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Psalm 121

1  I lift up my eyes to the hills; ♦︎
   from where is my help to come?
2  My help comes from the Lord, ♦︎
   the maker of heaven and earth.
3  He will not suffer your foot to stumble; ♦︎
   he who watches over you will not sleep.
4  Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel ♦︎
   shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5  The Lord himself watches over you; ♦︎
   the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
6  So that the sun shall not strike you by day, ♦︎
   neither the moon by night.
7  The Lord shall keep you from all evil; ♦︎
   it is he who shall keep your soul.
8  The Lord shall keep watch over your going out
      and your coming in, ♦︎
   from this time forth for evermore.

26 And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire;^* and seated above the likeness of a throne was something that seemed like a human form. ²⁷Upwards from what appeared like the loins I saw something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all round; and downwards from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendour all round. ²⁸Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendour all round. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.

The Vision of the Scroll

2He said to me: O mortal,^* stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.

Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa

26Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have permission to speak for yourself.’ Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:

2 ‘I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defence today against all the accusations of the Jews, ³because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.

4 ‘All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. ⁵They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. ⁶And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, ⁷a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency,^* that I am accused by Jews! ⁸Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

9 ‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.^{* 10}And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. ¹¹By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 ‘With this in mind, I was travelling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³when at midday along the road, your Excellency,^* I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. ¹⁴When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew^* language, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.” ¹⁵I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me^* and to those in which I will appear to you. ¹⁷I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”