Leviticus 23 - 25, Acts 16 - 17, Psalms 86 - 87

Yahweh’s Appointed Times

23And Yahweh spoke again to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^aThe appointed times of Yahweh which you shall ^bproclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

The Sabbath

³‘^aFor six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to Yahweh in all your places of habitation.

The Passover

⁴‘These are the ^aappointed times of Yahweh, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. ⁵‘^aIn the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month ¹at twilight is the Passover of Yahweh. ⁶‘Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the ^aFeast of Unleavened Bread to Yahweh; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ⁷‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall ^anot do any laborious work. ⁸‘But for seven days you shall bring near an offering by fire to Yahweh. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’”

The Feast of the Harvest

⁹Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and ^areap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹‘And he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹²‘Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without blemish for a burnt offering to Yahweh. ¹³‘Its ^agrain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ¹ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to Yahweh for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a ²hin of wine. ¹⁴‘Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, ^ayou shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your places of habitation.

The Feast of Weeks

¹⁵‘^aYou shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. ¹⁶‘You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall bring a ^anew grain offering near to Yahweh. ¹⁷‘You shall bring in from your places of habitation two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ¹ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked ^awith leaven as first fruits to Yahweh. ¹⁸‘Along with the bread you shall bring near seven one year old male lambs without blemish and a bull from the herd and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. ¹⁹‘You shall also offer ^aone male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. ²⁰‘The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before Yahweh; they shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest. ²¹‘On this same day you shall ^amake a proclamation as well; it shall be a holy convocation for you. You shall do no laborious ^bwork. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your places of habitation throughout your generations.

²²‘^aWhen you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the afflicted and the sojourner. I am Yahweh your God.’”

The Feast of Trumpets

²³Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^aIn the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a ¹rest, a ^bmemorial by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵‘You shall ^anot do any laborious work, but you shall bring an offering by fire near to Yahweh.’”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷“On exactly ^athe tenth day of this seventh month is ^bthe day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and bring an offering by fire near to Yahweh. ²⁸“And you shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a ^aday of atonement, ^bto make atonement on your behalf before Yahweh your God. ²⁹“If there is any ¹person who will not humble himself on this same day, ^ahe shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰“And as for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will cause to perish from among his people. ³¹“You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your places of habitation. ³²“It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

³³Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On ^athe fifteenth of this seventh month is the ^bFeast of Booths for seven days to Yahweh. ³⁵‘On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do ^ano laborious work of any kind. ³⁶‘^aFor seven days you shall bring an offering by fire near to Yahweh. On ^bthe eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and bring an offering by fire near to Yahweh; it is a solemn assembly. You shall do no laborious work.

³⁷‘These are ^athe appointed times of Yahweh which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to bring offerings by fire near to Yahweh—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, ^beach day’s matter on its own day— ³⁸besides those of the sabbaths of Yahweh and besides your gifts and besides all your ¹votive and freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh.

³⁹‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, ^awhen you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of Yahweh for seven days, with a ¹rest on the first day and a ²rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰‘And on the first day you shall take for yourselves the ¹foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall be glad before Yahweh your God for seven days. ⁴¹‘You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴²‘You shall ¹live ^ain booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall ²live in booths, ⁴³so that ^ayour generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’” ⁴⁴So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel ^athe appointed times of Yahweh.

The Lamps and the Bread Before Yahweh

24Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you ^aclear oil from beaten olives for the ¹light, to make a lamp ²burn continually. ³“Outside the veil of testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁴“He shall keep the lamps in order on the ^apure gold lampstand before Yahweh continually.

⁵“^aThen you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. ⁶“And you shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the ^apure gold table before Yahweh. ⁷“And you shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be ^aa memorial portion for the bread, even an offering by fire to Yahweh. ⁸“^aEvery sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh ^bcontinually; it is an everlasting covenant ¹for the sons of Israel. ⁹“^aAnd it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings to Yahweh by fire, his portion forever.”

¹⁰Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the sons of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel struggled with each other in the camp. ¹¹And the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the ^aName and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) ¹²And they put him in ¹custody ²so that ^athe command of Yahweh might be made clear to them.

¹³Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁴“Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him ^alay their hands on his head; then ^blet all the congregation stone him. ¹⁵“And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^aIf anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin. ¹⁶‘Moreover, the one who ^ablasphemes the name of Yahweh shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

An Eye for an Eye

¹⁷‘^aIf a man strikes down the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸‘^aAnd the one who strikes down the life of an animal shall make restitution for it, life for life. ¹⁹‘If a man ¹injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: ²⁰^afracture for fracture, ^beye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has ¹injured a man, so it shall be ²inflicted on him. ²¹‘Thus the one who strikes down an animal shall make restitution for it, but ^athe one who strikes down a man shall be put to death. ²²‘There shall be ^aone standard of judgment for you; it shall be for the sojourner as well as the native, for I am Yahweh your God.’” ²³Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus the sons of Israel did, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

The Sabbatical Year

25Yahweh then spoke to Moses ¹at Mount Sinai, saying, ²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am giving to you, then the land shall have a sabbath to Yahweh. ³‘^aSix years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce, ⁴but during ^athe seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to Yahweh; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. ⁵‘¹What grows of its own accord from your harvest you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. ⁶‘^aAnd the sabbath produce of the land shall be for food; for you and your male and female slaves and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who sojourn with you. ⁷‘Even your cattle and the beasts that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat.

The Year of Jubilee

⁸‘You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. ⁹‘You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on ^athe tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. ¹⁰‘You shall thus set apart as holy the fiftieth year and ^aproclaim ¹a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, ²and ^beach of you shall return to his own possession of land, ³and each of you shall return to his family. ¹¹‘You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow; you shall not reap what grows of its own accord; you shall not gather in from its untrimmed vines. ¹²‘For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce out of the field.

¹³‘^aOn this year of jubilee, each of you shall return to his own possession of land. ¹⁴‘If you make a sale, moreover, to your companion or buy from your friend’s hand, ^ayou shall not mistreat one another. ¹⁵‘Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your ¹companion; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of produce. ¹⁶‘^aIn proportion to the ¹extent of the years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to the fewness of the years you shall diminish its price, for it is the number of crops it produces that he is selling to you. ¹⁷‘So ^ayou shall not mistreat one another, but you shall ¹fear your God; for I am Yahweh your God.

¹⁸‘You shall thus observe My statutes and keep My judgments, so as to do them, that ^ayou may live securely on the land. ¹⁹‘Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. ²⁰‘But if you say, “^aWhat are we going to eat on the seventh year ¹if we do not sow or gather in our produce?” ²¹then ^aI will command My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the produce for three years. ²²‘So you shall sow the eighth year and eat ^aold things from that produce, eating the old until the ninth year when its produce comes in.

The Redemption of Land

²³‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for ^athe land is Mine; for ^byou are but sojourners and foreign residents with Me. ²⁴‘Thus for every ¹piece of land of your possession, you shall provide for the redemption of the land.

²⁵‘^aIf a brother of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his possession of land, then his nearest kinsman redeemer is to come and redeem what his brother has sold. ²⁶‘Or in case a man has no kinsman redeemer, but ¹recovers his means and finds sufficient payment for its redemption, ²⁷^athen he shall calculate the years since its sale and return the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his possession of land. ²⁸‘But if ¹he has not found sufficient means to return it to himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall ²revert, that ^ahe may return to his possession of land.

²⁹‘Likewise, if a man sells a house for habitation in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year from its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. ³⁰‘But if it is not redeemed for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not ¹revert in the jubilee. ³¹‘The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall, shall be considered ¹as open fields; they have redemption rights and ²revert in the jubilee. ³²‘As for ^acities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession. ³³‘What, therefore, ¹belongs to the Levites may be redeemed, and a house sale ²in the city of ³their possession ⁴reverts in the jubilee, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. ³⁴‘^aBut pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their perpetual possession.

Redemption Rights for Poor Brothers

³⁵‘^aNow if a brother of yours becomes poor and his ¹means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a sojourner or a foreign resident, that he may live with you. ³⁶‘^aDo not take ¹usurious interest from him, but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. ³⁷‘You shall not give him your silver at interest nor your food for gain. ³⁸‘^aI am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and ^bto be your God.

³⁹‘^aIf a brother of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. ⁴⁰‘He shall be with you as a hired man, as ^aif he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee. ⁴¹‘He shall then go out from you, he and his sons with him, and shall return to his family, that he may return to the possession of the land of his fathers. ⁴²‘For they are My slaves whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in a slave sale. ⁴³‘^aYou shall not have dominion over him with brutality, but you shall fear your God. ⁴⁴‘As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the nations that are around you. ⁴⁵‘And also you may acquire from the sons of the foreign residents who sojourn among you, from them and their families who are with you; as for those whom they have begotten in your land, they also may become your possession. ⁴⁶‘You may even give them as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. ^aBut in respect to your brothers, the sons of Israel, you shall not have dominion over one another with brutality.

Redemption from a Sojourner

⁴⁷‘Now if the ¹means of a sojourner or of a foreign resident with you becomes sufficient, and a brother of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a sojourner who resides with you or to the descendants of a sojourner’s family, ⁴⁸then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, ⁴⁹or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or ¹^,^aif he prospers, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰‘He then with his purchaser shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years. It is like the days of a hired man that he shall be with him. ⁵¹‘If there are still many years, ^ahe shall return part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; ⁵²and if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he shall return the amount for his redemption. ⁵³‘Like a man hired year by year he shall be with him; ^ahe shall not have dominion over him with brutality in your sight. ⁵⁴‘Even if he is not redeemed by ¹these means, ^ahe shall still go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. ⁵⁵‘For the sons of Israel are My slaves; they are My slaves whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16Now Paul also arrived at ^aDerbe and at ^bLystra. And behold, a disciple was there, named ^cTimothy, the son of a ^dJewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, ²and he was well spoken of by ^athe brothers who were in ^bLystra and ^cIconium. ³Paul wanted this man to ¹go with him, and he ^atook him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering ^athe decrees which had been decided upon by ^bthe apostles and ^celders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep. ⁵So ^athe churches were being strengthened ¹in the faith, and were ^babounding in number daily.

The Macedonian Vision

⁶And they passed through the ¹^,^aPhrygian and ^bGalatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in ²^,^cAsia; ⁷and after they came to ^aMysia, they were trying to go into ^bBithynia, and the ^cSpirit of Jesus did not permit them; ⁸and passing by ^aMysia, they came down to ^bTroas. ⁹^aAnd a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of ^bMacedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰And when he had seen ^athe vision, immediately ^bwe sought to ¹go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to ^cproclaim the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹So setting sail from ^aTroas, we ran ^ba straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; ¹²and from there to ^aPhilippi, which is a leading city of the district of ^bMacedonia, ^ca Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. ¹³And on ^athe Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and sitting down, we began speaking to the women who had assembled. ¹⁴And a woman named Lydia, from the city of ^aThyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, ^ba worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord ^copened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵And when she and ^aher household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶Now it happened that as we were going to ^athe place of prayer, a servant-girl having ^ba spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of ^athe Most High God, who are proclaiming to you ¹the way of salvation.” ¹⁸And she continued doing this for many days. But being greatly annoyed, Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command you ^ain the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very ¹moment.

¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of ^aprofit had left, they seized ^bPaul and Silas and ^cdragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, ²⁰and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, ²¹and ^aare proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ^bRomans.” ²²And the crowd joined together to attack them, and the chief magistrates, tearing their garments off of them, proceeded to order them to be ^abeaten with rods. ²³And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding ^athe jailer to guard them securely, ²⁴who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in ^athe ¹stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵But about midnight ^aPaul and Silas were praying and ^bsinging hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶And suddenly ^athere came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately ^ball the doors were opened and everyone’s ^cchains were unfastened. ²⁷And when ^athe jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about ^bto kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” ²⁹And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before ^aPaul and Silas, ³⁰and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^awhat must I do to be saved?” ³¹And they said, “^aBelieve in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^byour house.” ³²And they spoke the word of ¹the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. ³³And he took them ^athat very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. ³⁴And he brought them into his house and set ¹food before them, and rejoiced ²greatly with ^ahis whole household, because he had believed in God.

³⁵Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” ³⁶And ^athe jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go ^bin peace.” ³⁷But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, ^amen who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” ³⁸And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. ^aThey were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, ³⁹and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them ^ato leave the city. ⁴⁰And they went out of the prison and entered the house of ^aLydia, and when they saw ^bthe brothers, they ¹encouraged them and left.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^aThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ²And ^aaccording to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three ^bSabbaths reasoned with them from ^cthe Scriptures, ³¹explaining and setting before them that the ²Christ ^ahad to suffer and ^brise again from the dead, and saying, “^cThis Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that ³Christ.” ⁴^aAnd some of them were persuaded and joined ^bPaul and Silas, ¹along with a great multitude of the ^cGod-fearing ^dGreeks and not a few of the ^eleading women. ⁵But ^athe Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of ^bJason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. ⁶And when they did not find them, they began ^adragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ¹^,^bthe world have come here also; ⁷¹and Jason ^ahas welcomed them, and they all act ^bcontrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. ⁹And when they had received the bond from ^aJason and the others, they released them.

In Berea

¹⁰^aAnd the brothers immediately sent ^bPaul and Silas away by night to ^cBerea, ¹and when they arrived, they went into ^dthe synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹Now these were more noble-minded than those in ^aThessalonica, ¹for they received the word with ²great eagerness, ³examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ¹²Therefore ^amany of them believed, along with not a few ^bprominent Greek ^cwomen and men. ¹³But when the Jews of ^aThessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in ^bBerea also, they came there as well, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. ¹⁴Then immediately ^athe brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and ^bSilas and ^cTimothy remained there. ¹⁵Now ^athose who escorted Paul brought him as far as ^bAthens; and after receiving a command for ^cSilas and Timothy to ^dcome to him as soon as possible, they left.

In Athens

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them at ^aAthens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. ¹⁷So he was reasoning ^ain the synagogue with the Jews and ^bthe God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. ¹⁸And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were ¹conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would ^athis ²idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was proclaiming the good news of ^bJesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹And they ^atook him and brought him ¹to the ²^,^bAreopagus, saying, “May we know what ^cthis new teaching is ³which you are speaking? ²⁰“For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. So we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹(Now all the Athenians and the strangers ^avisiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something newer.)

²²So Paul stood in the midst of the ¹Areopagus and said, “Men of ^aAthens, I observe that you are very ^breligious in all respects. ²³“For while I was passing through and examining the ^aobjects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what ^byou worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴“^aThe God who made the world and all things in it, since He is ^bLord of heaven and earth, does not ^cdwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵nor is He served by human hands, ^aas though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶and ^aHe made from one man every nation of mankind to inhabit all the face of the earth, having ^bdetermined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, ^athough He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸for ^ain Him we live and move and ¹exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ ²⁹“Being then the offspring of God, we ^aought not to suppose that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the craft and thought of man. ³⁰“Therefore having ^aoverlooked ^bthe times of ignorance, God is ^cnow commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, ³¹because He has fixed ^aa day in which ^bHe will judge ¹^,^cthe world in righteousness ²through a Man whom He ^ddetermined, having furnished proof to all ³by ^eraising Him from the dead.”

³²Now when they heard about ^athe resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you ¹again concerning this.” ³³In this way, Paul went out of their midst. ³⁴But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the ^aAreopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

To You, O Lord, I Lift Up My Soul

A Prayer of David.

^aIncline Your ear, O Yahweh, and answer me;For I am ^bafflicted and needy.²^aKeep my ¹soul, for I am a ^bholy one;O You my God, save Your slave who ^ctrusts in You.³Be ^agracious to me, O Lord,For ^bto You I call all day long.⁴Make glad the soul of Your slave,For to You, O Lord, ^aI lift up my soul.⁵For You, Lord, are ^agood, and ^bby nature forgiving,And ^cabundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.⁶^aGive ear, O Yahweh, to my prayer;And give heed to the voice of my supplications!⁷In ^athe day of my distress I shall call upon You,For ^bYou will answer me.⁸There is ^ano one like You among the gods, O Lord,Nor are there any works ^blike Yours.⁹^aAll nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,And they shall glorify Your name.¹⁰For You are ^agreat and ^bdo ¹wondrous deeds;You alone ^care God.¹¹^aTeach me Your way, O Yahweh;I will walk in Your truth;^bUnite my heart to fear Your name.¹²I will ^agive thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,And will glorify Your name forever.¹³For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,And You have ^adelivered my soul from Sheol below.¹⁴O God, arrogant men have ^arisen up against me,And ¹a band of ruthless men have sought my ²life,And they have not set You before them.¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a God ^acompassionate and gracious,Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and ¹truth.¹⁶^aTurn to me, and be gracious to me;Oh ^bgrant Your strength to Your slave,And save the ^cson of Your maidservant.¹⁷¹^,^aShow me a sign for good,That those who hate me may ^bsee it and be ashamed,Because You, O Yahweh, ^chave helped me and comforted me.

Yahweh Loves the Gates of Zion

Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm. A Song.

His ^afoundation is in the holy mountains.²Yahweh ^aloves the gates of ZionMore than all the dwelling places of Jacob.³^aGlorious things are spoken of you,O ^bcity of God. ¹ Selah.⁴“I shall mention ¹^,^aRahab and Babylon among those who know Me;Behold, Philistia and ^bTyre with ²^,^cEthiopia:‘This one was born there.’”⁵But of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;And the Most High Himself will ^aestablish her.⁶Yahweh will count when He ^aregisters the peoples,“This one was born there.” Selah.⁷And ^asingers, just like the ^bdancers, will all say,“All my ^csprings are in you.”