Psalms 29; Psalms 30; Acts 23:1-15

1 Give the Lord-you heavenly beings- give the Lord glory and strength.

2 Give the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of [His] holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is above the waters. The God of glory thunders- the Lord, above vast waters,

4 the voice of the Lord in power, the voice of the Lord in splendor.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion, like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord flashes flames of fire.

8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the woodlands bare. In His temple all cry, "Glory!"

10 The Lord sat enthroned at the flood; the Lord sits enthroned, King forever.

11 The Lord gives His people strength; the Lord blesses His people with peace.

1 I will exalt You, Lord, because You have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me.

2 Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.

3 Lord, You brought me up from Sheol; You spared me from among those going down to the Pit.

4 Sing to the Lord, you His faithful ones, and praise His holy name.

5 For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.

6 When I was secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."

7 Lord, when You showed Your favor, You made me stand like a strong mountain; when You hid Your face, I was terrified.

8 Lord, I called to You; I sought favor from my Lord:

9 "What gain is there in my death, in my descending to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your truth?

10 Lord, listen and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper."

11 You turned my lament into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

12 so that I can sing to You and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise You forever.

1 Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience until this day."

2 But the high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.

3 Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?"

4 And those standing nearby said, "Do you dare revile God's high priest?"

5 "I did not know, brothers," Paul said, "that it was the high priest. For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people. "

6 When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!"

7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

8 For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.

9 The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party got up and argued vehemently: "We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

10 When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, rescue him from them, and bring him into the barracks.

11 The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, "Have courage! For as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

12 When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse: neither to eat nor to drink until they had killed Paul.

13 There were more than 40 who had formed this plot.

14 These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won't eat anything until we have killed Paul

15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. However, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him."