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 aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I (B)make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was overwhelmed 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;
[d]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 “(M)Give heed to my cry,
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,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
God’s Judgment Unavoidable
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the (A)altar, and He said,
“Smite the capitals so that the (B)thresholds will shake,
And (C)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (D)slay the rest of them with the sword;
They will (E)not have a fugitive who will flee,
Or a refugee who 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 “Though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
I will (H)search them out and take them from there;
And though they (I)conceal themselves from My sight 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 slay them,
And I will (L)set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”
A Conspiracy to Kill Paul
12 When it was day, (A)the Jews formed a [a]conspiracy and (B)bound themselves under an 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)bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore, you [b]and (D)the [c]Council notify the [d]commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place.”
16 But the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, [e]and he came and entered (E)the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the [f]commander, for he has something to report to him.” 18 So he took him and led him to the [g]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 The [h]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 [i]Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. 21 So do not [j]listen to them, for more than forty of them are (I)lying in wait for him who have (J)bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.” 22 So the [k]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 [l]the third hour of the night to proceed to (K)Caesarea, [m]with seventy horsemen and two hundred [n]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 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 [o](S)Council; 29 and I found him to be accused over (T)questions about their Law, but [p]under (U)no accusation deserving death or [q]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 [r]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 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 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 [s]Praetorium.
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