Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 We have seen crowds marching
to your place of worship,
our God and King.
25 Singers come first,
and then the musicians,
surrounded by young women
playing tambourines.
26 They come shouting,
“People of Israel,
praise the Lord God!”
27 The small tribe of Benjamin
leads the way,
followed by the leaders
from Judah.
Then come the leaders
from Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 Our God, show your strength!
Show us once again.
29 Then kings will bring gifts
to your temple
in Jerusalem.[a]
30 Punish that animal
that lives in the swamp![b]
Punish that nation
whose leaders and people
are like wild bulls.
Make them come crawling
with gifts of silver.
Scatter those nations
that enjoy making war.[c]
31 Force the Egyptians to bring
gifts of bronze;
make the Ethiopians[d] hurry
to offer presents.[e]
32 Now sing praises to God!
Every kingdom on earth,
sing to the Lord!
33 Praise the one who rides
across the ancient skies;
listen as he speaks
with a mighty voice.
34 Tell about God's power!
He is honored in Israel,
and he rules the skies.
35 The God of Israel is fearsome
in his temple,
and he makes us strong.
Let's praise our God!
6 But when they came to Nacon's threshing-floor, the oxen stumbled, so Uzzah reached out and took hold of the sacred chest. 7 The Lord God was very angry with Uzzah for doing this, and he killed Uzzah right there beside the chest.
8 David got angry with God for killing Uzzah. He named that place “Bursting Out Against Uzzah,”[a] and that's what it's still called.
9 David was afraid of the Lord and thought, “Should I really take the sacred chest to my city?” 10 He decided not to take it there. Instead, he turned off the road and took it to the home of Obed Edom, who was from Gath.[b]
11-12 (A) The chest stayed there for three months, and the Lord greatly blessed Obed Edom, his family, and everything he owned. Then someone told King David, “The Lord has done this because the sacred chest is in Obed Edom's house.”
At once, David went to Obed Edom's house to get the chest and bring it to David's City. Everyone was celebrating.
Paul Is Arrested
27 When the period of seven days for the ceremony was almost over, some of the Jewish people from Asia saw Paul in the temple. They got a large crowd together and started attacking him. 28 They were shouting, “Friends, help us! This man goes around everywhere, saying bad things about our nation and about the Law of Moses and about this temple. He has even brought shame to this holy temple by bringing in Gentiles.” 29 (A) Some of them thought that Paul had brought Trophimus from Ephesus into the temple, because they had seen them together in the city.
30 The whole city was in an uproar, and the people turned into a mob. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Then suddenly the doors were shut. 31 The people were about to kill Paul when the Roman army commander heard that all Jerusalem was starting to riot. 32 So he quickly took some soldiers and officers and ran to where the crowd had gathered.
As soon as the mob saw the commander and soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 The army commander went over and arrested him and had him bound with two chains. Then he tried to find out who Paul was and what he had done. 34 Part of the crowd shouted one thing, and part of them shouted something else. But they were making so much noise that the commander could not find out a thing. Then he ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress. 35 As they reached the steps, the crowd became so wild that the soldiers had to lift Paul up and carry him. 36 The crowd followed and kept shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”
Paul Speaks to the Crowd
37 When Paul was about to be taken into the fortress, he asked the commander, “Can I say something to you?”
“How do you know Greek?” the commander asked. 38 “Aren't you that Egyptian who started a riot not long ago and led 4,000 terrorists into the desert?”
39 “No!” Paul replied. “I am a Jew from Tarsus, an important city in Cilicia. Please let me speak to the crowd.”
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