Psalms 29–30; Acts 23:1–15

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Psalms 29–30

Ascribe to the Lord Glory

A Psalm of David.

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,1

cascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord in dthe splendor of holiness.2

The voice of the Lord is over ethe waters;

the God of glory fthunders,

the Lord, over many waters.

The voice of the Lord is gpowerful;

the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

the Lord breaks hthe cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon to iskip like a calf,

and jSirion like a young kwild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

the Lord shakes the wilderness of lKadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes mthe deer give birth3

and strips the forests bare,

and in his temple all cry, Glory!

10  The Lord sits enthroned over nthe flood;

the Lord sits enthroned oas king forever.

11  May the Lord give pstrength to his people!

May the Lord bless4 his people with qpeace!

Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of rthe temple.

I will sextol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up

and have not let my foes trejoice over me.

O Lord my God, I ucried to you for help,

and you have vhealed me.

O Lord, you have brought up my soul from wSheol;

you restored me to life from among those who xgo down to the pit.5

Sing praises to the Lord, O you yhis saints,

and zgive thanks to his holy name.6

aFor his anger is but for a moment,

and bhis favor is for a lifetime.7

cWeeping may tarry for the night,

but djoy comes with the morning.

As for me, I said in my eprosperity,

I shall never be fmoved.

By your favor, O Lord,

you made my gmountain stand strong;

you hhid your face;

I was idismayed.

To you, O Lord, I cry,

and jto the Lord I plead for mercy:

What profit is there in my death,8

if I go down to the pit?9

Will kthe dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

10  lHear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!

11  You have turned for me my mourning into mdancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

12  that my nglory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!


Acts 23:1–15

And looking intently at the council, Paul said, Brothers, xI have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day. And the high priest yAnanias commanded those who stood by him zto strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God is going to strike you, you awhitewashed bwall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ccontrary to the law you corder me to be struck? Those who stood by said, Would you revile dGod’s high priest? And Paul said, eI did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, fYou shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.

Now when Paul perceived that one part were gSadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brothers, hI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is iwith respect to the jhope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees ksay that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of lthe scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, mWe find nothing wrong in this man. What nif a spirit or an angel spoke to him? 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into othe barracks.

11 pThe following night qthe Lord stood by him and said, rTake courage, for sas you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ttestify also in Rome.

A Plot to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, uthe Jews made a plot and vbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.