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Psalm 33

1  Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, ♦︎
   for it is good for the just to sing praises.
2  Praise the Lord with the lyre; ♦︎
   on the ten-stringed harp sing his praise.
3  Sing for him a new song; ♦︎
   play skilfully, with shouts of praise.
4  For the word of the Lord is true ♦︎
   and all his works are sure.
5  He loves righteousness and justice; ♦︎
   the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.
6  By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ♦︎
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7  He gathers up the waters of the sea as in a waterskin ♦︎
   and lays up the deep in his treasury.
8  Let all the earth fear the Lord; ♦︎
   stand in awe of him, all who dwell in the world.
9  For he spoke, and it was done; ♦︎
   he commanded, and it stood fast.
10  The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to naught; ♦︎
   he frustrates the designs of the peoples.
11  But the counsel of the Lord shall endure for ever ♦︎
   and the designs of his heart from generation to generation.
12  Happy the nation whose God is the Lord ♦︎
   and the people he has chosen for his own.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.^{* 19}He blessed him and said,
‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High,^*
   maker of heaven and earth;
²⁰ and blessed be God Most High,^*
   who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’
And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. ²¹Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself.’ ²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High,^* maker of heaven and earth, ²³that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, “I have made Abram rich.” ²⁴I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.’

Paul on the Island of Malta

28After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. ²The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us round it. ³Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ ⁵He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

7 Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him. ⁹After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰They bestowed many honours on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed.