Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
17 The Lord is (A)righteous in all his ways
and (B)kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is (C)near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him (D)in truth.
19 He (E)fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also (F)hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord (G)preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and (H)let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
The Crown and the Temple
9 And the word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take from the exiles (A)Heldai, Tobijah, and (B)Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of (C)Zephaniah. 11 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, (D)and set it on the head of (E)Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is (F)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and (G)he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 (H)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord (I)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there[a] shall be a (J)priest on his throne, (K)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as (L)a reminder to (M)Helem,[b] (N)Tobijah, (O)Jedaiah, and Hen (P)the son of Zephaniah.
15 (Q)“And those who are far off shall come and (R)help to build the temple of the Lord. (S)And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. (T)And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that (A)it is not more than twelve days since I (B)went up (C)to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and (D)they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 (E)Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to (F)the Way, which they call (G)a sect, (H)I worship (I)the God of our fathers, believing everything (J)laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 (K)having (L)a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be (M)a resurrection (N)of both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always (O)take pains to have a (P)clear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now (Q)after several years (R)I came to bring alms to (S)my nation and to present (T)offerings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me (U)purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But (V)some Jews from Asia— 19 (W)they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing (X)that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”
Paul Kept in Custody
22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of (Y)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he (Z)should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that (AA)none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.