Old/New Testament
BOOK I
(Psalms 1–41)
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 How happy is the man
who does not follow[a] the advice of the wicked
or take[b] the path of sinners
or join a group[c] of mockers!(A)
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water[d]
that bears its fruit in season[e](C)
and whose leaf does not wither.(D)
Whatever he does prospers.(E)
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.(F)
5 Therefore the wicked will not survive[f] the judgment,(G)
and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(J) do the nations rebel[g](K)
and the peoples plot in vain?(L)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(M)
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and His Anointed One:[h](N)
3 “Let us tear off their chains
and free ourselves from their restraints.”[i](O)
4 The One enthroned[j] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(P)
5 Then He speaks to them in His anger
and terrifies them in His wrath:(Q)
6 “I have consecrated My King[k]
on Zion, My holy mountain.”(R)
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree:
He said to Me, “You are My Son;[l]
today I have become Your[m] Father.(S)
8 Ask of Me,
and I will make the nations Your[n] inheritance
and the ends of the earth Your[o] possession.(T)
9 You will break[p] them with a rod of iron;
You[q] will shatter them like pottery.”[r](U)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(V)
12 Pay homage to[s] the Son or He[t] will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[u](W)
for His[v] anger may ignite at any moment.(X)
All those who take refuge in Him[w] are happy.(Y)
Psalm 3
Confidence in Troubled Times
A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.(Z)
1 Lord, how my foes increase!
There are many who attack me.(AA)
2 Many say about me,
“There is no help for him in God.”(AB)
3 But You, Lord, are a shield around me,(AC)
my glory,(AD) and the One who lifts up my head.(AE)
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and He answers me from His holy mountain.(AF)
A Short Ministry in Thessalonica
17 Then they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica,(A) where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As usual, Paul went to the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,(B) 3 explaining and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.”(C) 4 Then some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a great number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number[a] of the leading women.(D)
Riot in the City
5 But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly.(E) 6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 7 and Jason has received them as guests! They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees,(F) saying that there is another king—Jesus!”(G) 8 The Jews stirred up the crowd and the city officials who heard these things. 9 So taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.
The Bereans Search the Scriptures
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea.(H) On arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures(I) daily to see if these things were so. 12 Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that God’s message had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing[b] the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go to the sea, but Silas and Timothy(J) stayed on there. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.(K)
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