Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Give Heed to My Cry
A [a]Maskil of David. When he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 With my voice to Yahweh, I (A)cry aloud;
With my voice to Yahweh, I (B)make supplication.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)distress before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was faint within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
That there is (G)no one who regards me;
(H)A way of escape has been destroyed from me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Yahweh;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give heed to my cry of lamentation,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
To give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will encircle me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
Sinful Israelites Will Die by the Sword
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the (A)altar, and He said,
“Strike the capitals so that the (B)thresholds will quake,
And (C)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (D)kill the rest of them with the sword;
(E)Not one of them who can flee will flee,
And not one of them who can survive will escape.
2 Though they dig into (F)Sheol,
From there will My hand take them;
And though they (G)ascend to heaven,
From there will I bring them down.
3 And though they hide on the [a]top of Carmel,
From there I will (H)search them out and take them;
And though they (I)conceal themselves from My eyes on the floor of the sea,
From there I will command the (J)serpent, and it will bite them.
4 And though they go into (K)captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword that it kill them,
And I will (L)set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”
A Plot to Kill Paul
12 Now when it was day, (A)the Jews formed a [a]conspiracy and (B)bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. 13 And there were more than forty who formed this scheme. 14 They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have (C)bound ourselves under a curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you, along with (D)the Sanhedrin, notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more carefully; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near.”
16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, [b]he came and entered (E)the barracks and reported it to Paul. 17 And Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” 18 So he took him and led him to the [c]commander and *said, “Paul (F)the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.” 19 And the [d]commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” 20 And he said, “(G)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to (H)the Sanhedrin, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more carefully about him. 21 So do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of them—who have (I)bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him—are (J)lying in wait for him and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.” 22 So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”
Paul Is Brought to Caesarea
23 And when he called to him two of the centurions, he said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers, [e]seventy horsemen, and two hundred [f]spearmen to proceed to (K)Caesarea by the [g]third hour of the night, 24 and provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to (L)Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter having this form:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to the (M)most excellent governor Felix, (N)greetings.
27 “When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, (O)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, (P)having learned that he was a Roman.
28 And (Q)wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I (R)brought him down to their (S)Sanhedrin;
29 and I found him to be accused over (T)questions about their Law, but [h]under (U)no accusation deserving death or [i]imprisonment.
30 “And when I was (V)informed that there would be (W)a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing (X)his accusers to speak against him before you.”
31 So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 But the next day, leaving (Y)the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to (Z)the barracks. 33 When these had come to (AA)Caesarea and delivered the letter to (AB)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 And when he had read it, he asked from what (AC)province he was, and when he learned that (AD)he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing after your (AE)accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be (AF)kept in Herod’s [j]Praetorium.
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