24 vThe earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,1
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has wfounded it upon xthe seas
and established it upon the rivers.
3 yWho shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his zholy place?
4 aHe who has bclean hands and ca pure heart,
who does not dlift up his soul to ewhat is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive fblessing from the Lord
and grighteousness from hthe God of his salvation.
6 Such is ithe generation of those who seek him,
who jseek the face of the God of Jacob.2 Selah
7 kLift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that lthe King of glory may come in.
the Lord, mmighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
nThe Lord of hosts,
29 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,1
cascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in dthe splendor of holiness.2
3 The voice of the Lord is over ethe waters;
the God of glory fthunders,
4 The voice of the Lord is gpowerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks hthe cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to iskip like a calf,
and jSirion like a young kwild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of lKadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes mthe deer give birth3
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!
how majestic is your qname in all the earth!
You have set your rglory above the heavens.
2 sOut of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established tstrength because of your foes,
to still uthe enemy and the avenger.
3 When I vlook at your heavens, the work of your wfingers,
the moon and the stars, xwhich you have set in place,
4 ywhat is man that you are zmindful of him,
and athe son of man that you bcare for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than cthe heavenly beings2
and crowned him with dglory and honor.
6 You have given him edominion over the works of your hands;
fyou have put all things under his feet,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
84 How rlovely is your sdwelling place,
2 My soul tlongs, yes, ufaints
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to vthe living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
wmy King and my God.
4 xBlessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever ysinging your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
zin whose heart are the highways to Zion.2
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
athe early rain also covers it with bpools.
7 They go cfrom strength to strength;
each one dappears before God in Zion.
8 O eLord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day hin your courts is better
I would rather be ia doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is ja sun and gshield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
kNo good thing does he withhold
from those who lwalk uprightly.
mblessed is the one who trusts in you!
6 nThere is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man oto whom pGod gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he qlacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God rdoes not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;1 it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that sthe days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's tgood things, and he also has no uburial, I say that va stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not wseen the sun or known anything, yet it finds xrest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy2 no good—do not all go to the one place?
7 yAll the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.3 8 For what advantage has the wise man zover the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better ais the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is bvanity and a striving after wind.
10 Whatever has come to be has calready been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to ddispute with one stronger than he. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his evain4 life, which he passes like fa shadow? For who can tell man what will be gafter him under the sun?
9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, ePeter went up fon the housetop about gthe sixth hour1 to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into ha trance 11 and saw ithe heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; jfor I have never eaten anything that is kcommon or lunclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, m“What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what nthe vision that he had seen might mean, behold, othe men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering nthe vision, pthe Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and qaccompany them without hesitation,2 for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and rGod-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by sa holy angel to send for you to come to his house and tto hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.
The next day he rose and went away with them, and usome of vthe brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
32 r“Fear not, little sflock, for tit is your Father's good pleasure to give you uthe kingdom. 33 vSell your possessions, and wgive to the needy. xProvide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ya treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 zFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35 a“Stay dressed for action1 and bkeep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are cwaiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and dknocks. 37 eBlessed are those servants2 whom the master finds eawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, fhe will dress himself for service and ghave them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 hBut know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ithe thief was coming, he3 would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be jready, for kthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”