Psalms 16; Psalms 17; Acts 20:1-16

1 Protect me, O God, because I take refuge in you.

2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord. Without you, I have nothing good."

3 Those who lead holy lives on earth are the noble ones who fill me with joy.

4 Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows. I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood or use my lips to speak their names.

5 The LORD is my inheritance and my cup. You are the one who determines my destiny.

6 Your boundary lines mark out pleasant places for me. Indeed, my inheritance is something beautiful.

7 I will praise the LORD, who advises me. My conscience warns me at night.

8 I always keep the LORD in front of me. When he is by my side, I cannot be moved.

9 That is why my heart is glad and my soul rejoices. My body rests securely

10 because you do not abandon my soul to the grave or allow your holy one to decay.

11 You make the path of life known to me. Complete joy is in your presence. Pleasures are by your side forever.

1 Hear my plea for justice, O LORD. Pay attention to my cry. Open your ears to my prayer, [which comes] from lips free from deceit.

2 Let the verdict of my innocence come directly from you. Let your eyes observe what is fair.

3 You have probed my heart. You have confronted me at night. You have tested me like silver, but you found nothing wrong. I have determined that my mouth will not sin.

4 I have avoided cruelty because of your word. In spite of what others have done,

5 my steps have remained firmly in your paths. My feet have not slipped.

6 I have called on you because you answer me, O God. Turn your ear toward me. Hear what I have to say.

7 Reveal your miraculous deeds of mercy, O Savior of those who find refuge by your side from those who attack them.

8 Guard me as if I were the pupil in your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.

9 Hide me from wicked people who violently attack me, from my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They have shut out all feeling. Their mouths have spoken arrogantly.

11 They have tracked me down. They have surrounded me. They have focused their attention on throwing me to the ground.

12 Each one of them is like a lion eager to tear [its prey] apart and like a young lion crouching in hiding places.

13 Arise, O LORD; confront them! Bring them to their knees! With your sword rescue my life from wicked people.

14 With your power rescue me from mortals, O LORD, from mortals who enjoy their inheritance only in this life. You fill their bellies with your treasure. Their children are satisfied [with it], and they leave what remains to their children.

15 I will see your face when I am declared innocent. When I wake up, I will be satisfied [with seeing] you.

1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, said goodbye, and left for Macedonia.

2 He went through that region and spoke many words of encouragement to the people. Then he went to Greece

3 and stayed there for three months. When Paul was going to board a ship for Syria, he found out that the Jews were plotting to kill him. So he decided to go back through Macedonia.

4 Sopater (son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia accompanied Paul.

5 All these men went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas.

6 After the Festival of Unleavened Bread, we boarded a ship at Philippi. Five days later we joined them in Troas and stayed there for seven days.

7 On Sunday we met to break bread. Paul was discussing [Scripture] with the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight.

8 (Many lamps were lit in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)

9 A young man named Eutychus was sitting in a window. As Paul was talking on and on, Eutychus was gradually falling asleep. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was dead when they picked him up.

10 Paul went to him, took him into his arms, and said, "Don't worry! He's alive!"

11 Then Eutychus went upstairs again, broke the bread, and ate. Paul talked with the people for a long time, until sunrise, and then left.

12 The people took the boy home. They were greatly relieved that he was alive.

13 We went ahead to the ship and sailed for the city of Assos. At Assos, we were going to pick up Paul. He had made these arrangements, since he had planned to walk overland to Assos.

14 When Paul met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to the city of Mitylene.

15 We sailed from there. On the following day we approached the island of Chios. The next day we went by the island of Samos, and on the next day we arrived at the city of Miletus.

16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.