Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 They have seen (A)Your procession, God,
The procession of my God, my King, [a](B)into the sanctuary.
25 The (C)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[b]In the midst of the (D)young women beating tambourines.
26 (E)Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the (F)fountain of Israel.
27 (G)Benjamin, the [c]youngest, is there, [d]ruling them,
The leaders of Judah in their company,
The leaders of (H)Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali.
28 [e]Your God has (I)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, God, You (J)who acted [f]in our behalf.
29 [g]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(K)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (L)animals [h]in the reeds,
The herd of (M)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling the pieces of silver;
He has (N)scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 [i]Messengers will come from (O)Egypt;
[j](P)Cush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you (Q)kingdoms of the earth,
(R)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him who (S)rides upon the [k](T)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (U)He [l]speaks 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 [m]skies.
35 [n]God, You are (Y)awesome from Your [o]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 at 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 And he said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, only I require one thing of you, [a]namely, that (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 men and [c]had her taken from her husband, from [d]Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, [e]following 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)put themselves under an [b]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)put ourselves under an [c]oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore, you [d]and (D)the [e]Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly; and as for us, we are ready to kill him before he comes near the place.”
16 But the son of Paul’s sister heard about their ambush, [f]and he came and entered (E)the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions to himself and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” 18 So he took him and led him to the commander and *said, “Paul (F)the prisoner called me over to him and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 19 The 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 [g]Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. 21 So do not [h]listen to them, for more than forty [i]of them are (I)in hiding to ambush him, and these men have (J)put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you.” 22 Then the 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 [j]the third hour of the night to proceed to (K)Caesarea, [k]with seventy horsemen and two hundred [l]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 [m]with the following content:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to the (M)most excellent governor Felix: (N)Greetings.
27 When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, (O)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, (P)after learning that he was a Roman. 28 And (Q)wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I (R)brought him down to their [n](S)Council; 29 and I found that he was being accused regarding (T)questions in their Law, but [o]was (U)not charged with anything deserving death or [p]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 [q]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 on the next day they let (Y)the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to (Z)the barracks. 33 When these horsemen had come to (AA)Caesarea and delivered the letter to (AB)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 Now when he had read it, he also asked from what (AC)province Paul was, and when he learned that (AD)he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your (AE)accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for [r]Paul to be (AF)kept in Herod’s [s]Praetorium.
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