Old/New Testament
To the director: A song of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
May the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from his Holy Place.
May he support you from Zion.
3 May he remember all the gifts you have offered.
May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
4 May he give you what you really want.
May he make all your plans successful.
5 We will celebrate when he helps you.
We will praise the name of God.
May the Lord give you everything you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord helps his chosen king.
From his holy heaven he answered.
With his great power he saved him.
7 Some give the credit for victory to their chariots and soldiers,
but we honor the Lord our God.
8 They fall in battle, totally defeated,
but we survive and stand strong!
9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call to you for help.
To the director: A song of David.
21 Lord, your strength makes the king happy.
He is so happy when you give him victory.
2 And you gave him what he wanted.
You gave him what he asked for. Selah
3 You gave the king such wonderful blessings.
You put a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked for life, and you gave it.
You gave him life that goes on forever.
5 You led him to victory that brought him great glory.
You gave him honor and fame.
6 You have given him blessings that will last forever.
You have given him the joy of being near you.
7 The king trusts in the Lord,
and the faithful love of God Most High will keep him from falling.
8 Lord, you will show all your enemies that you are strong.
Your power will defeat those who hate you.
9 When you appear,
you will burn them up like a blazing furnace.
In your anger, Lord, you will completely destroy them;
they will be swallowed by flames of fire.[a]
10 Their families will be destroyed.
They will be removed from the earth.
11 That is because they made evil plans against you.
They wanted to do things they could not do.
12 You will make them turn and run away
when you aim your arrows at their faces.
13 Lord, we lift you up with our songs of praise.
We sing and play songs about your power!
To the director: To the tune “The Deer of Dawn.”[b] A song of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you left me?
You seem too far away to save me,
too far to hear my cries for help!
2 My God, I kept calling by day,
and I was not silent at night.
But you did not answer me.
3 God, you are the Holy One.
You sit as King upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
Yes, they trusted you, and you saved them.
5 They called to you for help and escaped their enemies.
They trusted you and were not disappointed!
6 But I feel like a worm, less than human!
People insult me and look down on me.
7 Everyone who sees me makes fun of me.
They shake their heads and stick out their tongues at me.
8 They say, “Call to the Lord for help.
Maybe he will save you.
If he likes you so much, surely he will rescue you!”
9 God, the truth is, you are the one who brought me into this world.
You made me feel safe while I was still at my mother’s breasts.
10 You have been my God since the day I was born.
I was thrown into your arms as I came from my mother’s womb.
11 So don’t leave me!
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help me.
12 My enemies surround me like angry bulls.
They are like the powerful bulls of Bashan, and they are all around me.
13 Their mouths are opened wide,
like a lion roaring and tearing at its prey.
14 My strength is gone,
like water poured out on the ground.
My bones have separated.
My courage is gone.[c]
15 My mouth[d] is as dry as a piece of baked pottery.
My tongue is sticking to the roof of my mouth.
You have left me dying in the dust.
16 The “dogs” are all around me—
a pack[e] of evil people has trapped me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.[f]
17 I can see each one of my bones.
My enemies are looking at me;
they just keep staring.
18 They divide my clothes among themselves,
and they throw lots for what I am wearing.
19 Lord, don’t leave me!
You are my strength—hurry and help me!
20 Save me from the sword.
Save my precious life from these dogs.
21 Rescue me from the lion’s mouth.
Protect me from the horns of the bulls.[g]
22 I will tell my people about you.
I will praise you in the great assembly.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who worship him!
Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!
Fear and respect him, all you people of Israel!
24 He does not ignore those who need help.
He does not hate them.
He does not turn away from them.
He listens when they cry for help.
25 Lord, because of you I offer praise in the great assembly.
In front of all these worshipers I will do all that I promised.
26 Poor people, come eat and be satisfied.[h]
You who have come looking for the Lord, praise him!
May your hearts be happy[i] forever.
27 May those in faraway countries remember the Lord and come back to him.
May those in distant lands worship him,
28 because the Lord is the King.
He rules all nations.
29 The people have eaten all they wanted
and bowed down to worship him.
Yes, everyone will bow down to him—
all who are on the way to the grave, unable to hold on to life.
30 Our descendants will serve him.
Those who are not yet born will be told about him.
31 Each generation will tell their children
about the good things the Lord has done.
Paul Goes to Jerusalem
21 After we said goodbye to the elders, we sailed away straight to Cos island. The next day we went to the island of Rhodes, and from there we went to Patara. 2 There we found a ship that was going to the area of Phoenicia. We got on the ship and sailed away.
3 We sailed near the island of Cyprus. We could see it on the north side, but we did not stop. We sailed to the country of Syria. We stopped at Tyre because the ship needed to unload its cargo there. 4 We found the Lord’s followers there and stayed with them for seven days. They warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem because of what the Spirit had told them. 5 But when our time there was up, we returned to the ship to continue our trip. All the followers, even the women and children, came with us to the seashore. We all knelt down on the beach, prayed, 6 and said goodbye. Then we got on the ship, and the followers went home.
7 We continued our trip from Tyre and went to the city of Ptolemais. We greeted the believers there and stayed with them one day. 8 The next day we left Ptolemais and went to the city of Caesarea. We went into the home of Philip and stayed with him. He had the work of telling the Good News. He was one of the seven helpers.[a] 9 He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophesying.
10 After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came from Judea. 11 He came to us and borrowed Paul’s belt. He used it to tie his own hands and feet. He said, “The Holy Spirit tells me, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man who wears this belt.[b] Then they will hand him over to people who don’t know God.’”
12 When we heard this, we and the other followers there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 13 But he said, “Why are you crying and making me feel so sad? I am willing to be put in jail in Jerusalem. I am even ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!”
14 We could not persuade him to stay away from Jerusalem. So we stopped begging him and said, “We pray that what the Lord wants will be done.”
15 After this, we got ready and left for Jerusalem. 16 Some of the followers of Jesus from Caesarea went with us. These followers took us to the home of Mnason, a man from Cyprus, who was one of the first people to be a follower of Jesus. They took us to his home so that we could stay with him.
Paul Visits James
17 The brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were very happy to see us.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International