Old/New Testament
Psalm 29
A psalm by David.
1 Give to Yahweh, you heavenly beings.
Give to Yahweh glory and power.
2 Give to Yahweh the glory his name deserves.
Worship Yahweh in his holy splendor.
3 The voice of Yahweh rolls over the water.
The El of glory thunders.
Yahweh shouts over raging water.
4 The voice of Yahweh is powerful.
The voice of Yahweh is majestic.
5 The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars.
Yahweh splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip along like a calf
and Mount Sirion like a wild ox.
7 The voice of Yahweh strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of Yahweh makes the wilderness tremble.
Yahweh makes the wilderness of Kadesh tremble.
9 The voice of Yahweh splits the oaks[a]
and strips the trees of the forests bare.
Everyone in his temple is saying, “Glory!”
10 Yahweh sat enthroned over the flood.
Yahweh sits enthroned as Melek forever.
11 Yahweh will give power to his people.
Yahweh will bless his people with peace.
Psalm 30
A psalm by David sung at the dedication of the temple.
1 I will honor you highly, O Yahweh,
because you have pulled me out of the pit
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Yahweh my Elohim,
I cried out to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 O Yahweh, you brought me up from the grave.
You called me back to life
from among those who had gone into the pit.
4 Make music to praise Yahweh, you faithful people who belong to him.
Remember his holiness by giving thanks.
5 His anger lasts only a moment.
His favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may last for the night,
but there is a song of joy in the morning.
6 When all was well with me, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 O Yahweh, by your favor you have made my mountain stand firm.
When you hid your face, I was terrified.
8 I will cry out to you, O Yahweh.
I will plead to Adonay for mercy:
9 “How will you profit if my blood is shed,
if I go into the pit?
Will the dust of my body give thanks to you?
Will it tell about your truth?”
10 Hear, O Yahweh, and have pity on me!
O Yahweh, be my helper!
11 You have changed my sobbing into dancing.
You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy
12 so that my soul[b] may praise you with music and not be silent.
O Yahweh my Elohim, I will give thanks to you forever.
23 Paul stared at the Jewish council and said, “Brothers, my relationship with God has always given me a perfectly clear conscience.”
2 The chief priest Ananias ordered the men standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you hypocrite! You sit there and judge me by Moses’ Teachings and yet you break those teachings by ordering these men to strike me!”
4 The men standing near Paul said to him, “You’re insulting God’s chief priest!”
5 Paul answered, “Brothers, I didn’t know that he is the chief priest. After all, Scripture says, ‘Don’t speak evil about a ruler of your people.’”
6 When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the council, “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I’m on trial because I expect that the dead will come back to life.”
7 After Paul said that, the Pharisees and Sadducees began to quarrel, and the men in the meeting were divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that the dead won’t come back to life and that angels and spirits don’t exist. The Pharisees believe in all these things.) 9 The shouting became very loud. Some of the experts in Moses’ Teachings were Pharisees who argued their position forcefully. They said, “We don’t find anything wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel actually spoke to him!”
10 The quarrel was becoming violent, and the officer was afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces. So the officer ordered his soldiers to drag Paul back to the barracks.
11 The Lord stood near Paul the next night and said to him, “Don’t lose your courage! You’ve told the truth about me in Jerusalem. Now you must tell the truth about me in Rome.”
Some Jews Plot to Kill Paul
12 In the morning the Jews formed a conspiracy. They asked God to curse them if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul. 13 More than forty men took part in this plot.
14 They went to the chief priests and leaders of the people and said, “We’ve asked God to curse us if we taste any food before we’ve killed Paul. 15 Here’s our plan: You and the council must go to the Roman officer on the pretext that you need more information from Paul. You have to make it look as though you want to get more accurate information about him. We’ll be ready to kill him before he gets to you.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.