He Will Tread Down Our Foes
To the choirmaster: according to fShushan Eduth. A gMiktam1 of David; hfor instruction; when he istrove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, jyou have rejected us, kbroken our defenses;
you have been angry; loh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
mrepair its breaches, for it totters.
3 nYou have made your people see hard things;
4 You have set up qa banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it rfrom the bow.2 Selah
5 sThat your tbeloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken uin his holiness:3
“With exultation vI will divide up wShechem
and portion out the Vale of xSuccoth.
7 yGilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Judah is my bscepter.
8 cMoab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I dcast my shoe;
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
fWho will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not grejected us, O God?
You hdo not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for ivain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall jdo valiantly;
it is he who will ktread down our foes.
Lead Me to the Rock
To the choirmaster: with lstringed instruments. Of David.
1 Hear my cry, O God,
mlisten to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is nfaint.
Lead me to othe rock
that is higher than I,
3 for you have been pmy refuge,
a strong qtower against the enemy.
4 Let me rdwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under sthe shelter of your wings! Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 tProlong uthe life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint vsteadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I wperform my vows day after day.
My Soul Waits for God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to xJeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 For God alone ymy soul zwaits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 aHe alone is my rock and my salvation,
3 How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like da leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his ehigh position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
fThey bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone, O ymy soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 aHe only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my gsalvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, hmy refuge is God.
8 iTrust in him at all times, O people;
jpour out your heart before him;
God is ha refuge for us. Selah
9 kThose of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate lare a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
kthey are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
mset no vain hopes on robbery;
nif riches increase, set not your heart on them.
11 oOnce God has spoken;
otwice have I heard this:
that ppower belongs to God,
12 and that to you, O Lord, qbelongs steadfast love.
For you will rrender to a man
according to his work.
1 w“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in xthe Hebrew language,1 they became even more quiet. And he said:
3 y“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated zat the feet of aGamaliel2 baccording to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, cbeing zealous for God das all of you are this day. 4 eI persecuted fthis Way gto the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as hthe high priest and ithe whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to jthe brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 k“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am lJesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 mNow those who were with me saw the light but did not understand3 the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, n‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
12 “And oone Ananias, a devout man paccording to the law, qwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 rcame to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And sat that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, t‘The God of our fathers uappointed you to know his will, vto see wthe Righteous One and xto hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for yyou will be a witness for him to everyone of what zyou have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? aRise and be baptized and bwash away your sins, ccalling on his name.’
17 d“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ewas praying in the temple, I fell into fa trance 18 and saw him saying to me, g‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another hI imprisoned and ibeat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen jyour witness was being shed, kI myself was standing by and lapproving and kwatching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you mfar away to the Gentiles.’”
Paul and the Roman Tribune
22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, n“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ohe should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into pthe barracks, saying that he should be qexamined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,4 Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog ra man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about sto examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also twas afraid, ufor he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that vhe had bound him.
Paul Before the Council
30 But on the next day, wdesiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
