Psalms 31; Psalms 32; Acts 23:16-35

1 Lord, I trust in you; let me never be disgraced. Save me because you do what is right.

2 Listen to me and save me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a strong city to save me.

3 You are my rock and my protection. For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.

4 Set me free from the trap they set for me, because you are my protection.

5 I give you my life. Save me, Lord, God of truth.

6 I hate those who worship false gods. I trust only in the Lord.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, because you saw my suffering; you knew my troubles.

8 You have not handed me over to my enemies but have set me in a safe place.

9 Lord, have mercy, because I am in misery. My eyes are weak from so much crying, and my whole being is tired from grief.

10 My life is ending in sadness, and my years are spent in crying. My troubles are using up my strength, and my bones are getting weaker.

11 Because of all my troubles, my enemies hate me, and even my neighbors look down on me. When my friends see me, they are afraid and run.

12 I am like a piece of a broken pot. I am forgotten as if I were dead.

13 I have heard many insults. Terror is all around me. They make plans against me and want to kill me.

14 Lord, I trust you. I have said, "You are my God."

15 My life is in your hands. Save me from my enemies and from those who are chasing me.

16 Show your kindness to me, your servant. Save me because of your love.

17 Lord, I called to you, so do not let me be disgraced. Let the wicked be disgraced and lie silent in the grave.

18 With pride and hatred they speak against those who do right. So silence their lying lips.

19 How great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you have given to those who trust you. You do this for all to see.

20 You protect them by your presence from what people plan against them. You shelter them from evil words.

21 Praise the Lord. His love to me was wonderful when my city was attacked.

22 In my distress, I said, "God cannot see me!" But you heard my prayer when I cried out to you for help.

23 Love the Lord, all you who belong to him. The Lord protects those who truly believe, but he punishes the proud as much as they have sinned.

24 All you who put your hope in the Lord be strong and brave. A maskil of David.

1 Happy is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned.

2 Happy is the person whom the Lord does not consider guilty and in whom there is nothing false.

3 When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long.

4 Day and night you punished me. My strength was gone as in the summer heat.Selah

5 Then I confessed my sins to you and didn't hide my guilt. I said, "I will confess my sins to the Lord," and you forgave my guilt.Selah

6 For this reason, all who obey you should pray to you while they still can. When troubles rise like a flood, they will not reach them.

7 You are my hiding place. You protect me from my troubles and fill me with songs of salvation.Selah

8 The Lord says, "I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you.

9 So don't be like a horse or donkey, that doesn't understand. They must be led with bits and reins, or they will not come near you."

10 Wicked people have many troubles, but the Lord's love surrounds those who trust him.

11 Good people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord. Sing all you whose hearts are right.

16 But Paul's nephew heard about this plan and went to the army building and told Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the officers and said, "Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him."

18 So the officer brought Paul's nephew to the commander and said, "The prisoner, Paul, asked me to bring this young man to you. He wants to tell you something."

19 The commander took the young man's hand and led him to a place where they could be alone. He asked, "What do you want to tell me?

20 The young man said, "The Jews have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council meeting tomorrow. They want you to think they are going to ask him more questions.

21 But don't believe them! More than forty men are hiding and waiting to kill Paul. They have all taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are waiting for you to agree.

22 The commander sent the young man away, ordering him, "Don't tell anyone that you have told me about their plan."

23 Then the commander called two officers and said, "I need some men to go to Caesarea. Get two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred men with spears ready to leave at nine o'clock tonight.

24 Get some horses for Paul to ride so he can be taken to Governor Felix safely."

25 And he wrote a letter that said:

26 From Claudius Lysias. Greetings.

27 The Jews had taken this man and planned to kill him. But I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and saved him.

28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him before their council meeting.

29 I learned that the Jews said Paul did some things that were wrong by their own laws, but no charge was worthy of jail or death.

30 When I was told that some of the Jews were planning to kill Paul, I sent him to you at once. I also told those Jews to tell you what they have against him.

31 So the soldiers did what they were told and took Paul and brought him to the city of Antipatris that night.

32 The next day the horsemen went with Paul to Caesarea, but the other soldiers went back to the army building in Jerusalem.

33 When the horsemen came to Caesarea and gave the letter to the governor, they turned Paul over to him.

34 The governor read the letter and asked Paul, "What area are you from?" When he learned that Paul was from Cilicia,

35 he said, "I will hear your case when those who are against you come here, too." Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in Herod's palace.