Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁴ They see Your goings, O God, even the [solemn processions] of my God, my King, into the sanctuary [in holiness].

²⁵ The singers go in front, the players on instruments last; between them the maidens are playing on tambourines.

²⁶ Bless, give thanks, and gratefully praise God in full congregations, even the Lord, O you who are from [Jacob] the fountain of Israel.

²⁷ There is little Benjamin in the lead [in the procession], the princes of Judah and their company, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸ Your God has commanded your strength [your might in His service and impenetrable hardness to temptation]; O God, display Your might and strengthen what You have wrought for us!

²⁹ [Out of respect] for Your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bring gifts to You.

³⁰ Rebuke the wild beasts dwelling among the reeds [in Egypt], the herd of bulls (the leaders) with the calves of the peoples; trample underfoot those who lust for tribute money; scatter the peoples who delight in war.

³¹ Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall hasten to stretch out her hands [with the offerings of submission] to God.

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praises to the Lord! Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

³³ [Sing praises] to Him Who rides upon the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, He sends forth His voice, His mighty voice.

³⁴ Ascribe power and strength to God; His majesty is over Israel, and His strength and might are in the skies.

³⁵ O God, awe-inspiring, profoundly impressive, and terrible are You out of Your holy places; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and fullness of might to His people. Blessed be God!

¹² And Abner sent messengers to David where he was [at Hebron], saying, Whose is the land? Make your league with me, and my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.

¹³ And David said, Good. I will make a league with you. But I require one thing of you: that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.

¹⁴ And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

¹⁵ And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her [second] husband, from Paltiel son of Laish [to whom Saul had given her].

¹⁶ But her husband went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, Go back. And he did so.

¹² Now when daylight came, the Jews formed a plot and bound themselves by an oath and under a curse neither to eat nor drink till they had done away with Paul.

¹³ There were more than forty [men of them], who formed this conspiracy [swearing together this oath and curse].

¹⁴ And they went to the chief priests and elders, saying, We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath and under a curse not to taste any food until we have slain Paul.

¹⁵ So now you, along with the council (Sanhedrin), give notice to the commandant to bring [Paul] down to you, as if you were going to investigate his case more accurately. But we [ourselves] are ready to slay him before he comes near.

¹⁶ But the son of Paul’s sister heard of their intended attack, and he went and got into the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷ Then Paul, calling in one of the centurions, said, Take this young man to the commandant, for he has something to report to him.

¹⁸ So he took him and conducted him to the commandant and said, Paul the prisoner called me to him and requested me to conduct this young man to you, for he has something to report to you.

¹⁹ The commandant took him by the hand, and going aside with him, asked privately, What is it that you have to report to me?

²⁰ And he replied, The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council (Sanhedrin) tomorrow, as if [they were] intending to examine him more exactly.

²¹ But do not yield to their persuasion, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush waiting for him, having bound themselves by an oath and under a curse neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him; and even now they are all ready, [just] waiting for your promise.

²² So the commandant sent the youth away, charging him, Do not disclose to anyone that you have given me this information.

²³ Then summoning two of the centurions, he said, Have two hundred footmen ready by the third hour of the night (about 9:00 p.m.) to go as far as Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.

²⁴ Also provide beasts for mounts for Paul to ride, and bring him in safety to Felix the governor.

²⁵ And he wrote a letter having this message:

²⁶ Claudius Lysias sends greetings to His Excellency Felix the governor.

²⁷ This man was seized [as prisoner] by the Jews, and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the troops and rescued him, because I learned that he is a Roman citizen.

²⁸ And wishing to know the exact accusation which they were making against him, I brought him down before their council (Sanhedrin),

²⁹ [Where] I found that he was charged in regard to questions of their own law, but he was accused of nothing that would call for death or [even] for imprisonment.

³⁰ [However] when it was pointed out to me that there would be a conspiracy against the man, I sent him to you immediately, directing his accusers also to present before you their charge against him.

³¹ So the soldiers, in compliance with their instructions, took Paul and conducted him during the night to Antipatris.

³² And the next day they returned to the barracks, leaving the mounted men to proceed with him.

³³ When these came to Caesarea and gave the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul before him.

³⁴ Having read the letter, he asked to what province [Paul] belonged. When he discovered that he was from Cilicia [an imperial province],

³⁵ He said, I will hear your case ^[a]fully when your accusers also have come. And he ordered that an eye be kept on him in Herod’s palace (the Praetorium).