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

1 Give to the LORD, you heavenly beings. Give to the LORD glory and power.

2 Give to the LORD the glory his name deserves. Worship the LORD in [his] holy splendor.

3 The voice of the LORD rolls over the water. The God of glory thunders. The LORD shouts over raging water.

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful. The voice of the LORD is majestic.

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars. The LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon skip along like a calf and Mount Sirion like a wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.

8 The voice of the LORD makes the wilderness tremble. The LORD makes the wilderness of Kadesh tremble.

9 The voice of the LORD splits the oaks and strips [the trees of] the forests bare. Everyone in his temple is saying, "Glory!"

10 The LORD sat enthroned over the flood. The LORD sits enthroned as king forever.

11 The LORD will give power to his people. The LORD will bless his people with peace.

1 I will honor you highly, O LORD, because you have pulled me out [of the pit] and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

2 O LORD my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me.

3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave. You called me back to life from among those who had gone into the pit.

4 Make music to praise the LORD, you faithful people who belong to him. Remember his holiness by giving thanks.

5 His anger lasts only a moment. His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night, but there is a song of joy in the morning.

6 When all was well with me, I said, "I will never be shaken."

7 O LORD, by your favor you have made my mountain stand firm. When you hid your face, I was terrified.

8 I will cry out to you, O LORD. I will plead to the Lord for mercy:

9 "How will you profit if my blood is shed, if I go into the pit? Will the dust [of my body] give thanks to you? Will it tell about your truth?"

10 Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me! O LORD, be my helper!

11 You have changed my sobbing into dancing. You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy

12 so that my soul may praise you with music and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

1 Paul stared at the Jewish council and said, "Brothers, my relationship with God has always given me a perfectly clear conscience."

2 The chief priest Ananias ordered the men standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

3 Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you hypocrite! You sit there and judge me by Moses' Teachings and yet you break those teachings by ordering these men to strike me!"

4 The men standing near Paul said to him, "You're insulting God's chief priest!"

5 Paul answered, "Brothers, I didn't know that he is the chief priest. After all, Scripture says, 'Don't speak evil about a ruler of your people.'"

6 When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the council, "Brothers, I'm a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I'm on trial because I expect that the dead will come back to life."

7 After Paul said that, the Pharisees and Sadducees began to quarrel, and the men in the meeting were divided.

8 (The Sadducees say that the dead won't come back to life and that angels and spirits don't exist. The Pharisees believe in all these things.)

9 The shouting became very loud. Some of the scribes were Pharisees who argued their position forcefully. They said, "We don't find anything wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel actually spoke to him!"

10 The quarrel was becoming violent, and the officer was afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces. So the officer ordered his soldiers to drag Paul back to the barracks.

11 The Lord stood near Paul the next night and said to him, "Don't lose your courage! You've told the truth about me in Jerusalem. Now you must tell the truth about me in Rome."

12 In the morning the Jews formed a conspiracy. They asked God to curse them if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul.

13 More than forty men took part in this plot.

14 They went to the chief priests and leaders [of the people] and said, "We've asked God to curse us if we taste any food before we've killed Paul.

15 Here's our plan: You and the council must go to the Roman officer on the pretext that you need more information from Paul. You have to make it look as though you want to get more accurate information about him. We'll be ready to kill him before he gets to you."