Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry out with my voice to the Lord;
With my voice I (B)implore the Lord for compassion.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit felt weak 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;
For there is (G)no one who regards me favorably;
[c]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give Your attention to my cry,
For I have been (N)brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)look after me.”
God’s Judgment Unavoidable
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the (A)altar, and He said,
“Strike the pillar capitals so that the (B)thresholds will shake,
And (C)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (D)put to death the rest of them with the sword;
They will (E)not have a fugitive who will flee,
Nor a survivor who will escape.
2 Though they dig into (F)Sheol,
From there My hand will take them;
And though they (G)ascend to heaven,
From there I will bring them down.
3 And though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
I will (H)track them down and take them from there;
And though they (I)hide themselves from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
I will command the (J)serpent from there, and it will bite them.
4 And though they go into (K)captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword and it will kill them,
And I will (L)set My eyes against them for harm and not for good.”
A Conspiracy to Kill Paul
12 When it was day, (A)the Jews formed a [a]conspiracy and (B)put themselves under an [b]oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who formed this plot. 14 They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have (C)put ourselves under an [c]oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore, you [d]and (D)the [e]Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly; and as for us, we are ready to kill him before he comes near the place.”
16 But the son of Paul’s sister heard about their ambush, [f]and he came and entered (E)the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions to himself and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” 18 So he took him and led him to the commander and *said, “Paul (F)the prisoner called me over to him and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 19 The 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 [g]Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. 21 So do not [h]listen to them, for more than forty [i]of them are (I)in hiding to ambush him, and these men have (J)put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you.” 22 Then the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”
Paul Moved to Caesarea
23 And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by [j]the third hour of the night to proceed to (K)Caesarea, [k]with seventy horsemen and two hundred [l]spearmen.” 24 They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to (L)Felix the governor. 25 And he wrote a letter [m]with the following content:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to the (M)most excellent governor Felix: (N)Greetings.
27 When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, (O)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, (P)after learning that he was a Roman. 28 And (Q)wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I (R)brought him down to their [n](S)Council; 29 and I found that he was being accused regarding (T)questions in their Law, but [o]was (U)not charged with anything deserving death or [p]imprisonment.
30 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 [q]bring charges against him before you.”
31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 But on the next day they let (Y)the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to (Z)the barracks. 33 When these horsemen had come to (AA)Caesarea and delivered the letter to (AB)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 Now when he had read it, he also asked from what (AC)province Paul was, and when he learned that (AD)he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your (AE)accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for [r]Paul to be (AF)kept in Herod’s [s]Praetorium.
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