Psalms 37; Psalms 38; Psalms 39; Acts 26

Viewing Multiple Passages

Psalms 37

1 Don't get upset over evildoers; don't be jealous of those who do wrong,

2 because they will fade fast, like grass; they will wither like green vegetables.

3 Trust the LORD and do good; live in the land, and farm faithfulness.

4 Enjoy the LORD, and he will give what your heart asks.

5 Commit your way to the LORD! Trust him! He will act

6 and will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like high noon.

7 Be still before the LORD, and wait for him. Don't get upset when someone gets ahead— someone who invents evil schemes.

8 Let go of anger and leave rage behind! Don't get upset—it will only lead to evil.

9 Because evildoers will be eliminated, but those who hope in the LORD— they will possess the land.

10 In just a little while the wicked won't exist! If you go looking around their place, they won't be there.

11 But the weak will inherit the land; they will enjoy a surplus of peace.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous, grinding their teeth at them.

13 But my Lord just laughs at them because he knows that their day is coming.

14 The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows to bring down the weak and the needy, to slaughter those whose way is right.

15 But the sword of the wicked will enter their own hearts! Their bows will be broken!

16 Better is the little that the righteous have than the overabundant wealth of the wicked.

17 The arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD supports the righteous.

18 The LORD is intimately acquainted with the lives of the blameless; their heritage will last forever.

19 They won't be ashamed in troubling times, and in a period of famine they will eat their fill.

20 But the wicked will die, the LORD's enemies will disappear— disappear like the beauty of a meadow—in smoke.

21 The wicked borrow and don't pay it back, but the righteous are generous and giving.

22 Those blessed by God will possess the land, but those cursed by God will be cut off.

23 A person's steps are made secure by the LORD when they delight in his way.

24 Though they trip up, they won't be thrown down, because the LORD holds their hand.

25 I was young and now I'm old, but I have never seen the righteous left all alone, have never seen their children begging for bread.

26 They are always gracious and generous. Their children are a blessing.

27 Turn away from evil! Do good! Then you will live in the land forever.

28 The LORD loves justice. He will never leave his faithful all alone. They are guarded forever, but the children of the wicked are eliminated.

29 The righteous will possess the land; they will live on it forever.

30 The mouths of the righteous recite wisdom; their tongues discuss justice.

31 The Instruction of their God is in their hearts; they don't miss a step.

32 The wicked, on the other hand, target the righteous, seeking to kill them.

33 But the LORD won't leave the righteous to the power of the wicked, and won't let the righteous be found guilty when they are judged.

34 Hope in the LORD and keep his way! He will lift you up so you can possess the land. When the wicked are eliminated, you will see it for yourself!

35 I myself have seen wicked powerful people, exalting themselves like a stately cedar.

36 But when I came back, they were gone! I looked all over for them, but they couldn't be found!

37 Observe those who have integrity and watch those whose heart is right because the future belongs to persons of peace.

38 But wrongdoers will be destroyed all together; the future of the wicked will be cut short.

39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their refuge in times of trouble.

40 The LORD will help themand rescue them— rescue them from the wicked—and he will save them because they have taken refuge in him.

Psalms 38

1 Please, LORD, don't punish me when you are mad; don't discipline me when you are furious.

2 Your arrows have pierced me; your fist has come down hard on me.

3 There's nothing in my body that isn't broken because of your rage; there's no health in my bones because of my sin.

4 My wrongdoings are stacked higher than my head; they are a weight that's way too heavy for me.

5 My wounds reek; they are all infected because of my stupidity.

6 I am hunched over, completely down; I wander around all day long, sad.

7 My insides are burning up; there's nothing in my body that isn't broken.

8 I'm worn out, completely crushed; I groan because of my miserable heart.

9 Everything I long for is laid out before you, my Lord; my sighs aren't hidden from you.

10 My heart pounds; my strength abandons me. Even the light of my eyes is gone.

11 My loved ones and friends keep their distance from me in my sickness; those who were near me now stay far away.

12 Those who want me dead lay traps; those who want me harmed utter threats, muttering lies all day long.

13 But I'm like someone who is deaf, who can't hear; like someone who can't speak, whose mouth won't open.

14 I've become like a person who doesn't hear what is being said, whose mouth has no good comeback.

15 But I wait for you, LORD! You will answer, my Lord, my God!

16 Because I prayed: "Don't let them celebrate over me or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips,"

17 because I'm very close to falling, and my pain is always with me.

18 Yes, I confess my wrongdoing; I'm worried about my sin.

19 But my mortal enemies are so strong; those who hate me for no reason seem countless.

20 Those who give, repay good with evil; they oppose me for pursuing good.

21 Don't leave me all alone, LORD! Please, my God, don't be far from me!

22 Come quickly and help me, my Lord, my salvation!

Psalms 39

1 I promised I would watch my steps so as not to sin with my tongue; promised to keep my mouth shut as long as the wicked were in my presence.

2 So I was completely quiet, silent. I kept my peace, but it did no good. My pain got worse.

3 My heart got hot inside me; while stewing over it, the fire burned. Then I spoke out with my tongue:

4 "Let me know my end, LORD. How many days do I have left? I want to know how brief my time is."

5 You've made my days so short; my lifetime is like nothing in your eyes. Yes, a human life is nothing but a puff of air! Selah

6 Yes, people wander around like shadows; yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly; they don't even know who will get the wealth they've amassed.

7 So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for? My hope is set on you.

8 Deliver me from all my sins; don't make me some foolish person's joke.

9 I am completely silent; I won't open my mouth because you have acted.

10 Get this plague of yours off me! I'm being destroyed by the blows from your fist.

11 You discipline people for their sin, punishing them; like a moth, you ruin what they treasure. Yes, a human life is just a puff of air! Selah

12 Hear my prayer, LORD! Listen closely to my cry for help! Please don't ignore my tears! I'm just a foreigner— an immigrant staying with you, just like all my ancestors were.

13 Look away from me so I can be happy again before I pass away and am gone.

Acts 26

1 Agrippa said to Paul, "You may speak for yourself." So Paul gestured with his hand and began his defense.

2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself especially fortunate that I stand before you today as I offer my defense concerning all the accusations the Jews have brought against me.

3 This is because you understand well all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I ask you to listen to me patiently.

4 Every Jew knows the way of life I have followed since my youth because, from the beginning, I was among my people and in Jerusalem.

5 They have known me for a long time. If they wanted to, they could testify that I followed the way of life set out by the most exacting group of our religion. I am a Pharisee.

6 Today I am standing trial because of the hope in the promise God gave our ancestors.

7 This is the promise our twelve tribes hope to receive as they earnestly worship night and day. The Jews are accusing me, King Agrippa, because of this hope!

8 Why is it inconceivable to you that God raises the dead?

9 “I really thought that I ought to oppose the name of Jesus the Nazarene in every way possible.

10 And that's exactly what I did in Jerusalem. I locked up many of God's holy people in prison under the authority of the chief priests. When they were condemned to death, I voted against them.

11 In one synagogue after another—indeed, in all the synagogues—I would often torture them, compelling them to slander God. My rage bordered on the hysterical as I pursued them, even to foreign cities.

12 “On one such journey, I was going to Damascus with the full authority of the chief priests.

13 While on the road at midday, King Agrippa, I saw a light from heaven shining around me and my traveling companions. That light was brighter than the sun.

14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice that said to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me? It's hard for you to kick against a spear.'

15 Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?' The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are harassing.

16 Get up! Stand on your feet! I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as my servant and witness of what you have seen and what I will show you.

17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you

18 to open their eyes. Then they can turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are made holy by faith in me.'

19 "So, King Agrippa, I wasn't disobedient to that heavenly vision.

20 Instead, I proclaimed first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to the whole region of Judea and to the Gentiles. My message was that they should change their hearts and lives and turn to God, and that they should demonstrate this change in their behavior.

21 Because of this, some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to murder me.

22 God has helped me up to this very day. Therefore, I stand here and bear witness to the lowly and the great. I'm saying nothing more than what the Prophets and Moses declared would happen:

23 that the Christ would suffer and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to my people and to the Gentiles."

24 At this point in Paul's defense, Festus declared with a loud voice, "You've lost your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you mad!"

25 But Paul replied, "I'm not mad, most honorable Festus! I'm speaking what is sound and true.

26 King Agrippa knows about these things, and I have been speaking openly to him. I'm certain that none of these things have escaped his attention. This didn't happen secretly or in some out-of-the-way place.

27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."

28 Agrippa said to Paul, "Are you trying to convince me that, in such a short time, you've made me a Christian?"

29 Paul responded, "Whether it is a short or a long time, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today will become like me, except for these chains."

30 The king stood up, as did the governor, Bernice, and those sitting with them.

31 As they left, they were saying to each other, "This man is doing nothing that deserves death or imprisonment."

32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he hadn't appealed to Caesar."