Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

81 To the Overseer. -- `On the Gittith.' By Asaph. Cry aloud to God our strength, Shout to the God of Jacob.

² Lift up a song, and give out a timbrel, A pleasant harp with psaltery.

³ Blow in the month a trumpet, In the new moon, at the day of our festival,

⁴ For a statute to Israel it [is], An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵ A testimony on Joseph He hath placed it, In his going forth over the land of Egypt. A lip, I have not known -- I hear.

⁶ From the burden his shoulder I turned aside, His hands from the basket pass over.

⁷ In distress thou hast called and I deliver thee, I answer thee in the secret place of thunder, I try thee by the waters of Meribah. Selah.

⁸ Hear, O My people, and I testify to thee, O Israel, if thou dost hearken to me:

⁹ There is not in thee a strange god, And thou bowest not thyself to a strange god.

¹⁰ I [am] Jehovah thy God, Who bringeth thee up out of the land of Egypt. Enlarge thy mouth, and I fill it.

¹² And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

¹³ `And thou, speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Only, My sabbaths ye do keep, for it [is] a sign between Me and you, to your generations, to know that I, Jehovah, am sanctifying you;

¹⁴ and ye have kept the sabbath, for it [is] holy to you, he who is polluting it is certainly put to death -- for any who doeth work in it -- that person hath even been cut off from the midst of his people.

¹⁵ `Six days is work done, and in the seventh day [is] a sabbath of holy rest to Jehovah; any who doeth work in the sabbath-day is certainly put to death,

¹⁶ and the sons of Israel have observed the sabbath; to keep the sabbath to their generations [is] a covenant age-during,

¹⁷ between Me and the sons of Israel it [is] a sign -- to the age; for six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and in the seventh day He hath ceased, and is refreshed.'

¹⁸ And He giveth unto Moses, when He finisheth speaking with him in mount Sinai, two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written by the finger of God.

25 Festus, therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea,

² and the chief priest and the principal men of the Jews made manifest to him [the things] against Paul, and were calling on him,

³ asking favour against him, that he may send for him to Jerusalem, making an ambush to put him to death in the way.

⁴ Then, indeed, Festus answered that Paul is kept in Caesarea, and himself is about speedily to go on thither,

⁵ `Therefore those able among you -- saith he -- having come down together, if there be anything in this man -- let them accuse him;'

⁶ and having tarried among them more than ten days, having gone down to Caesarea, on the morrow having sat upon the tribunal, he commanded Paul to be brought;

⁷ and he having come, there stood round about the Jews who have come down from Jerusalem -- many and weighty charges they are bringing against Paul, which they were not able to prove,

⁸ he making defence -- `Neither in regard to the law of the Jews, nor in regard to the temple, nor in regard to Caesar -- did I commit any sin.'

⁹ And Festus willing to lay on the Jews a favour, answering Paul, said, `Art thou willing, to Jerusalem having gone up, there concerning these things to be judged before me?'

¹⁰ and Paul said, `At the tribunal of Caesar I am standing, where it behoveth me to be judged; to Jews I did no unrighteousness, as thou dost also very well know;

¹¹ for if indeed I am unrighteous, and anything worthy of death have done, I deprecate not to die; and if there is none of the things of which these accuse me, no one is able to make a favour of me to them; to Caesar I appeal!'

¹² then Festus, having communed with the council, answered, `To Caesar thou hast appealed; to Caesar thou shalt go.'