Psalms 20

For the choir director: A psalm of David.
 ¹  In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry.
  May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
 ²  May he send you help from his sanctuary
  and strengthen you from Jerusalem. [2] 
 ³  May he remember all your gifts
  and look favorably on your burnt offerings.    Interlude

 ⁴  May he grant your heart's desires and make all your plans succeed.  ⁵  May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers.  ⁶  Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king.
  He will answer him from his holy heaven
  and rescue him by his great power.
 ⁷  Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.  ⁸  Those nations will fall down and collapse,
  but we will rise up and stand firm.

 ⁹  Give victory to our king, O LORD!
  Answer our cry for help.

Psalms 21

For the choir director: A psalm of David.
 ¹  How the king rejoices in your strength, O LORD!
  He shouts with joy because you give him victory.
 ²  For you have given him his heart's desire;
  you have withheld nothing he requested.    Interlude

 ³  You welcomed him back with success and prosperity.
  You placed a crown of finest gold on his head.
 ⁴  He asked you to preserve his life,
  and you granted his request.
  The days of his life stretch on forever.
 ⁵  Your victory brings him great honor,
  and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty.
 ⁶  You have endowed him with eternal blessings
  and given him the joy of your presence.
 ⁷  For the king trusts in the LORD.
  The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.

 ⁸  You will capture all your enemies.
  Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you.
 ⁹  You will throw them in a flaming furnace
  when you appear.
The LORD will consume them in his anger;
  fire will devour them.
 ¹⁰  You will wipe their children from the face of the earth;
  they will never have descendants.
 ¹¹  Although they plot against you,
  their evil schemes will never succeed.
 ¹²  For they will turn and run
  when they see your arrows aimed at them.
 ¹³  "Rise up, O LORD, in all your power. With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts."

Psalms 22

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune "Doe of the Dawn."
 ¹  My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
  Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
 ²  Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
  Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

 ³  Yet you are holy,
  enthroned on the praises of Israel.
 ⁴  Our ancestors trusted in you,
  and you rescued them.
 ⁵  They cried out to you and were saved.
  They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

 ⁶  But I am a worm and not a man.
  I am scorned and despised by all!
 ⁷  Everyone who sees me mocks me.
  They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
 ⁸  "Is this the one who relies on the LORD?
  Then let the LORD save him!
If the LORD loves him so much,
  let the LORD rescue him!"

 ⁹  Yet you brought me safely from my mother's womb
  and led me to trust you at my mother's breast.
 ¹⁰  I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
  You have been my God from the moment I was born.

 ¹¹  Do not stay so far from me,
  for trouble is near,
  and no one else can help me.
 ¹²  My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
  fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
 ¹³  Like lions they open their jaws against me,
  roaring and tearing into their prey.
 ¹⁴  "My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me."  ¹⁵  My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
  My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
  You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
 ¹⁶  My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
  an evil gang closes in on me.
  They have pierced my hands and feet.
 ¹⁷  I can count all my bones.
  My enemies stare at me and gloat.
 ¹⁸  They divide my garments among themselves
  and throw dice [18]  for my clothing.

 ¹⁹  O LORD, do not stay far away!
  You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
 ²⁰  Save me from the sword;
  spare my precious life from these dogs.
 ²¹  Snatch me from the lion's jaws
  and from the horns of these wild oxen.

 ²²  I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. [22] 
  I will praise you among your assembled people.
 ²³  Praise the LORD, all you who fear him!
  Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
  Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
 ²⁴  For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
  He has not turned his back on them,
  but has listened to their cries for help.

 ²⁵  I will praise you in the great assembly.
  I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
 ²⁶  The poor will eat and be satisfied.
  All who seek the LORD will praise him.
  Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
 ²⁷  The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to him.
  All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
 ²⁸  For royal power belongs to the LORD.
  He rules all the nations.

 ²⁹  Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
  Bow before him, all who are mortal,
  all whose lives will end as dust.
 ³⁰  Our children will also serve him.
  Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
 ³¹  His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
  They will hear about everything he has done.

<<  20:2 Hebrew Zion.
<<  22:18 Hebrew cast lots.
<<  22:22 Hebrew my brothers.

Acts 21 : 1-17

Paul's Journey to Jerusalem
 ¹  After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara.  ²  There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia.  ³  We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
   ⁴  We went ashore, found the local believers, [4]  and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.  ⁵  When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women [5]  and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed,  ⁶  and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.
   ⁷  The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters [7]  and stayed for one day.  ⁸  The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.  ⁹  He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
   ¹⁰  Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea.  ¹¹  He came over, took Paul's belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, "The Holy Spirit declares, `So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.'"  ¹²  When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
   ¹³  But he said, "Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus."  ¹⁴  When it was clear that we couldn't persuade him, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done."

Paul Arrives at Jerusalem
 ¹⁵  After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.  ¹⁶  Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers.  ¹⁷  When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.

<<  21:4 Greek disciples; also in 21:16.
<<  21:5 Or wives.
<<  21:7 Greek brothers; also in 21:17.