Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁴ They have seen Thy goings, O God, Goings of my God, my king, in the sanctuary.

²⁵ Singers have been before, Behind [are] players on instruments, In the midst virgins playing with timbrels.

²⁶ In assemblies bless ye God, The Lord -- from the fountain of Israel.

²⁷ There [is] little Benjamin their ruler, Heads of Judah their defence, Heads of Zebulun -- heads of Naphtali.

²⁸ Thy God hath commanded thy strength, Be strong, O God, this Thou hast wrought for us.

²⁹ Because of Thy temple at Jerusalem, To Thee do kings bring a present.

³⁰ Rebuke a beast of the reeds, a company of bulls, With calves of the peoples, Each humbling himself with pieces of silver, Scatter Thou peoples delighting in conflicts.

³¹ Come do fat ones out of Egypt, Cush causeth her hands to run to God.

³² Kingdoms of the earth, sing ye to God, Praise ye the Lord. Selah.

³³ To him who is riding on the heavens of the heavens of old, Lo, He giveth with His voice a strong voice.

³⁴ Ascribe ye strength to God, Over Israel [is] His excellency, and His strength in the clouds.

³⁵ Fearful, O God, out of Thy sanctuaries, The God of Israel Himself, Giving strength and might to the people. Blessed [is] God!

¹² And Abner sendeth messengers unto David for himself, saying, `Whose [is] the land?' saying, `Make thy covenant with me, and lo, my hand [is] with thee, to bring round unto thee all Israel.'

¹³ And he saith, `Good -- I make with thee a covenant; only, one thing I am asking of thee, that is, Thou dost not see my face, except thou dost first bring in Michal, daughter of Saul in thy coming into see my face.'

¹⁴ And David sendeth messengers unto Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, saying, `Give up my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself with a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.'

¹⁵ And Ish-Bosheth sendeth, and taketh her from a man, from Phaltiel son of Laish,

¹⁶ and her husband goeth with her, going on and weeping behind her, unto Bahurim, and Abner saith unto him, `Go, turn back;' and he turneth back.

¹² And day having come, certain of the Jews having made a concourse, did anathematize themselves, saying neither to eat nor to drink till they may kill Paul;

¹³ and they were more than forty who made this conspiracy by oath,

¹⁴ who having come near to the chief priests and to the elders said, `With an anathema we did anathematize ourselves -- to taste nothing till we have killed Paul;

¹⁵ now, therefore, ye, signify ye to the chief captain, with the sanhedrim, that to-morrow he may bring him down unto you, as being about to know more exactly the things concerning him; and we, before his coming nigh, are ready to put him to death.'

¹⁶ And the son of Paul's sister having heard of the lying in wait, having gone and entered into the castle, told Paul,

¹⁷ and Paul having called near one of the centurions, said, `This young man lead unto the chief captain, for he hath something to tell him.'

¹⁸ He indeed, then, having taken him, brought him unto the chief captain, and saith, `The prisoner Paul, having called me near, asked [me] this young man to bring unto thee, having something to say to thee.'

¹⁹ And the chief captain having taken him by the hand, and having withdrawn by themselves, inquired, `What is that which thou hast to tell me?'

²⁰ and he said -- `The Jews agreed to request thee, that to-morrow to the sanhedrim thou mayest bring down Paul, as being about to enquire something more exactly concerning him;

²¹ thou, therefore, mayest thou not yield to them, for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who did anathematize themselves -- not to eat nor to drink till they kill him, and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from thee.'

²² The chief captain, then, indeed, let the young man go, having charged [him] to tell no one, `that these things thou didst shew unto me;'

²³ and having called near a certain two of the centurions, he said, `Make ready soldiers two hundred, that they may go on unto Caesarea, and horsemen seventy, and spearmen two hundred, from the third hour of the night;

²⁴ beasts also provide, that, having set Paul on, they may bring him safe unto Felix the governor;'

²⁵ he having written a letter after this description:

²⁶ `Claudius Lysias, to the most noble governor Felix, hail:

²⁷ This man having been taken by the Jews, and being about to be killed by them -- having come with the soldiery, I rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman;

²⁸ and, intending to know the cause for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their sanhedrim,

²⁹ whom I found accused concerning questions of their law, and having no accusation worthy of death or bonds;

³⁰ and a plot having been intimated to me against this man -- about to be of the Jews -- at once I sent unto thee, having given command also to the accusers to say the things against him before thee; be strong.'

³¹ Then, indeed, the soldiers according to that directed them, having taken up Paul, brought him through the night to Antipatris,

³² and on the morrow, having suffered the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the castle;

³³ those having entered into Caesarea, and delivered the letter to the governor, did present also Paul to him.

³⁴ And the governor having read [it], and inquired of what province he is, and understood that [he is] from Cilicia;

³⁵ `I will hear thee -- said he -- when thine accusers also may have come;' he also commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.