Old/New Testament
Davidic
A Man of Integrity Pleads for Justice
26 Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have walked in integrity;
I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Examine me, Lord, and inspect me!
Test my heart and mind.[a]
3 For your gracious love precedes me,
and I continuously walk according to your truth.
4 I do not sit with those committed to what is false,
nor do I travel with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of those who practice evil,
nor do I sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands innocently.
I go around your altar, Lord,
7 so I may praise you loudly with thanksgiving
and declare all your wondrous acts.
8 Lord, I love the dwelling place that is your house,
the place where your glory resides.
9 Do not group me[b] with sinners,
nor include me[c] with men who shed blood.
10 Their hands are filled with wicked schemes,
and their right hands with bribes.
11 But as for me,
I walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be gracious to me!
12 My feet stand on level ground;
among the worshiping congregations
I will bless the Lord.
Davidic
Confidence in the Lord
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom will I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom will I be afraid?
2 When those who practice evil, my enemies, and my oppressors
come near me to devour my flesh,
they stumble and fall.
3 If an army encamps against me,
my heart will not fear.
If a war is launched against me,
I will even trust in that situation.
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I really seek:
that I may remain in the Lord’s Temple
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord;
and to inquire in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of evil;
He will hide me in a secluded chamber within his tent;
He will place me on a high rock.
6 Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies,
even those who surround me.
I will sacrifice in his tent with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melodies to the Lord.
7 Hear my voice, Lord, when I cry out!
Be gracious to me and answer me.
8 My mind recalls your word,[d]
“Seek my face,”
so your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not turn away in anger from your servant.
You have been my help,
therefore do not abandon or forsake me,
God of my salvation.
10 Though my father and my mother abandoned me,
the Lord gathers me up.
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to the desires of my enemies;
for false witnesses have risen up against me;
even the one who breathes out violence.
13 I believe that I will see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord.
Be courageous, and he will strengthen your heart.
Wait on the Lord!
Davidic
A Prayer for Help
28 To you, Lord, I cry out!
My Rock, do not refuse to answer me.[e]
If you remain silent,
I will become like those who descend into the Pit.[f]
2 Hear the sound of my supplications when I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who practice iniquity,
who speak peace to their neighbors
while harboring evil in their hearts.
4 Reward them according to their deeds;
according to the evil of their actions.
Reward them based on what they do;[g]
give them what they deserve.
5 Because they do not understand the deeds of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
He will tear them down and never build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the sound of my supplications.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him,
and I received help.
My heart rejoices,
and I give thanks to him with my song.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;[h]
he is a refuge of deliverance for his anointed.
9 Deliver your people
and bless your inheritance!
Shepherd them
and lift them up forever!
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I am now making before you.” 2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet, and he continued:
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia but raised in this city and educated at the feet of Gamaliel in the strict ways of our ancestral Law. I am as zealous for God as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way, even executing people,[a] and kept tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, and I was going there to tie up those who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “But while I was on my way and approaching Damascus about noon, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’[b]
“He told me, ‘I’m Jesus from Nazareth,[c] whom you are persecuting.’ 9 The men who were with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10 “Then I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’
“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are destined to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of the light, the men who were with me took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.
12 “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man with respect to the Law and who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there, 13 came to me. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that moment I could see him.
14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice,[d] 15 because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’
17 “Then I returned to Jerusalem. While I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord[e] saying to me, ‘Hurry up and get out of Jerusalem at once, because the people[f] won’t accept your testimony about me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I kept imprisoning and beating those who believe in you. 20 Even when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing there, approving it and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.’
21 “Then he told me, ‘Go, because I’ll send you far away to the gentiles.’”
22 Up to this point they listened to him, but then they began to shout, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! He’s not fit to go on living!” 23 While they were yelling, tossing their coats around, and throwing dirt into the air, 24 the tribune ordered Paul[g] to be taken into the barracks and told the soldiers[h] to beat and question him in order to find out why the people[i] were yelling at him like this.
25 But when they had tied him up with the straps, Paul asked the centurion[j] who was standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t been condemned?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and told him, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 So the tribune went and asked Paul,[k] “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes,” he said.
28 Then the tribune replied, “I paid a lot of money for this citizenship of mine.”
Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.” 29 Immediately those who were about to examine him stepped back, and the tribune was afraid when he found out that Paul[l] was a Roman citizen and that he had tied him up.
Paul is Brought before the Jewish Council
30 The next day, since the tribune[m] wanted to find out exactly what Paul[n] was being accused of by the Jews, he released him and ordered the high priests and the entire Council[o] to meet. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.
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