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Psalm 12

1  Help me, Lord, for no one godly is left; ♦︎
   the faithful have vanished from the whole human race.
2  They all speak falsely with their neighbour; ♦︎
   they flatter with their lips, but speak from a double heart.
3  O that the Lord would cut off all flattering lips ♦︎
   and the tongue that speaks proud boasts!
4  Those who say, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; ♦︎
   our lips we will use; who is lord over us?’
5  ‘Because of the oppression of the needy,
      and the groaning of the poor, ♦︎
   I will rise up now,’ says the Lord,
      ‘and set them in the safety that they long for.’
6  The words of the Lord are pure words, ♦︎
   like silver refined in the furnace
      and purified seven times in the fire.
7  You, O Lord, will watch over us ♦︎
   and guard us from this generation for ever.
8  The wicked strut on every side, ♦︎
   when what is vile is exalted by the whole human race.

¹² There is a way that seems right to a person,
   but its end is the way to death.^*
13 Even in laughter the heart is sad,
   and the end of joy is grief.
¹⁴ The perverse get what their ways deserve,
   and the good, what their deeds deserve.^*
15 The simple believe everything,
   but the clever consider their steps.
¹⁶ The wise are cautious and turn away from evil,
   but the fool throws off restraint and is careless.
¹⁷ One who is quick-tempered acts foolishly,
   and the schemer is hated.
¹⁸ The simple are adorned with^* folly,
   but the clever are crowned with knowledge.
¹⁹ The evil bow down before the good,
   the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
²⁰ The poor are disliked even by their neighbours,
   but the rich have many friends.
²¹ Those who despise their neighbours are sinners,
   but happy are those who are kind to the poor.
²² Do they not err that plan evil?
   Those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.
²³ In all toil there is profit,
   but mere talk leads only to poverty.
²⁴ The crown of the wise is their wisdom,^*
   but folly is the garland^* of fools.
²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,
   but one who utters lies is a betrayer.
²⁶ In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,
   and one’s children will have a refuge.
²⁷ The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
   so that one may avoid the snares of death.
²⁸ The glory of a king is a multitude of people;
   without people a prince is ruined.
²⁹ Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,
   but one who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
³⁰ A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh,
   but passion makes the bones rot.
³¹ Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,
   but those who are kind to the needy honour him.

Peter and John before the Council

4While Peter and John^* were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, ²much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. ³So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.

5 The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, ⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John,^* and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷When they had made the prisoners^* stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,^* whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹This Jesus^* is
“the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
   it has become the cornerstone.”^*
12There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’