Old/New Testament
The Steadfast Love of the Lord
33 (A)Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
(B)Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
make melody to him with (D)the harp of (E)ten strings!
3 Sing to him (F)a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in (G)faithfulness.
5 He (H)loves righteousness and justice;
(I)the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 By (J)the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by (K)the breath of his mouth all (L)their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as (M)a heap;
he (N)puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For (O)he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord (P)brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 (Q)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 (R)Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has (S)chosen as his heritage!
13 The Lord (T)looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from (U)where he sits enthroned he (V)looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 (W)The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 (X)The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, (Y)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
(Z)on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may (AA)deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in (AB)famine.
20 Our soul (AC)waits for the Lord;
he is our (AD)help and (AE)our shield.
21 For our heart is (AF)glad in him,
because we (AG)trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
[a] Of David, when he (AH)changed his behavior before (AI)Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
34 I will bless the Lord (AJ)at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul (AK)makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and (AL)be glad.
3 Oh, (AM)magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I (AN)sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are (AO)radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 (AP)This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and (AQ)saved him out of all his troubles.
7 (AR)The angel of the Lord (AS)encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, (AT)taste and see that (AU)the Lord is good!
(AV)Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 (AW)The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who (AX)seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 (AY)Come, O children, listen to me;
(AZ)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (BA)What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may (BB)see good?
13 (BC)Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from (BD)speaking deceit.
14 (BE)Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and (BF)pursue it.
15 (BG)The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
(BH)and his ears toward their cry.
16 (BI)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to (BJ)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 (BK)When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to (BL)the brokenhearted
and saves (BM)the crushed in spirit.
19 (BN)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(BO)but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
(BP)not one of them is broken.
21 (BQ)Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord (BR)redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be (BS)condemned.
Paul Before Felix at Caesarea
24 And (A)after five days the high priest (B)Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before (C)the governor their case against Paul. 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, (D)most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to detain[a] you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, (E)one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of (F)the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 (G)He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.[b] 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that (H)it is not more than twelve days since I (I)went up (J)to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and (K)they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 (L)Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to (M)the Way, which they call (N)a sect, (O)I worship (P)the God of our fathers, believing everything (Q)laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 (R)having (S)a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be (T)a resurrection (U)of both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always (V)take pains to have a (W)clear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now (X)after several years (Y)I came to bring alms to (Z)my nation and to present (AA)offerings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me (AB)purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But (AC)some Jews from Asia— 19 (AD)they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing (AE)that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”
Paul Kept in Custody
22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of (AF)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he (AG)should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that (AH)none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.
24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about (AI)faith (AJ)in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he reasoned (AK)about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. (AL)When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he hoped (AM)that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. 27 When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius (AN)Festus. And (AO)desiring to do the Jews a favor, (AP)Felix left Paul in prison.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.