Old/New Testament
Psalm 26
Vindicate Me, O Lord
Heading
By David.
Affirmation of Innocence and Plea for Judgment
1 Judge me favorably, O Lord,
because I have walked in my integrity.
In the Lord I have trusted. I have not wavered.
2 Test me, O Lord, and examine me.
Refine my thoughts and my emotions,
3 for your mercy is in front of my eyes,
and I keep walking in your truth.
Separation From Evil
4 I do not sit with deceivers.
I do not associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of evildoers.
I do not sit with the wicked.
Affirmation of Innocence and Love for God
6 I wash my hands from sin,
so I can march around your altar, O Lord,
7 to shout thanks to you
and to proclaim all your wonderful deeds.
8 Lord, I love the house where you reside,
the place where your glory dwells.
Separation From Evil
9 Do not snatch my soul away along with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 who grasp wicked schemes in their hands,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
Affirmation of Innocence and Prayer for Redemption
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground.
In the assemblies I will bless the Lord.
Psalm 27
The Stronghold of My Life
Heading
By David.
Safe in God’s Stronghold
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh,
when my foes and my enemies come against me,
it is they who will stumble and fall.
3 If an army lines up against me, my heart will not fear.
If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting.
Happy in God’s Temple
4 One thing I ask from the Lord. This is what I seek:
that I live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and to seek him in his temple.[a]
5 Yes, he will hide me in his shelter on the day of trouble.
He will hide me in his tent.
He will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up above the enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices at his tent with a joyful shout.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Confident in Prayer
7 Hear me, O Lord. With my voice I call.
Be merciful to me and answer me.
8 When you say, “Seek my face,” my heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not reject me or forsake me, O God who saves me.
10 If my father and my mother abandoned me,
the Lord would take me in.
Walking in God’s Path
11 Lord, teach me your way,
and lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not give me up to the desire of my foes,
because false witnesses rise up against me,
and so do those who breathe out violence.
At Home in God’s Land
13 Unless I was confident to see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living—[b]
14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart,
and wait for the Lord!
Psalm 28
My Rock
Heading
By David.
Protect Me From the Wicked
1 O Lord, I keep calling to you.
My Rock, do not be deaf to me.
If you remain silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the sound of my plea for mercy when I cry out to you,
when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those evildoers.
They speak peace to their neighbors but hide evil in their hearts.
Punish the Wicked
4 Give to them what they have done to others.
According to their evil actions,
according to the deeds of their hands,
punish them.
Repay to them what they deserve.
5 Because they do not recognize the works of the Lord
or the deeds of his hands,
he will tear them down and not build them up.
Then I Will Praise You
6 Blessed be the Lord,
because he has heard the sound of my plea for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield.
In him my heart trusts, and I am helped.
My heart also celebrates.
With my song I will give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is their strength.
He is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed king.
9 Save your people, and bless the people that belong to you.
Shepherd them, and carry them forever.
22 “Gentlemen, brothers, and fathers, listen to my defense, which I am now going to make to you.”
2 When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect,[a] they became even more quiet.
Then he said, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strict ways of the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and throwing both men and women into prisons, 5 as also the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I even received letters from them to the brothers, and I was going to Damascus to bring back those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem so that they could be punished.
6 “While I was on the way and approaching Damascus, about noon a very 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?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “Those who were with me saw the light,[b] but they did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10 “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
“The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told about everything you have been assigned to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.
12 “A man named Ananias lived there. He was a devout observer of the law and highly recommended by all the Jews living there. 13 He came to me, and as he stood beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that very moment I was able to see him.
14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear the sound of his voice. 15 For you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance. 18 I saw the Lord telling me: ‘Hurry, get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, these people know that I went from one synagogue to another imprisoning and beating those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I stood by, giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were putting him to death.’
21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22 They were listening to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he is not fit to live!”
23 When they started shouting and throwing off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be interrogated by whipping, in order to learn why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him for the whipping, Paul asked the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and who has not been found guilty by a proper trial?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said, “What are you about to do?[c] This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 The commander came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28 Then the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.”
Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”
29 Immediately, those who were about to interrogate him moved away from him. The commander was also alarmed when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen, because he had tied him up.
Paul on Trial Before the Sanhedrin
30 The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he untied him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to meet. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.