Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd,(A) I lack nothing.(B)
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,(C)
    he refreshes my soul.(D)
He guides me(E) along the right paths(F)
    for his name’s sake.(G)
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a](H)
I will fear no evil,(I)
    for you are with me;(J)
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table(K) before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;(L)
    my cup(M) overflows.
Surely your goodness and love(N) will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

The earth is the Lord’s,(O) and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;(P)
for he founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.(Q)

Who may ascend the mountain(R) of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?(S)
The one who has clean hands(T) and a pure heart,(U)
    who does not trust in an idol(V)
    or swear by a false god.[b]

They will receive blessing(W) from the Lord
    and vindication(X) from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek your face,(Y) God of Jacob.[c][d]

Lift up your heads, you gates;(Z)
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King(AA) of glory(AB) may come in.(AC)
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,(AD)
    the Lord mighty in battle.(AE)
Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty(AF)
    he is the King of glory.

Psalm 25[e]

Of David.

In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.(AG)

I trust in you;(AH)
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,(AI)
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous(AJ) without cause.

Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.(AK)
Guide me in your truth(AL) and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,(AM)
    and my hope is in you(AN) all day long.
Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,(AO)
    for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth(AP)
    and my rebellious ways;(AQ)
according to your love(AR) remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.(AS)

Good and upright(AT) is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs(AU) sinners in his ways.
He guides(AV) the humble in what is right
    and teaches them(AW) his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful(AX)
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.(AY)
11 For the sake of your name,(AZ) Lord,
    forgive(BA) my iniquity,(BB) though it is great.

12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?(BC)
    He will instruct them in the ways(BD) they should choose.[f]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,(BE)
    and their descendants will inherit the land.(BF)
14 The Lord confides(BG) in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known(BH) to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,(BI)
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.(BJ)

16 Turn to me(BK) and be gracious to me,(BL)
    for I am lonely(BM) and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles(BN) of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.(BO)
18 Look on my affliction(BP) and my distress(BQ)
    and take away all my sins.(BR)
19 See how numerous are my enemies(BS)
    and how fiercely they hate me!(BT)

20 Guard my life(BU) and rescue me;(BV)
    do not let me be put to shame,(BW)
    for I take refuge(BX) in you.
21 May integrity(BY) and uprightness(BZ) protect me,
    because my hope, Lord,[g] is in you.(CA)

22 Deliver Israel,(CB) O God,
    from all their troubles!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of the shadow of death
  2. Psalm 24:4 Or swear falsely
  3. Psalm 24:6 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts face, Jacob
  4. Psalm 24:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
  5. Psalm 25:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  6. Psalm 25:12 Or ways he chooses
  7. Psalm 25:21 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have Lord.

18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,(A) and all the elders(B) were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles(C) through his ministry.(D)

20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous(E) for the law.(F) 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,(G) telling them not to circumcise their children(H) or live according to our customs.(I) 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.(J) 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites(K) and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.(L) Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”(M)

26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.(N)

Paul Arrested

27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,(O) 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”(P) 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus(Q) the Ephesian(R) in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,(S) they dragged him(T) from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.(U)

33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound(V) with two(W) chains.(X) Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,(Y) and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(Z) 35 When Paul reached the steps,(AA) the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”(AB)

Paul Speaks to the Crowd(AC)

37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,(AD) he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness(AE) some time ago?”(AF)

39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus(AG) in Cilicia,(AH) a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”

40 After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned(AI) to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic[a]:(AJ)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:40 Or possibly Hebrew; also in 22:2

Bible Gateway Recommends