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Psalm 71

1  In you, O Lord, do I seek refuge; ♦︎
   let me never be put to shame.
2  In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; ♦︎
   incline your ear to me and save me.
3  Be for me a stronghold to which I may ever resort; ♦︎
   send out to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4  Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, ♦︎
   from the grasp of the evildoer and the oppressor.
5  For you are my hope, O Lord God, ♦︎
   my confidence, even from my youth.
6  Upon you have I leaned from my birth,
      when you drew me from my mother’s womb; ♦︎
   my praise shall be always of you.

²⁰ Of what use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba,
   or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable,
   nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.
²¹ Therefore thus says the Lord:
See, I am laying before this people
   stumbling-blocks against which they shall stumble;
parents and children together,
   neighbour and friend shall perish.

²² Thus says the Lord:
See, a people is coming from the land of the north,
   a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
²³ They grasp the bow and the javelin,
   they are cruel and have no mercy,
   their sound is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
   equipped like a warrior for battle,
   against you, O daughter Zion!

²⁴ ‘We have heard news of them,
   our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
   pain as of a woman in labour.
²⁵ Do not go out into the field,
   or walk on the road;
for the enemy has a sword,
   terror is on every side.’

²⁶ O my poor people, put on sackcloth,
   and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only child,
   most bitter lamentation:
for suddenly the destroyer
   will come upon us.

²⁷ I have made you a tester and a refiner^* among my people
   so that you may know and test their ways.
²⁸ They are all stubbornly rebellious,
   going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron,
   all of them act corruptly.
²⁹ The bellows blow fiercely,
   the lead is consumed by the fire;
in vain the refining goes on,
   for the wicked are not removed.
³⁰ They are called ‘rejected silver’,
   for the Lord has rejected them.

The Uproar in Thessalonica

17After Paul and Silas^* had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ²And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, ³explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah^* to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This is the Messiah,^* Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.’ ⁴Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. ⁵But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the market-places they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house. ⁶When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers^* before the city authorities,^* shouting, ‘These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, ⁷and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.’ ⁸The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this, ⁹and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.