Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 142[a]
A well-written song[b] by David, when he was in the cave;[c] a prayer.
142 To the Lord I cry out;[d]
to the Lord I plead for mercy.[e]
2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about[f] my troubles.
3 Even when my strength leaves me,[g]
you watch my footsteps.[h]
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see.
No one cares about me.[i]
I have nowhere to run;[j]
no one is concerned about my life.[k]
5 I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my security[l] in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble.[m]
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
7 Free me[n] from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Because of me the godly will assemble,[o]
for you will vindicate me.[p]
9 I saw the Lord[a] standing by the altar[b] and he said,
“Strike the tops of the support pillars,[c] so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people,[d]
and I will kill the survivors[e] with the sword.
No one will be able to run away;[f]
no one will be able to escape.[g]
2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld,[h]
my hand would pull them up from there.
Even if they could climb up to heaven,
I would drag them down from there.
3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,
I would hunt them down and take them from there.
Even if they tried to hide from me[i] at the bottom of the sea,
from there[j] I would command the Sea Serpent[k] to bite them.
4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity,[l]
from there[m] I will command the sword to kill them.
I will not let them out of my sight;
they will experience disaster, not prosperity.”[n]
The Plot to Kill Paul
12 When morning came,[a] the Jews formed[b] a conspiracy[c] and bound themselves with an oath[d] not to eat or drink anything[e] until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.[f] 14 They[g] went[h] to the chief priests[i] and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath[j] not to partake[k] of anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you and the council[l] request the commanding officer[m] to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine[n] his case[o] by conducting a more thorough inquiry.[p] We are ready to kill him[q] before he comes near this place.”[r]
16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush,[s] he came and entered[t] the barracks[u] and told Paul. 17 Paul called[v] one of the centurions[w] and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer,[x] for he has something to report to him.” 18 So the centurion[y] took him and brought him to the commanding officer[z] and said, “The prisoner Paul called[aa] me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 19 The commanding officer[ab] took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want[ac] to report to me?” 20 He replied,[ad] “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council[ae] tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 21 So do not let them persuade you to do this,[af] because more than forty of them[ag] are lying in ambush[ah] for him. They[ai] have bound themselves with an oath[aj] not to eat or drink anything[ak] until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.”[al] 22 Then the commanding officer[am] sent the young man away, directing him,[an] “Tell no one that you have reported[ao] these things to me.” 23 Then[ap] he summoned[aq] two of the centurions[ar] and said, “Make ready 200 soldiers to go to Caesarea[as] along with 70 horsemen[at] and 200 spearmen[au] by[av] nine o’clock tonight,[aw] 24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride[ax] so that he may be brought safely to Felix[ay] the governor.”[az] 25 He wrote[ba] a letter that went like this:[bb]
26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor[bc] Felix,[bd] greetings. 27 This man was seized[be] by the Jews and they were about to kill him,[bf] when I came up[bg] with the detachment[bh] and rescued him, because I had learned that he was[bi] a Roman citizen.[bj] 28 Since I wanted to know[bk] what charge they were accusing him of,[bl] I brought him down to their council.[bm] 29 I found he[bn] was accused with reference to controversial questions[bo] about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment.[bp] 30 When I was informed[bq] there would be a plot[br] against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges[bs] against him before you.
31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders,[bt] took[bu] Paul and brought him to Antipatris[bv] during the night. 32 The next day they let[bw] the horsemen[bx] go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.[by] 33 When the horsemen[bz] came to Caesarea[ca] and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented[cb] Paul to him. 34 When the governor[cc] had read[cd] the letter,[ce] he asked[cf] what province he was from.[cg] When he learned[ch] that he was from Cilicia,[ci] 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing[cj] when your accusers arrive too.” Then[ck] he ordered that Paul[cl] be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.[cm]
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