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Psalm 20

1  May the Lord hear you in the day of trouble, ♦︎
   the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
2  Send you help from his sanctuary ♦︎
   and strengthen you out of Zion;
3  Remember all your offerings ♦︎
   and accept your burnt sacrifice;
4  Grant you your heart’s desire ♦︎
   and fulfil all your mind.
5  May we rejoice in your salvation
      and triumph in the name of our God; ♦︎
   may the Lord perform all your petitions.
6  Now I know that the Lord will save his anointed; ♦︎
   he will answer him from his holy heaven,
      with the mighty strength of his right hand.
7  Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses, ♦︎
   but we will call only on the name of the Lord our God.
8  They are brought down and fallen, ♦︎
   but we are risen and stand upright.
9  O Lord, save the king ♦︎
   and answer us when we call upon you.

Psalm 21

1  The king shall rejoice in your strength, O Lord; ♦︎
   how greatly shall he rejoice in your salvation!
2  You have given him his heart’s desire ♦︎
   and have not denied the request of his lips.
3  For you come to meet him with blessings of goodness ♦︎
   and set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
4  He asked of you life and you gave it him, ♦︎
   length of days, for ever and ever.
5  His honour is great because of your salvation; ♦︎
   glory and majesty have you laid upon him.
6  You have granted him everlasting felicity ♦︎
   and will make him glad with joy in your presence.
7  For the king puts his trust in the Lord; ♦︎
   because of the loving-kindness of the Most High,
      he shall not be overthrown.
8  Your hand shall mark down all your enemies; ♦︎
   your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9  You will make them like a fiery oven
      in the time of your wrath; ♦︎
   the Lord will swallow them up in his anger
      and the fire will consume them.
10  Their fruit you will root out of the land ♦︎
   and their seed from among its inhabitants.
11  Because they intend evil against you ♦︎
   and devise wicked schemes
      which they cannot perform,
12  You will put them to flight ♦︎
   when you aim your bow at their faces.
13  Be exalted, O Lord, in your own might; ♦︎
   we will make music and sing of your power.

God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Ingratitude

11When Israel was a child, I loved him,
   and out of Egypt I called my son.
² The more I^* called them,
   the more they went from me;^*
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
   and offering incense to idols.

³ Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
   I took them up in my^* arms;
   but they did not know that I healed them.
⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness,
   with bands of love.
I was to them like those
   who lift infants to their cheeks.^*
   I bent down to them and fed them.

⁵ They shall return to the land of Egypt,
   and Assyria shall be their king,
   because they have refused to return to me.
⁶ The sword rages in their cities,
   it consumes their oracle-priests,
   and devours because of their schemes.
⁷ My people are bent on turning away from me.
   To the Most High they call,
   but he does not raise them up at all.^*

⁸ How can I give you up, Ephraim?
   How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
   How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
   my compassion grows warm and tender.
⁹ I will not execute my fierce anger;
   I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and no mortal,
   the Holy One in your midst,
   and I will not come in wrath.^*

¹⁰ They shall go after the Lord,
   who roars like a lion;
when he roars,
   his children shall come trembling from the west.
¹¹ They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
   and like doves from the land of Assyria;
   and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.

^{12 *}Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
   and the house of Israel with deceit;
but Judah still walks^* with God,
   and is faithful to the Holy One.

12Ephraim herds the wind,
   and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
   they make a treaty with Assyria,
   and oil is carried to Egypt.

The Long History of Rebellion

² The Lord has an indictment against Judah,
   and will punish Jacob according to his ways,
   and repay him according to his deeds.
³ In the womb he tried to supplant his brother,
   and in his manhood he strove with God.
⁴ He strove with the angel and prevailed,
   he wept and sought his favour;
he met him at Bethel,
   and there he spoke with him.^*
5 The Lord the God of hosts,
   the Lord is his name!
⁶ But as for you, return to your God,
   hold fast to love and justice,
   and wait continually for your God.

Paul Held in Custody

24 Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgement, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.’ ²⁶At the same time he hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him.

27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favour, Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul Appeals to the Emperor

25Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem ²where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him ³and requested, as a favour to them against Paul,^* to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. ⁴Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ⁵‘So’, he said, ‘let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.’

6 After he had stayed among them for not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. ⁸Paul said in his defence, ‘I have in no way committed an offence against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor.’ ⁹But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favour, asked Paul, ‘Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?’ ¹⁰Paul said, ‘I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. ¹¹Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.’ ¹²Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, ‘You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.’

Jehoiakim Reigns over Judah

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as all his ancestors had done.

Judah Overrun by Enemies

24In his days King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. ²The Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. ³Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, for all that he had committed, ⁴and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to pardon. ⁵Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? ⁶So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; then his son Jehoiachin succeeded him. ⁷The king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken over all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father had done.

10 At that time the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it; ¹²King Jehoiachin of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, his mother, his servants, his officers, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.

Capture of Jerusalem

13 He carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which King Solomon of Israel had made, all this as the Lord had foretold. ¹⁴He carried away all Jerusalem, all the officials, all the warriors, ten thousand captives, all the artisans and the smiths; no one remained, except the poorest people of the land. ¹⁵He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the elite of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valour, seven thousand, the artisans and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war. ¹⁷The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ ²⁸When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ ²⁹Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ ³⁰And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, ‘See that no one knows of this.’ ³¹But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.

Jesus Heals One Who Was Mute

32 After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. ³³And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.’ ³⁴But the Pharisees said, ‘By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.’^*