked men (ruffians and rascals) and loungers in the marketplace, they gathered together a mob, set the town in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring [Paul and Silas] out to the people.

⁶ But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brethren before the city authorities, crying, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

⁷ And Jason has received them to his house and privately protected them! And they are all ignoring and acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] asserting that there is another king, one Jesus!

⁸ And both the crowd and the city authorities, on hearing this, were irritated (stirred up and troubled).

⁹ And when they had taken security [bail] from Jason and the others, they let them go.

¹⁰ Now the brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea; and when they arrived, they entered the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹ Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [^[a]concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

¹² Many of them therefore became believers, together with not a few prominent Greeks, women as well as men.

¹³ But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the Word of God [^[b]concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] was also preached by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, disturbing and inciting the masses.

¹⁴ At once the brethren sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained behind.

¹⁵ Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy that they should come to him as soon as possible, they departed.