Old/New Testament
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Deliverance
13 How long? Lord, will you forget me forever?[a]
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I struggle in my soul at night
and have sorrow in my heart during the day?
How long will my enemy rise up against me?
3 Look at me!
Answer me, Lord, my God!
Give light to my eyes!
Otherwise, I will sleep in death;
4 Otherwise, my enemy will say,
“I have overcome him;”
Otherwise, my persecutor will rejoice
when I am shaken.
5 As for me, I have trusted in your gracious love,
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
for he has dealt bountifully with me.
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
The Fool and God’s Response
14 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt and commit evil deeds;
not one of them practices what is good.
2 The Lord looks down from the heavens upon humanity[b]
to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.
3 All have turned away,
together they have become corrupt;
no one practices what is good, not even one.
4 Will those who do evil ever learn?
They devour my people like they devour bread,
and never call on the Lord.
5 There they are seized with terror,
because God is with those who are[c] righteous.
6 You would frustrate the plans of the oppressed,[d]
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 May Israel’s deliverance come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad.[e]
A Davidic Psalm.
Welcomed into God’s Presence
15 Lord, who may stay in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
2 The one who lives with integrity,
who does righteous deeds,
and who speaks truth to himself.
3 The one who does not slander with his tongue,
who does no evil to his neighbor,
and who does not destroy his friend’s reputation.
4 The one who despises those who are utterly wicked,
but who honors the one who fears the Lord,
who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,
5 who does not loan his money with interest,
and who does not take a bribe against those who are innocent.
The one who does these things will stand firm[f] forever.
21 After these things had happened, Paul decided[a] to go through Macedonia and Achaia and then to go on to Jerusalem. “After I have gone there,” he told them, “I must also see Rome.” 22 Then he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed in Asia a while longer.
A Riot in Ephesus
23 Now about that time a great commotion broke out concerning the Way. 24 By making silver shrines of Artemis, a silversmith named Demetrius provided a large income for skilled workers. 25 He called a meeting of these men and others who were engaged in similar trades and said, “Men, you well know that we get a good income from this business. 26 You also see and hear that, not only in Ephesus, but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has won over and taken away a large crowd by telling them that gods made by human[b] hands are not gods at all. 27 There is a danger not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into disrepute and that she will be robbed of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”
28 When they heard this, they became furious and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with confusion, and the people[c] rushed into the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s fellow travelers from Macedonia. 30 Paul wanted to go into the crowd, but the disciples wouldn’t let him. 31 Even some officials of the province of Asia who were his friends sent him a message urging him not to risk his life in the theater.
32 Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing and some another, since the crowd was confused, and most of them didn’t know why they were meeting. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was because of Alexander, since the Jews had pushed him to the front. So Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, they all started to shout in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 When the city recorder had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who in the world[d] doesn’t know that this city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell down from heaven?[e] 36 Since these things cannot be denied, you must be quiet and not do anything reckless. 37 For you have brought these men here, although they neither rob temples nor blaspheme our[f] goddess. 38 So if Demetrius and his workers have a charge against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They should accuse one another there. 39 But if you want anything else, it must be settled in the regular assembly, 40 because we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, and there is no good reason we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.
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