Old/New Testament
40 I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God. Now many will hear of the glorious things he did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in him. 4 Many blessings are given to those who trust the Lord and have no confidence in those who are proud or who trust in idols.
5 O Lord my God, many and many a time you have done great miracles for us, and we are ever in your thoughts. Who else can do such glorious things? No one else can be compared with you. There isn’t time to tell of all your wonderful deeds.
6 It isn’t sacrifices and offerings that you really want from your people. Burnt animals bring no special joy to your heart. But you have accepted the offer of my lifelong service.[a] 7 Then I[b] said, “See, I have come, just as all the prophets foretold. 8 And I delight to do your will, my God, for your law is written upon my heart!”
9 I have told everyone the good news that you forgive people’s sins.[c] I have not been timid about it, as you well know, O Lord. 10 I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart, but have proclaimed your loving-kindness and truth to all the congregation.
11 O Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me! My only hope is in your love and faithfulness. 12 Otherwise I perish, for problems far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. Meanwhile my sins, too many to count, have all caught up with me, and I am ashamed to look up. My heart quails within me.
13 Please, Lord, rescue me! Quick! Come and help me! 14-15 Confuse them! Turn them around and send them sprawling—all these who are trying to destroy me. Disgrace these scoffers with their utter failure!
16 But may the joy of the Lord be given to everyone who loves him and his salvation. May they constantly exclaim, “How great God is!”
17 I am poor and weak, yet the Lord is thinking about me right now! O my God, you are my helper. You are my Savior; come quickly, and save me. Please don’t delay!
41 God blesses those who are kind to the poor. He helps them out of their troubles. 2 He protects them and keeps them alive; he publicly honors them and destroys the power of their enemies. 3 He nurses them when they are sick and soothes their pains and worries.[d]
4 “O Lord,” I prayed, “be kind and heal me, for I have confessed my sins.” 5 But my enemies say, “May he soon die and be forgotten!” 6 They act so friendly when they come to visit me while I am sick; but all the time they hate me and are glad that I am lying there upon my bed of pain. And when they leave, they laugh and mock. 7 They whisper together about what they will do when I am dead. 8 “It’s fatal, whatever it is,” they say. “He’ll never get out of that bed!”
9 Even my best friend has turned against me—a man I completely trusted; how often we ate together. 10 Lord, don’t you desert me! Be gracious, Lord, and make me well again so I can pay them back! 11 I know you are pleased with me because you haven’t let my enemies triumph over me. 12 You have preserved me because I was honest; you have admitted me forever to your presence.
13 Bless the Lord, the God of Israel, who exists from everlasting ages past—and on into everlasting eternity ahead. Amen and amen!
42 As the deer pants for water, so I long for you, O God. 2 I thirst for God, the living God. Where can I find him to come and stand before him? 3 Day and night I weep for his help, and all the while my enemies taunt me. “Where is this God of yours?” they scoff.
4-5 Take courage, my soul! Do you remember those times (but how could you ever forget them!) when you led a great procession to the Temple on festival days, singing with joy, praising the Lord? Why then be downcast? Why be discouraged and sad? Hope in God! I shall yet praise him again. Yes, I shall again praise him for his help.[e]
6 Yet I am standing here depressed and gloomy, but I will meditate upon your kindness to this lovely land where the Jordan River flows and where Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar stand. 7 All your waves and billows have gone over me, and floods of sorrow pour upon me like a thundering cataract.[f]
8 Yet day by day the Lord also pours out his steadfast love upon me, and through the night I sing his songs and pray to God who gives me life.
9 “O God my Rock,” I cry, “why have you forsaken me? Why must I suffer these attacks from my enemies?” 10 Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound; again and again they scoff, “Where is that God of yours?” 11 But, O my soul, don’t be discouraged. Don’t be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise him for all that he will do. He is my help! He is my God!
27 Arrangements were finally made to start us on our way to Rome by ship; so Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of an officer named Julius, a member of the imperial guard. 2 We left on a boat[a] that was scheduled to make several stops along the Turkish coast. I should add that Aristarchus, a Greek from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends and receive their hospitality. 4 Putting to sea from there, we encountered headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland[b] 5 and passed along the coast of the provinces of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra, in the province of Lycia. 6 There our officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria, bound for Italy, and put us aboard.
7-8 We had several days of rough sailing, and finally neared Cnidus;[c] but the winds had become too strong, so we ran across to Crete, passing the port of Salome. Beating into the wind with great difficulty and moving slowly along the southern coast, we arrived at Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. 9 There we stayed for several days. The weather was becoming dangerous for long voyages by then because it was late in the year,[d] and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it.
10 “Sirs,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—perhaps shipwreck, loss of cargo, injuries, and death.” 11 But the officers in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. 12 And since Fair Havens was an exposed[e] harbor—a poor place to spend the winter—most of the crew advised trying to go further up the coast to Phoenix in order to winter there; Phoenix was a good harbor with only a northwest and southwest exposure.
13 Just then a light wind began blowing from the south, and it looked like a perfect day for the trip; so they pulled up anchor and sailed along close to shore.
14-15 But shortly afterwards the weather changed abruptly, and a heavy wind of typhoon strength (a “northeaster,” they called it) caught the ship and blew it out to sea. They tried at first to face back to shore but couldn’t, so they gave up and let the ship run before the gale.
16 We finally sailed behind a small island named Clauda, where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat that was being towed behind us, 17 and then banded the ship with ropes to strengthen the hull. The sailors were afraid of being driven across to the quicksands of the African coast,[f] so they lowered the topsails and were thus driven before the wind.
18 The next day as the seas grew higher, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. 19 The following day they threw out the tackle and anything else they could lay their hands on. 20 The terrible storm raged unabated many days,[g] until at last all hope was gone.
21 No one had eaten for a long time, but finally Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Fair Havens—you would have avoided all this injury and loss! 22 But cheer up! Not one of us will lose our lives, even though the ship will go down.
23 “For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul—for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God has granted your request and will save the lives of all those sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage! For I believe God! It will be just as he said! 26 But we will be shipwrecked on an island.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.