Old/New Testament
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
[a] Of David.
37 (A)Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not (B)envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon (C)fade like (D)the grass
and wither (E)like the green herb.
3 (F)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
(G)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord;
(K)trust in him, and he will act.
6 (L)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as (M)the noonday.
7 (N)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
(O)fret not yourself over the one who (P)prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 (Q)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
(R)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 (S)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall (T)inherit the land.
10 In (U)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at (V)his place, he will not be there.
11 But (W)the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in (X)abundant peace.
12 The wicked (Y)plots against the righteous
and (Z)gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord (AA)laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his (AB)day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and (AC)bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose (AD)way is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their (AE)bows shall be broken.
16 (AF)Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For (AG)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord (AH)upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord (AI)knows the days of the blameless,
and their (AJ)heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in (AK)the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like (AL)the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like (AM)smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous (AN)is generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord[c] shall (AO)inherit the land,
but those cursed by him (AP)shall be cut off.
23 The (AQ)steps of a man are (AR)established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 (AS)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord (AT)upholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children (AU)begging for bread.
26 He is ever (AV)lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 (AW)Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you (AX)dwell forever.
28 For the Lord (AY)loves justice;
he will not forsake his (AZ)saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be (BA)cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and (BB)dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 (BC)The law of his God is in his heart;
his (BD)steps do not slip.
32 The wicked (BE)watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not (BF)abandon him to his power
or let him (BG)be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 (BH)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on (BI)when the wicked are cut off.
35 (BJ)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like (BK)a green laurel tree.[d]
36 But he passed away,[e] and behold, (BL)he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of (BM)peace.
38 But (BN)transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked (BO)shall be cut off.
39 (BP)The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in (BQ)the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and (BR)delivers them;
(BS)he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they (BT)take refuge in him.
Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord
A Psalm of David, (BU)for the memorial offering.
38 O Lord, (BV)rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your (BW)arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand (BX)has come down on me.
3 There is (BY)no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my (BZ)bones
because of my sin.
4 For my (CA)iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am (CB)utterly bowed down and (CC)prostrate;
all the day I (CD)go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is (CE)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
I (CF)groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my (CG)sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and (CH)the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My (CI)friends and companions (CJ)stand aloof from my (CK)plague,
and my nearest kin (CL)stand far off.
12 Those who seek my life (CM)lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt (CN)speak of ruin
and meditate (CO)treachery all day long.
13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like (CP)a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no (CQ)rebukes.
15 But for (CR)you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only (CS)let them not rejoice over me,
who (CT)boast against me when my (CU)foot slips!”
17 For I am (CV)ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
18 I (CW)confess my iniquity;
I am (CX)sorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me (CY)wrongfully.
20 Those who (CZ)render me evil for good
(DA)accuse me because I (DB)follow after good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not (DC)far from me!
22 (DD)Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my (DE)salvation!
What Is the Measure of My Days?
To the choirmaster: to (DF)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (DG)guard my ways,
that I (DH)may not sin with my tongue;
I will (DI)guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (DJ)mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
3 My (DK)heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “O Lord, (DL)make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and (DM)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely (DN)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6 Surely a man (DO)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing[f] they are in turmoil;
man (DP)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
(DQ)My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
(DR)Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
9 (DS)I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
(DT)for it is you who have done it.
10 (DU)Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
11 When you discipline a man
with (DV)rebukes for sin,
you (DW)consume like a (DX)moth what is dear to him;
(DY)surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah
Paul's Defense Before Agrippa
26 So (A)Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today (B)against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the (C)customs and (D)controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 (E)“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among (F)my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that (G)according to the strictest (H)party of our (I)religion I have lived as (J)a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in (K)the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 (L)to which (M)our twelve tribes hope to (N)attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope (O)I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought (P)incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 (Q)“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of (R)Jesus of Nazareth. 10 (S)And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority (T)from the chief priests, but (U)when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And (V)I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them (W)blaspheme, and (X)in raging fury against them I (Y)persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion
12 “In this connection (Z)I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me (AA)in the Hebrew language,[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and (AB)stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, (AC)to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 (AD)delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—(AE)to whom I (AF)am sending you 18 (AG)to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from (AH)the power of Satan to God, that they may receive (AI)forgiveness of sins and (AJ)a place among those who are sanctified (AK)by faith in me.’
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to (AL)the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first (AM)to those in Damascus, (AN)then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also (AO)to the Gentiles, that they should (AP)repent and (AQ)turn to God, performing deeds (AR)in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason (AS)the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 (AT)To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so (AU)I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what (AV)the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 (AW)that the Christ (AX)must suffer and that, (AY)by being the first (AZ)to rise from the dead, (BA)he would proclaim (BB)light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, (BC)you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, (BD)most excellent Festus, but I am speaking (BE)true and (BF)rational words. 26 For (BG)the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be (BH)a Christian?”[b] 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day (BI)might become such as I am—except for (BJ)these chains.”
30 Then the king rose, and (BK)the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, (BL)“This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, (BM)“This man could have been set (BN)free if he had not appealed (BO)to Caesar.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.