Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 They have seen (A)Your [a]procession, O God,
The [b]procession of my God, my King, [c](B)into the sanctuary.
25 The (C)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[d]In the midst of the (D)maidens beating tambourines.
26 (E)Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the (F)fountain of Israel.
27 There is (G)Benjamin, the [e]youngest, [f]ruling them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of (H)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 [g]Your God has (I)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, O God, (J)who have acted [h]on our behalf.
29 [i]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(K)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (L)beasts [j]in the reeds,
The herd of (M)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has (N)scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of (O)Egypt;
[k](P)Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, O (Q)kingdoms of the earth,
(R)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
33 To Him who (S)rides upon the [l](T)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (U)He [m]speaks forth with His voice, a (V)mighty voice.
34 (W)Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And (X)His strength is in the [n]skies.
35 [o]O God, You are (Y)awesome from Your [p]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself (Z)gives strength and power to the people.
(AA)Blessed be God!
12 Then Abner sent messengers to David in his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.” 13 He said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, but I demand one thing of you, [a]namely, (A)you shall not see my face unless you (B)first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see [b]me.” 14 So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed (C)for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from [c]Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her as far as (D)Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” So he returned.
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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