Old/New Testament
Justice for the Oppressed
Psalm 35
1 A psalm of David.
Adonai, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight those who fight me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise up to my help.
3 Draw out also a spear and battle-axe.
Stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
be ashamed and disgraced.
May they be turned back and humiliated
—those who plot evil against me.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of Adonai driving them off.
6 May their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of Adonai pursuing them.
7 For without cause they hid their net for me,
and without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
8 Let ruin come upon him by surprise.
Let the net he hid entangle himself
—into that same pit let him fall.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in Adonai
and delight in His salvation.
10 All my bones will say:
“Adonai, who is like You,
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor and needy from one who robs him?”
11 Violent witnesses rise up.
They question me about things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good—
my soul is forlorn.
13 But as for me, when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth.
I afflicted my soul with fasting,
my prayer kept returning to my heart.
14 I went about mourning as though for my own friend or brother.
I bowed down dressed in black as though for my own mother.
15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee.
Wretches gathered against me whom I did not know,
tearing at me without ceasing.
16 They mocked profanely, as if at a feast,
they gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 My Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul from their ravages—
my solitary existence from the lions.
18 I praise You in the great assembly,
acclaiming You among a throng of people.
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies gloat over me without cause,
nor let those who hate me for nothing wink an eye.[a]
20 For they never speak shalom,
but devise deceitful words against the quiet ones in the land.
21 Yes, they open their mouth wide against me, saying:
“Aha! Aha! Our own eyes have seen it!”
22 You have seen it, Adonai—be not silent!
Adonai, be not far from me.
23 Arise, awaken to my defense,
to my cause—my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, Adonai my God,
according to Your justice,
and do not let them gloat over me.
25 Don’t let them say in their heart:
“Aha! Just what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say:
“We swallowed him up!”
26 May they be ashamed and humiliated,
those who rejoice over my misery.
May they who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May they shout for joy and be glad,
those who delight in my righteous cause.
May they always say:
“Exalted be Adonai, who delights in His servant’s shalom.”
28 Then my tongue will declare aloud
Your justice and Your praises all day.
With God Is the Fountain of Life
Psalm 36
1 For the music director, of David the servant of Adonai.
2 An oracle of Transgression—within my heart, to the wicked one:
“There is no fear of God before his eyes.[b]
3 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
too much to notice his iniquity—or hate it.
4 His mouth’s words are iniquity and deceit.
He has ceased to be wise and do good.
5 Even on his bed he plans sin.
He puts himself on a path that is no good, never refusing evil.”
6 Your love, Adonai, is in the heavens,
Your faithfulness up to the skies.
7 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God.
Your judgments are like the great deep.
You preserve man and beast, Adonai.
8 How precious is Your love, O God!
The children of men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
9 They drink their fill from the abundance of Your House.
You give them drink from the river of Your delights.
10 For with You is the fountain of life—
in Your light we see light.
11 Continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
and Your justice to the upright in heart.
12 May the foot of pride never tread on me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
13 There the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
Appeal to Caesar
25 Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 There the ruling kohanim and the leading Judeans brought charges against Paul. They were urging him, 3 asking a favor—to have Paul sent to Jerusalem, planning an ambush to kill him on the road.
4 Festus then answered that Paul was being guarded at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to go there shortly. 5 “So then,” he said, “let the prominent men among you go down with me; and if there is any wrong in the man, let them accuse him.”
6 After spending not more than eight to ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, he sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought in. 7 When he arrived, the Judeans who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many serious charges which they could not prove.
8 Paul said in his defense, “I have committed no offense against the Torah of the Jewish people, or against the Temple, or against Caesar.”
9 But Festus, wanting to do the Jewish leaders a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried before me?”
10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Judeans, as you very well know. 11 If then I am in the wrong and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 Then when Festus had consulted with the council, he responded, “You have appealed to Caesar—to Caesar you shall go!”
Festus Seeks Agrippa’s Counsel
13 Now after several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 While they were staying there several days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man left behind as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the ruling kohanim and elders of the Judeans brought charges against him, asking for a judgment against him. 16 I answered them that it is not Roman practice to turn over anyone before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense concerning the charges. 17 So when they came together here, I did not delay, but on the next day sat on the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When the accusers stood up, they were not bringing a charge of what crimes I suspected. 19 Instead, they had certain issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Yeshua, who had died, whom Paul claimed to be alive.
20 “Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there in regard to them. 21 But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”
23 So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pageantry. They entered the audience hall with the commanders and the most prominent men of the city. Then at the order of Festus, Paul was brought in.
24 Festus said, “King Agrippa and all present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Judean population petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting out that he ought not live any longer. 25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving of death; and when he himself appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 Yet I have nothing specific to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you—and especially before you, King Agrippa—so that after the investigation has taken place, I might have something to write. 27 For it seems illogical to me when sending a prisoner, not to report also the charges against him.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.