Old/New Testament
The Lord the Shepherd
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I ·have everything I need [L will lack nothing].
2 He ·lets me rest [makes me lie down] in green pastures.
He leads me to ·calm [quiet] water.
3 He ·gives me new strength [T renews my soul].
He leads me on paths that are ·right [righteous; or straight]
for the ·good [sake] of his ·name [reputation].
4 Even if I walk through ·a very dark valley [or the shadow of death],
I will ·not be afraid [T fear no evil],
because you are with me.
Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.
5 You prepare a ·meal [L table] for me
in ·front [the presence] of my enemies.
You ·pour oil of blessing on my head [anoint my head with oil; C oil was a means of refreshment in a hot, dry environment];
you ·fill my cup to overflowing [L make my cup overflow; C a cup of blessing].
6 Surely your goodness and ·love [loyalty; T mercy] will ·be with [pursue; T follow] me
all my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord ·forever [L for length of days].
A Welcome for God into the Temple
A psalm of David.
24 The earth belongs to the Lord, and ·everything in it [L its fullness]—
the world and all its ·people [inhabitants].
2 He ·built [founded] it on the waters
and ·set [established] it on the rivers [Gen. 1:9–10; Is. 45:18].
3 Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord [C Zion, the location of the Temple]?
Who may stand in his holy ·Temple [L place]?
4 Only those with clean hands and pure hearts [C innocent in actions and thoughts],
who have not ·worshiped idols [L lifted their souls to false things],
who have not made promises ·in the name of a false god [or deceitfully].
5 They will receive a blessing from the Lord;
the God who ·saves [rescues; T delivers] them will ·declare them right [vindicate them].
6 ·They try to follow God [L This is the generation/people of those who seek him];
they ·look to the God of Jacob for help [L search for your face, O God of Jacob]. ·
7 ·Open up [L Lift up your heads], you gates.
·Open wide [L Be lifted up], you ·aged [ancient] doors
and the ·glorious King [King of glory] will come in.
8 Who is this ·glorious King [King of glory]?
The Lord, strong and mighty.
The Lord, ·the powerful warrior [mighty in battle].
9 ·Open up [L Lift up your heads], you gates.
·Open wide [L Be lifted up], you ·aged [ancient] doors
and the ·glorious King [King of glory] will come in.
10 Who is this ·glorious King [King of glory]?
The Lord ·All-Powerful [of Heaven’s Armies/T Hosts]—
he is the ·glorious King [King of glory]. ·
A Prayer for God to Guide
Of David.
25 Lord, I ·give myself [L lift my soul] to you;
2 my God, I ·trust [have confidence in] you.
Do not let me be ·disgraced [shamed];
do not let my enemies ·laugh at [triumph/exult over] me.
3 No one who ·trusts [hopes in; waits on] you will be ·disgraced [shamed],
but those who ·sin [betray; are treacherous] without excuse will be ·disgraced [shamed].
4 Lord, ·tell me [make me know] your ways.
·Show [L Teach] me ·how to live [L your paths].
5 ·Guide [Lead] me in your truth,
and teach me, my God, my ·Savior [Helper; Victor].
I ·trust [hope in; wait on] you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your ·mercy [compassion] and ·love [loyalty; covenant love]
that you have shown since long ago.
7 Do not remember the sins
and ·wrong things I did when I was young [transgressions of my youth].
But remember ·to love me [L according to your love/loyalty/covenant love] always
·because you are good [on account of your goodness], Lord.
8 The Lord is good and ·right [upright; virtuous];
he ·points [instructs] sinners to the right way.
9 He shows those who are humble how to do right,
and he teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ·ways [paths] are ·loving [loyal] and ·true [reliable]
for those who ·follow [keep; guard] the demands of his ·agreement [covenant].
11 For the sake of your ·name [reputation], Lord,
forgive my many sins.
12 ·Are there [L Who are…?] those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7]?
He will ·point [teach] them ·to the best way [L the way they should choose].
13 ·They will enjoy a good life [L Their soul will dwell/lodge in goodness],
and their ·children [L seed] will inherit the ·land [or earth].
14 The Lord ·tells his secrets to [confides in; or makes friends with] those who ·respect [fear] him;
he ·tells them about [makes known to them] his ·agreement [covenant].
15 My eyes are always ·looking to the Lord for help [L toward the Lord].
He will ·keep me [L remove my feet] from any traps.
16 Turn to me and ·have mercy on [L be gracious to] me,
because I am lonely and hurting.
17 ·My troubles have [L The distress of my heart has] ·grown larger [widened];
·free me from [bring me out of] my ·problems [anguish; distress].
18 Look at my ·suffering [affliction] and troubles,
and ·take away [forgive] all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
See how ·much [L violently] they hate me!
20 Protect me and ·save [rescue; T deliver] me.
I ·trust [find refuge in] you, so do not let me be ·disgraced [shamed].
21 My hope is in you,
so may ·goodness [blamelessness; innocence] and ·honesty [virtue] guard me.
22 God, ·save [redeem; ransom] Israel from all their ·troubles [distress]!
18 The next day Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders [14:23] were there. 19 Paul greeted them and ·told [recounted for] them ·everything [or in detail what; or one by one the things] God had done among the ·other nations [Gentiles] through ·him [L his ministry/service]. 20 When they heard this, they ·praised [gave glory to] God. Then they said to ·Paul [L him], “Brother, you can see that many thousands of ·our people [L the Jews] have become believers [2:41, 47; 4:4]. And they ·think it is very important to obey [L are passionate about; are zealots for] ·the law of Moses [L the Law]. 21 They have ·heard [been informed] about your teaching, that you tell ·our people [L the Jews] who live among the ·nations [Gentiles] to ·leave the law of Moses [L forsake/abandon Moses]. They have heard that you tell them not to circumcise their children and not to ·obey [observe; L walk in] our ·customs [or traditional way of life]. 22 What [L then; therefore] should we do? They will [L surely] ·learn [hear] that you have come. 23 So ·we will tell you what to do [L do what we say]: Four of our men have made a ·promise to God [L vow]. 24 Take these men with you and share in their ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification]. Pay their expenses so they can shave their heads [C a ritual that indicates the end of a Nazirite’s vows; Num. 6:13–20]. Then ·it will prove to everyone [L everyone will know] that what they have heard about you is not true and that you ·follow [L indeed keep/observe] the law of Moses in your own life. 25 We have already sent a letter [L with our judgment/decision] to the Gentile believers [C the decision of the council of Jerusalem; 15:6–21]. The letter said: ‘Do not eat food that has been offered to idols, or blood, or animals that have been strangled. Do not take part in sexual sin [15:20].’”
26 The next day Paul took the four men and shared in the ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification] with them. Then he went to the Temple and announced the time when the days of the ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification] would be finished and an ·offering [sacrifice] would be ·given [offered] for each of the men.
27 When the seven days were almost over [C the period of time for purification; Num. 19:12], some of ·his people [L the Jews] from [C the province of] Asia saw Paul at the Temple. They ·caused all the people to be upset [stirred up/incited the whole crowd] and grabbed Paul. 28 They shouted, “·People of Israel [L Men, Israelites], help us! This is the man who goes everywhere teaching against our people [C Israel], against ·the law of Moses [L the Law], and against this ·Temple [L place]. Now he has brought some Greeks into the Temple and has ·made this holy place unclean [defiled this holy place]!” 29 (They said this because they had seen Trophimus [20:4; 2 Tim. 4:20], ·a man from Ephesus [L the Ephesian], with Paul in ·Jerusalem [L the city]. They ·thought [supposed; assumed] that Paul had brought him into the Temple [C God-fearing Gentiles were only allowed in the outer courtyard, known as the “court of the Gentiles”].)
30 ·All the people in Jerusalem [L The whole city] became ·upset [aroused]. Together they ·ran [or rushed together; came running], took Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple. The Temple doors were closed immediately. 31 While they were trying to kill ·Paul [L him], the ·commander of the Roman army in Jerusalem [L tribune/commander of the regiment; C a tribune (Greek: chiliarch) oversaw about a thousand soldiers] ·learned [received the report] that ·there was trouble in the whole city [L all Jerusalem was in confusion/an uproar]. 32 Immediately he took some ·officers and soldiers [L soldiers and centurions; C centurions oversaw about a hundred soldiers] and ran to the place where the crowd was gathered. When the people saw ·them [L the tribune and the soldiers], they stopped beating Paul. 33 The ·commander [tribune] went to Paul and arrested him. He told his soldiers to ·bind [shackle] Paul with two chains. Then he ·asked [inquired about] who he was and what he had done wrong. 34 Some in the crowd were yelling one thing, and some were yelling another. Because of all this ·confusion and shouting [uproar; noise; tumult], the commander could not learn ·what had happened [the truth/facts]. So he ordered the soldiers to take Paul to the ·army building [barracks; C probably the Roman garrison known as the Antonia fortress, overlooking the temple from the north]. 35 When ·Paul [L he] came to the steps [C leading up to the Antonia fortress], the soldiers had to carry him because ·the people were ready to hurt him [L of the violence of the mob/crowd]. 36 [L For] The whole mob was following them, shouting, “·Kill [or Away with] him!”
37 As ·the soldiers [L they] were about to take Paul into the ·army building [barracks], he spoke to the ·commander [tribune], “May I say something to you?”
·The commander [L He] said, “Do you speak Greek? 38 ·I thought you were [L Are you not…?] the Egyptian who started ·some trouble against the government [a revolt; an insurrection] ·not long ago [or some time ago; C according to the Jewish historian Josephus, the event occurred about three years prior to this] and led four thousand ·killers [terrorists; cut-throats; L of the sicarii; C Josephus identifies sicarii (“dagger-men”) as assassins who mingled with crowds and used daggers to murder Romans and their collaborators] out to the desert.”
39 Paul said, “No, I am a Jew from Tarsus [9:11] in the ·country [province] of Cilicia [6:9]. I am a citizen of that ·important [L not insignificant] city. ·Please [L I beg/urge you], let me speak to the people.”
40 ·The commander [L He] gave permission, so Paul stood on the steps and ·waved [signaled/gestured with] ·his hand to quiet the people [L his hand]. When there was silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language [C probably Aramaic; the biblical writers do not distinguish between these related languages, calling both “Hebrew”].
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